When you take ultrasound waves and apply them to your patient’s skin, the sound waves that are transmitted from your transducer and into your patient’s tissue go through a series of changes. The sound waves can be reflected, refracted, scattered about and also attenuated.
Attenuation is defined as the decrease in wave amplitude (or intensity) due to the mechanical wave interaction with the medium, meaning that it is a measure of how the wave is affected by the medium. (Miele, 43). When looking at ultrasound images there are many different terms that can be used to describe the way the images are. For example, there are five terms alone that can be used to describe the strength of the echo in the image, and we refer to the strength or the type of signal reflection as echogenicity. (Miele, 54). How are the echoes actually produced though? They are caused by reflection. (Martin, 2015). It is important to note while scanning your patient organs if there are any echoes returning back. When there aren’t any echoes returning back there is no reflected signal, and the image is said to be anechoic, literally meaning without echoes. Examples of anechoic images can be of fluids, blood and bile. (Miele, 54).
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Hypoechoic images have less attenuation due to absorption and reflection. You can get a hypoechoic image from scanning some masses and fatty plaque. Since you can have something with low echogenicity you can also have an image with high echogenicity which we refer to as hyperechoic. This means that along with having a significantly different acoustic impedance there is also less attenuation due to absorption but more attenuation due to reflection. Being hyperechoic you will have higher reflected signals which can make something (like fibrous plaque) appear to be brighter than the surrounding tissues. (Miele,
This chapter provides some insight into pulse wave analysis and its relation to arterial diseases. The shape of the arterial pulse wave is an augmentation of the forward traveling wave with the reflected wave. The amount of wave reflection is dependent on the arterial wall properties such as arterial stiffness and is expressed in terms of Augmentation Index. This approach has been studied extensively using various measuring techniques, all of which have respective advantages and disadvantages. The purpose of PWA can be seen in the section describing the medical conditions that affect the wave shape. The discussion is included to assist the reader in understanding the purpose of pulse wave analysis.
waves were reflected back to the transducer as they crossed interfaces of different acoustic impedance. More simply, the ultrasound bounced off the
Diagnostic medical sonography is where sonographer coordinate high-recurrence sound waves into a patient's body using particular gear to analyze or screen a patient's restorative condition. As portrayed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, some other branches of diagnostic sonography consist of: vascular technologist, also called diagnostic imaging workers, operate special imaging equipment to create images or to conduct tests. The images and test results help physicians assess and diagnose medical conditions.
...tance, which creates contrast, and having a Magnetic Resonance Imaging scan, Computed Tomography (CT) scan, or a fluoroscopic X-ray.
In general, ultrasound waves produced by an instrument called transducer are sent into a patient. Some of the waves are absorbed, but the other portion of these waves are reflected when tissue and organ boundaries are encountered. The echoes produced by the reflected waves are then picked up by the transducer and translated in a visible picture often referred to as ultrasound. In the paragraphs that follow, the physics of how the transducer functions, what the ultrasound waves do, and how the image is formed will be explained.
Ultrasounds use the same concepts that allow sonar on boats to see the bottom of the o...
Ultrasound Technicians are very valuable in the world of health care. Also known as Diagnostic Medical Sonographer, an Ultrasound Technician uses special machines and equipment that operates on sound waves to determine or diagnose medical problems for patients. There are specializations within this field in which some individuals explore. For instance, areas of specialization includes but not limited to; pregnancy, heart health, gynecology, and abdominal sonography. Although each specializing branch has its own distinctive function, they all involve probing the body to facilitate doctors with diagnoses.
Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), similar to CT, uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy to provide pictures of blood vessels inside the body. A dye is often used during the procedure to make blood vessels appear clearer. Lastly, a cerebral angiogram may be done. This is an x-ray test, where a catheter is inserted into a blood vessel, usually in the groin or arm, and moved from the vessel into the brain. A dye is also injected.
momentum transfer when air molecules collide. Our ‘subjective impression’ about the frequency of a sound is called pitch. High pitch has high vibration frequency, while low pitch has a low vibration frequency. A pure musical tone consists of a single pitch or frequency. However, most musical tones are “complex summations” of various pure frequencies - one characteristic frequency, called the fundamental, and a series of overtones or harmonics Younger people can usually hear pitches with frequencies from about 20 hertz (infrasonic) to 20,000 (ultrasonic) hertz. We can’t hear above 20,000 hertz or below 20 hertz (ultra and infrasonic waves).
The use of ultrasound has led to a considerable analysis of diverse numbers of health conditions associated with medical procedures. It is for this reason that the New Zealand Medical Journal should consider ultrasound as the best nomination for the most important piece of medical equipment in use. Ultrasound is used to diagnose many types of illnesses such as Appendicitis, Kidney Stones and a variation of cancers.
Astronomer Galileo Galilei observed that the entire universe “is written in the language of mathematics.” As an avid musician, I chose to study the topic of how math applies to music, more specifically how sound waves are transmitted. My passion for music urged me to research the sounds that are made and how they are produced.
Images of human anatomy have been around for more than 500 years now. From the sketches created by Leonardo da Vinci, to the modern day Computed Tomography (CT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan, images have played a great role in medicine. Evolution in medical imaging brought together people from various disciplines such as Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, a collaboration which has further contributed to healthcare as a whole. Modern day imaging improves medical workflows by facilitating a non-invasive insight into human body, accurate and timely diagnostics, and persistence of an analysis.
waves are further divided into two groups or bands such as very low frequency (
In the reading, it claims that theta waves are involved in the process of healing and that by controlling them, the healer can create energies that heal the body. However, theta waves are related to sleep and not healing. According to lecture taught by Huggon (2018), he explains that theta waves have no function in treating the body, but instead, these waves create hypnagogic imagery and hypnic kicks, which indicate the onset of sleep. Therefore, theta waves are part of stage one of the sleep cycle and not part of the healing process as the author claims.