What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Ultrasonography?

Update Date: 2024-06-17 Source: Network

The advantages of ultrasound examination include simplicity, reproducibility, convenience, non-invasiveness, no special contraindications, and low cost. Its disadvantages mainly include poor display of gas-containing tissues and high-density tissues, aliasing phenomena in high-speed blood flow detection, and more artifacts in imaging. Ultrasonic waves are mechanical waves with vibration frequencies above 20000Hz, exceeding the upper limit of human hearing thresholds.

Ultrasound examination is a non-invasive diagnostic method that utilizes the principles of ultrasonic waves to assess the physical characteristics, morphological structure, and functional status of human tissues. With its advantages of simplicity, reproducibility, convenience, non-invasiveness, no special contraindications, and low cost, ultrasound examination plays an important role in modern medical diagnosis. It has unique features and advantages in diagnosing diseases of the cardiovascular system, abdomen, urinary system, obstetrics and gynecology, breast, thyroid, neuromuscular, and skeletal systems. However, ultrasound diagnosis also has its limitations, including poor display of gas-containing tissues and high-density tissues, aliasing phenomena in high-speed blood flow detection, and a relatively high number of artifacts in imaging.

Currently, the main research contents of ultrasound diagnosis include morphological changes, functional abnormalities, and interventional diagnosis. Its primary applications are: ① detecting the size, morphology, and physical properties of solid organs; ② assessing the size, morphology, orientation, and certain functional states of cystic organs; ③ evaluating the structure, function, and hemodynamic status of the heart, large vessels, and peripheral vessels; ④ identifying the physical properties of space-occupying lesions within organs and distinguishing between benign and malignant lesions in some cases; ⑤ detecting the presence of fluid accumulation and providing an initial estimate of the fluid volume; ⑥ following up on the dynamic changes of various lesions after drug or surgical treatment; and ⑦ guiding needle biopsies, catheter placements, and other interventional procedures for auxiliary diagnosis or treatment.