There are many areas in the human body that could use ultrasound machines to help detect any negative symptoms. This is especially beneficial for women whom are advised to go for regular breast ultrasound which could help detect different conditions like cancer. It is always better to discover any illness in the early stage so as to increase the chances of recovery.
Do you know that it is reported by the American Cancer Society (ACS) that one out of eight American women who live to be 85 years of age will develop breast cancer? With this being said, there is no reason why women shouldn’t be more cautious of their own health and go for regular check-ups.
Breast Ultrasound Imaging
Ultrasounds of breast will reveal the internal structures and other objects present in the breast. The entire process is painless and pretty safe since it will not invade adjacent healthy cells, blood vessels or tissues. You are required to exposed the area to be checked under high-frequency sound vibrations in order to obtain the most precise and obvious images. Ionizing radiation is not involved in the the breast ultrasound test and thus it is generally low risk. Doppler techniques maybe be adopted during the scan to check if the blood flow is moving properly in the areas.
Uses of Breast Ultrasound
The scan will help to verify on the nature of breast anomalies and assist doctors in getting a better conclusion on the condition of the patient. For example, the pictures of the ultrasound scan will aid in identifying the state of the anomalies – solid or fluid-filled. Thus, this will enable the doctors to identify if the lump or tumor is cancerous or not. This could actually save many lives since it could be used to detect early stages of cancer.
What To Expect During The Breast Ultrasound
You are required to remove your own clothing from the waist up and wear a gown provided. The ultrasound machines will normally include a console with electronics, a computer and of course not forgetting the screen. There will also be a transducer which is used to scan the blood vessels and your body. It looks like a microphone which is attached to a machine via wires. It is also accountable for releasing high frequency sound vibrations into your body and receives information from the echoes reflecting back from the body tissues. The transducer will thus be moving up and down the region which is to be observed.
You will then notice images appearing on the monitor screen and all this is being observed by the health professionals conducting the scan. However, your responsibility is just to lie down, relax your body and placed your arms just above your head. Next, clear gel will be applied on the region where the scan is going to take place so as to reduce the gap between your body tissues and the transducer.
The entire procedure shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes and you will feel consoled after seeing the smile on your doctors’ face. Congrats for completing the breast ultrasound and remember to go for regular check at least once every year. Nothing beats having a healthy body and everyone should be responsible for maintaining your own body.
How To Prepare For An Ultrasound Scan?
In the current date, most clinics, hospitals and even household have adopted ultrasound as one of most common body check-up procedure. Even with no known side effects towards the usage of ultrasound machines, it is still vital that we understand the preparation procedure to eliminate any ultrasound safety issues. We must constantly update ourselves with what is happening on the medical technology especially if you are holding onto a portable ultrasound machine that you are using at home. Preparing for the ultrasound machines isn’t difficult if you know the right approach.
Basic Knowledge
Most ultrasound procedures do not require any form of special preparation. Consult your family doctor if you need to bring any special items before proceeding with the ultrasound scan. Remember to put on loose comfortable clothings for your appointment and always turn up early at the clinic. Give yourself 10-15 minutes of buffer time so that you do not need to rush.
Most of the time, you are required to come with either an empty stomach or a full bladder. Similarly, consult you family doctor before the appointment date as there are different requirements for different organs to be checked. These guidelines are important so as to get the most accurate results.
Normally, when the scan involves organs like liver or gallbladder, most of the time you are required to come with an empty stomach (or at least 5-6 hours without food). However, you can choose to take a few sips of water before the scan.
Another common form of scanning is during early pregnancy. Pregnant woman is advised to drink several glasses of water before the scan. It will also be advisable to refrain from urinating before the test as a full bladder will aid the diagnosticians get a better view of the uterus.
Preparations For The Patient
One good aspect of ultrasound machines is that there is no ‘physical torture’ during the scan since there it is no pain. Relax yourself the day before the scan and be your usual self. Don’t be overly tense for the scan especially for pregnant woman. Sleep early the night before and have a good night rest. Everything will go smoothly if you follow the guidelines that your family doctor has advised you. Results may not be accurate if certain preparations that are necessary for the scan are not adequately done by the patient.
