Final Flashcards
Transpyloric plane
Level of L1
Subcostal plane
Level of L3
Transtubercular plane
Level of surface of iliac crest
Midaxillary plane
Divides the body into equal anterior and posterior halves
Propagation speed of ultrasound in soft tissue
1540 m/s
Propagation speed of ultrasound in air
331 m/s
Propagation speed of ultrasound in bone
3000-5000 m/s
How do we characterize a structure?
- compare to surrounding structures/tissue
- evaluate contents
- shape and borders
- is it affecting surrounding structures?
- blood flow?
Low attenuation structures usually represent what echogenicity
Anechoic
Anechoic is AKA
Echofree, echolucent, sonolucent
High attenuation structures usually appear
Echogenic
Complex structure
Both anechoic and echogenic areas
Most complex structures are
Malignant
Hypoechoic is AKA
Echopenic, echopoor
Homogenous
Uniform texture, same echoes throughout, same shade of gray
Types of texture
Smooth, rough, coarse, cobblestone
Increased through transmission occurs below a structure that is
Low attenuation, typically anechoic
Decreased through transmission occurs when sound wave is
Attenuated by a solid or calcified structure
Lesion
Abnormal change in tissue of an organ, usually caused by disease or trauma
Nodule
Abnormal swelling or aggregation of cells in the body
How many lobulations are acceptable
3 or less
What are the only two specialty exams that will grant a technologist the credentials of RDMS
Ob/Gyn and abdominal
The normal thyroid should appear
Homogenous, smooth, Isoechoic
SDMS sets
Code of Ethics and Scope of Practice
AIUM creates/regulates
scanning protocols
ACR creates/regulates
scanning protocols/quality assurance
Assault
threat or unsuccessful attempt to injure another causing fear or immediate harm
Battery
Unlawful touching of another person directly or with an object
False imprisonment
Holding or detaining a patient against his/her will
Negligence
Failure to perform in a reasonable manner or to fulfill the expected standard of care
Code of Ethics Principle 1
To promote patient well-being:
- provide info about purpose/risks etc of exam
- respect patient autonomy
- promote privacy, dignity, comfort
- protect confidentiality
Code of Ethics Principle II
To promote the highest level of competent practice:
- proper education, credentials
- adhere to protocols, practice within scope
- continuing education
Code of Ethics Principle III
To promote professional integrity and public trust:
- truthful and appropriate communication
- respect patient, colleague, and your own rights
- promote equitable care
Vascular technology subspecialties
Interventional and Diagnostic & Therapeutic
SDMS Scope of Practice
“The Diagnostic Ultrasound Professional is an individual qualified by professional credentialing and academic and clinical experience to provide diagnostic patient care services using ultrasound and related diagnostic procedures. The scope of practice of the Diagnostic Professional includes those procedures, acts and processes permitted by law, for which the individual has received education and clinical experience, and in which he/she has demonstrated competency.”
What contributes to patient diagnosis? (4 things)
- lab values
- imaging
- patient history
- symptoms
Borders can be described as
- smooth
- well-defined
- irregular
- ill-defined
- thick
- thin
- angular
- spiculated
- lobulated
Cyst appearance
- anechoic
- well-defined/smooth borders
- enhancement
- homogenous
SALT imaging principles
- size
- shape
- acoustic characteristics
- location
- transmission
What is measured in sagittal
length and height
measurement taken in transverse
width
When soundwave echoes are uniformly spaced, it results in
smooth texture
T or F: Hyperechoic structures usually represent a high density tissue
True
Attenuation
The process of soundwave absorption
Spiculated masses
Always malignant, has center which is origin and pulls surrounding tissue in
Small hyperechoic areas are
microcalcifications
Liver metastases appearance
hypoechoic spots that look like leopard spots
Which two conditions can be diagnosed using compression technique
- Murphy’s sign
- DVT
What are imaging presets?
Optimized settings for certain type of exam, also have associated measurement packages
During transmission transducer converts energy in what way
electrical energy into acoustic energy
During reception, transducer converts energy how
Acoustic energy into electrical energy
Imaging preset types
- ABD: ab & renal
- OB
- GYN
- VAS
- UR (urinary): typically for prostate, sometimes bladder
- SMP: small parts (thyroid, testicles, breast)
- PED
Depth
adjusted up & down, eliminates excess posterior info to better center and see structure of interest
Curved transducer frequency
1-5 mHz
Linear transducer frequency
6-15 mHz
Lower frequency is used for
Better penetration for deep structures
High frequency used for
Better resolution for superficial structures
How can you get better images of the posterior field of view/deeper structures?
Increase depth, decrease frequency
What should you do when scanning a larger patient to get better quality images?
