What is ultrasound imaging and how does it work?
Ultrasound imaging, also called an ultrasound scan or sonography, is a method of obtaining images from different organs inside the body. It involves sending very high frequency sound waves via a hand held probe on your skin through the body. These sound waves are reflected off your internal organs. The reflections bounce back to the probe and the computer aprt of the machine creates an image of the organs. Ultrasound images are captured in real time and displayed on a television monitor. Because different tissues and organs send back different sound waves the highly skilled ultrasound practitioner will be able to interpret the images and report on what they see. No x-rays or any type of ionising radiation is involved in ultrasound imaging.