The scan will normally be between 10-30 minutes depending on the area/organ that are being observed. There are no restrictions of activities after the scan and life can resume as per normal unless otherwise stated by your doctor.
Additional Knowledge / General Guidelines
Individuals aging 1 year old and above are advised to drink plenty of water to make sure that their bladder is kept full. This is especially useful if individuals are actually going for pelvic ultrasound. There is no restriction in the diet and you can choose to eat as much as you want before the scan.
For the case of abdominal ultrasound scan, it is advisable to stop consumption of food 6 hours before the scan and the last meal should preferably be low in fat. This is necessary to get a better observation during the scan.
For renal ultrasound machines, there is usually no special preparation of course it is specifically instructed by your doctor. Hope you get a better idea on what to prepare on if your ultrasound scan is around the corner. Feel free to contact me should you have any additional questions that you need help with and I will try to get back to you asap.
Basic Knowledge
Most ultrasound procedures do not require any form of special preparation. Consult your family doctor if you need to bring any special items before proceeding with the ultrasound scan. Remember to put on loose comfortable clothings for your appointment and always turn up early at the clinic. Give yourself 10-15 minutes of buffer time so that you do not need to rush.
Most of the time, you are required to come with either an empty stomach or a full bladder. Similarly, consult you family doctor before the appointment date as there are different requirements for different organs to be checked. These guidelines are important so as to get the most accurate results.
Normally, when the scan involves organs like liver or gallbladder, most of the time you are required to come with an empty stomach (or at least 5-6 hours without food). However, you can choose to take a few sips of water before the scan.
Another common form of scanning is during early pregnancy. Pregnant woman is advised to drink several glasses of water before the scan. It will also be advisable to refrain from urinating before the test as a full bladder will aid the diagnosticians get a better view of the uterus.
Preparations For The Patient
One good aspect of ultrasound machines is that there is no ‘physical torture’ during the scan since there it is no pain. Relax yourself the day before the scan and be your usual self. Don’t be overly tense for the scan especially for pregnant woman. Sleep early the night before and have a good night rest. Everything will go smoothly if you follow the guidelines that your family doctor has advised you. Results may not be accurate if certain preparations that are necessary for the scan are not adequately done by the patient.
The scan will normally be between 10-30 minutes depending on the area/organ that are being observed. There are no restrictions of activities after the scan and life can resume as per normal unless otherwise stated by your doctor.
Additional Knowledge / General Guidelines
Individuals aging 1 year old and above are advised to drink plenty of water to make sure that their bladder is kept full. This is especially useful if individuals are actually going for pelvic ultrasound. There is no restriction in the diet and you can choose to eat as much as you want before the scan.
For the case of abdominal ultrasound scan, it is advisable to stop consumption of food 6 hours before the scan and the last meal should preferably be low in fat. This is necessary to get a better observation during the scan.
For renal ultrasound machines, there is usually no special preparation of course it is specifically instructed by your doctor. Hope you get a better idea on what to prepare on if your ultrasound scan is around the corner. Feel free to contact me should you have any additional questions that you need help with and I will try to get back to you asap.
History Of The Ultrasound Machine
Over the years, technology advances at a rapid pace and individuals benefited from such growth. In the medical technology context, we do not need to tolerate with the long hours and painful process of detecting any potential illness as compared to the past traditional methods. Today, we use ultrasound machines to help us accurately diagnose medical conditions which save millions of lives every single year. Let us look back at how this equipment is designed and finally transform to our current ones.
How Ultrasound Machines Come About?
The idea and concept of this device originally came from the usage of sound waves to measure distances underwater. It is now termed SONAR (Sound Navigation and Ranging) which is used for underwater navigation and exploration.
