Ultrasonic
inspection in
metallurgy
ULTRASOUND.
The special sections of science and technique are devoted for resilient waves of
high frequency. A human ear perceives spreading resilient waves in an
environment with frequency to 16 000 vibrations are approximate in a second (Hertz);
vibrations with more high frequency are an ultrasound (beyond the hearing).
Usually an ultrasonic range is considered the frequency range from 20 000 to a
few milliards hertz. Although scientists knew about existence of ultrasound a
long ago, its practical use began comparatively recently in science, technique
and industry. Now an ultrasound is widely used in different physical and
technological methods. Through speed of sound spreading in an environment it is
judged about its physical characteristics. Measurements of speed on ultrasonic
frequencies are made to a high accuracy; hence adiabatic characteristics of
fastrunning processes, values of specific heat of gases, resilient constants of
solids are determined with very small errors, for example.
Flaw
detection. Sounding with ultrasonic impulses is
used and for researches of properties of different materials and production from
them. Penetrate into the solids, such impulses are reflected from their bounds,
and also from different foreign matters in the stratum of investigated
medium, such as cavities, cracks and other, indicating
their location. An ultrasound «check» up the material, not causing
destructions in it. Quality of massive steel forgings, aluminium blocks, railway
rails, welded seam of machines are checked up by such non-destructive methods of
control.
Flaw
detection is presumptive name of non-destructive methods of control of materials
(production); use for finding out violations of entirety or homogeneity of
macrostructure, deviation of chemical composition and other aims. The most
widespread are ultrasonic inspection, X-ray examination, scale inspection,
luminescence flaw detection, capillary inspection, magnetic inspection ,
thermo-electric- and triboelectric flaw detection.
Electro-inductive
fault detection (tokovikhrevaya fault
detection), based on co-operation of the fields of vortical currents, excited
the sensor of fault detector in the controlled detail, with the same sensor.
Allows to automatize control of quality provoloki, pipes and etc at their
production, to assort some materials on brands and other
Ultrasonic soldering. Kavitatsiya, conditioned powerful ultrasonic waves
in metallic fusions and destroying okisnuyu tape of aluminium, allows to conduct
his soldering a tin solder without a gumboil. Wares from the metals soldered an
ultrasound became the ordinary manufactured goods
Ultrasonic
tooling. Energy of ultrasound is successfully used for machine treatment of
details. A tip from littlecarbon steel, executed in accordance with the form of
transversal section of the desired opening (or cavities), is fastened a hard
solder by the end of the truncated metallic cone which an ultrasonic generator
affects (thus amplitude of vibrations makes to 0,025 mm). In a gap between a
steel tip and processed detail liquid suspenziya of abrasive is given (carbide
of the coniferous forest). As an abrasive, but not steel chisel, comes forward
in such method a cutting element, he allows to process very hard and fragile
materials – flowed, ceramics, alniko (Fe–Ni–Co–Al-сплав),
carbide of tungsten, hard-tempered steel; in addition, it is possible to process
openings and cavities of difficult form an ultrasound, because relative motion
of detail and cutting instrument can be not only rotatory.
Ultrasonic
cleaning. An important technological problem is
cleaning of surface of metal or glass from small extraneous particales, fatty
tapes and other types of contamination. Wherein the hand cleaning is too labour
intensive or the special degree of cleanness of surface is needed, an ultrasound
is used. A powerful ultrasonic radiation (creating variable accelerations with
frequency to 106 Hertzs) is entered in a cavitation washing liquid, and collapse
cavitation bubbles blow off from the processed surface undesirable particles. In
industry a lot of different ultrasonic equipment is applied for cleaning of
surfaces of quartz crystals and optical glass, small sensitive ball-bearings,
removing burrs from small details; it is used and on conveyer lines.
