What is ultrasound?
Ultrasound is a fast, safe, largely side-effect-free and inexpensive examination method. It is technically referred to as sonography. With its help, the doctor can assess many different regions of the body and organs. The examination can be performed on an outpatient basis in a doctor’s office or in clinics. A hospital stay is usually not necessary for this.
When is ultrasound needed?
Sonography is used in medicine for diagnosis and progress monitoring of various diseases as well as for live monitoring of technically difficult interventions. Common areas of application include:
- Examination of the abdominal organs (abdominal sonography), e.g. the kidneys
- Sonography of the thyroid gland
- Ultrasound of the heart (echocardiography)
- Ultrasound of the vessels, e.g. the aorta, carotid arteries or leg veins
- Sonography of the female breast (mammasonography)
- gynecological ultrasound, e.g. for evaluation of the uterus, ovaries and during pregnancy
- ultrasound of the joints, e.g. the hip joint
Abdominal ultrasound
Abdominal ultrasound is used, for example, to assess the condition of the liver, spleen and/or kidneys. Read more about this form of ultrasound examination in the article Abdominal ultrasonography.
Echocardiography
Breast ultrasound
Breast ultrasound may be necessary, for example, to clarify suspicious lumps or other changes in the breast tissue. You can read more about this in the article Mammasonography.
Ultrasound: Pregnancy
You can find out when an ultrasound should be performed during pregnancy and who pays for it in the article Ultrasound: Pregnancy.
What is done during an ultrasound?
Depending on which organs or body region the doctor wants to assess, the ultrasound examination takes place while the patient is sitting, standing or lying down (prone or side position).
First, the doctor applies an ultrasound gel to the transducer and also to the affected area of the skin to create even contact between the transducer and the surface of the body. The ultrasound device sends ultrasound waves into the tissue via the transducer. The patient does not feel any of this. The ultrasound waves are reflected differently by the tissue, depending on its structure.
The transducer intercepts these reflected waves again, and the ultrasound device can calculate an image from them. This is now displayed to the doctor and patient on the monitor. The doctor often shows and explains the findings to the patient directly on the monitor. The physician can print out individual, particularly informative images directly on the ultrasound machine.
Endosonography
You can read about how the ultrasound examination inside the body works and what risks it involves in the article Endosonography.
Doppler sonography
To diagnose vascular stenoses and occlusions, it is necessary to assess the blood flow. This can be done with a special sonographic examination called Doppler sonography.
To find out how this special form of ultrasound works and in which cases it is used, read the article Doppler sonography.
Contrast medium sonography
A further developed form of the conventional ultrasound examination is contrast medium sonography. In this procedure, the patient is initially administered a contrast medium that can be used to better visualize the blood flow to organs and tumors, for example.
The contrast medium used for ultrasound has fewer side effects than that used in X-ray examinations.
3D sonography
With modern ultrasound equipment, the doctor can take three-dimensional (3D) images, on which an entire organ can be seen and evaluated in an overview.
What are the risks of ultrasound?
What do I have to pay attention to during an ultrasound?
After the examination, the doctor will give you a cloth to wipe off the ultrasound gel. If it has come into contact with your clothing, you do not need to worry: The gels commonly used nowadays are very watery and usually do not leave permanent stains on your clothes. There are no special precautions regarding diet, driving or the like for the time after the ultrasound.