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Haley Baker
Mrs. DeBock
English 4 Honors
October 13, 2015
Ultrasound in Todays Health
What is ultrasound and how does ultrasound affect health in todays society? Ultrasound
produces sound waves that are beamed into the body causing return echoes that are recorded to
visualize structures beneath the skin. The ability to measure the different echoes reflected from a
variety of tissues allows a shadow picture to be constructed. Ultrasonography is a form of body
imaging using sound waves to make a medical diagnosis. Ultrasound can only do so much, but it
can help in pregnancies, save lives, treat illnesses, help in surgeries, etc. This may not look like
beneficia, but when it comes to making a right diagnosis it could save a life making it everything
to someone.
Ultrasound is extremely useful in pregnancy and no risks have been identified in this
procedure, and in some cases ultrasound has even changed the minds of pregnant women who
have been seeking abortion. Ultrasound can detect multiple pregnancy, which is where more than
one fetus develops in the uterus at the same time. Women who have multiple fetuses in the uterus
at the same time are at high risk for premature twins or potential loss of fetus (Rastegari). Once
diagnosed with multiple pregnancy selective reproduction may take place. Selective reproduction
is when high order multiples are reduced to triplets or twins, this involves a chemical injection
into one or more of the fetuses. With the invention of ultrasound vanishing twin syndrome was
discovered. This is where a twin pregnancy is diagnosed, but later one of the twins has been

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found to have disappeared. Ultrasound also is accurate in the dating of a pregnancy, determining
viability of a fetus, determining any structural changes that are present in the fetus, and
determining if problems are occuring in the fetal environment. Studies have shown that
ultrasound has significant psychological benefits to parents from having ultrasounds performed
(Eubanks). Another test that ultrasound does is a maternal serum multiple marker screening test,
this test looks for an increase in chances of Down syndrome, open spine defects, and another
chromosomal condition called trisomy 18 (Eubanks). This test is done by observing the
facial/structural features of the fetus. Another test for chromosomal changes is a diagnostic test
called a chorionic villus sampling. Ectopic pregnancies (pregnancies located outside of the
uterus) which are also diagnosed by ultrasound. Being able to see fetal movement is important
due to an absence of movement this can indicate the presence of a condition affecting the
muscles, bones, or central nervous system. Ultrasound in obstetrics can confirm an intrauterine
death, fetal presence, evaluating fetal movements, tone and breathing, and also diagnosis of
uterine and pelvic abnormalities during pregnancy.
Ultrasound and its part in detecting illnesses. Ultrasound creates images of soft tissues
structures such as the kidneys, gallbladder, pancreas, liver, bladder, and other organs or parts of
the body, and this also measures the flow of blood to detect blockage. Ultrasound can also detect
other things, such as, a cyst, growths, abnormal enlargements, and even foreign objects in the
body. For example, a woman named Lucy with a two week history of vomiting and progressive
weight loss came back with a physical exam stating she was slight tachycardia, but temperature,
respiration, and hydration were within normal limits. She was tense on abdominal palpation, so
she was sedated for an ultrasound which showed an irregular, curvilinear object in the duodenum
which showed strong shadow casting. The rest of the stomach and intestines looked empty.

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Based on suggestive history, exam findings, and ultrasound evidence, Lucy was taken to surgery,
where an enterotomy was performed, and an intact pair of womans underwear was removed
(Johansson). Ultrasound can detect blood clots in veins or artery blockage and dilatation,
aneurysms. For example, carotid ultrasound is performed in patients with transient ischemic
attacks or strokes to determine whether the major arteries in the neck are blocked causing the
decreased blood supply to the brain(Johansson). Ultrasound is the preferred technique to test for
gallstones or an infected gallbladder. The ultrasound can reveal the stones as well as signs of
infection, including thickening of the gallbladder wall and fluid surrounding the gallbladder.
Ultrasound may also find blockage in the bile ducts. Ultrasound is also used to look for diseases
like appendicitis, kidney stones, and testicular torsion, and it even can be used to screen for
blood vessel diseases. By measuring blood flow and blockage in the carotid arteries, this test can
predict potential risk for future stroke. By measuring the diameter of the aorta in the abdomen,
ultrasound can screen for aneurysms and the risk of rupture.
Can ultrasound be used as Alzheimers treatment? Alzheimers disease accounts for
somewhere between 60 and 80 percent of dementia cases. By 2050, more than 135 million
people will have been diagnosed with dementia. Scientists claim a blast of sonic waves is able to
break up the brain plaques implicated in Alzheimers disease and reverse memory loss. This
technique has yet to be tested on humans but in a series of experiments on mice bred to develop
Alzheimers, regular ultrasound scans triggered the brain to clean up neurotoxic amyloids using
immune cells called microglia (Hays). The ultrasound waves swing back and forth at a steady
pace, activating microglial cells that remove the amyloid plaques that damage or destroy brain
synapses. Several weeks of the ultrasound treatment cleared the plaque buildup from 75 percent
of the mice, without discernible damage to healthy brain tissue. The mice that were cleared