Application
in biology and medicine. That an ultrasound
actively affects biological objects (for example, kills a bacterium), is known
already more than 70 years. The ultrasonic sterilizers of surgical instruments
are used in hospitals and clinics. An electronic equipment with a scanning
ultrasonic ray targets finding out brain-growthes and raising of diagnosis, used
in neurosurgery for inactivation of separate areas of brain by a powerful
in-focus high-frequency (about 1000 kgz) beam. But most widely an ultrasound is
used in therapy – at treatment a lumbago, myalgia and contusions, although
until now among physicians there is not single opinion of concrete mechanism of
influence of ultrasound on diseased organs. High-frequency vibrations cause the
internal break of tissues, accompanied, possibly, by a micromassage.
Discovery
and measuring by an ultrasound. Energy of the
acoustic field is determined mainly sound pressure and speed of particles of
environment in which a sound spreads. Usually sound pressure in gases (air) and
liquids (water) has 10-3–10-6 pressure of environment (equal 1 atm at the
level of sea). Pressure of ultrasonic wave exceeds this value in thousands times
and is easily revealed by microphones in air and hydrophones in water. The
special facilities of measuring are developed for a reception and receipt of
quantitative descriptions of ultrasonic radiation, especially on high
frequencies. As waves of compression and dilution in gases and liquids change
the index of refraction of environment, for visualization of these processes
optical methods are created. At the reflection of ultrasound in closed loop
system a standing wave is formed, affecting emitter. In the devices of such type,
named ultrasonic interferometers, a wavelength in an environment is determined
with very high exactness, that allows to get the information of physical
descriptions of environment. Using an intensive ultrasonic beam it is possible
to estimate and measure pressure of ultrasonic radiation, like that, how it is
done at measuring of light pressure. This pressure is related to the power
density of the ultrasonic field and allows by the simplest method to define
intensity of spreading ultrasonic wave.
Application
of ultrasound in non-destructive test. The first
attempts to use an ultrasound for the search of discontinuities in a metal
belong to 1930th years, since
1950th ultrasonic check (USC) becomes very widespread, and for responsible wares
— obligatory. There is a great number of methods of USC, the most often there
is so-called echo-method. In this method the short (1-5 periods) impulse of
ultrasound is sent in the probed object. This impulse is reflected from
discontinuity flaw and acts on a receiving sensor. At the moment of run of
impulse in material it is determined the distance to discontinuity flaw, and on
amplitude -its relative size (more large defects give more loud echo).
Characteristic frequencies of ultrasound, used for UZK, it is 1-10 Mhz.
Electro-inductive
flaw detection (eddy current flaw detection),
based on co-operation of the fields of eddy currents, excited by the sensor of
fault detector in the controlled detail, with the same sensor. Allows to
automatize control of quality wire, pipes and etc at their production, to assort
some materials on brands and other.
Application
of ultrasonic testing on plant of electron-beam metallurgy FIKO
Titanium
ingots are machined before conducting ultrasonic test.
After conducting of complete technological cycle of preparation of
titanium ingots for ultrasonic test remains titanium scrap is given for
production for second remelt of titanium ingots.
The
prepared titanium ingot for
ultrasonic test is placed on a special stand for conducting ultrasonic test.
Experts on carrying out of the ultrasonic control of titanic ingots use modern
devices and the equipment on carrying out of the ultrasonic control of titanic
ingots. All production - titanium bars, titanium
ingots are exposed to ultrasonic test. After carrying out of the
ultrasonic test it is given the special certificates, which certify the
conducting of ultrasonic test of titanium ingot, titanium bars, titanium tanks
and titanium sheets. The ultrasonic test help to avoid
unpleasant moments concerned with presence of blisters and pinholes
internal of as well titanium ingot as titanium ingots, titanium bars and copper
bars, aluminium bars, aluminium ingots. Ultrasonic test is conducted for all
titanium ingot, titanium ingots, machined titanium ingots and hot rolled
titanium bars.
For
manufacture of titanium tubes, titanium seamless tubes, titanium welded tubes it
is uses titanium tubing billet and titanium
tubing billet is ultrasonic tested previously. Ultrasonic test of titanium
tubing billet allows avoiding imperfection producing titanium tubes, titanium
seamless tubes, titanium welded tubes. Titanium tubes and titanium tubing billet
are required conducting ultrasonic test especially. Titanium seamless tubes must
withstand high pressures. For this reason the titanium seamless tubes are
conducted ultrasonic test necessarily.
