Lab 12/2/2010 Thyroid

In our final lab we learned how to scan the thyroid! The thyroid is an easy organ to scan because it is superficial but can move around a bit. It is sometimes referred to as the "testes in the neck"... :-)
This lab was very beneficial because we had a chance to scan the thyroid as well as practice on perfecting our scanning of the abdomen before our final exam!!! This semester has flown by but has been a very enjoyable/information filled semester. One down and many more to come! see ya next year! :)

XOXO Sam

Lab 11/18/10 Google Time

In the above image the CBD is visualized. We had Google time so we were able to scan whatever we felt necessary. I scanned a complete abdomen without annotations. This lab was very beneficial to continue to enhance our skill level.

Sam =)

Lab 11/4/2010

In this lab we focused on scanning a complete abdomen and focused on getting quality images as well as expiditing our scanning time. I feel that i am scanning well but I do need to focus on my sweeps to ensure that i have thoroughly visualized every aspect of the anatomy that i am imaging. Sweeps are the most important part of our imaging procedure so i need to focus on that a bit more. Overall another great lab and i am excited to move on to the female pelvis!

Sam =)

Lab 10/28/2010

In this lab we were using color Doppler and also power Doppler while visualizing the kidneys. This lab was great because it gave us a chance to really utilize our machine and made me realize how using some knobs might enhance my image but slow down my frame rate. Also i realized how difficult it is for a patient to hold their breath in order to get right on the vessel. Overall another great lab!

Sam =)

Lab 10/19/2010

In the two images above you can visualize the gallbladder. It is seen in two diferent patient positions. The first image was seen in the supine position and the second in the left lateral decub position. Imaging the gallbladder in two different positions is very important if the patient has stones. The gallbladder tends to move significantly and is easily visualized in both planes and positions. Lab was great over all! =)

XOXO Sam

10/07/2010 Efficiency

In this lab we really worked on time efficiency. This is a very important aspect of our job because when we go out to clinicals we need to be able to obtain the images we need in a timely manner without sacraficing image quality. Our clinical sites are going to expect us to know what it is we are doing and if we aren't up to par it will then in turn look bad on our program and ourselves. So I think this lab was a great learning experience for all of us because it helped us to realize where we need to be at with our scanning abilities! =) This image that i uploaded was an image of this patients pancreas. Even though the pancreas can be somewhat hard to visualize due to the fact that it does not have a capsule, it is easily distinguishable in this image.

XOXO Sam

9/30/2010 =)

In this image i captured a transverse view of the hepatic veins of the liver. This patient was a difficult scan not because of her body habitus, but because she has a sensative abdomin so any pressure was too much pressure. Overall this lab was another great one. We were able to work on obtaining new images never aquired before and perfect our abilities on things we have been scanning for a while now such as great vessels and liver. =)

XOXO Sam

9/23/2010 Google time =)

In this lab we were going to focus on getting familiarized with the different machines and their buttons but unfortunately the power went out 15 minutes into scannig =( So here is one of the four images that i had taken. Google time was a great idea and hopefully we can attempt to do it again in the near future =)

XOXO Sam

9/16/2010

In this lab we got to scan the gallbladder and the biliary tree which was a challenge in itself. The images that I have posted are images of the Gallbladder in different planes and also different patient position. The first two images were taken with the patient in the supine position where as the third was taken in the left lateral decub position. This position is beneficial when diagnosing stones because we can see them role with the help of gravity also the liver acts as a great window to visualize the GB in this position. Overall another fun interactive lab to help us learn the different techniques that we can utilize when images are not obtainable in the normal positions! =)

XOXO Sam

Intercostal Liver Trans PV 09/09/2010

WOW! Is really all i can say. Trying to visualize anatomy intercostally can really throw someone for a loop if you can't wrap your head around the angle that you are trying to visualize the anatomy in! Again another great lab showing us techniques to use and also positions to put the patient in if he/she can not lie on their back. This image above was taken intercostally and it actually turned out very good. Trying to avoid shadowing from the ribs is a big issue when scanning between the ribs! Taking images intercostally really makes us realize how important acoustic windows are. It also made me realize how important shallow and deep breathing is when scanning a patient. With nice deep breaths its great when visualizing anything through the liver because the deep breath helps to move the liver down, thus creating a beautiful acoustic window for us! =)

Shallow breathing would probably be best when visualizing something such as the aortic bifurcation because a deep breath really would not affect it all too much. Also once we get into the lower abdomen shallow breathing will probably be best for imaging those structures as well! =)

XOXO Sam 

Harmonics 09/02/2010

I used harmonics to better visualize this image. Harmonics helps when visualizing anatomy of similar echogenicity. Harmonics helps to visualize the subtle differences in tissues. In this image you can really differentiate vessels from organ tissue due to the effectiveness of harmonics. Harmonics does not make all images greater in appearance. It depends on the patients body habitus and also the structures being visualized! Overall a great lab to help us utilize our knobs to create a better image visually! =)

xoxo Sam

Lab on 8/24/10 First Scanning Experience =)

Wow! Lab was great. It was amazing learning how to move the transducer to get a good image of what we were looking at. I love the way we can just tweak the transducer in any little direction and it will change the appearance of our image completely! Awesome! Also it was a great first scanning experience thanks to Mrs. Stromer and Mr. Dodd taking the time to make those creative bags with all the goodies inside for us to visualize under Ultrasound =) Thanks! Below i will include two images that I myself captured =) The first is of a pickle when I was scanning in long plane. The second is a picture of a balloon filled with water and rocks in a transverse plane. The water inside the balloon was very anechoic in appearance, where as the rocks inside of the water filled balloon were very hyperechoic in appearance. The pickle was very heterogenous in appearance.

I hope you all enjoy my images, and I'm sure there will be more to come in the future! ;-)

XOXO Sam