Welcome to the World of Sonography

knowing the principle and practise of ultrasonography will make any practitioner a colossus in a very short time. ULTRASOUND IS DEFINED AS THE SOUND WAVES BEYOND THE ORDINARY LIMITS OF HEARING.

Friends, ultrasound is termed such because it cannot be heard by the human ear and has a frequency above 20, 000Hz (20KHz).

I have been practising ultrasonography for 7 years now and it has really been wonderful and enjoyable.

ULTRASOUND... why ultrasound.... when ultrasound..... who does ultrasound...... who gets ultrasound....... Ultrasound principles and protocols.... various types of ultrasound examination.

Know one thing for sure that ultrasound is safe, painless and necessarily affordable; which produces images or pictures of the inside of the body using sound waves. However, ultrasound requires a medium for propagation as it travels poorly through air thus requiring an airless contact with the body during examination. This explains the reason or need to use a coupling agent in the form of mineral oil or jelly to areas of the body to be examined.

Ultrasound involves the use of a small transducer (probe) and ultrasound gel placed directly on the skin.

High frequency sound waves are transmitted from the probe through the gel into the body.

The velocity of sound depends on the nature of medium.

Ours on this platform will be a step by step approach to ultrasonography.

The transducers on ultrasound machines have different frequencies and are in the range of 2-10megahertz(MHz ).

When ultrasound pulses are directed into a medium, it causes the particle in the medium to vibrate parallel to the direction of wave propagation.

Friends as we all know that ultrasound is generated by the part of ultrasound instrument known as the transducer. In simple term, a transducer or probe is anything that converts one form of energy into another form.

In case of diagnostic ultrasound the transducer converts electric energy to mechanical sonic energy and vice versa. Materials exists which produce an electric current when pressure is applied to their surface. This is known as the PIEZOELECTRIC EFFECT and the inverse effect occurs when a current is applied to the material causing it to expand and contract. Pls note that the most important component is a thin piezoelectric crystal element located near the face of the transducer.

An ultrasound transducer for pulse-echo imaging houses one or more slabs of piezoelectric material.

An ultrasound pulse is generated and reflected from the target structures. The reflected echoes are then detected. This process is thus repeated in many directions to allow the target structures to be displayed on the screen.

Pals pls know this truth that ultrasound is operator dependent.... if you are properly tutored You will be able to operate efficiently and effectively.

Sir
1. How safe is ultrasound during pregnancy?
2. Can X-ray pelvimetry affect a fetus (baby)

GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE..... Let's talk about some terms commonly used in ultrasound

Acoustic beam : This is the beam of ultrasound waves (energy) produced by the transducer or probe.
Acoustic enhancement : This talks about increased echogenicity of tissues that lie behind a structure that causes little or no attenuation of the ultrasound waves.
Acoustic impedance: This is the resistance offered by tissues to the movement of particles caused by ultrasound waves.

Acoustic shadowing : The decreased echogenicity of tissues that lie behind a structure that causes marked attenuation of the ultrasound waves.
Acoustic window : This is known to be a tissue or structure that offers little obstruction to the ultrasound waves and can therefore be used as a route to obtain images of a deeper structure.
Anechoic: No internal echoes..... without echo or echo free.
Attenuation : The decrease in the intensity of the ultrasound waves as they pass through tissues, measured in decibels per centimeter.

Artefact: A feature appearing in an ultrasound image that does not correspond to or represent an actual anatomical or pathological structure.

Back wall effect: A bright echo from the back wall of a cyst resulting from the low attenuation of the beam by the fluid in the cyst and reflection of the beam by the curved back wall.
Boundary : The line at the periphery of two tissues which propagate ultrasound differently, defined by the zone of echoes at the interface.

Mum care: The safety issue in ultrasound talks about the problem of exposure conditions. Sincerely, any bio-effects that might occur as a result of ultrasound would depend on the dose of ultrasound received by the fetus or woman.

Simply put that all things must be done moderately.

Cyst: This is a fluid- filled structure with thin walls.
Debris: Are echogenic solid masses of various sizes and shapes with irregular outlines.
Doppler effect: The change in apparent frequency of a wave as a result of relative motion between the observer and the source.
Frequency : The number of complete ultrasound waves produced each second.

Gain: Amplification of the reflected ultrasound waves by the ultrasound unit.
Hyperechogenic: Describes tissues that create brighter echoes than adjacent tissues.
Hypoechogenic: Describes tissues that create dimmer echoes than adjacent tissues.

Internal echoes: Ultrasound reflections from tissues of different density within an organ.
Longitudinal scan ( sagittal scan): A vertical scan along the long axis of the body.
Mass: A mass includes solid and fluid areas.On ultrasound they or could be shown to have echogenic and anechoic areas.

Solid : Describes tissue that does not include fluid or empty spaces.
Scattering : Reflection and refraction of ultrasound in many directions at once.
Transverse scan ( axial scan): An ultrasound scan at right angles to the long axis of the body.
Wavelength: The length of a single cycle of the ultrasound wave.

Scanning plane : The section of tissue through which the ultrasound beam is passing during the scan, and which will appear on the image.
Reverberation: Reflection of ultrasound waves back and forth between two strongly reflective surfaces that are parallel or nearly parallel.

Reflection: Change in direction of the ultrasound waves at a tissue interface such that the beam does not enter the second tissue.

Transducer: The part of the ultrasound unit that comes into contact with the patient. It converts electrical energy into ultrasound waves, which pass through the patient's tissues; it also receives the reflected waves and changes them again into electrical energy. A transducer is often like we earlier discussed; called a probe and is connected to the ultrasound scanner (generator and monitor) by a flexible cable. Transducers are expensive and fragile Bro and Sis........ thence it must be handled very carefully.