Ultrasound Scans

Original Editor - Rachael Lowe Top Contributors - Mark Smith, Aaron Bergeron, Hayden Rose, Lucinda hampton, Kim Jackson, Claire Knott, Cindy John-Chu, Tony Varela, Admin and Rachael Lowe

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Ultrasound: An Overview

Not to be confused with Therapeutic Ultrasound, medical ultrasonography uses high frequency broadband sound waves in the megahertz range that are reflected by tissue to varying degrees to produce (up to 3D) images (commonly associated with imaging the fetus in pregnant women). Ultrasonography is generally considered safe imaging with the World Health Organizations saying:

"Diagnostic ultrasound is recognized as a safe, effective, and highly flexible imaging modality capable of providing clinically relevant information about most parts of the body in a rapid and cost-effective fashion".

There are several divisions in which ultrasound can be used as a diagnostic tool. These divisions include cardiovascular ultrasound, abdominal ultrasound, and musculoskeletal ultrasound.

• Cardiovascular Ultrasound - The use of diagnostic ultrasound to view the musculature of the heart as well as arteries and veins throughout the human body.
• Abdominal Ultrasound - The use of diagnostic ultrasound to view the abdominal viscera and the contents within them. This also includes the viewing of fetus in utero.

Musculoskeletal Ultrasound

Musculoskeletal Ultrasound can be defined as the use of diagnostic ultrasound with the intent to view structures of the musculoskeletal system. These structures include muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, and joints. The use of ultrasound to view these structures can be helpful in the diagnosis of musculoskeletal pathologies including, but not limited to, tendinopathies, strains, sprains, tears, and arthritic changes within joint spaces.

Equipment Involved In MSK Ultrasound

• Ultrasound Tower
• Transducer
• Ultrasound Medium
• Diagnostic Screen

This short video gives a animated insight into how US scans work

How to Perform an MSK Ultrasound Scan

The overall process to performing an ultrasound is relatively simple. This is one advantage to using ultrasound for diagnostic imaging. Once you have gathered all necessary equipment, you will want to position the patient in a manner that allows access to the desired area for scanning while maintaining patient comfort. You will then apply a gel medium to the area of choice and place the transducer onto the gel. These steps take place before powering on the machine to prevent from overheating the transducer head. Steps on how to position and manipulate the transducer will be provided in the video below. Once you have completed the ultrasound you will shut off the machine and clean off the gel medium from the transducer and treatment area. Please watch the video provided, to learn more about performing an ultrasound scan.

[Video for set up and performance of an ultrasound scan]

Transducer Movements

[Video of sliding, tilting, rocking, rotating, compressing in real time]

Axis of Visualization

[video of transverse and longitudinal axis of visualization]

Advantages

While it may provide less anatomical detail than techniques such as CT or MRI, it has several advantages which make it ideal in numerous situations

• Studies the function of moving structures in real-time
• Emits no ionizing radiation
• Contains speckle that can be used in elastography
• It is very safe to use and does not appear to cause any adverse effects, although information on this is not well documented
• It is also relatively inexpensive and quick to perform.
• Ultrasound scanners can be taken to critically ill patients in intensive care units, avoiding the danger caused while moving the patient to the radiology department
• The real time moving image obtained can be used to guide drainage and biopsy procedures
• Doppler capabilities on modern scanners allow the blood flow in arteries and veins to be assessed.

Application of Ultrasound in Sports Injury

The ability to make correct ultrasonographic diagnosis in sports injuries is improving as advancing technology allows for high-resolution images in contemporary medical ultrasound. Ultrasonography demonstrates tissue structure with two-dimensional grayscale images. Blood flow in the tissue can be rapidly depicted with colour and power Doppler technique. Ultrasonography is the preferred imaging modality to study soft tissue lesions dynamically. With high-resolution images possible with ultrasonography, injuries of the muscle, tendon, ligament, bursa, bony structure, cartilage, and subcutaneous tissue can be accurately diagnosed (if the examiner is well trained). Recently, compact ultrasound machine machines are becoming increasingly available, leading to prompt ultrasonographic diagnosis of sports injuries on the field.