Parkview Hospital Notes Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month
10/7/2011
Mexia, Texas – Parkview Regional Hospital is taking the month of October to help raise awareness of medical ultrasound and the professionals that perform the imaging.
Diagnostic medical ultrasound uses high frequency sound waves to produce images of organs, tissues or blood flow inside the body. The ultrasound exam can be used on many parts of the body, including abdomen, breast, reproductive system, heart and blood vessels. It can be used to detect heart and vascular disease, as well as injuries to muscles, tendons and ligaments.
Specialized ultrasound imaging includes abdominal ultrasound (soft tissues, blood vessels and organs in the abdomen); breast (evaluation of breast abnormalities found with mammography); echocardiography (anatomy and blood flow of the heart); neurosonolgy (brain and spinal cord); obstetric/gynecologic (female reproductive system); ophthalmologic (eye and orbital structures); and vascular (blood flow of peripheral and abdominal blood vessels).
Ultrasound professionals are highly skilled in using the equipment, performing the exam and reviewing the results. While the sonographer is critical in obtaining the information for a diagnosis, the final diagnosis is rendered by a radiologic physician. Certified sonographers have demonstrated that they are trained and experienced. They are required to complete continuing education annually to ensure that they are versed on the very latest methods and technology.
Parkview Regional Hospital is home to the LOGIQ®? 7, a premier ultrasound system designed to provide an improved patient experience, including reduced exam times and less chance that
a patient will have to return for a re-scan.
A medical imaging technique called Volume Ultrasound helps sonographers at Parkview to quickly and precisely perform general ultrasound imaging in a broad range of clinical applications from abdominal and breast to vascular imaging.
With Volume Ultrasound, Parkview’s clinicians sweep the ultrasound transducer over the target area of a patient’s anatomy to collect and save a volume of “raw data” as opposed to a series of individual images or views. With the basic building blocks of raw image data, the physician is able to do additional analysis on anatomy of concern after the patient has left the medical office by performing a “virtual rescan.”
“Virtual re-scan allows our clinicians to create 3D or 4D views, analyze high-resolution zooms
of anatomy, or apply special reading effects such as highlights or blood flow measurement without the patient having to be there or return for another exam,” explains Mike McCary, Director of Ancillary Services. “This greatly benefits the physician’s diagnostic confidence and helps to reduce patient visits, as well as being beneficial for extremely sick patients or those with difficulties when being scanned.”
In addition, the ultrasound imaging equipment at Parkview provides image features that enhance image quality and create a clearer picture to view. This greatly assists patients to better understand what they are looking at when in their ultrasound exam.
In a partnership with Hillcrest Radiology Physicians in Waco, Parkview performs nearly 1,500 ultrasound procedures each year.
“We want to remind patients that if their physician feels they need an ultrasound, we can perform that exam right here, close to home,” stated McCary. “The technology we use is greatly benefiting both our physicians and patients of the communities we serve.”
For more information, please contact:
Jennifer Lynch
Marketing Director
Parkview Regional Hospital
(254) 562-5332, ext. 1110