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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.
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.
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 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]
For frequencies of ultrasound from 25 to 50 kHz, a guideline of 110 dB had been recommended by Canada, Japan, the USSR, and the International Radiation Protection Agency, and 115 dB by Sweden [24] in the late 1970s to early 1980s, but these were primarily based on subjective effects. The more recent OSHA guidelines above are based on ACGIH ...
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 ...
The ultrasound within tissue consists of very high frequency sound waves, between 800,000 Hz and 20,000,000 Hz, which cannot be heard by humans. Some of the advantages of ultrasound as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool include its safety profile, lack of radiation, portability, and low cost. [ 4 ]
These procedures generally use lower frequencies than medical diagnostic ultrasound (from 0.7 to 2 MHz), but higher the frequency means lower the focusing energy. HIFU treatment is often guided by MRI. Focused ultrasound may be used to dissolve kidney stones by lithotripsy. Ultrasound may be used for cataract treatment by phacoemulsification.