by Christian Fann

Created on: November 17, 2008   Last Updated: November 21, 2008

Ultrasound imaging, or ultrasound scanning or sonography, is a procedure which renders the body exposed to very high-frequency sound waves. With the sound waves coursing through the body, pictures inside of the body can then be taken. A very real benefit of prostrate ultrasound is that the pictures are taken in real time; they can show the body movement and structure of a person's internal organs, in addition to blood flowing through blood vessels.

The ultrasound imaging is a very keen tools used by physicians to help diagnose and nurse medical conditions.

To give you a specific example, the prostrate ultrasound gives a clear picture of the man's prostate gland. Often times, this is a painless procedure. The exam usually requires that an ultrasound probe is lodged into a man's rectum. This probe then sends and receives sound waves through the lining of the rectum into the prostate gland that is in place in front of the rectum.

For men with prostate cancer, you can sigh, because there is relief. An instrument called the Sonoblate 500 is used for treatment. With a probe inserted into the man's rectum, ultrasonic beams are honed in on the cancerous area. Lesions are manufactured side by side until the desired amount of the prostate is treated. This is efficient because a high-volume of sound waves is concentrated on a single area.

As was mentioned earlier, the ultrasound of the prostate is a very effective tool used to detect and treat illnesses. More information on how this procedure works is this: It works much like how fisherman and ships use their sonars. When a sound strikes an object, it will then bounce back, or echo. When the echo wave(s) are measured it is easy to determine how far away the object is and its size, shape and consistency (the object could be solid, brimming with fluid, or both).

In an ultrasound examination, a transducer is responsible for sending the sound waves and logging the echo waves. With the transducer up against skin, it guides minute pulses of inaudible, high-frequency sound waves into the body. When the sound waves bounce off the internal organs, fluids and tissues, the microphone in the transducer logs tiny changes in the sound's pitch and direction. These waves are then measured and displayed via a computer, which relays the real-time image on the monitor. Many frames are captured as still images.

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