Have you ever wondered who are these doctors who perform your ultrasound? Do you want to become a sonologist but you don’t have any clue about their specialties and training? You need to spend your 5 minutes and you will have comprehensive knowledge about Sonology.
Table of Content
What Is Sonology?
Sonology is the study of different procedures that are carried out by the use of sound waves. In medicine, it’s a discipline in which you get detailed knowledge of different medical procedures that involve sound waves, like medical imaging. A health professional who is specialized in this discipline of medical science is known as Sonologist.
A sonologist uses sound waves imaging techniques to diagnose different diseases in your body. The health specialist has special knowledge to study the internal organs and their abnormalities. The sonologists have a license to provide you with diagnosis, treatment, and suggestions according to the diagnosis related to internal body abnormalities and functioning. The result is in the form of an image, which is known as a sonogram or ultrasound image.
Uses of Sonology
There are many uses of sonology in health sciences. Here are some of the important ones;
- Sonology is very helpful during pregnancy. Fetal ultrasound helps the doctors to monitor the baby during pregnancy. It is also used to view the female reproductive organs like ovaries and uterus during the pregnancy period.
- Another type of ultrasound, that is used to view inside the abdominal region of the body, is known as abdominal ultrasound. This helps in diagnosing any abnormality and disease inside your abdomen.
- Sonology also provides us help in studying bones. Bone sonometry is a type of ultrasound that helps in diagnosing osteoporosis and determines bone density.
- Doppler ultrasound is used to view the blood flow inside the blood vessels.
- An echocardiogram is an ultrasound of the heart. It helps in examining the heart and its overall function.
- During specimen collection for biopsies, ultrasound imaging is also helpful
- For examining the eye, ophthalmic ultrasound techniques are used.
- Ultrasound helps in diagnosing tumor and ascites in your body
- Ultrasound imaging also helps in diagnosing the root cause of pain, swelling, or infection in your body.
- Ultrasound screening of breasts is also helpful in examining breasts.
- Ultrasound also helps in guiding other medical procedures.
- For detecting and treating soft tissue injuries, ultrasound can also be used.
Types of Ultrasound
There are different types of ultrasound procedures. It depends on the type of your body part and the problem for which you are going for ultrasound imaging.
Here are some of the common ultrasound imaging technologies;
- Doppler ultrasound is a special type of ultrasound that helps in taking images of blood flow inside the blood vessels.
- The echocardiogram is used to take images of the heart
- 3D imaging is used to take an image in 3D images
- 4D imaging technique is used to take 3D images in motion
- Transvaginal ultrasound is the type of ultrasound that is used to get images of the uterus, cervix, and ovaries through the vaginal opening. The transducer wand is inserted into the vagina.
- Transrectal ultrasound is done through the rectum and used to diagnose prostate conditions
- Transesophageal echocardiogram is the type of ultrasound in which a transducer is inserted into the esophagus to get better images of the heart.
- Endoscopic ultrasound is the minimally invasive procedure used to examine the walls and other parts of the digestive system and respiratory system. The endoscope is inserted through the mouth and takes images of the different parts of the digestive system and chest.
- Color Doppler is used to taking images of blood flow representing by different colors according to the flow of blood.
- Duplex ultrasound is a non-invasive examination of blood flow through your arteries and veins
Sonology Purpose
The main purpose of sonology is to view inside your body. It helps in diagnosing different diseases like cancer, tumors, heart problems, etc.
Human birth is a very important part of human life. And sonology plays an important role during pregnancy. It helps in diagnosing problems related to the mother as well as to the unborn baby. It detects abnormalities in the fetus. And helps doctors and parents to get prepared for future situations.
Ultrasound also helps in determining any change in organs, tissues, and vessels. It also helps in diagnosing abnormal masses and tumors. In conventional medicine, the health specialists made diagnoses with the help of physical examination and symptoms of the patient. But now ultrasound imaging is the fundamental procedure for most medical conditions.
Sonology Procedure
- The sonology procedure or ultrasound is done with the help of a wand-like device known as a transducer.
- This transducer helps in sending sound waves into the body.
- The sound waves coming back from the body organ are recorded and turn into images on the monitor.
- The first step of the procedure is usually to lie down on the table and exposing the body part that is going to be used for ultrasound imaging.
