ULTRASOUND

We are very excited to announce the arrival of ultrasound in our practice. Ultrasound has become an important diagnostic tool available to veterinarians. The popularity has increased because it is a simple, non-invasive diagnostic procedure. Here's how it works: Once the ultrasound has been performed the ultrasonographer takes digital images of the ultrasound, x-rays, and even your animal if necessary. She then submits those images along with any cytology results, blood results, physical exam findings, etc. Once your pet's record is complete it is sent electronically to a board certified veterinary internal medicine specialist. A faxed report with diagnosis, recommendations, and treatments is returned to our hospital within 24 hours of submission of the case. Telemedicine services allow you access to specialists without the extra cost, and time it takes to get to a referral center. With ultrasound technology we can:

- get a detailed look at the inside of your pet without doing surgery

- evaluate your pet's organs: such as the heart, kidneys, liver, uterus, bladder, eyes, prostate, and more.

- avoid the use of harmful radiation or drugs, while obtaining painless diagnostic information on your pet.

- obtain a diagnosis and prescribe proper treatment quickly.

What is Ultrasound?
Ultrasound or ultrasonography is a medical imaging technique that uses high frequency sound waves and their echoes. The technique is similar to the echolocation used by bats, whales and dolphins, as well as SONAR used by submarines. In ultrasound, the following events happen: 
The ultrasound machine transmits high-frequency (1 to 5 megahertz) sound pulses into the body using a probe. 
The sound waves travel into the body and hit a boundary between tissues (e.g. between fluid and soft tissue, soft tissue and bone). 
Some of the sound waves get reflected back to the probe, while some travel on further until they reach another boundary and get reflected. 
The reflected waves are picked up by the probe and relayed to the machine. 
The machine calculates the distance from the probe to the tissue or organ (boundaries) using the speed of sound in tissue (5,005 ft/s or1,540 m/s) and the time of the each echo's return (usually on the order of millionths of a second). 
The machine displays the distances and intensities of the echoes on the screen, forming a two dimensional image like the one shown below. 
In a typical ultrasound, millions of pulses and echoes are sent and received each second. The probe can be moved along the surface of the body and angled to obtain various views. 

Preparing your pet for an Ultrasound

The typical ultrasound examination requires no sedation and is easily performed on awake animals. Restricting food for 12 hours prior to the examination will reduce bowel air and improves organ visualization. Your pet's hair overlying the area to be scanned will be clipped. A coupling gel will be placed on the skin surface just prior to the exam process. A typical scan will take 30-60 minutes.

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