Guide to Ultrasound Technician Requirements
To know the ultrasound technician requirements, one must first understand what an ultrasound is. An ultrasound is a sound pressure that has a frequency that exceeds the limits that the human ear can hear. It does not differ from a normal sound that is audible. It differs only from such audible sound as it is incapable of being heard. The sound generated from this frequency goes beyond 20,000 hertz or twenty kilohertz, which is the normal range of frequency that human ear can hear. Hertz is a unit of frequency expressed in the symbol Hz.
The reason such frequency could not be heard by humans is because of the limits inherent in the middle ear, acting as a filter. Absent this middle ear and with the ultrasound directly fed into the bones of the skull to reach the cochlea by means of bone conduction, the ultrasound frequency can be heard by a healthy human being. An ultrasound has many uses, but knowing the ultrasound technician requirements will lead to knowing that its use is more inclined in the medical field also known as ultrasonography. Ultrasonography is a medical diagnostic imaging procedure used in viewing tendons, muscles and a host of other human internal organs.
To know the ultrasound technician requirements is likewise to be aware that the term ultrasound technician is already a deprecated term and the more current term used in the medical community is the term ‘sonographer’. Despite such, the requirements still remain the same and a sonographer is still a healthcare practitioner specializing in performing medical diagnostic sonography or what is called as ‘diagnostic ultrasound’. The more prevalent use of sonography is in viewing fetuses in cases of prenatal care emergencies as well as pregnancy instances and is now commonly known as obstetric sonography. As a routine medical examination for pregnant women, the following are the diagnostic determinations that are made with obstetric ultrasound:
- Determination of date of pregnancy or the age of gestation
- Confirmation of the viability of the fetus
- Determination of the fetus’ location if it be intrauterine or ectopic
- Checking the placenta location vis-a-vis the cervix
- In cases of multiple pregnancy; checking for the number of fetus
- Checking for any physical abnormalities
- Assessment of the growth of the fetus to avoid any IUGR or intra-uterine growth restrictions
- Checking for movement of the fetus
- Checking for the heartbeat of the fetus
- Sex determination of the baby
In the United States ultrasound technician requirements mandates educational provisions from accredited programs of the CAAHEP and the JRC-DMS. Complying with the requirements will lead to the profession of sonographers with sub –division specialties in fields such as:
- Cardiac sonographer
- Vascular sonographer
- Obstetrics sonographer
- General sonographer
General sonographers are required to be registered to be able to conduct and perform sonography of the abdomen, obstetrics and gynecology. In some other countries certifications issued after passing the examinations given by the CCI (Cardiovascular credentialing international) are recognized.
For ultrasound technician requirements, the following are the basics:
Obtaining of a degree (associate) in medical diagnostic sonography- this can be secured after the completion of a training program for two years. The course to complete includes the subjects on:
- Patient evaluation and caring
- Physics
- Anatomy
- Physiology
- Medical terminology
In addition to the above ultrasound technician requirements a sonographer must have completed educational courses that have dealt on the subjects English, physics, math chemistry, biology and health during their high school education.
Ultrasound technology has not been limited in use to medical pregnancies as above-stated, here are a number of uses to which ultrasound had been devoted to:
- Use in the process of lithotripsy- a procedure using ultrasound to break kidney stones as well as gall stones into minute fragments.
- Useful in detecting abnormalities of the pelvis and has been applied to conducting transabdominal ultrasound, female endovaginal ultrasound as well as male trans-rectal ultrasound.
- Chemotherapy delivery to cancer cells in the brain as well as delivery of other drugs to different body
- Teeth cleaning to aid in dental hygiene
- Usage in regeneration of the tooth and bone through pulsed ultrasound of low intensity
- Used in the treatment of cataracts through the process of phacoemulsification
- Use in bone growth stimulation and ability to cause disruption of the brain barrier of the blood in drug delivery cases
- Use in varicose veins treatment (non-surgical) through the procedure known as sclerotheraphy (ultrasound guided) as well as endovenous laser treatment
- Use in liposuction or the lipectomy, which is of ultrasound assisted kind
- Use as an aid in tissue plasminogen treatment for individuals who had suffered a stroke
- Usage in killing bacteria in the body
- Usage in elastography-a method used to detect, classify and determine tumors using images of soft tissues.
