Ultrasounds are an important feature of technology used in our world today. The medical world uses ultrasounds and x-rays on an everyday bases. Ultrasounds are high-frequency sound waves and ultrasounds also produce sound waves that are beamed into the body causing return echoes that are recorded to visualize structures beneath the skin. Ultrasounds have thousands of different types and help doctors and patients see specific diseases and conditions that they cannot see otherwise. However, even though ultrasounds benefit people, many wonder if ultrasounds may have bad effects too.
Many wonder how do ultrasounds truly work. Ultrasounds are actually more complex than what they seem to be. First, the ultrasound machine transmits high-frequency sound pulses into your body using a probe, and then sound waves travel into your body and hit a boundary between tissues (Freudenrich, 2011). An example of this would be between fluid and soft tissue and soft tissue and bone. After that, some of the sound waves get reflected back to the probe, while some travel on further until they reach another boundary and get reflected, the reflected waves are then picked up by the probe and relayed to the machine. The machine calculates the distance from the probe to the tissue or organ using the speed of sound in tissue and the time of the each echo's return. Finally, the machine displays the distances and intensities of the echoes on the screen, forming a two dimensional image like the one shown below (Freudenrich, 2011).
Ultrasounds have been a part of the medical world since the 1940s. The affects of acoustic vibrations on the body were studied as early as the 6th century. Then, ultrasound gained widespread acceptance as a therapeutic trea...
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..., and as technology has improved, the machines have become smaller, portable and available for use at the patient's bedside.
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Diagnostic medical sonography is a profession where sonographers direct high-frequency sound waves into a patient’s body through the use of specific equipment to diagnose or monitor a patient’s medical condition. As described by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this examination is referred to as an ultrasound, sonogram, or echocardiogram. The high-frequency sound waves emitted from the handheld device, called a transducer, bounce back creating an echo and therefore produce an image that can be viewed on the sonographers computer screen. This image provides the sonographer and physician with an internal image of the patient’s body that will be used in the diagnosis. The most familiar use of ultrasound is used in monitoring pregnancies and is provided by obstetric and gynecologic sonographers, who also provide imaging of the female reproductive system. Other types of sonography include; abdominal sonography, breast sonography, musculoskeletal sonography, neurosonography and cardiovascular sonography. Due to the vast nature of uses in sonography, most professionals study one field that they choose to specialize in. Diagnostic medical sonography is a rapidly growing field because of the increase in medical advances. The area of Cleveland, Ohio has continued to rise in the medical field with great strides, providing better career prospects with the availability of numerous employment positions.
Stethoscope functionality generally has not changed over the past few decades evolving from the monaural hollowed out wooden tube first invented in the early 1800’s by Rene Laennec to the more familiar long multi tubular version, improved upon by George Cammann 50 years later, we so typically see today. The core components of a modern stethoscope are comprised of ear tips, binaural piece, tubing and a diaphragm with a bell on the back. The bell transmits low frequency waves all the way up to the ear pieces, while the diaphragm is designed to carry the higher frequency sound. The two fathers of the stethoscope left little room for improvement on the near perfect design for just over a century until a Harvard Medical School professor by the name of David Littmann turned the simple listening device into the versatile diagnostic tool resting around almost every health care professional’s neck today.
Do diagnostic Medical Sonographers actually help begin a new life? Yes, according to researchers they do help patients indicate any problems that there may be and what may be expected. This essay will talk about Diagnostic Medical Sonographers and everything it takes to become one and how to become successful as well as why they are important to our global community. Sonographer’s are also known as ultrasound Technicians, they are very important in the medical field because they help patients and physicians diagnose and treat diseases as well as other medical information. The following paragraphs will talk about the information of the Salary and also the Job Responsibilities. With the technicians continuously providing
I’m very interested in going to school and studying to be an ultrasound technician. This position varies depending on what location you work at. In a hospital setting it can vary anywhere from looking at the stomach,heart,liver,joints,muscles,tendons and blood vessels. How the ultrasound machine (sonogram) works is it’s high rate sound waves to detect what’s going on in the body, not only on humans but a lot of different living organisms depending on the situations.
