The applications of ultrasound machines are numerous and commonly used for obstetrics, echocardiography and biopsy just to name a few. Ultrasound Machines is a non-invasive way to provide valuable medical details compare to traditional tools and diagnosis techniques. In other word, it has greatly helped medicine become safer and more accurate. Here are some common functions of the process.

Ultrasound machines for obstetrics provide invaluable information about a woman’s pregnancy and her growing baby. The ultrasound scanning of uterus can view the baby’s current position, gender and condition. Such procedure can identify the conception date and ensure the fetus is in healthy development. The detailed scanning able to detect any abnormalities in the development of the fetus allowing doctor to make prompt decision for necessary treatment. Amniocentesis, a needle is inserted to take amniotic fluid for analysis cannot be done so easily without the help of ultrasound. Beside, it is effective tool for identifying general health of the baby, position of the placenta, ectopic pregnancy, potential miscarriage as well as early fetal death.

Ultrasound Scanning

Aside from obstetric reasons, the thyroid gland, breasts bladder, spleen, and eyes for the presence of foreign objects can be detected through ultrasound machine. It is not uncommon tool to check the newborn babies in term of their brain, eye, internal organ such as the appendix and liver. The machine also used during fine needle biopsy procedures. It gives an actual moving image for guiding the needle to reach the specific spot correctly.

Echocardiography is a specific type of ultrasound for heart checking. It can be used to detect congenital heart disease. This may includes complications in the large blood vessels, blood clots in the heart chambers, heart muscle damage or enlargement or cardiomyopathy and pericarditis or inflammation of the pericardium. Echocardiography comes in very handy to identify disorders of heart valves. The velocity of blood flow through the heart indirectly can be measured using Doppler echocardiography. Malfunctioning valves in the case of aortic stenosis and mitral insufficiency ca be detected as well.

Fetal Ultrasound Image

The functions of ultrasound procedures are largely depend on the organ to be diagnosed as well as the condition of the patients. Such medical procedure is very simple and quicker than you think. It needs neither special requirements nor special preparations. However, the procedure is advisable to be carried out only by trained medical professional in radiology.

Ultrasound Image

Ultrasound machines have been used for a minimum of 50 years among human beings. As we all know, cyclic sound pressure having a frequency higher than the human hearing upper limit is called ultrasound. The average lower limit is 20 kilohertz. On the other hand, the upper limit can be varying depending on individual. An accurate measurement can be obtained based on the reflection projected by the focused energy as it penetrates the intended medium. Taking photo of babies inside the uterus is one of the most popular applications of ultrasound. Medical sonography or ultrasonography is a medical imaging technique used for diagnosis. By using real time tomographic images, it can visualize internal organs, muscles and other specifics such as the structure, size and present lesions.

Ultrasound in biomedical uses is for therapeutic purposes, together with medications. Therapeutic ultrasound machines are often used in physical therapy, occupational therapy and cancer treatment. It uses more powerful sources to create local heating among body tissues. Phacoemulsification is the procedure used for treating cataracts by using focused ultrasound. High intensity focused ultrasound or HIFU is also highly effective in treating malignant and benign tumors. Abdominal ultrasound, rectal ultrasound in men and vaginal ultrasound in women is the ideal procedure in detecting pelvic abnormalities. Besides, ultrasound is a good guide tool in cosmetic surgery such as liposuction. Elastography, lipectomy, sclerotherapy and endovenous laser treatment are some of the procedures that may also involve the use of ultrasound.

For your information, veterinary clinics also use ultrasound machines in veterinary practices. The application of such technology requires no special preparation so it very easy to be implemented. Thus, it is widely used in treating detecting any anomalies in sick pets. It can be used for pregnant dogs, treating lesions and tumors too. Mammals can hear higher frequencies than humans. However most of them are not able to hear the sound frequencies as good as insects. So it is not surprise that ultrasound machines are among the most used equipment in veterinary clinics.

Not many people fully understand how ultrasound machines work even though they are among the most used equipment in clinics and hospitals. You may understand through this article that ultrasound is more effective and safe compared to other traditional tools. But bear in mind that ultrasound imaging is still a medical procedure, so it should only be administered by a medical professional trained in radiology. You can expect a novice to interpret the results in proper manner. Nevertheless, an expert is necessary to regulate the equipment to avoid long term exposure to ultrasound waves as it may cause negative physical side effects in long run.

Marty Wilcox introduced the world to portable ultrasound in 1975 with his ADR 2130. Machines of today have come a long we since this bulky, cumbersome device. Weighing in at 25 lbs., with 3 linear probes and an oscilloscope monitor, these devices were a revolution in their time. Today, the archaic oscilloscope has been replaced by small TV screens with a digital interface. The heavy machines of past have been streamlined and reinvented as light, hand-held devices that operate on batteries.

