History of Ultrasound

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to the history and technology of ultrasound as discussed in the lecture notes.

Infra sound

Sound that occurs below 20 Hertz.

Ultrasound

Sound that occurs above 20,000 Hertz.

Diagnostic Ultrasound

Ultrasound used for diagnostic medical purposes, typically in the frequency range of 1-30 Megahertz.

Therapeutic Ultrasound

Ultrasound used for therapy, typically in the frequency range of 1-3 Megahertz.

A-mode

The most basic form of ultrasound displaying the distance between the transducer and a structure on a time axis, producing amplitude spikes.

B-mode

A method of displaying echo intensity by varying the brightness of dots, leading to the creation of 2-D images.

M-mode

Motion mode ultrasound that tracks the motion of a structure, displaying a series of B-mode dots over a moving time base.

Doppler ultrasound

A technique to determine the velocity or frequency of blood flow using the Doppler effect.

Currie Brothers

Inventors of the piezoelectric effect in 1880, which made ultrasound technology possible.

Karl Dussik

The first to use ultrasound for medical purposes in 1942 at the University of Vienna.

Real Time Scanning

Dynamic scanning technique introduced in 1973, capturing images quickly enough to simulate movement.

Gray Scale

A B-mode image displaying multiple shades of gray, allowing for differentiation between soft tissues.

Bi-stable imaging

A B-mode image represented by a white or black dot with no soft tissue differentiation.

Contact Scanning

Refers to the method of having the transducer come in direct contact with the patient, transitioning from water bath methods.

Static Scanning

A scanning method that was used before real-time capabilities became standard.