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showed an improvement on memory tests in a maze. A woman is having brain surgery, but she is
wide awake. In this surgery no cuts, no blood, no flesh, and no bones are made and an anesthetic
is not even needed. Deep inside her brain ultrasound is heating up and burning a tiny region of
tissue, while none of the cells around are harmed. Just like a magnifying glass can focus the
suns rays to burn an object, ultrasound waves can be concentrated to burn human tissue. This
method looks like the perfect treatment for prostate cancer. When a tumor need to be eliminated,
the entire prostate needs to be removed, which can damage nerves and the muscles that control
the ability to relieve yourself on demand. A less-invasive option is radiotherapy, but this can still
cause some damage to surrounding nerves. Radiotherapy is unlikely to be repeated if the cancer
returns because the risk becomes too great that DNA damage from radiation will cause secondary
tumors. With focused ultrasounds, however, surgeons can burn away tumors bit by bit targeting a
precise area without damaging surrounding nerves. Ultrasound is even proven to boost the
uptake of drugs in specific organs. It is also useful to push drugs into bone cancers that are so
difficult to reach with traditional surgery. This method has been used to prevent severe illness in
fetuses in the womb. Ultrasound treatments could be used to prevent a common kidney
complication, which can arise after major surgery. AKI is the sudden loss of kidney function,
which can easily develop in a sick person through infection. But AKI can also develop after
major surgery, such as some kinds of heart surgery due to the kidneys being deprived of normal
blood flow during the procedure. In an experiment, mice were exposed to ultrasound using a
routine clinical imaging system protection 24 hours before disrupting the blood supply to the
kidneys. They found that the mice still has healthy kidneys after blood flow was restored. But in
other mice, who were given a sham ultrasound, the same disruption led to significant kidney
injury. Our studies using non-invasive ultrasound now provide us with an active treatment that

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appears to be simple, effective, and nontoxic for the prevention of acute kidney injury
(Ultrasound May Stop Kidney Injury From Surgery). Ultrasound speeds up mending of
broken bone. In a study of 59 patients, those using ultrasound for shinbone fractures were ready
to shed their leg casts in about 92 days, compared to 132 days for patients who used a placebo
device. For complete healing of the inner bone was 115 days for ultrasound vs. 170 for the
placebo (Gutfeld and Sangiorgio). Another way ultrasound is helpful in todays health is that
ultrasound equipment used for physical therapy may have potential as a male contraceptive.
Based on findings with lab rats, ultrasound could make men infertile by lowering sperm counts.
In a study, the University of North Carolina School of Medicine rotated high-frequency
ultrasound around male rat testes, warming them to 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. They found two 15minute ultrasound sessions two days apart were most effective, resulting in a sperm count index
of zero (Dallas).
So why is ultrasound important in todays health? Ultrasound is used in many ways to
detect problems, such as foreign bodies, cysts, abnormal enlargements, etc. Ultrasound also is
used to treat illnesses, boost the uptake of drugs, and help in surgeries. All of this can save lives.
No risks in using ultrasound have been found and it is a simple procedure to perform and have
done, so people are more likely to choose this over a procedure that could have risks or is more
complicated. With todays scientists testing ultrasound for other procedures, they are most likely
to find even more reasons why ultrasound is important and how else ultrasound can be used to in
a positive way.

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Works Cited
Dallas, Mary Elizabeth. "Ultrasound As a Male Contraceptive?." HealthDay Consumer News
Service 30 Jan. 2012:Points of View Reference Center. Web. 23 Sept. 2015.
Eubanks, Sonja R. Prenatal ultrasound. The Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders. Ed.
Stacey L. Blachford. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Opposing Veiwpoints in Context. Web. 17 Sept
2015.
Gutfeld, G., and M. Sangiorgio. "Ultrahealing." Prevention 43.8 (1991): 18. Science Reference
Center. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
Hays, Brooks. "Ultrasound Technology Shows Promise As Alzheimer's Treatment." UPI
Newstrack (Consumer Health) (2015): Points of View Reference Center. Web. 22 Sept.
2015.
Johansson, Jeff. The use of ultrasound to diagnose intestinal foreign bodies. Regional
Emergency Animal Care Hospital. Web. January 2012.
Rastegari, Esther Csapo, R.N., B.S.N, Ed.M., and Tish Davidson, A.M.. Multiple pregnancy.
Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Jacqueline L. Longe. 5.5th Detroit: Gale, 2015. Nursing
Resource Center. Gale. Discus. 17 Sep. 2015.
Thomson, Helen. "Surgery's New Sound." New Scientist 221.2950 (2014): 38. Science Reference
Center. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.

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"Ultrasound May Stop Kidney Injury From Surgery." Balochistan Express (Quetta,
Pakistan) 06 Aug. 2013: Points of View Reference Center. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.