All
operations concerned with ultrasonic test we are realizing on our plant. On our
plant high-qualified experts for ultrasonic test are working. At present time a
lot of enterprises accomplish ultrasonic test of titanium ingots, titanium bars,
aluminium bars, cupper bars. But many
enterprises could not purchase ultrasonic equipment because of their
expensiveness and conduct ultrasonic test of titanium ingots, titanium bars,
titanium machined bars and titanium hot rolled bars, cupper bars and aluminium
bars and ingots yourselves. In connection with this our plant offer the whole
range of services for conducting of ultrasonic test of titanium ingots, titanium
bars, titanium forgings. The ultrasonic test allows you to certify the quality
of your materials. The ultrasonic test is carrying out on turned titanium ingots,
titanium bars (titanium ingot, titanium bar).Buying titanium ingots and titanium
bars VT1-0, VT6, VT6S or according to ASTM Grade1, Grade2, Ti6AL/4V, Grade5 we
realize ultrasonic test and reflect the conducting of ultrasonic test in
certificate of ultrasonic test conducting on titanium ingots, titanium bars
VT1-0,
VT6,
Grade1, Grade2, Ti6AL4V, Grade5. The grade of titanium bar, titanium ingot doesn’t
mean for conducting of ultrasonic test. The titanium bars could be of the
following grades VT1-0, VT6, VT20, VT22, PT3V, 3M, OT4, VT3-1, VT14, VT16, VT23,
VT25, PT1M, PT7M, alloy 2V, Alloy 5V, Alloy 40, Alloy 14, Alloy 14, Alloy19,
Alloy 37, Alloy 27, TS5, AS5. Our titanium ingots, titanium bars, titanium wire
other titanium materials could be supplied with ultrasonic test as well as
without ultrasonic testing. The ultrasonic testing are especially need for
Titanium ingots, titanium bars VT1-0, VT6, VT20, VT22, PT3V, 3M, OT4, VT3-1,
VT14, VT16, VT23, VT25, PT1M, PT7M, alloy 2V, Alloy 5V, Alloy 40, Alloy 14,
Alloy 14, Alloy19, Alloy 37, Alloy 27, TS5, AS5 since we are carrying out
ultrasonic testing for these titanium ingots, titanium bars.
ULTRASOUND
IN MEDICINE
Ultrasound
or
sonography, in medicine, technique that uses sound waves to study and treat
hard-to-reach body areas. In scanning with ultrasound, high-frequency sound
waves are transmitted to the area of interest and the returning echoes recorded,
study and application of the energy of sound waves vibrating at frequencies
greater than 20,000 cycles per second, i.e., beyond the range of human hearing.
First
developed in World War II to locate submerged objects, the technique is now
widely used in virtually every branch of medicine, the science and art of
treating and preventing disease. In obstetrics it is used to study the age, sex,
and level of development of the fetus and to determine the presence of birth
defects or other potential problems. Its use to determine fetal sex has led to
the widespread abortion of female fetuses in some countries, such as China and
India, where male offspring are more highly valued. Ultrasound is used in
cardiology to detect heart damage and in ophthalmology to detect retinal
problems. It is also used to heat joints, relieving arthritic joint pain, and
for such procedures as lithotripsy, in which shock waves break up kidney stones,
eliminating the need for surgery. Ultrasound is noninvasive, involves no
radiation, and avoids the possible hazards—such as bleeding, infection, or
reactions to chemicals—of other diagnostic methods.
Although
ultrasound has been used in medicine since the 1930's, it is only recently that
these techniques have been widely used and their potential fully recognized.
Medical ultrasonics is now in a period of rapid growth and is on the verge of
making a significant impact on clinical medicine. The field provides challenging
and important engineering problems, which are unique to medicine and biology. It
is an open proving ground to many techniques developed for other applications
and gives inspiration to the development of new technological advances. This
review outlines some of the basic principles of ultrasonics, discusses the
acoustical properties of biological tissues, provides a historical perspective
of the use of ultrasound in medicine, describes ultrasonic techniques presently
used in the clinic as well as those now under development, and reports on the
standardization of medical ultrasonic procedures and measurements.