These devices send high frequency sound waves through the patient’s body and provide diagnostic imaging by interpreting the physical characteristics the waves encounter. A special gel is required to achieve transference from the hand held probe to the patient’s body. These ultrasonic waves are usually over 800,000 Hz. Looking at the etymology of the word we can discern that these devices use very high pitched sound waves, emanating frequencies higher than humans or animals can audibly perceive. Incredibly, these frequencies are so high they can actually move the cells in the human body. This possibility gave way to a therapeutic consideration for ultrasound technology.

In addition to diagnostic imaging, therapeutic ultrasound devices have been a safe an effective tool used by chiropractors and physical therapists since the 1940s. Therapeutic ultrasound machines penetrate the skin by several issues and the sound waves, remarkably, massage the tissue. Deep heat is applied to the tissue. It benefits the affected area but presents no discomfort, as the heat from these sound waves is beneath the threshold of perception for the human body.

Signos Portable Ultrasound Machine

Any preparation prio to ultrasound?

Comparing to other traditional diagnostic techniques and technology, getting ready for ultrasound scanning doesn’t take too much effort and time. Ultrasound machines are wisely use in clinics and hospital these days. Most of the procedures require no special preparation whatsoever. However, the following are some useful guidelines for you before you taking up the medical procedure.

It is always a good practice to consult your doctor first on what you need to be ready before you heading to the clinic. You may require coming with empty stomach or perhaps a full bladder depending on the organ to be checked. For pregnancy woman, the full bladder will make the imaging better as the extra bulge displaces intestine loops. So, don’t urinate before the test and drink more water prior to the scanning. On the other hand, ultrasound scan on a liver will require patients to fast several hours before the procedure taking place.

Babies aging 1 year old and above should keep their bladder full by drinking more water before the scan. However, you should not feed babies aging 2 months old 2 hours before the test for abdominal ultrasound scan. Drinking and eating are strictly prohibited for babies aging 3 up to 12 months prior to the procedure. No food and drink intake for children from 1 to 8 years old 5-hour before the test. Six hours prior to ultrasound test, individuals above 8 years old are also prohibited to take any kind of food and drink.

Always remember, ultrasound procedures are not invasive medical procedure. You should not feel too worry about ultrasound machines. It doesn’t cause any harm if used properly by trained medical staff. The entire procedure will only take up 10 to 30 minutes. However, it is all depending on the right preparation being done by patients and the organ being observed. You can resume to your normal activities such as walking, driving and exercising after being checked. So, no worries! Take a good rest before heading for the scanning. Make sure you will be on time for the procedure.

Old Ultrasound Machine

In 1794, Lazzaro Spallanzani from Italy discovered how bats can accurately navigate in the dark using echo reflection from inaudible sound in high frequency. Dr. Jean-Daniel Colladon from Switzerland at the other hand found out the speed of sound in Lake Geneva by using a bell underwater back in 1826. But the fundamental physics of sound waves, refraction, propagation and transmission had been identified by physicists only during the later 1800s.

The discovery of piezo-electric effect by Pierre Curie and Jacques Curie from France in 1880 marked the breakthrough of the development in ultrasound application. Since then, people started to realize that ultrasound generation and receiving is in megahertz. However the very first sonar detection system was used in measuring distance using sound waves underwater.

In 1942, Dr. Karl Theodore Dussik from Austria investigated transmission ultrasound in the brain. He published several interesting findings ultrasonics in medical diagnosis. Dr. Ian Donald started working on experiments involving the industrial ultrasonic metal flaw detector on July 21, 1955. He was the one who proved that sonar is very effective in detecting and differentiating fibroids, abdominal tumors and cysts. The works of Dr. Ian Donald and his colleagues from Glasgow have led to the wider use of the ultrasound in present medical practice.

New Ultrasound Machine

Ever since then, more commercial system such as bistable and greyscale images were made available in medical and non-medical cases. Besides, combination of Duplex scanning and Colour scanning leaded to the development of Doppler ultrasound. Believe it or not, you can even see your blood flow through the vessels of the body with ultrasound machine. With the creation of the microchip in the 1970s, 2D and 4D imaging are wide used nowadays in medical field.

Today there are several types of ultrasound available. The type of scanning is determined by the current condition and the body organ of the patient that needs to be diagnosed. However, they are relatively safe and convenient to be used. The procedures are very simple and require not preparation from patients. Patients can immediately resume to normal activities right after the scanning as it is non-invasive and painless.