The Radiation-free Option: Applications of Ultrasound in Modern Medicine

Application of Ultrasound Imaging in Modern Medicine explained by PostDICOM

The ultrasound is an imaging technology that is even older than traditional X-ray imaging. However, it was adapted for use in the medical field much later. Its first recorded use is in obstetrics in the 1950s. Since then, the use of ultrasound has expanded to cover other areas of medicine, and ultrasound medical imaging technology has made several advances over the years. This article discusses the progress of ultrasound over time and how it is being used in healthcare today.


How does the ultrasound imaging device work?

As the name suggests, it works by employing sound waves. Ultrasound imaging devices generate high frequency sound waves, usually between 1 to 5 MHz. These sound waves are transmitted into the body using a handheld probe. The sound waves travel uninterrupted inside the body, until they hit the interface between two tissues (for example, between muscle and bone or between fluid and soft tissue). Depending on the kind of tissue present, the sound waves may either get reflected back or continue to travel further. The waves that are reflected back (called echoes) get relayed back to the ultrasound imaging device. Based on the time of each echo’s return and the speed of sound in the tissue, ultrasound medical imaging device calculates the distance between the probe and each structure. The distance and intensity of all the echoes is transformed into a two-dimensional image which appears on the ultrasound imaging screen.


How does ultrasound compared with other medical imaging modalities?

Application of Ultrasound Imaging in Modern Medicine explained by PostDICOM

The biggest advantage of ultrasound is that unlike most other imaging techniques, it does not use ionizing radiation. It is, therefore, safe for patient populations who are susceptible to the effects of radiation exposure, like pregnant women and children. It captures soft tissues much better than X-rays and CT scans, and is ideal for viewing internal organs. During the same sitting, multiple imaging planes can be obtained without changing the position of the patient; just moving the handheld probe suffices. In addition to the fact that it does not use radiation, another key advantage to the use of ultrasound in medical setups is the low cost. It is far less expensive than CT scans and MRI imaging.

On the other hand, traditional ultrasound cannot provide the detailed imaging accuracy that is available with advanced techniques, such as the CT scan. It cannot adequately visualize bone and hard tissues. The ultrasound imaging session takes longer than other imaging modalities. While a CT scan can be obtained in 30 seconds, an ultrasound would take 15 to 30 minutes.


How is ultrasound used in medical imaging?

A medical ultrasound imaging system can be used to visualize the structure of any of the body’s internal organs in real-time. By applying the Doppler effect (which is a change in the frequency of sound as the object moves towards/away from the source), the flow of blood through vessels can also be tracked. A few applications of ultrasound medical imaging are listed below:


What are the recent advances in ultrasound medical imaging?

Manufacturers of ultrasound imaging equipment have always strived to overcome the limitations of the traditional ultrasound. This has led to several innovations. There has been an improvement in the ultrasound imaging system itself, including better hardware and transducer systems. Ultrasound diagnostic imaging system manufacturers have worked hard to achieve improvements in the acquisition, storage and interpretation of ultrasound /images. Some of the notable advancements in ultrasound imaging that have led to significant advancements in healthcare are discussed below:

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What does the future hold? “Ultrasound on a chip”

Application of Ultrasound Imaging in Modern Medicine explained by PostDICOM

The traditional transducer probe (which makes use of piezoelectric crystals) may be on its way out. Researchers and entrepreneurs have found a way to incorporate artificial intelligence on to a microchip, which forms the new transducer probe. This sleek, handheld probe can simply be attached to the user’s smartphone and /images can be viewed on the device. The “ultrasound on a chip” brings down hardware costs and can also be used to monitor patients at home.

Get the best of modern ultrasound imaging with state-of-the-art DICOM viewing software

With today’s modern digital ultrasound diagnostic imaging system, physicians also require high quality image viewing software so that the ultrasound /images can be viewed with high resolution and clarity. With the advent of the DICOM standard, all acquired digital ultrasound /images are stored in the DICOM format. So, the software must be capable of reading and editing /images in this format. An ideal software would also allow physicians to obtain information from the /images through various techniques, such as volume rendering and reconstruction. The software would enable image fusion. This means that the ultrasound image can be superimposed on another imaging modality, such as the CT scan. This allows medical experts to gain anatomical orientation as well as functional assessment at the same time.

It is also essential for the image viewing software to be combined with an equally efficient storage system. This is because digital ultrasound /images need ample storage space, and you would need a server that allows you to accommodate several imaging files from patients. Such a storage system can allows you to retrieve those files from the archive when required.

PostDICOM online DICOM viewer: Superior viewing of ultrasound /images—for free

PostDICOM offers a free multimodality online DICOM viewer, which serves all the purposes discussed above. It comes with advanced features such as volume rendering, 3D reconstruction, and length, density and angle measurements. You can save images to retrieve or view them later! Compatible with Windows, Mac OS, Linux and Android systems, you can view your ultrasound /images from any device, at any time. Signing up to use PostDICOM’s online viewer is hassle-free. So get your free DICOM viewer today!

Notebook PostDICOM Viewer

Cloud PACS and Online DICOM Viewer

Upload DICOM /images and clinical documents to PostDICOM servers. Store, view, collaborate, and share your medical imaging files.