[Medical Q&A] Why is ultrasound called the "magic eye of non-invasive diagnosis"?

Planner: Chinese Medical Association

Reviewer: Wang Yandong, Chief Physician, Tianjin Third Central Hospital

Ultrasound examination is a technology that uses ultrasound to perform medical examinations. During the examination, the doctor will first apply a layer of coupling gel on the human skin to reduce the air between the ultrasound probe and the skin, thereby ensuring good transmission of ultrasound. Next, the instrument probe will emit ultrasound waves into the human body. When these ultrasound waves encounter tissues of different densities in the human body, they will be reflected, refracted, absorbed, etc. The ultrasound waves reflected back by the human tissue will be received by the probe crystal on the ultrasound instrument and converted into electrical signals. These signals are then processed by computer technology, and finally images of the human body's internal organs and tissues can be displayed on the computer screen.

In this way, ultrasound technology is like a perspective eye that "sees" the "scene" inside our body, and doctors who use ultrasound technology for examinations can only discover abnormalities in our body's tissues and organs with the help of this "magic eye". This method has many unique advantages, such as non-invasiveness (no puncture or surgery is required), safety (no radiation risk to the human body, suitable for pregnant women and fetuses), real-time (real-time observation and real-time judgment), versatility (static images can be observed, blood flow can also be observed through color Doppler ultrasound technology, and it can be used in multiple parts of the human body), economical (compared with other advanced imaging examinations, ultrasound examinations are less expensive), and easy to operate (the equipment is relatively portable and can be implemented at the bedside). This "magic eye of non-invasive diagnosis" has now become an indispensable examination method for modern medical diagnosis.