P4d-Ultrasound Flashcards
What is ultrasound?
A longitudinal wave
A sound with a higher frequency that we can hear
What is a wavelength?
A full cycle of the wave
What is frequency?
How many complete waves there are per second
What is a compression?
A region of higher pressure
What is a rarefaction?
A region of lower pressure
Why cant we hear ultrasound?
The frequency is higher than the upper threshold of human hearing (20,000 Hz)
What are the vibrations like in a longitudinal wave?
The vibrations are along the same direction as the wave is travelling
What are the vibrations like in transverse waves?
The vibrations are at 90 degrees to the direction pf travel of the wave
How is ultrasound used in body scans?
The waves pass through the body then are reflected back from different layers at different times from different depths
How is ultrasound used in breaking down kidney stones?
- Ultrasound beam concentrates high energy waves at kidney stone and turns it into sand like particles
- non invasive
- relatively painless
What are the advantages of using ultrasound rather than x rays?
- able to produce images of soft tissue
- doesn’t damage living cells
