Ultrasonography

Ultrasonography uses a sound beam, like the sonar of a submarine. The beam is generated by a transducer which is placed on the skin. The sound wave produces a signal every time it hits something, and the computer generates an image from all the returning signals. Ultrasound has been used in Radiology since the 1970's, and now that computers can be attached to just about everything we can produce even clearer images. For the breast we started using it to look at a lump that was felt either by the patient or her doctor. You could place the transducer on the skin at the spot where the lump is felt and you could see what was there. I diagnosed my own breast cancer this way, when I felt a lump.
We can also use ultrasound in the same way if we see something on a mammogram and we are not sure exactly what it is. As I mentioned in response to an earlier question, we now recommend it for women who have dense breast tissue. Ultrasonography uses a sound beam, like the sonar of a submarine. The beam is generated by a transducer which is placed on the skin. The sound wave produces a signal every time it hits something, and the computer generates an image from all the returning signals. Ultrasound has been used in Radiology since the 1970's, and now that computers can be attached to just about everything we can produce even clearer images. For the breast we started using it to look at a lump that was felt either by the patient or her doctor. You could place the transducer on the skin at the spot where the lump is felt and you could see what was there. I diagnosed my own breast cancer this way, when I felt a lump.
We can also use ultrasound in the same way if we see something on a mammogram and we are not sure exactly what it is. As I mentioned in response to an earlier question, we now recommend it for women who have dense breast tissue.