“Ultrasonography” or more widely known as “Medical Ultrasound” is a diagnostic technique which uses high frequency ultrasound waves in order to produce images of internal body structures such as muscles, tendons, vessels and joints. The motive is to find the source of a disease and then take measure s to treat the same.

How does “Ultrasonography work ?

In order to get the ultrasound image, an equipment called “Transducer” is used which transforms electric current into sound waves that are induced into various tissues of the body. These sound waves are usually absorbed or are bounced back as crystals in the head of the Transducer.

E.g Sound waves easily permeate through areas which are empty or fluid filled such as the bladder, various blood vessels etc. These areas are visibly dark on the screen. Portions that are filled with tissue , somewhat allow penetration and refraction of these sound waves to some extent and thus give grayish white image. Extremely hard structures such as bones give a bright white image since the ultrasound waves completely rebound to the transducer.

A commonly used phenomenon during pregnancy, Ultrasonography allows Doctors to view the image of a women’s womb in order to assess the overall development of the baby, detect abnormalities if any and gender of the baby if required. It can measure the cervix and ovaries as well.

Procedure

In case an abdomen is to be examined, the patient might be asked not to eat or drink for a number of hours before the test.

Once everything is set, the technician applies a thick gel on the skin over the area that has to examined , in order to ensure effective sound transmission . The Transducer is carefully placed on the skin and gently moved over the area that has to be examined.

Depending on the body part that needs to be evaluated, the technician at times, inserts the transducer into that organ. E.g. in order to get a better image of the uterus and ovaries one needs to insert the device into the vagina or into the anus to get a precise image of the prostate gland.

Advantages / Uses of Ultrasonography

A boon to the field of Medicine, Ultrasonography has a number of uses. Some of them are listed below:

• The images are captured rapidly so as to show the movement of internal organs and structures in the body on real time basis. E.g. even the motion of the beating heart of a fetus can be seen.
• It can be effectively used to view images of internal organs in the chest, pelvis and abdomen. Since sound waves can be blocked by gas and by bone , ultrasonography of internal organs can be done only by specially trained professionals known as ”Sonographers”.
• Ultrasound technology can also be used to find out growth of foreign objects that are very close to the internal body parts such as the ones in breasts, testes, lymph nodes, limbs and the thyroid gland.
• Ultrasonography device is portable and can be easily brought to the bedside for the convenience of the patient.
• Morever, it is affordable and does not use harmful radiation.

Commonly Used To Diagnoise The Following Disease

• Pregnancy : A common usage of Ultrasonography, is to observe the growth and development of a foetus along with detection of anomalies of the placenta.
• Heart ( Echocardipgraphy) : It detects anomalies in the heart beats, structural abnormalities such as enlargement of heart’s walls or chambers, defective heart valve etc.
• Gall bladder and biliary tract : In order to detect gall bladder stones and blockage in the bile duct.
• Blood vessels : To detect narrowed and dilated blood vessels.
• Urinary tract : Untrasonography can be effectively used to differentiate benign cysts from the malignant ones( Cancer causing) or to detect structural anomalies in the kidney, uterus or the bladder.
• Liver spleen and pancreas : Tumors and other disorders can be detected well in time.
• Female reproductive organs : The abnormalities in uterus, ovaries and fallopian tubes can be detected on time through Sonography and suitably treated .

Disadvantages of Ultrasonography

The super successful and useful Ultrasonography is not devoid of loopholes. To list a few:

• Discomfort: The insertion of the device into the body might cause discomfort and be the cause of inconvenience. At times, incorrect insertion the Transducer might cause damage to the tissue resulting in bleeding or infection.
• Since gas and bone block ultrasonography, using it to obtain images of organs behind bone or gas becomes very difficult and gives inaccurate results.
• Moreover, it can be performed only by skilled Technicians/Sonographers who are exclusively trained for the same , thereby adding additional cost to the diagnostic center.

Variations of Ultrasonography : Ultrasound details can be displayed in a several possible ways :

• A-Mode : Information is displayed as spikes on a graph.
• B-mode : Images can be viewed as a 2-dimensional anatomic images (used at the time of pregnancy)
• M-Mode : Images are displayed continuously as waves to show moving structures.

The most practiced one is the “ B-Mode” Ultrasonography

Doppler Ultrasonography

It is basically used to evaluate the moving objects, such as the RBC in the blood and can be used to evaluate if the heart is functioning well or not . It can also be used to detect blocked blood vessels, narrowed arteries etc.

Spectral Doppler Ultrasonography

Over here , the blood flow information is shown as a graph and can be very helpful in determining as to how much of a blood vessel is blocked.

Duplex Doppler Ultrasonography

It combines spectral and b-mode Ultrasonography .

Color Doppler Ultrasonography

This form is used to assess the risk of stroke as it helps the doctors to identify blockage of arteries in the neck and head.

An ECG, also known as the electrocardiogram, is a test of procedure for measuring the condition of your heart and its electrical activity. Since every beat of your heart begins on the top and travels to the bottom of the heart, the activity can be measured. A patient may, by himself or on the instruction of his doctor may request an ECG test if there are symptoms such as chest pain, breathing trouble, weakness in the body or feeling tired, pounding in the heart, a heart beating unevenly and strange sounds in your heart when the doctor listens to it closely. ECG tests are also recommended if a person has a family history of heart problems and diseases.

An ECG test is painless, quick and harmless. The doctor shall attach around 15 soft electrodes along with a special gel to your legs, chest and arms. These electrodes are attached to the ECG machine with the help of wires.

There are 3 types of ECG tests

Stress Tests- This is one type of test offered to measure the condition the hearts condition during a degree of strenuous activity. In a stress test, your body remains connected to the ECG machine while you exercise on a stationary bike or on a treadmill.

Hoster Monitor- This is a small and portable version on an ECG monitor. Such a machine monitor’s your heart’s condition over a period of 2 days.

Event Monitor- It is just like the Hoster Monitor, but gets activated only when there is a sudden electrical activity in your heart. The monitor is semi-automatic. Benefits of an ECG Scan.

Through an ECG scan or test, your doctor shall be able to tell you:

• Whether your heart is beating irregularly, too fast or too slow
• Whether you have had a heart attack already or are having one
• Whether there is any heart defects

An ECHO test is also known as Echocardiography. The test is completely painless and works on the notion that sound waves can be used to create images of a heart. The test takes around 1 hour at the most. In an ECHO test, a handheld device called Transducer is moved around your chest. This device takes pictures of your heart with the help of sound waves.

Why Is It Taken?

An ECHO is taken when your doctor feels that you are showing signs and symptoms of heart problems. It can be used to address an existing problem, to make a diagnosis and to guide an ongoing treatment forward.

Types Of Tests

• Stress Echo: This is a standard ECHO examination
• Transesophagal Echo: This is used when the Stress Echo does not produce results
• Fetal Echo: It is used to move at the heart of an unborn child

Benefits

The test is useful as it helps your doctor in finding out the shape and size of your heart, the condition of the various chambers of the heart and the several valves. It also detects the flow of blood through and from your heart.