Ultrasound , also called sonography, uses sound waves to develop ultrasound images of what’s going on inside the body. An instrument called a transducer emits high-frequency sound , audible to human ears, and then records the echoes as the sound waves bounce back to determine the size, shape, and consistency of soft tissue and organs.
The information is relayed in real time to produce images on a computer screen. Ultrasound technicians, or sonographers, have special training in how to perform the test . then a radiologist on your doctor will interpret the ultrasound images. This technology can help diagnoses and treat certain conditions.
What are the benefits vs. risks?
Most ultrasound scanning is noninvasive (no needle or injections)
Occasionally, an ultrasound exam may be temporarily uncomfortable, but it should not be painful.
Ultrasound is widely available, easy to use, and less expensive than most other imaging methods.
Ultrasound imaging is extremely safe and does not radiation.
Ultrasound scanning gives a clear picture of soft tissue that do not show up well on x-ray images.
Ultrasound is the preferred imaging modality for the diagnosis and monitoring of pregnant women and their unborn babies.
Ultrasound provides real-time imaging . this makes it a good tool for guiding minimally invasive procedure such as needle biopsies and fluid aspiration.
Limitation of ultrasound imaging
Ultrasound waves are disrupted by air or gas. Therefore, ultrasound is not an ideal imaging technique for the air-filled bowel. Ultrasound is not a as useful for imaging air-filled lungs, but it may be used to detect fluid around or within the lungs. Similarly, ultrasound cannot penetrate bone, but ,may be used for imaging bone fractures or for infection surrounding a bone.
Ultrasound has difficulty penetrating bone and, therefore can only see the outer surface of bony structure and not what lies within (expect in infants who have more cartilage in their skeletons than older children and adult ) doctors typically use other imaging modalities such as MRI to visualize the internal structure of bones or certain joints.