Ultrasonography and Other Services

State-of–the-art Ultrasonography

• The General Electric LogiQ 700 and LogiQ 900 Ultrasound Systems will complement the Mammography and MRI Scanner, for Breast Imaging. In Breast imaging, it provides for assessment of target lesions (nodules) to differentiate solid and cystic masses. Breast lesions can be identified as biopsy performed, where indicated. A number of diseases, such as invasive Lobular Carcinoma, and conditions like fibrocystic and dense glandular breasts are better evaluated when Sonography is performed as an adjunct to mammograms.
• General Ultrasonography and Obstetrical/Gynecological evaluations will be provided to assess everything from Endocrine (glandular) disorders, to Abdominal and Pelvic complaints, and Vascular Disease of the Head and Neck, Peripheral vessels.
• Pelvis screening ultrasound evaluations will be offered. Hysterosonography for assessment of the internal uterine lining in women at risk due to hormonal therapy is available.
  

Ultrasound, also called sonography, is an imaging technique in which high-frequency sound waves that cannot be heard by humans are bounced off tissues and internal organs. Their echoes produce a picture called a sonogram. Ultrasound imaging of the breast is used to distinguish between solid tumors and fluid-filled cysts. It is also used to characterize the nature of solid masses. Ultrasound can also be used to evaluate lumps that are hard to see on a mammogram. Sometimes, ultrasound is used as part of other diagnostic procedures, such as needle biopsy or aspiration.

During an ultrasound examination, the clinician spreads a thin coating of lubricating jelly over the area to be imaged to improve conduction of the sound waves. A hand-held device called a transducer directs the sound waves through the skin toward specific tissues. As the sound waves are reflected back from the tissues within the breast, the patterns formed by the waves create a two-dimensional image of the breast on a computer.

Ultrasound is not a substitute for routine breast cancer screening with mammography because it does not consistently detect certain early signs of cancer such as microcalcifications. Microcalcifications are tiny deposits of calcium in the breast that cannot be felt but can be seen on a conventional mammogram. A cluster of microcalcifications may indicate that cancer is present.