Ultrasound
is becoming increasingly important in medicine and is now taking its place along
with X-ray and nuclear medicine as an important diagnostic tool. Every day in
thousands of hospitals and medical centers around the world, ultrasound is in
routine clinical use in such diverse body regions as the brain, heart, liver,
kidney, fetal and reproductive systems. In many ways ultrasound is an ideal
diagnostic tool-it is non invasive, externally applied, non traumatic and as all
available data indicate, apparently safe at the acoustical intensities and duty
cycles encountered in existing diagnostic equipment.
There
are many different issues connected with ultrasound medical application. But
anyway the physical mechanism of this phenomenon should include next processes:
the spread of ultrasound in “biological environment” such as human’s body,
the interaction of ultrasound with components of this environment and
measurement and registration of acoustic emission.
Obstetric
Ultrasound is the use of ultrasound scans in pregnancy. Since its introduction
in the late 1950’s ultrasonography has become a very useful diagnostic tool in
Obstetrics.
Currently
used equipments are known as real-time
scanners, with which a continous picture of the moving fetus can be
depicted on a monitor screen. Very high frequency sound waves of between 3.5 to
7.0 megahertz (i.e. 3.5 to 7 million cycles per second) are generally used for
this purpose.
They
are emitted from a transducer
which is placed in contact with the maternal abdomen, and is moved to "look
at" (likened to a light shined from a torch) any particular content of the
uterus. Repetitive arrays of ultrasound beams scan the fetus in thin slices and
are reflected back onto the same transducer.
The information obtained from different reflections are
recomposed back into a picture
on the monitor screen (a sonogram, or ultrasonogram). Movements such as fetal
heart beat and malformations in the feus can be assessed and measurements can
be made accurately on the images displayed on the screen. Such measurements
form the cornerstone in the assessment of gestational age, size and growth in
the fetus.
Ophthalmology
Eye
and orbit ultrasounds
Definition
Ultrasound
imaging equipment allows eye specialists (ophthalmologists) to "see"
the eye in great detail without the pain and risk of exploratory surgery, or the
limitations and uncertainty inherent to traditional visual examination.
Ultrasound is used to detect and diagnose many eye diseases and injuries, to
measure the eye prior to corrective surgery, and directly as a treatment tool.
Purpose
An
ophthalmologist uses ultrasonic imaging to help diagnose the underlying cause(s)
of a patient's symptoms, to assess the general condition of an injured eye, and
to measure the eye prior to corrective surgery. Situations that may call for
ultrasonic imaging include:
·
Excessive tearing or visible infection.
These external symptoms could indicate a serious underlying problem such as a
tumor, an internal infection, the presence of a deeply lodged irritant (foreign
body), or the effects of a previously unrecognized injury. When presented with
general symptoms, ultrasound can speed diagnosis if a serious condition is
suspected.
·
Impaired vision. Fuzzy vision, poor
night vision, restricted (tunnel) vision, blind spots, extreme light sensitivity,
and even blindness can all stem from inner eye conditions ranging from glaucoma
and cataracts, to retinitis, detached retina, tumors, or impaired blood
circulation. Again, high resolution ultrasound can quickly identify causes and
pinpoint their location. A special type of ultrasound, known as Doppler, can
even perceive and measure circulation in the tiny blood vessels of the eye.
·
Eye trauma. The eye can be damaged by
a direct impact or a puncture wound, as a result of a general head trauma, or by
intense light exposure. Even when the cause of injury is obvious, ultrasound can
reveal the exact type, extent, and location of damage, from deformations and
ruptures to internal bleeding, and help to guide emergency care efforts.
·
Lens replacement surgery. Exact
measurement of the eye's optical dimensions with ultrasound greatly improves the
visual outcome for cataract patients receiving permanent synthetic lenses; and
for severely myopic patients receiving implanted corrective lenses.
Ophthalmic
ultrasound imaging is also used routinely to guide the precise placement of
instruments during surgery, and can be used directly for the treatment of
glaucoma and tumors of the eye.
