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Ultrasound is sound with frequencies greater than 20 kilohertz. [1] This frequency is the approximate upper audible limit of human hearing in healthy young adults. The physical principles of acoustic waves apply to any frequency range, including ultrasound. Ultrasonic devices operate with frequencies from 20 kHz up to several gigahertz.
Ultrasonic hearing is a recognised auditory effect which allows humans to perceive sounds of a much higher frequency than would ordinarily be audible using the inner ear, usually by stimulation of the base of the cochlea through bone conduction. Normal human hearing is recognised as having an upper bound of 15–28 kHz, [1] depending on the person.
Medical ultrasound includes diagnostic techniques (mainly imaging techniques) using ultrasound, as well as therapeutic applications of ultrasound. In diagnosis, it is used to create an image of internal body structures such as tendons, muscles, joints, blood vessels, and internal organs, to measure some characteristics (e.g., distances and velocities) or to generate an informative audible sound.
Ultrasound image showing the liver, gallbladder and common bile duct. Medical ultrasound uses high frequency broadband sound waves in the megahertz range that are reflected by tissue to varying degrees to produce (up to 3D) images. This is commonly associated with imaging the fetus in pregnant women. Uses of ultrasound are much broader, however.
The reflected ultrasound is received by the probe, transformed into an electric impulse as voltage, and sent to the engine for signal processing and conversion to an image on the screen. The depth reached by the ultrasound beam is dependent on the frequency of the probe used. The higher the frequency, the lesser the depth reached. [9]
The ultrasound probe emits a high-frequency sound wave (usually a multiple of 2 MHz) that bounces off various substances in the body. These echoes are detected by a sensor in the probe. In the case of blood in an artery, the echoes have different frequencies depending on the direction and speed of the blood because of the Doppler effect. [2]
This method of medical ultrasound therapy can be used for various types of pain relief and physical therapy. In physics, the term "ultrasound" [1] applies to all acoustic energy with a frequency above the audible range of human hearing. The audible range of sound is 20 hertz – 20 kilohertz. Ultrasound frequency is greater than 20 kilohertz.
The transducer may be used in contact with the skin, as in fetal ultrasound imaging, or inserted into a body opening such as the rectum or vagina. Clinicians who perform ultrasound-guided procedures often use a probe positioning system to hold the ultrasonic transducer. [9] Compared to other medical imaging modalities, ultrasound has several ...