Ultrasonagraphy Flashcards
What is ultrasound?
Sound waves with frequencies higher than the human audible range.
What is the upper limit of ultrasound?
- Considered to be approximately 20kHz
Why is ultrasound preferred to infrasound?
Infrasound is too low for us to hear.
How has ultrasound developed?
There is more bedside ultrasound since the development of machines.
What is the pulse-echo principle (how does an ultrasound work)?
- The ultrasound probe emits a sound wave and then to receive the echoes from the original wave. It happens multiple times a second.
- Whenever the ultrasound wave passes through a tissue boundary, it can be reflected or will pass through and continue propagating.
- Adjacent tissues with varying densities will reflect more of the sound wave, adjacent tissues with similar densities will reflect less.
- This allows us to form images representing the intensity, depth, and position of something within the body e.g. air in lungs creates a poor image.
What is the colour scale of ultrasound?
It is greyscale. When ultrasound hists something dense, it is sent back as white colour. If it hits fluid, less matter for reflection so darker (black) area.
What is the clinical applications of ultrasound? Sonography
- Abdominal
- Urinary
- Trauma -POCUS
- Testicular
- Breast
- Head/Neck
- Vascular
- Cardiology
- Musculo-skeletal (MSK)
- Lungs
- Obstetrics
- Gynaecology
What are the benefits of ultrasounds?
- No radiation
- No documented side effects in humans
- Usually non-invasive
- Widely Accessible
- Results can be often available immediately - bedside
- “Real-Time” Imaging
- Well tolerated
What are the negatives of ultrasounds?
- No known side effects
- Ultrasound image quality is highly dependent on patient habitus
- Training is more resource-intensive for departments compared to other modalities
- Effectiveness and accuracy are highly operator dependent
Why is it important to have a selection of transducers?
- Increased choice of technical variables allows for optimisation of your image.
- There is a choice over sector width, scan depth (Resolution), patient habitus, field overview.
What is the major advantage of ultrasound over X-ray/CT in obstetric imaging?
- All women in the UK are offered ultrasound screening during pregnancy (12/20 weeks)
- If scans are not needed, they are not given.
Describe the 12 weeks obstetric ultrasound
- The fetus is shown to be approx. 45-84 mm in length (11 +2 weeks - 14 weeks)
- First routine scan offered to most low-risk pregnancies
- Detects “viability”, number of fetus’, gross anatomy, detectable major abnormalities, the morphology of ovaries.
- Gives an accurate gestational age of the fetus
- Plan the rest of the pregnancy dates
What is anencephaly?
Not correct formation of the skull
What is an omphalocele?
Herniation e.g. of organs etc
What is the body stalk defect?
Occurs in 1:14-30,000
- All of the organs herniate and there is the lower prognosis of this
What is the survival rate of someone with a cystic hygroma?
10% survival rate
What is the risk of miscarriage after 12 weeks in someone with a blighted ovum/missed miscarriage?
The risk is very low at 12 weeks
What is Down’s syndrome?
It is a change in one of the genes in the egg before it is fertilised by the sperm (at the time of conception). This is usually a completely random happening, though it is more common in older mothers. Throughout the world, the frequency of DS is about 3 per 2000 births.
What is nuchal translucency?
It forms part of the lymphatic system and is screened in fetal development to measure the size of the nuchal pad at the nape of the fetal neck. It should be performed between 11 weeks and 13 weeks + 6 days.
What are the futures of testing for down’s syndrome?
Non-invasive prenatal testing
What is the purpose of the 20-week scan?
To identify abnormalities that may indicate the baby has a life-limiting condition, may benefit from antenatal treatment and may require early intervention following delivery.
What are the other standard aims of the 20-week scan?
- Placenta Localisation
- Fetal Biometry
- Fibroid Monitoring
- Liquor Assessment
What is placenta localisation?
This is when the placenta sits over the cervix which isn’t desirable
Which parts are checked in the obstetric ultrasound?
- Skull -> measure head and look at brain specifically the cerebellum
- Bones to look at femur length and abdominal circumference
- The stomach has fluid that may show amniotic fluid in a baby
- Looking to see there is no cleft lip