There are many different medical procedures used to help diagnose and heal patients, but very few of them can actually do both. While the exact techniques will vary somewhat, medical professionals use ultrasound technology on a daily basis to help locate health problems and treat them. It’s versatile because high frequency sound waves can be applied in numerous ways. Understanding the different uses for ultrasounds can help you decide if it’s a field you may want to enter.
Diagnostic Medical Sonography
By far the most common application for ultrasounds is that of diagnostic medical sonography. Using high frequency sound waves to create visual images of organs, muscle, tissues, and other parts of the body, physicians can use sonography in nearly every field of medicine.
- Obstetrics is a field that is most closely associated with sonography since ultrasounds are used to look at fetuses while still in the womb in order to track growth
- Anesthesiology utilizes sonography to help guide the anesthesiologist during delicate procedures such as the numbing of areas of the body very close to nerves
- Gastroenterology relies on ultrasound technology constantly to take a look at various aspects of the digestive system such as the gall bladder or liver
- Cardiology uses diagnostic medical sonography frequently since it can show detailed images of the heart and allow physicians to check for abnormalities
- Vascular sonography can show physicians which direction blood is flowing in and what its velocity is
There are also numerous other diagnostic uses for ultrasound technology
Therapeutic Sonography
Therapeutic sonography uses high frequency sound waves to treat a number of different conditions.
- High frequency ultrasound technology is often used to break apart large kidney stones to make it easier for the patient to pass them
- It is also relied on to help remove tumors and cysts by blasting them with sound waves which causes them to heat up rapidly
- Dentists use ultrasound technology to clean teeth
- It’s used occasionally in cataract treatment
- It may also be able to stimulate bone growth in patients who need it
Obviously, sonography is used for much more than just looking at unborn children. It’s a wide and varied field that is used daily by all branches of medicine. Because of this, it is the most commonly used medical diagnostic tool. Entering the field will allow you to complete a wide range of different tasks and provide you with rewards unmatched in other fields.
