Ultrasounds Specialist

What's an Ultrasound?

Ultrasound -- also called sonography -- is an imaging technology that allows medical professionals to see structures inside the body. It uses high-frequency sound waves of the same sort of technology used in radar. A thin layer of gel is applied to the skin or a body opening and a transducer or probe is moved over the gel. The gel allows the ultrasound waves to be transmitted into the body, where the waves reflect off body structures.

What is Ultrasound Used For?

Like other imaging technologies, ultrasound is used to help medical professionals evaluate, diagnose and treat various medical conditions. An ultrasound might be used to show how dense the bones are, to visualize the tissues and organs inside the abdominal or pelvic cavity, or to view the heart and blood flow in various blood vessels. The best-known use is fetal ultrasound, which allows visualization of a baby inside the uterus. Ultrasound may also be used to help guide a physician performing an invasive procedure like a joint injection.

What are the Advantages of Ultrasound?

Unlike X-rays, which tend to show solid structures like bone very clearly but other tissues less well, ultrasound is able to show details of tissues, organs, and bones. Ultrasound is non-invasive, unlike other imaging procedures that require the administration of a special dye into a patient's blood vessels and does not produce ionizing radiation like an X-ray. Images from ultrasound are produced in real time, which allows the physician to actually see organ movements like the heart or blood flow through the blood vessels.

What are the Types of Ultrasound?

Ultrasounds may be used on nearly any part of the body. At AFP Associates, there are various ultrasounds available such as, heart and blood vessel ultrasounds that examine blood vessels in the neck or extremities (arterial and venous Doppler ultrasounds). AFP Associates also uses cardiac echo ultrasounds to look at the blood flow through the heart and major blood vessels like the aorta and iliac arteries. Ultrasound is also used to visualize the thyroid gland and structures in the abdomen like the kidney, liver, and gall bladder. Musculoskeletal ultrasounds help diagnose joint and muscle problems.Bader Iqbal, MD, is a family medicine specialist who offers primary care services to people of all ages; serving the Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks area of Southern California.