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Ever since Ultrasound was introduced in the 1930’s, the applications to assess the health of an individual through medical imaging have only been increasing. Ultrasound is a non-invasive medical imaging technique used to visualize any region of the body.

Ultrasound wave is a cyclic sound pressure which has a greater frequency  compared to the limit of human hearing. The Ultrasound in produced to use in many different fields, typically to percolate a medium and measure the reflection signature or supply focused energy. The reflection signature can reveal details about the inner structure of the medium, a property also used by animals such as bats for hunting.

Most of us know that the utmost well known application of ultrasound is its use in sonography to produce pictures of foetuses in the human womb. Although there are a vast number of other applications as well, it is a fact in psychoacoustics that children can hear some high-pitched sounds that older adults cannot hear, because in humans the upper limit pitch of hearing tends to become lower as humans get older. Some animals like dogs, cats, dolphins, bats, and mice, have an upper frequency limit that is greater than that of the human ear and thus can hear ultrasounds.

Coming to medical sonography ( ultrasonography ), this is an ultrasound-based non-invasive diagnostic medical imaging technique used to visualize muscles, tendons, and many internal organs, to capture their size, structure and any pathological lesions with real time tomographic images. Ultrasound is used to help physicians evaluate symptoms like pain, swelling, infection. The technology is relatively inexpensive and safe, especially when compared with other techniques. Because ultrasound images are captured in real-time, they can show the structure and movement of the body's internal organs, as well as blood flowing through blood vessels.

Some of the uses and advantages of ultrasound are the following.

1. Scanning is non-invasive (no needles or injections) and is usually painless.

2. They are widely available, easy-to-use and less expensive than other imaging methods.

3. The technology uses sound waves and thus there is no danger of exposure to ionizing radiation like in X-ray, CT etc.

4. The scanning gives a clear picture of soft tissues that do not show up well on x-ray images.

5. This is preferred imaging modality for the diagnosis and monitoring of pregnant women and their unborn babies.

6. Ultrasound provides real-time imaging, making it a good tool for guiding minimally invasive procedures such as needle biopsies and needle aspiration.

7.  For standard diagnostic ultrasound there are no known harmful effects on humans.

8. Latest applications include its use in pain relief in muscles as well as stiff arthritic joints

During ultrasound imaging, the ultrasound transducer or an ultrasound probe ( made of piezoelectric crystals ) is placed over the skin over the region to be imaged. Ultrasound waves from the probe are conducted to the body through Ultrasound Coupling Gel. The Ultrasound gel is applied over the patient’s skin at the beginning of the procedure. It is typically clear and thick, but not uncomfortably sticky and doesn’t dribble or drip off when applied. It adheres to the skin lightly until it is wiped off at the end of the procedure. The sound waves thus transmitted into the body strikes on the tissue, and reflect back. The reflected sound waves are again picked up by the transducer and send into the ultrasound machine where specialized software converts it into images.

In olden times, ultrasound images were thin, and flat sections of the body. The recent advancements in this technology include a three-dimensional ( 3-D ) ultrasound that formats the sound wave data into 3-D images and four-dimensional ( 4-D ) ultrasound which is 3-D ultrasound in motion. 4-D is basically used to view a baby and its movements on the screen from the womb.

To get good quality images, the best quality and brand ultrasound medical equipments are necessary. Quality ultrasound equipments such as ultrasound transducers and ultrasound probes undergo a carefully designed quality control process and are guaranteed to be in excellent condition, complete with the best warranty in the industry before they are bought. Ultrasound imaging equipment can provide invaluable information in diagnosis of diseases and conditions. When it comes to Ultrasound equipments, one must not forget the category of Portable Ultrasound Machines. The use of portable ultrasound equipments are on the rise both due the availability of used machines at a fraction of their original cost and due to the huge improvements in portable ultrasound image quality over the last few years. Portable Ultrasound Machines can be carried around without much trouble. These come in use at times where there is an emergency, or a limited area of space, or when it has to be used on the field.