Precautions
Ultrasound
of the eye, properly performed by qualified personnel using appropriate
equipment, has no risks. There is no evidence to suggest that the procedure
itself poses any threat to a healthy eye, or worsens the condition of a diseased
or injured eye.
Description
Ophthalmic
ultrasound equipment sends high frequency pulses of sound into the eye, where
they bounce off the boundaries between different structures in the eye and
produce a distinctive pattern of echoes. This echo pattern is received and
interpreted by a computer to produce an image on a television screen. The time
it takes an echo to return to the receiver corresponds to the depth it traveled
into the eye.
Single
transducer (the sound transmitter/receiver) ultrasound is used to measure
distances within the eye. This is A-mode ultrasound. A linear array of
transducers in a single small probe, B-mode, provides a picture of a cross
section through the eye. Doppler mode ultrasound combines B-mode with the
ability to detect and measure the flow of blood in the tiny vessels of the eye.
As a direct
treatment tool, the vibrations of high intensity A-mode ultrasound can be used
to heat and erode tumors. The same technique can be used to control glaucoma by
selectively destroying the cells which produce the fluid that causes the
internal pressure of the eye to rise.
The
procedure followed in a regular ultrasonic eye examination is relatively simple.
The patient relaxes in a comfortable chair in a darkened room. Mild anesthetic
eye drops are administered and the head is held secure. The ultrasonic probe,
coated with a sterile gel to ensure good contact, is lightly pressed against the
eye as the images are made. The probe may be applied to the eyelid or directly
to the eye, as necessary. The patient feels nothing else, and the whole office
procedure takes about 15 minutes.
Preparation
Preparation
by the patient is generally unnecessary, although under special circumstances an
ophthalmologist may perform pretest procedures. The ophthalmologist and/or
ultrasound technician will conduct all preparations at the time of the test.
Aftercare
Patients may
experience partial and temporary blurred vision, as well as "eye strain"
headaches. These symptoms usually fade within an hour of the procedure, during
which time patients should rest their eyes and avoid all activities that require
good eyesight, like driving.
Risks
Improperly
focused, high-intensity ultrasound could burn and physically disrupt delicate
eye tissue and cause injury. This risk is, however, slight and would arise only
from improper use, or as a potential side effect of tumor or glaucoma treatment.
Normal results
A normal
ultrasound scan would indicate a fully healthy eye. For therapeutic ultrasound,
a normal result would be an improvement in the targeted condition, such as
shrinking of a tumor or lessening of pressure inside the eye of a glaucoma
patient.
Abnormal results
Because
diagnostic ultrasound is generally used to investigate symptoms, the results of
a scan will often be abnormal and they will detect evidence of an underlying
condition.
Internal
investigation
Ultrasound can diagnose ailments, assist in treatments,
and also is a therapy in and of itself. Ultrasound is perhaps the most diverse
technology available today.
Cardiologists
have been using it for decades to
help assess the health of patients' hearts. News of ultrasound spread to the
general public in the 1970s, when obstetricians used it with great frequency to
monitor fetal development. Doctors could learn the size of the fetus, identify
any growth problems or abnormalities. and even give parents a sneak preview of
the baby's sex. At that time, other applications still were only a vision.
Obstetricians frequently use ultrasound to get valuable information, including:
* The number,
size, and age of fetuses in the uterus. Age can be determined by measuring the
length of the fetus or the length of the thigh bone and the circumference of the
head.
* Location
of the fetus or placenta. which is helpful in the delivery of breech babies or
during amniocentesis.
* Fetal
movement, breathing, and heartbeat.
* Amount of
amniotic fluid in the uterus, an aid in the assessment of fetal health.
Recent
improvements in ultrasound's image quality, combined with its ease of use, has
catapulted this technology into almost every branch of medicine. Ultrasound
provides instant displays of organs that are more accurate than other imaging
devices. It identifies organ abnormalities of soft tissue that can not be seen
with X-rays. Most importantly, ultrasound is a noninvasive method that has no
known risks and spares many patients the trauma and pain of exploratory surgery.
