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Ultrasound, or ultrasonography, is an imaging technique that uses sound waves to generate pictures of the inside of the body. Very high frequency sound waves are generated by a prove (transducer) and are sent into the body. The sound waves are reflected off tissues in the body, return to the transducer and generate images of the body. Most people are familiar with the use of ultrasound to image fetuses (obstetrical ultrasound). Ultrasound is used to image many other body areas as well, including the neck, abdomen, pelvis, blood vessels, scrotum, prostate gland and parts of the musculoskeletal system. Ultrasound is also used for breast imaging and to aid in performance of invasive procedures such as biopsies. Ultrasound does not involve ionizing radiation.
Ultrasound is performed at all sites served by Clinical Radiologists. At all our sites ultrasound is performed by specially trained technologists, called sonographers, who have passed tests to be accredited and licensed as registered diagnostic medical sonographers. Several of our sites are accredited for the practice of ultrasound by the American College of Radiology. The Ultrasound Department at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield was recently lauded by the American College of Radiology for “an excellent evaluation, textbook-quality images and very thorough criteria for interpretation of vascular ultrasound examinations.” Although we perform general ultrasound at all our sites, certain types of ultrasound exams are available only at certain sites where we have state of the art equipment, technical expertise and specially trained physician members of Clinical Radiologists available to help in performance of the exam.
All radiologists receive extensive training in ultrasound during their residencies. Several members of Clinical Radiologists have additional fellowship level training for special expertise in ultrasound, including general ultrasound, breast ultrasound and use of ultrasound for performing invasive procedures.
What preparation is needed for an ultrasound examination?
For many ultrasound examinations, no special patient preparation is required. For some examinations it is important to be fasting, especially for ultrasound of the abdomen, gallbladder, kidneys, aorta, etc. For pelvic ultrasound and obstetrical ultrasound, you will need to have a full bladder before the exam can be performed.
What happens during the examination?
During the examination, you will lie on a padded table. A warm gel will be applied to the body area to be examined. The sonographer will then move the transducer over the body to acquire images. The transducer is pressed firmly against the skin, but the procedure is generally painless. For some pelvic and obstetrical ultrasound examinations, a specially designed, smaller probe will be gently inserted into the vagina to obtain certain images. For prostate ultrasound a specially designed probe will be inserted into the rectum. These “endocavitary” examinations are generally painless as well.
Although ultrasound examinations are performed by technologists, radiologists sometimes do a brief exam after the technologist. This should not cause alarm and does not mean that there must be a serious problem.
How do I get the results of the examination?
Each examination will be carefully reviewed and interpreted by a radiologist. The report will generally be available to your physician the day of the examination or the next day. The technologist performing the examination will not be able to give you your results.