Description of Equipment Used in Ultrasound

Ultrasound machines can show images of what is going on inside the body in real-time rather than producing a still picture, and they do not emit potentially harmful radiation like x-rays do. They are used to diagnose medical problems like clogged blood vessels and tumors.

Function

• The transducer is a hand-held device converts the electrical energy from the pulser and then emits high frequency sound waves into the body.

Imaging

• The receiver detects the sound waves that are reflected back to the ultrasound machine and transmits the information to the display which shows a real-time image of what is going on inside the body.

Potential

• The ultrasound machine is able to store the images in its memory so that they can be reviewed in the future to see the effects of any treatments.

Considerations

• Before starting the ultrasound, the ultrasound tech must apply a special gel to the skin to aid in the transmission of the sound waves.

Features

• The frequency of the sound waves emitted by the transducer range from 1 to 20 MegaHertz. Breast tissue ultrasounds are at the higher end of the sound frequency range.