How Does Ultrasound Equipment Work?

Let's begin with the component called the transducer. In performing an ultrasound examination, the transducer generates and sends off waves of sound, similar to the sonar waves that are used underwater by navy vessels and submarines.

These sound waves move through various tissues and fluids in the body, and when they strike their "target," which can be a bone, organ or other tissue, some of the sound waves bounce back off the target and return to the transducer.

The transducer is typically connected to a piece of equipment called a probe, which serves to come in contact with the outside of the body and direct the sound waves in pre-determined directions and in certain patterns.

As the sound waves bounce off target tissues and organs, they are received by the probe and returned to the transducer machine, which has a computer designed to collect and interpret the sound waves, turning them into visible images that can then be interpreted by the ultrasound technologist or radiologist for the purposes of making a diagnosis.

Resources

• How Ultrasound Works
• How Does an Ultrasound Machine Work?