The amount of career opportunities involved with the profession are endless. Virtual Job Shadow estimates that there are about 75,000 Ultrasound Technicians in the world and half are working in hospitals. By far, hospitals are the most common employers for sonographers but doctor’s offices are not too far behind. Labs, rehabilitation centers, and nursing homes are other establishments that Ultrasound Technicians can be found. These jobs are highly competitive and they demand a high level of attention and accuracy. As medical careers flourish, needs for technicians in many fields of medicine are increasing. Instead of a doctor choosing complex and risky surgery to find out problems within the body, they can now choose a safer path; the ultrasound path. Patient’s history and physical evaluation are building blocks to diagnostics but ultrasounds are much greater. While the field of Ultrasound Technology is a popular in the health care industry, there are still a fairly small number of people in the
Sound is localised to the ear by the pinna, travelling down the auditory canal, vibrating the eardrum. The eardrums vibrations are then passed down through the ossicles, three small bones known as the hammer, anvil and stirrup that then transfer the vibrations to the oval window of the cochlea. The cochlea is filled with fluid that when exposed to these vibrations stimulate the sterocilia. This small hair cells "wiggle" along to certain frequencies transferring the vibrations into electrical impulses that are then sent to the brain. If the ear is exposed to noise levels of too high an intensity the sterocilia are overstimulated and many become permanently damaged . (Sliwinska-Kowalska et. All,
waves were reflected back to the transducer as they crossed interfaces of different acoustic impedance. More simply, the ultrasound bounced off the
They usually work a regular 40-hour week, and some can work overtime. Techs who work for a medical lab that serves in-home clients may also have to travel to perform certain duties for work. Sonographers spend much of their day moving around from room to room in a medical setting or in various patient care settings. They usually wear scrubs and tennis shoes because of the environment they are in. They spend much of the typical day on their feet. Techs also commonly have to lift or move the imaging equipment themselves or with other care providers. Ultrasounds are often completed in dim or darkly-lit rooms to allow for easier on-screen visibility of images. While techs often get to share in the joy of pregnancy when completing ultrasounds, they also periodically experience the stress of patients and family members struggling with health
The current demand is high for sonographers throughout the United States and abroad. It has been shown that the demand for sonographers will continue to increase well into the future. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the employment in the field of Medical Sonography is predicted to grow 45.5% between 2010 and 2020. The growth is among the fastest rates in all healthcare jobs. As a result, as the demand grows for sonographers, so will the salaries (BLS). The attractive salaries and flexible work hours, as well as the diversity of options available and the lack of geographical limitations on employment opportunities, make Ultrasound an attractive career field (BLS). Most employers prefer to hire diagnostic imaging workers with professional certification. Also many insurance providers and Medicare pay for procedures, but only if certified. According to the BLS, Medical Sonography is on its list of the best jobs of 2013. Medical Sonographers can get promoted by certifying in more than one area in ultrasound or having more work of experience being promoted to a supervisor. Anywhere you go this job has a high demand and a fast rate. Due to population hospitals, facilities, or offices will always need medical
To understand what an echo is, you first have to understand what sound is. In Webster’s Fourth Edition College Dictionary, sound is “vibrations in air, water, etc. that stimulate the auditory nerves and produce the sensation of hearing.” Vibrations through the air can be thought of as oscillation of molecules. As the molecules oscillate, they pass energy on to surrounding molecules, and those molecules pass energy on to other surrounding molecules. This is how sound travels, and the oscillation of the molecules is often referred to as sound waves.
In general, ultrasound waves produced by an instrument called transducer are sent into a patient. Some of the waves are absorbed, but the other portion of these waves are reflected when tissue and organ boundaries are encountered. The echoes produced by the reflected waves are then picked up by the transducer and translated in a visible picture often referred to as ultrasound. In the paragraphs that follow, the physics of how the transducer functions, what the ultrasound waves do, and how the image is formed will be explained.
Ever since I was a young girl, I’ve always known that I wanted to be in a career that involved helping people. I believe that entering a career as a Diagnostic Ultrasound Technician will help me fulfill my desire to help others. I have come to realize the great importance that early detection plays in the medical field. Early detection is key to fixing a problem before it gets worse.It would be extremely fulfilling to have a career that may potentially stop a small health issue from becoming a life-threatening illness. Being an Ultrasound Technician and performing diagnostic sonograms will help me to detect any medical issues a patient might be unaware of so that a physician can properly diagnose and treat the patient early and effectively.
Audiology is the study of hearing as it is involved in communication. I am currently studying Audiology at Southeastern Louisiana University. To pursue a career in this field, one of the most important tools needed is audiology equipment. One of the tools I will need and will begin to use as an undergraduate is an Otoacoustic Emissions Hearing Screener. Otoacoustic Emissions are sounds given off by the inner ear when the cochlea is stimulated by a sound. These vibrations begin the process of perceiving sounds. People who have normal hearing produce emissions. Inner Ear health is very vital to one’s overall health and can be indicators for medical illnesses, abnormalities, speech and language difficulties, and possible disorders
Music-induced hearing loss is associated with many risks. Listening to loud music has been attributed to a vast array of problems. According to Strasser “Noise-induced hearing loss continues to be the most common occupational disease in industrialized countries.” (Strasser, Chiu, Irle, & Wagener, 2008). One reason listening to loud music for an extended period of time puts people at risk for hearing loss is because it causes damage to and even loss of the hair cells in the Organ of Corti that essentially are responsible for the sensation of hearing (Zhao, Manchaiah, French, & Price, 2010). These hair cells will regenerate after some damage b...
Initially, my area of interest was directed towards diagnostic sonography, however, this area of study was not