Is Ultrasound Harmful?
Ultrasound examinations are widely used in medicine today. But is the examination method really as harmless as it is claimed, and how does it work?
Ultrasound - origin and application
- First of all, ultrasound generally refers to sound waves from a frequency of 16 kHz. This means that the human ear can no longer perceive the waves as noise.
- Ultrasound occurs naturally in various animal species that communicate in a different frequency spectrum than humans. Dolphins, rats, moths and bats can communicate in the high frequency range.
- Man has adapted this technology in various areas of his life. Ultrasound is used in nautical science, for material testing, for speed measurement and, above all, in medicine.
- The basic principle is that sound waves are sent out. These are weakened and scattered by the tissue they penetrate. They are then reflected on surfaces and thrown back. By measuring the time it takes for the sound to return, one can gather information about how far away the structure is. By attenuating the sound, conclusions can be drawn about the density of the tissue.
Sonography in medicine - harmful?
- The use of ultrasound in medicine is called sonography. It is an imaging technique, which means that it enables deep-lying tissues and structures to be viewed without having to be invasive.
- Depending on the organ that you want to look at, frequencies from 75 kHz (abdomen) to 1 GHz (thyroid). The higher the frequency, the better the resolution of the image and the lower the penetration depth of the sound.
- The greatest benefit of sonography is that it is a painless and easy method of imaging. Almost all organs can be displayed in a very short time and examined for pathological changes. The disadvantage of the method is that the image resolution other imaging methods such as CT and MRI lags behind.
- Especially when checking pregnancy, many mothers fear that the sound waves can be harmful to the child. An unfounded fear, since the sound waves do not interact with the molecules of the tissue and people in their environment are almost permanently exposed to sound without being harmed.
- Other imaging techniques such as CT and X-rays cause radiation damage to the patient, which can be particularly harmful to sensitive tissues such as ovaries or children. Sonography and MRI do not have this disadvantage.
Ultrasound is most of medical examinations, especially in the ...
Ultrasound is a safe and now indispensable imaging method in medicine - you don't have to worry about your health!
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