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About Ultrasound
What do ultrasound professionals do?
A registered diagnostic medical sonographer is a highly skilled professional who has passed a national examination in various specialties.
The sonographer performs the ultrasound exam using specialized equipment to produce dynamic high quality images of structures inside the human body. After the exam, the sonographer reviews the patient history and the images with a physician trained in the interpretation of ultrasound.
Sometimes a physician (sonologist) will perform the ultrasound examination entirely, or scan the area of interest identified by the sonographer. The sonologists who perform exams are usually at larger institutions or in private offices.
Sonographers play a critical role in acquiring the information necessary to determine a diagnosis, but are not responsible for that interpretation. The reading of a final diagnosis of an ultrasound exam is the responsibility of the interpreting physician.
Sonographers who are certified may have various credentials. Sonographers who specialize in cardiac ultrasound are referred to as echocardiographers and may have credentials, R.D.C.S. (Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer). Sonographers specializing in vascular ultrasound are called vascular technologists with credentials of R.V.T. (Registered Vascular Technologist). Sonographers who perform ultrasound examinations mentioned above as well as abdominal, ob-gyn, etc. will have the credentials of R.D.M.S. (Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer). These sonographers may have taken examinations in a variety of specialties, mentioned previously.
Ultrasound exams performed in the Carroll County area include abdominal, breast, cardiac, neurosonology, obstetrics/gynecology, vascular and musculoskeletal. Ultrasound exams can be performed at the scheduling facility of your choice.
Ultrasound exams can also be performed on-site, such as at a nursing home. Ultrasound is a quick and mobile modality. It is also less expensive when compared to CAT scan imaging.
However, ultrasound is also operator dependent unlike some other imaging procedures.
If you schedule an ultrasound at a facility, the question to ask is whether the facility uses registered sonographers. This means that the sonographer has passed the minimum requirements to perform ultrasound exams.
Excerpt from the Medical Ultrasound Fact Sheet from the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM)
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