Detecting Diverse Medical Conditions Using Ultrasound

May 07, 2021

An ultrasound, also known as sonography, is a medical device that scans and captures real-time visuals inside your body. Medical experts use an ultrasound to detect problems with your blood vessels, organs, and tissues without performing a surgical procedure in your body.

So Where Can I get an Ultrasound Near Me?

If you’re looking for an affordable ultrasound scanning near me, look no further than Crosspointe Medical Clinic – a family health clinic in Houston, TX, 77042.

Taking an Ultrasound Scan

Ultrasound scans are often associated with pregnancy. These scans provide the mother-to-be with the first picture of her unborn child.

However, the test has other uses: if you experience swelling, pain, or other symptoms that require internal observation of your organs, our doctor may recommend you take an ultrasound scan.

You may require an ultrasound to:

Check for a breast lump.
View the uterus and ovaries and monitor the health of the baby during pregnancy.
To check your thyroid glands.
To check for genital or prostate medical conditions.
Diagnose gallbladder disease.
In diagnosing bone diseases
To check for joint inflammation.
Assess blood flow.
In conducting a tumour treatment procedure or guiding a needle biopsy

Benefits of An Ultrasound

When performing an ultrasound, no incisions, cuttings, or injections are made on your body.

In most cases, the device is outside the body because the patient is not exposed to any radiation (unlike X-rays or the radiation involved in imaging procedures), so there is no risk. Their safety makes them ideal for observing the ovaries, uterus, and fetus during pregnancy.

Ultrasound can capture visible soft-tissue images, which cannot be clearly displayed on X-rays.

Ultrasound Sound Scanning Techniques

At our family health clinic in Houston, we have three ultrasound sound scanning techniques and are explained below:

External Ultrasound scan
This procedure is performed through your skin and is used to diagnose organs that can be assessed from the skin’s surface—for instance, the kidneys, lungs, liver, and fetus.
Transvaginal or internal ultrasound scan
A transvaginal ultrasound scan allows your doctor to look more closely at the inside of your body’s organs, such as the womb, ovaries, or prostate glands. Internal ultrasound means that a small object, less the size of a finger, goes through your vagina or rectum to scan for any defects and pass the images on a screen for your doctor to interpret.This is a painless procedure but causes little discomfort, and the process is very brief.
Endoscopic ultrasound scan
During this scan, an endoscope is inserted through your mouth to make scans of your stomach or esophagus. At Crosspointe Medical Clinic, Dr. Kelechi Azuogu will guide you through safe procedures that reduce discomfort during the process.You’ll be given a sedative to calm you, and an anesthetic will be sprayed on your throat to make it numb. You might be given a mouth guard to protect your teeth and keep you from biting on the endoscope.

Preparing for An Ultrasound

Most ultrasound scan procedures do not require any preparation. However, some scans, such as gallbladder scans, may need to be performed on an empty stomach. Other scans (such as a pelvic ultrasound scan) may need to be performed with a full bladder, and we may ask the patient to drink water before the ultrasound examination in Houston, Texas.

Ultrasound scan patients may be requested to remove any jewelry they have and get into a gown before undergoing the diagnosis.

When you are comfortably lying on the table, the part of your body being examined has to be exposed. Our ultrasound technician (also the sonographer) will apply a special jelly to your skin. This prevents friction when rubbing the ultrasonic transducer on your skin. The transducer resembles a microphone. The jelly also aids in distributing the sound waves for a perfect diagnosis.

Ultrasounds form a picture that your doctor will interpret. Depending on the part of your body being examined, you may be asked to turn so that our sonographer can conduct the operation more easily. The entire process usually lasts less than half an hour, depending on the area being examined. Upon the completion of the program, you will be free to carry out normal activities.

Our team of friendly staff at Crosspointe Medical Clinic in Houston, Texas, will guide you on special instructions to follow.