Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month - Seeing with Sound

While many of us are familiar with the use of medical ultrasound during pregnancies; many are unaware that an ultrasound can be used throughout all stages of life, and for a variety of medical reasons.

Echocardiograms are ultrasound images of the heart, while sonograms are ultrasound images of other body parts such as; the abdomen, pelvic, thyroids, scrotal, and breasts. Ultrasound is able to aide doctors during medical procedures by giving them “eyes” to view their area of interest within the body. In addition, ultrasound is more cost effective than other imaging methods, and is often called to take on a first look before more invasive and involved studies are ordered.

To create images of organs and structures inside the body, an ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves along with the help of a transducer that emits short bursts of sound which bounce off a structure, and then return to the transducer. These exams are very safe and non- invasive which means that there is no use of needles, dye, radiation or anesthesia, just a simple gel placed on the skin for transmission of the sound waves. Those images are then processed by a computer and reviewed by a radiologist.

At Atlantic General Hospital, ultrasound exams are performed by highly skilled ultrasound professionals. These sonographers have completed extensive, specialized education in the field of diagnostic medical ultrasound and have received or are eligible to receive certification from The American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS).

Atlantic General Hospital’s Imaging Department offers a full array of ultrasound diagnostic testing. Patients are encouraged to take an active role in becoming more informed about the diagnostic exams that are being requested by their doctors,

For more information please visit www.atlanticgeneral.org/imaging.