I’ve got ultrasounds on the brain at the moment, since I’m having one on Monday afternoon to confirm my doctor’s diagnosis of fibroids.
Also known as sonography, ultrasound imaging uses sound waves to create pictures of the inside of the body. One big advantage of an ultrasound over other kinds of imaging is that an ultrasound does not use ionizing radiation (like an x-ray does) and is generally non-invasive.
Ultrasound images are captured in real time, so they can even show the movement of blood through vessels!
Conventional ultrasound displays the images in thin, flat sections. There are also 3D ultrasounds that reformat the flat images into three dimensional images. And 4D ultrasounds are 3D ultrasounds in motion. A Doppler ultrasound is a special scan that evaluates blood movement and speed.
During an ultrasound scan, a transducer — a wand-like tool — is moved over the skin. As the sound waves move through the body, some echoes bounce back and are recorded to make the images. Basically, the speed at which the echoes move is used to calculate the distance of an object from the wand. Millions of pulses are sent and received per second!
The end result is a detailed picture of organs, blood vessels, and other soft tissues in the body. Ultrasound imaging is often used to help evaluate abdominal pain, pelvic pain, testicular pain, liver problems, gallstones, breast abnormalities, blocked veins and/or arteries.
Preparation for an ultrasound varies, depending on the area to be scanned. For my pelvic ultrasound, I’ve been asked to drink 32 ounces of water in the hour before my exam. This is to help provide a better image of my uterus — a bladder full of liquid will act as a sort of window to allow the sound waves to pass through more easily.
After my test on Monday, I’ll come back with a detailed report of the experience.
I’ve mostly heard talk of ultrasounds in regards to pregnancy — to monitor movement, determine gender, and keep an eye on development. The Pregnancy Blog has some great info there:
- Are Ultrasounds Safe?
- Monitoring Fetal Movement
- Reasons to Find Out Baby’s Gender
- Reasons to Be Surprised by Baby’s Gender