General Ultrasound

What is General Ultrasound Imaging?

Ultrasound is safe and painless, and produces pictures of the inside of the body using sound waves. Ultrasound imaging, also called ultrasound scanning or sonography, 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 transducer collects the sounds that bounce back and a COMPUTER then uses those sound waves to create an image. Ultrasound examinations do not use ionizing radiation (as used in x-rays), thus there is no radiation exposure to the patient. Because ultrasound images are captured in real-time, they can show the structure and movement of the body’s internal organs, as well as blood flowing through blood vessels.Ultrasound imaging is a noninvasive MEDICAL TEST that helps physicians diagnose and treat medical conditions. A conventional ultrasound displays the images in thin, flat sections of the body. Advancements in ULTRASOUND TECHNOLOGY include threedimensional (3D) ultrasound that formats the sound wave data into 3D images.