Ultrasound

Vancouver Radiologists, a regional leader in providing sub-specialty medical imaging services, has a long history of performing high quality diagnostic ultrasound in Clark County and the Greater Portland metro area. Our attention to excellence in ultrasound is reflected in our cutting-edge ultrasound equipment, our skillful RDMS-certified technologists, and our experienced radiologists who have additional ultrasound fellowship training. The American College of Radiology has awarded our ambulatory office the designation--"ACR-accreditation in diagnostic ultrasound". We offer outpatient ultrasound both of our locations.

What is Ultrasound?

An ultrasound is a safe and painless procedure which uses reflected sound waves to obtain medical images of various tissues and organs in the body. There is no radiation. Frequently performed ultrasound studies include:

Abdomen-including the gallbladder, liver, kidneys, pancreas, spleen, and appendix
Pelvis-including uterus and ovaries
Pregnancy
Vascular-including leg veins, carotid artery, aorta
Breast-including evaluation of breast nodules
Thyroid
Scrotum

Preparing for Ultrasound

For an abdominal exam, the patient must not eat or drink after midnight prior to the exam, except for medications with a small amount of water.
For pelvic or pregnancy exams, the patient needs to drink 32 oz of water 30 minutes prior to the exam. DO NOT EMPTY THE BLADDER PRIOR TO THE EXAM
During Ultrasound

The patient will be asked to lie on a comfortable table while a technologist performs the exam. A handheld device, called an ultrasound probe or transducer, will be moved on the surface of the skin in the area of interest after a liquid gel is placed on the probe and/or the skin. The gel is kept warm for the patient's comfort. For certain ultrasound exams, specialized internal probes are used. For example, an endovaginal probe is used for most pelvic exams to create the most detailed images of the uterus and ovaries.

A Radiologist of Vancouver Radiologists, will promptly review the exam, and may be present in the ultrasound exam room.

After an Ultrasound

The patient can eat and resume normal activity.

A Radiologist will interpret the ultrasound exam and send a timely report to the primary physician. The primary physician will discuss the ultrasound results with the patient.

Vancouver Radiologists' Earns Highest Award

Not only meeting, but exceeding the highest standards in radiology, Vancouver Radiologists' ultrasound department was recently awarded Accreditation by the American College of Radiology.

Vancouver Radiologists achieved 99.81% of the total possible points needed for accreditation which topped the industry's required 85% of total points standard to earn accreditation.

Our success in the American College of Radiology accreditation program provides a high level of confidence for patients and referring physicians that only the highest quality care is being provided at VanRad, and gives assurance that staff and equipment have passed the ACR's rigorous evaluation.

The evaluation is the result of review of clinical images by board-certified Radiologists and medical physicists who are experts in ultrasound imaging. They assess the qualifications of the personnel and the adequacy of facility equipment.

Other Helpful Sites

For more information on this topic, please visit www.Radiologyinfo.org.

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