History of Diagnostic Medical Sonography

This set of flashcards covers key terms and concepts related to the history and applications of diagnostic medical sonography.

Ultrasound

Sound frequencies beyond the range of normal human hearing, specifically greater than 20 kHz.

Sonography

The diagnostic imaging application of ultrasound.

B-mode

Brightness modulation used in ultrasound to present 2D images of echo-producing interfaces.

M-mode

A technique that adds a continuous moving display of returning echoes, used to evaluate the motion of heart valves.

Doppler Ultrasound

A technique used to assess blood flow and velocity via the Doppler effect.

Grayscale Imaging

A technique that displays images in shades of gray, depending on echo intensity, used in ultrasound.

ARDMS

American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography, an organization responsible for certifying medical professionals in sonography.

Technician

A person with 6 weeks to 6 months of education beyond high school, involved in ultrasound.

Technologist

A specialist in technology, with more education and training than a technician.

Sonologist

A physician who interprets ultrasound studies.

Lithotripsy

A medical procedure using ultrasound at high power to break up stones in the gallbladder or kidneys.

Echolocation

A technique employed in sonar devices to detect objects underwater, originally developed for submarine detection.

Coupling Agent

A substance used in ultrasound to improve transmission of sound from the transducer to the skin.

Transducer

A device that converts one form of energy to another; in sonography, it converts electrical energy into sound waves.

Real-Time Imaging

The capability of ultrasound to create continuous images of motion in the body.

Portable Ultrasound Systems

Compact ultrasound machines enabling usage in diverse settings, including remote locations.

Normal Human Hearing

20 hertz [Hz] and 20 kilohertz [kHz]

Used in physical and occupational therapy to

increase blood flow to help speed up the healing process and to create a warming in the tissues

Jacque and Pierre Curie (1880)

Piezoelectric effect: allowed the construction of transducers to generate and receive sound waves in water

Paul Langevin (1915)

Invented a sonar type device that used echolocation to detect submarines

Ludwig (1940s)

Detected gallstones

Wild

◦ First to use ultrasound to detect tissue thickness

◦ Pioneer in the development of early internal scanners

◦ Constructed an early prototype breast scanner with engineer John Reid

Wild and Reid’s B-mode (brightness modulation) techniques used

2D presentations of echo-producing interfaces.

Edler and Hertz (1953)

• Explored the use of ultrasound in the heart using a technique that

added a continuous moving display of the returning echoes (M-

mode) to evaluate the motion of the heart valves

Ian Donald

• Credited with discovering the first diagnostic applications of

ultrasound

• Refined techniques for obstetric procedures

• Discovered importance of a full bladder to visualize pelvic structures

Holmes, Wright, and Meyerdirk (1962)

Developed the first compound contact B-mode scanner

Kossoff

developed a new type of scan converter that could process the

returning echoes and display them as different shades of gray,

depending on their intensity, and grayscale imaging was born

Wilcox

founded Advanced Diagnostic Research (ADR) Corporation

By mid-1980s, new and improved real-time equipment became

available and started to replace the

Static B- Scanners

Baker

designed several sophisticated, implantable flowmeters

Baker, Rushmer, and Franklin

developed a small, hand-held, portable, continuous-wave Doppler device for

transcutaneous use

Strandess

developed noninvasive measuring of the peripheral vascular system; his 1967 publication assigned particular waveforms to specific disease conditions.

Baker and Watkins

developed first pulsed Doppler unit (1970)

The Seattle group

first pulsed-Doppler scanner capable of combining with 2D gray-scale imaging (1974)

Japanese researchers

color-flow mapping techniques

• Demonstrate that tissue vascularity increases in the presence

of malignant conditions