One way
physicians use ultrasound to see inside the patient's body is with a procedure
known as pulse-echo imaging. A microphone-like device, known as a transducer. is
moved across the skin over the part of the body the doctor needs to view. The
transducer emits sound waves (ultrasound) that, when they bounce off various
tissues and organs. generate distinctive echoes that are conveyed to a computer.
The computer translates the timing and strength of these echoes into an image of
the internal organs or tissues targeted by the ultrasound beam. The ultrasound
image, or sonogram, usually is viewed on a television screen.
Ultrasound
imaging is an excellent tool for examining organs to check for any internal
abnormalities and probing tissues for tumors, cysts, or abscesses. Unlike X-rays,
sonograms can reveal not only if there is a lump in a particular area, but if it
is likely to be a benign cyst or a solid tumor.
Another form
of ultrasound imaging, known as duplex Doppler, combines imaging and the Doppler,
a device that measures speed of movement of the subject. This produces a
spectro-analysis, or profile of blood flow information, by looking at velocity
direction of flow, timing, and intensity (how many blood cells are moving at any
given time). This type of ultrasound makes use of the commonly observed
phenomenon that sound changes pitch when it strikes moving objects--a train
whistle has a higher and lower pitch as it passes another train. In the body,
Doppler ultrasound can record the changes in pitch as sound waves bounce off
circulating blood or the beating heart. A computer then uses the information to
determine how fast blood is flowing across the valves in the heart.
Ultrasound
can alert physicians to potentially life-threatening situations. For example, a
bulge in an artery detected by ultrasound may signal an aneurysm. Such an
irregularity in a blood vessel wall, if not treated by surgery, ultimately could
burst, resulting in potentially deadly internal bleeding. Blood clots in the
legs can be pinpointed with Doppler ultrasound. If the clot travels to a lung,
the result could be a pulmonary embolism causing immediate death--a major cause
of fatalities among cancer patients.
Dangerous
buildups of plaque in the carotid arteries, on either side of the neck and the
main suppliers of blood to the brain, can be detected by ultrasound. Early
discovery and removal of this plaque can prevent strokes.
In the field
of cardiology, doctors use this form of imaging to help assess the over-all
condition of patients' hearts; in place of an angiography, an invasive, riskier,
and more uncomfortable way of assessing the health of the heart; to determine
the size and shape of the chambers and valves of the heart as it beats,
revealing whether the organ is functioning at optimal condition; and to detect
abnormalities such as tumors, calcium deposits, or an enlarged region of the
heart.
Doppler
ultrasound is used to find clots in veins and assess if artery grafts in the
legs are working properly. Stones in the kidney or gallbladder can be identified
by diagnostic imaging, which also determines whether organs or tissue are
enlarged abnormally. Oversized lymph nodes. For instance, may suggest a
cancerous condition.
If a needle
biopsy is warranted, ultrasound imaging can show physicians where to insert the
needle to extract cells from the abnormal tissue instead of resorting to
surgery. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared more precise needle
biopsy systems whereby a miniature ultrasound transducer is attached to the top
of the needle. From information gathered by the transducer and translated by a
computer, doctors can see on a television monitor exactly where the needle tip
is at all times during a biopsy.
Abdominal ultrasound
Definition
Ultrasound
technology allows doctors to "see" inside a patient without resorting
to surgery. A transmitter sends high frequency sound waves into the body, where
they bounce off the different tissues and organs to produce a distinctive
pattern of echoes. A receiver "hears" the returning echo pattern and
forwards it to a computer, which translates the data into an image on a
television screen. Because ultrasound can distinguish subtle variations between
soft, fluid-filled tissues, it is particularly useful in providing diagnostic
images of the abdomen. Ultrasound can also be used in treatment.
Purpose
The
potential medical applications of ultrasound were first recognized in the 1940s
as an outgrowth of the sonar technology developed to detect submarines during
World War II. The first useful medical images were produced in the early 1950s,
and, by 1965, ultrasound quality had improved to the point that it came into
general medical use. Improvements in the technology, application, and
interpretation of ultrasound continue. Its low cost, versatility, safety and
speed have brought it into the top drawer of medical imaging techniques.
