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Path-breaking development in the field of ultrasound technology gives way to miniaturized bedside ultrasound to become a reality - reveals a recent article by clinicians from the Yale University.

The ultrasound technology makes use of the reflections of high-frequency sound waves to construct images which helps the observer to peep into the human body beyond the superficial skin. Sonography has found variety of applications in antenatal care, urology, emergency medicine, gastroenterology etc. With the advances in technology miniaturized ultrasound probes are available, some of which are hand held and can be used in bedside for rapid assessment and diagnosis. Latest advances include endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), in which ultrasound probes attached to the bronchoscope or endoscope enables an operator to view structures beyond the endoluminal area. EBUS is increasingly used in the assessment of the mediastinal structures including nodal metastasis in lung cancer.

Medical ultrasound has gradually grown in usage over the years and currently doctors from wider specialties use them on a routine basis. Sonography was initially used only by the radiologists. Because of its safety profile in pregnant women, it found extensive usage in screening antenatal mothers and gradually obstetricians started using it. Currently various specialties use them for various reasons; for rapid assessment of abdominal and chest pathology in cases of trauma in emergency medicine, for vascular access in intensive care, by pulmonologist for draining pleural effusion, for assessment of kidneys/bladder in urology, in cardiology, in anesthesia, in vascular surgery etc. The growth of its use is found to be the highest among non-radiologists.

The size, shape and the utility of the ultrasound equipment has evolved over the past decades and it has now become more compact, its quality has shown striking improvement and the costs of the equipment have also reduced significantly. The quality of images that the latest, less costly, compact handheld device provides today is far better than those provided by their older counterparts in the past that cost over a 100,000 USD.

This evolution of the ultrasound equipment has lead to the growth of the innovative procedure performed at the bedside viz., point-of-care ultra-sonography which is capable of reducing medical errors, providing real-time diagnosis, act as a substitute for advanced imaging techniques and a less costly mode of diagnosis.  With further growth of the ultrasound technology there will be a pressing need for a better understanding of the ways in which the technology can be used efficiently and the necessity of training all medical students in this essential component of modern clinical care.

Reference:
An article titled “Current Concepts”- by Christopher L. Moore and Joshua A. Copel, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University

For more information, please visit: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-02/yu-bub022311.php

Disclaimer: This article is written by a non-medical professional.