Use the curved transducer and lower frequency
Gain
B
Increases the strength of all electrical signals identically, makes whole image brighter or darker
If vessels are appearing gray in your image how can you improve it
Decrease gain so that they appear anechoic
Time Gain Compensation
- creates uniform brightness from top to bottom
- adjustable from anterior to posterior
- corrects differences in echo strengths caused by attenuation (posterior tends to be darker)
Focal Zone
- where concentration of soundwave strength is sent
- position at or below depth of area of interest
- one focal zone should be used to avoid slowing down system and lowering resolution
- sometimes more than one is used in superficial structures
Dual Screen
- can look at two images side by side, measure and compare measurements
- Sag picture (L & H measurements) on left
- Trans image (width) on right
- R & L buttons above freeze
What happens if you push down on depth button
It will flip the orientation of the image
Trackball
- place measurement calipers
- change color doppler box size
- bottom right of screen tells you what the 4 buttons around trackball will do
Sector width
- rotate depth knob
- narrows field of view & eliminates excess info on sides if you are looking at a small area
- improves frame rate & resolution
Color Doppler
- shows bi-directional flow: one color is flow towards transducer, one color is flow away from
Color Power Doppler
- sensitive for slow flowing/small vessels
- non-directional, just evaluates motion and intensity
Pulsed Wave Doppler
- measures velocity of blood flow
- place gate in middle of vessel
- displays a waveform
Compression (control)
- eliminates all reflections that are not useful to the image, reducing the difference between smallest and largest signal
- keeps signals within operating range
- changes the gray scale
Rejection
- eliminates lowest strength reflections
- affects low level echoes but not bright ones
What do red and blue represent on color doppler
- red: flow toward transducer
- blue: flow away from transducer
What controls are adjustable in post-processing?
- annotate, calipers, gain, TGC
- in more modern machines: zoom and sector width
What is a disadvantage of adjusting zoom and sector width in post-processing?
You do not get the same benefits as using them during live scanning such as better image resolution
Abdominal region of the liver
Right hypochondrium and epigastrium
Abdominal region of the gallbladder
right hypochondrium
Abdominal region of the pancreas
Epigastrium
Abdominal region of the spleen
Left hypochondrium
Abdominal region of the stomach
Mainly in transpyloric plane
Abdominal region of kidneys
- Right kidney more posterior to left
- Hilus mainly in transpyloric plane
Abdominal region of great vessels
- midline of body
- aorta to left of midline
- IVC right of midline
Abdominal region of small intestine
Central portion of abdomen
Abdominal region of large intestine
Periphery of abdomen
Abdominal region of appendix
Right iliac
Abdominal region of bladder, prostate, uterus
Hypogastrium
What is the goal of ergonomics
To increase efficiency and productivity and reduce discomfort and injury
Methods to create a more ergonomic environment
- modifying equipment
- reevaluating tasks
- changing the environment for optimal health & safety
What year did sonography related pain and discomfort surface?
1980
Who conducted a research survey in 1985? Who did it survey and what did it find?
- Marveen Craig
- 100 sonographers with 5-20 years experience
Complaints: - stress/burnout
- visual problems
- infections
- allergies
- electric shock
- muscle strains
What was the most common complaint by sonographers?
Sonographer’s shoulder
What is sonographer’s shoulder?
- includes shoulder, elbow, wrist, thumb
- pain, strain, stiffness, carpal tunnel
- worsened by heavy transducers and cables
What were ultrasound machines like before 1980?
Articulated arm scanner, b-mode machines (images made of dots of different brightness)
How did ultrasound change after 1980?
- real time 2D scanners were introduced
- sonographer’s shoulder declined but only for a decade
When was the Occupational Safety and Health Act passed?
1970
What is a work-related musculoskeletal disorder?
Defined by injuries that result in:
- restricted work
- days away from work
- symptoms for > 7 days
- require medical treatment
What are ultrasound WRMSD caused by? What do they cause?
- Aggravated workplace activities (repeated motions)
- Cause inflammation, swelling, deterioration, degeneration
What percent of workplace injuries are WRMSD?
60%
How many sonographers have a WRMSD?
> 80%
What does awkward posture cause?
Imbalances between moving and stabilizing muscles
Consequence of prolonged, static posture
Compression on spine and soft tissues
Consequence of repetitive head and neck rotation
One set of muscles become stronger and shorter and opposite muscles become weaker and elongated
Asymmetric forces cause
Spinal misalignment
Increased pressure on nerves adjacent to affected muscles can cause
Nerve entrapment syndromes
Tendonitis/tenosynovitis
inflammation of tendon/tendon sheath, typically occur together
Carpal tunnel
entrapment of the median nerve through the carpal bones, caused by repeated flexion/extension of the wrist
Thoracic outlet syndrome
Nerve entrapment occurring at different levels of the thoracic cage, from collarbone to border of ribs
Trigger finger
Inflammation and swelling of the tendon sheath, entraps the tendon & restricts finger motion
Bursitis
Inflammation of shoulder bursa from repetitive motioin
Rotator cuff injury
Repetitive motion causes fraying of rotator cuff muscle tendons, caused by increasing age and repetitive abduction of the arm
Spinal degeneration
Vertebral disc degeneration, caused by bending, twisting, and improper seated posture
Features of modern machines that can help reduce WRMSD
- brakes
- adjustable height control panel
- adjustable height, swivel, tilt monitor
- easily accessible controls
- transducer are not too wide or narrow
- lightweight, thin, flexible transducer cords
- cord hooks
Features of exam tables and chairs that improve ergonomics
Tables:
- adjustable height
- brakes
- stirrups
- drop down compartments for gyn exams
Chairs:
- adjustable height & flexion/extension
- wheels
- narrow (less distance from pt)
Proper transducer grip
- Mild pressure
- Limit excess gel
- Use more of hand and less of fingers (no pinch grip)
- Neutral wrist
- Forearm support (table, patient, etc)
What is the main reason for shoulder pain?
Scanning arm abduction
How to improve scanning arm abduction
- Should be < 30 degrees
- Lower table and raise chair
- As close to pt as possible
When you are not using controls you should
Bring your arm back to your lap
Issues with portable scanning
- lack of space
- tubes, lines, cords, catheters
- patient’s can’t move themselves or are positioned in a particular way
- oversized beds
Solutions to help with portable scanning
- inform main desk before entering room
- ask for help
- rotate sonographers