In 1826, Dr. Jean-Daniel Colladon from Switzerland accomplished his experiment by utilizing a bell in underwater to detect the speed of sound in Lake Geneva. In the late 1800s, it is intensively studied by scientists on the fundamental physics of sound waves, refraction, propagation and transmission. Eventually, Lord Rayleigh from England came out with his own book on "The Theory of Sound" in 1877.
Not forgetting Lazzaro Spallanzani from Italy who was the one that discovered how bats could move around in the dark by utilizing reflected echo. These echoes were inaudible to humans but it can actually help bats to identify the obstacles such as the distance, size and shape. Francis Galton from England capitalized on the findings and created high frequency sound vibrations which were inaudible to human ears in 1876 via the Galton Whistle.
Pierre Curie and Jacques Curie from France learned about the piezo-electric effect in 1880. It was then discovered that ultrasound can be created and detected using megahertz. This is slowly improvised and finally established to become a hydrophone
Incorporation of SONAR with Medical
Gradually, it is discovered by Dr. Ian Donald that sonar could be used in the medical context to provide better analysis for the patients. The usages of ultrasound become known after WWII. He began experimenting on ultrasound and learns that it was extremely accurate in detecting and distinguishing fibroids, abdominal tumors and cysts.
On the other hand, Dr. Karl Theodore Dussik from Austria studied about the ultrasound transmission in 1942 and came out with several items on the medical sonar. Because of the findings of Dr. Ian Donald, there have been vast improvements in the medical technology which leads us to the current state. We are now even able to observe the blood flow within our vessels and I believe has helped many individuals escape the “door of doom”.
You will be able to find various kinds of ultrasound machines available in the market and each serves different purposes depending on the condition of the individuals and the area of organ that is required to be observed. Ultrasound scanning poses almost no risk to individuals and is widely used in the medical world today.
Thanks to the doctors and scientists that have spent their life experimenting and discovering new technology which becomes what we have today. Kudos!
How Ultrasound Machines Come About?
The idea and concept of this device originally came from the usage of sound waves to measure distances underwater. It is now termed SONAR (Sound Navigation and Ranging) which is used for underwater navigation and exploration.
In 1826, Dr. Jean-Daniel Colladon from Switzerland accomplished his experiment by utilizing a bell in underwater to detect the speed of sound in Lake Geneva. In the late 1800s, it is intensively studied by scientists on the fundamental physics of sound waves, refraction, propagation and transmission. Eventually, Lord Rayleigh from England came out with his own book on "The Theory of Sound" in 1877.
Not forgetting Lazzaro Spallanzani from Italy who was the one that discovered how bats could move around in the dark by utilizing reflected echo. These echoes were inaudible to humans but it can actually help bats to identify the obstacles such as the distance, size and shape. Francis Galton from England capitalized on the findings and created high frequency sound vibrations which were inaudible to human ears in 1876 via the Galton Whistle.
Pierre Curie and Jacques Curie from France learned about the piezo-electric effect in 1880. It was then discovered that ultrasound can be created and detected using megahertz. This is slowly improvised and finally established to become a hydrophone
Incorporation of SONAR with Medical
Gradually, it is discovered by Dr. Ian Donald that sonar could be used in the medical context to provide better analysis for the patients. The usages of ultrasound become known after WWII. He began experimenting on ultrasound and learns that it was extremely accurate in detecting and distinguishing fibroids, abdominal tumors and cysts.
On the other hand, Dr. Karl Theodore Dussik from Austria studied about the ultrasound transmission in 1942 and came out with several items on the medical sonar. Because of the findings of Dr. Ian Donald, there have been vast improvements in the medical technology which leads us to the current state. We are now even able to observe the blood flow within our vessels and I believe has helped many individuals escape the “door of doom”.
You will be able to find various kinds of ultrasound machines available in the market and each serves different purposes depending on the condition of the individuals and the area of organ that is required to be observed. Ultrasound scanning poses almost no risk to individuals and is widely used in the medical world today.
Thanks to the doctors and scientists that have spent their life experimenting and discovering new technology which becomes what we have today. Kudos!
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