While pelvic
ultrasound is widely known and commonly used for fetal monitoring during
pregnancy, ultrasound is also routinely used for general abdominal imaging. It
has great advantage over x-ray imaging technologies in that it does not damage
tissues with ionizing radiation. Ultrasound is also generally far better than
plain x rays at distinguishing the subtle variations of soft tissue structures,
and can be used in any of several modes, depending on the need at hand.
As an
imaging tool, abdominal ultrasound generally is warranted for patients afflicted
with: chronic or acute abdominal pain; abdominal trauma; an obvious or suspected
abdominal mass; symptoms of liver disease, pancreatic disease, gallstones,
spleen disease, kidney disease and urinary blockage; or symptoms of an abdominal
aortic aneurysm. Specifically:
·
Abdominal pain. Whether acute or
chronic, pain can signal a serious problem--from organ malfunction or injury to
the presence of malignant growths. Ultrasound scanning can help doctors quickly
sort through potential causes when presented with general or ambiguous symptoms.
All of the major abdominal organs can be studied for signs of disease that
appear as changes in size, shape and internal structure.
·
Abdominal trauma. After a serious
accident, such as a car crash or a fall, internal bleeding from injured
abdominal organs is often the most serious threat to survival. Neither the
injuries nor the bleeding are immediately apparent. Ultrasound is very useful as
an initial scan when abdominal trauma is suspected, and it can be used to
pinpoint the location, cause, and severity of hemorrhaging. In the case of
puncture wounds, from a bullet for example, ultrasound can locate the foreign
object and provide a preliminary survey of the damage. The easy portability and
versatility of ultrasound technology has brought it into common emergency room
use, and even into limited ambulance service.
·
Abdominal mass. Abnormal
growths--tumors, cysts, abscesses, scar tissue and accessory organs--can be
located and tentatively identified with ultrasound. In particular, potentially
malignant solid tumors can be distinguished from benign fluid-filled cysts and
abscesses. Masses and malformations in any organ or part of the abdomen can be
found.
·
Liver disease. The types and
underlying causes of liver disease are numerous, though jaundice tends to be a
general symptom. Ultrasound can differentiate between many of the types and
causes of liver malfunction, and is particularly good at identifying obstruction
of the bile ducts and cirrhosis, which is characterized by abnormal fibrous
growths and reduced blood flow.
·
Pancreatic disease. Inflammation and
malformation of the pancreas are readily identified by ultrasound, as are
pancreatic stones (calculi), which can disrupt proper functioning.
·
Gallstones. Gallstones cause more
hospital admissions than any other digestive malady. These calculi can cause
painful inflammation of the gallbladder and also obstruct the bile ducts that
carry digestive enzymes from the gallbladder and liver to the intestines.
Gallstones are readily identifiable with ultrasound.
·
Spleen disease. The spleen is
particularly prone to injury during abdominal trauma. It may also become
painfully inflamed when beset with infection or cancer. These conditions also
lend themselves well to ultrasonic inspection and diagnosis.
·
Kidney disease. The kidneys are also
prone to traumatic injury and are the organs most likely to form calculi, which
can block the flow of urine and cause blood poisoning (uremia). A variety of
diseases causing distinct changes in kidney morphology can also lead to complete
kidney failure. Ultrasound imaging has proven extremely useful in diagnosing
kidney disorders.
·
Abdominal aortic aneurysm. This is a
bulging weak spot in the abdominal aorta, which supplies blood directly from the
heart to the entire lower body. These aneurysms are relatively common and
increase in prevalence with age. A burst aortic aneurysm is imminently
life-threatening. However, they can be readily identified and monitored with
ultrasound before acute complications result.
External
and surface organs
Thyroid
and suckling glands, though and easily accessible to the ultrasonic inspection,
often require the use of aquatic and ionic buffer, that the anomalies of near
area of the field did not influence on an image. At research a thyroid and
para-thyroid gland basic application of ultrasound is distinction of gangliac
and hard creations, that it is possibly at good suppression of noise and
artifacts, that are caused by reverberation and side lobes of radiation.
