You will need to ask your doctor or the ultrasound department if you need to do any special preparation before your scan.

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Access to appropriate, affordable, effective, and safe health technologies is paramount, especially in low-resource settings, where burden of  non-communicable...

The ultrasound scan itself should not cause you much pain, if any, and is generally non-invasive, so you don’t need any recovery time. Most people can go about their normal business once they have finished the ultrasound examination.

Brief definition: An article, instrument, apparatus or machine that is used in the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of illness or disease, or for detecting, measuring, restoring, correcting or modifying the structure or function of the body for some health purpose. Typically, the purpose of a medical device is not achieved by pharmacological, immunological or metabolic means.*

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For the full definition as finalized by the Global Harmonization Task Force in May 2012 and now under the archives of the International Medical Device Regulators Forum, please follow link below.

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Content on this website is provided for information purposes only. Information about a therapy, service, product or treatment does not in any way endorse or support such therapy, service, product or treatment and is not intended to replace advice from your doctor or other registered health professional. The information and materials contained on this website are not intended to constitute a comprehensive guide concerning all aspects of the therapy, product or treatment described on the website. All users are urged to always seek advice from a registered health care professional for diagnosis and answers to their medical questions and to ascertain whether the particular therapy, service, product or treatment described on the website is suitable in their circumstances. The State of Victoria and the Department of Health shall not bear any liability for reliance by any user on the materials contained on this website.

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If you are having an upper abdomen ultrasound, you will need to lie down on an examination table or bed. The ultrasound technologist, known as a sonographer, will place some gel onto your skin to provide better contact between your body and the ultrasound probe. They will then place the hand-held probe on your skin above the area of your body, organ or tissue that is being studied. The two-dimensional (or sometimes three-dimensional) pictures are shown instantly on a monitor. Other types of ultrasound may need a slightly different procedure. For example, a woman undergoing an investigation of her pelvis may have a transvaginal scan, which involves inserting a special ultrasound probe into the vagina rather than (or as well as) scanning through the front of the pelvis.

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An ultrasound scan uses high-frequency sound waves to make an image of a person’s internal body structures. Doctors commonly use ultrasound to study a developing fetus (unborn baby), a person’s abdominal and pelvic organs, muscles and tendons, or their heart and blood vessels. Other names for an ultrasound scan include sonogram or (when imaging the heart) an echocardiogram. The ultrasound machine directs high-frequency sound waves at the internal body structures being examined. The reflected sounds, or echoes, are recorded to create an image that can be seen on a monitor. The sound waves are emitted and received from a small, hand-held probe. The high frequency of the sound means the human ear cannot hear it – which is why it is called ultrasound. An ultrasound scan is usually non-invasive (done from outside the body). However, some scans are done with a special probe that is inserted into the person’s vagina (for some obstetric or pelvic examinations), rectum (for some prostate examinations) or oesophagus (for some heart examinations). Sometimes, doctors will use ultrasound scanning to monitor and guide invasive procedures like a biopsy of a person’s breast or thyroid gland.

The full blood count (FBC) test looks for abnormalities in the blood, such as unusually high or low numbers of blood cells.

Medical equipment are defined as medical devices requiring calibration, maintenance, repair, user training and decommissioning – activities usually managed by clinical engineers.

Content on this website is provided for information purposes only. Information about a therapy, service, product or treatment does not in any way endorse or support such therapy, service, product or treatment and is not intended to replace advice from your doctor or other registered health professional. The information and materials contained on this website are not intended to constitute a comprehensive guide concerning all aspects of the therapy, product or treatment described on the website. All users are urged to always seek advice from a registered health care professional for diagnosis and answers to their medical questions and to ascertain whether the particular therapy, service, product or treatment described on the website is suitable in their circumstances. The State of Victoria and the Department of Health shall not bear any liability for reliance by any user on the materials contained on this website.

Health technology is the application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures and systems developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of life.* It is used interchangeably with ‘health care technology’.

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An ultrasound scan usually takes around 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the type of examination. After the procedure, the sonographer will give you paper towels (or something similar) to wipe off the gel. You can then get dressed. The results of the ultrasound scan are usually sent to your doctor, so you will have to make a follow-up appointment with them to get the results. Most ultrasound scans are non-invasive and the procedure does not involve the use of ionising radiation such as x-rays. Ultrasound scans for pregnant women are now considered routine in Australia.

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Treatment – if any – depends on the reason for your scan. For example, fibroids detected during a scan may be surgically removed (myomectomy), shrunk with medications or simply monitored. Other conditions detected by an ultrasound scan, such as abdominal masses, may need further tests or exploratory surgery.