- The sonologist applies gel on that body part and moves the wand-like transducer on your body.
- Then the image of your internal organs starts appearing on the monitor screen that helps the sonologist to view inside your body. And examine the problem.
- The images are recorded, and a diagnostic report is made by the sonologist.
It usually takes 30-60 minutes for different ultrasound procedures to complete. Your sonologist cleans the gel from your body after the procedure. You can easily find the best sonologist in Lahore via different platforms.
Sonology Equipment
Different types of ultrasound machines are available for the sonologists according to their need. Usually, you can see a cart-like machine in your sonologist’s clinic.
The main five components of almost every sonology equipment are as below;
- A pulsar (transmitter) that emits pulsed echo in brief bursts
- A transducer that helps in converting electrical energy to acoustic pulses and vice versa
- A receiver that detects, compresses and amplifies signals returning to the transducer
- A display like a monitor which displays the signal in the brightness B-mode, the motion M-mode and the amplitude A-mode
- A memory that stores still and video images
Sonologist Vs Sonographer
A sonologist is a medical doctor who helps in diagnosing the disease inside your body by taking images from inside your body through ultrasound technique. The medical health specialist writes a comprehensive report according to the sonograms.
The sonographer is not a medical doctor, rather a health- care worker with expertise in administering a sonographic device for examination and identifying normal anatomy and pathology of the body.
Advantages Of Ultrasound
The ultrasound technique has many advantages. Some of them are as follows;
- It is a less expensive procedure to diagnose any health issue as compared to other diagnostic procedures
- It has no harmful radiations like in x-ray imaging or CT scan (Service in Lahore). That’s why it has no harmful effects of ultrasound when performed properly.
- Ultrasound helps in taking images of soft tissues that are not captured through x-ray imaging.
- It is a painless technique without any pricking of needles, injections, and incisions.
- It is easily accessible to most patients.
Sonologist Ultrasound
Sonologists help you in diagnosing different diseases by performing ultrasounds. If your doctor recommends an ultrasound scan for any of your body parts or organ, you should seek help from the sonologist.
If you are looking for the best sonologist in your city, you are on the right platform! Marham.pk helps you to find the best doctors in Pakistan. Here is the complete detail of the top sonologists in Pakistan.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How can I become a sonographer?
You can become a sonographer by getting a bachelor’s degree in sonography.
Who performs ultrasound?
A sonographer and sonologist can perform an ultrasound.
How do ultrasounds work?
A small wand-like transducer is used, that emits high-frequency sound waves. These sound waves are not audible, but when they bounce off different parts of the body, they create “echoes” that are collected by the transducer and turned into an image on the monitor screen.
Do ultrasound tests vary in nature?
Yes. Ultrasound examinations do vary in nature. They include transvaginal ultrasound, Doppler test, echocardiogram, duplex ultrasound, endoscopic ultrasound, transrectal ultrasound, etc.
What traits are important for a sonographer to be successful on the job?
Effective interpersonal skills, keen knowledge of sonology, passion for your work, and genuine compassion are some of the important traits to be a successful sonographer.
What is the Scope of Practice for Sonographers?
Sonographers have a very vast scope as medical sciences depend on ultrasound images and diagnoses made by these techniques. So, this profession has a very good scope in the medical field.
What does a sonographer do?
A sonographer performs ultrasounds to help other medical professionals to diagnose different diseases. Another important role of this profession is to monitor pregnant women and the unborn child during the pregnancy.
What is the difference between ultrasound and sonography?
Ultrasound is a tool to get images (sonograms) from inside your body. Whereas sonography is the technique with which you use ultrasound tools to diagnose different health conditions.
Is it hard to become a sonographer?
No, it is not hard to become a sonographer. All you need to have a passion for this profession and medical skills.
What is the role of a sonologist?
A sonologist uses an ultrasound tool to diagnose different diseases, monitors the fetus during pregnancy, helps in performing different procedures with ultrasound-guided techniques, finds the exact location of abnormal masses and tumors, etc.
Is Sonologist is a doctor?
Yes, sonologist is a doctor.
What is ultrasonography?
Ultrasonography is a diagnostic technique that uses high-energy sound waves to take images of the tissues and organs inside the body.
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