Medical sonography (ultrasonography) is an ultrasound-based medical imaging technique used to visualize many internal organs, to capture their size, structure and any pathological lesions with real time images. Ultrasound has been used to image the human body for at least 50 years and has become one of the most widely used diagnostic tools in modern medicine. A key benefit of ultrasound is the absence of exposure to radiation (unlike X-ray and CT scans).
Ultrasound is non-invasive and pain-free. Advances in technology over the past several decades have increased the utility of ultrasound in modern medical practice and many now consider ultrasound an extension of a doctors physical examination.
Thyroid ultrasound: Ultrasound has become established as the diagnostic procedure of choice in guidelines for the management of thyroid nodules. It may also be useful in some patients with over or under-active thyroid glands. Thyroid nodules are detected on ultrasound very commonly in the general population. Most of these nodules are benign and do not require any intervention. The challenge is having the specialist knowledge to determine which nodules require a biopsy and which can be left alone.
