10 Interesting Facts about Ultrasound

One of these following facts about ultrasound might probably give you more information about it. As you know, ultrasound is an oscillating sound pressure wave with a frequency greater than the upper limit of the human hearing range. Ultrasound is thus not separated from ‘normal’ (audible) sound based on differences in physical properties, only the fact that humans cannot hear it. Although this limit varies from person to person, it is approximately 20 kilohertz in healthy, young adults. Ultrasound devices operate with frequencies from 20 kHz up to several gigahertz. To get to know more about it, here are some other facts about ultrasound you might want to know.

Facts about ultrasound 1: Ultrasonic Devices

Ultrasound is used in many different fields. Ultrasonic devices are used to detect objects and measure distances. Ultrasonic imaging (sonography) is used in both veterinary medicine and human medicine. In the nondestructive testing of products and structures, ultrasound is used to detect invisible flaws.

Facts about ultrasound 2: Ultrasonics

Ultrasonics is the application of ultrasound. Ultrasound can be used for medical imaging, detection, measurement and cleaning. At higher power levels, ultrasonics is useful for changing the chemical properties of substances.

Facts about ultrasound 3: Perception in Humans

The upper frequency limit in humans (approximately 20 kHz) is due to limitations of the middle ear. Auditory sensation can occur if high-intensity ultrasound is fed directly into the human skull and reaches the cochlea through bone conduction, without passing through the middle ear.

Facts about ultrasound 4: Perception in Animals

Many insects have good ultrasonic hearing and most of these are nocturnal insects listening for echolocating bats. This include many groups of moths, beetles, praying mantids and lacewing. Upon hearing a bat, some insects will make Evasive manoeuvres to escape being caught.Ultrasonic frequencies trigger a reflex action in the noctuid moth that cause it to drop slightly in its flight to evade attack.

Facts about ultrasound 5: Ultrasound Identification

Ultrasound Identification is a Real Time Locating System or Indoor Positioning System technology used to automatically track and identify the location of objects in real time using simple, inexpensive nodes (badges/tags) attached to or embedded in objects and devices, which then transmit an ultrasound signal to communicate their location to microphone sensors.

Facts about ultrasound 6: Acoustic Microscopy

Acoustic Microscopy is the technique of using sound waves to visualize structures too small to be resolved by the human eye. Frequencies up to several gigahertz are used in acoustic microscopes. The reflection and diffraction of sound waves from microscopic structures can yield information not available with light.

Facts about ultrasound 7: Medical Sonography

Medical sonography is an ultrasound-based diagnostic medical imaging technique used to visualize muscles, tendons, and many internal organs, to capture their size, structure and any pathological lesions with real time tomographic images. Ultrasound has been used by radiologist and sonographers to image the human body for at least 50 years and has become a widely used diagnostic tool.

Facts about ultrasound 8: Veterinary Medicine

Diagnostic ultrasound is used externally in horses for evaluation of soft tissue and tendon injuries, and internally in particular for reproductive work, evaluation of the reproductive tract of the mare and pregnancy detection.It may also be used in an external manner in stallions for evaluation of testicular condition and diameter as well as internally for reproductive evaluation.

Facts about ultrasound 9: Processing and Power

High-power applications of ultrasound often use frequencies between 20 kHz and a few hundred kHz. Intensities can be very high; above 10 watts per square centimeter, cavitation can be inducted in liquid media, and some applications use up to 1000 watts per square centimeter. Such high intensities can induce chemical changes or produce significant effects by direct mechanical action, and can inactivate harmful microrganism.

Facts about ultrasound 10: Biomedical Applications

Ultrasound also has therapeutic applications, which can be highly beneficial when used with dosage precaution. Relatively high power ultrasound can break up stony deposits or tissue, accelerate the effect of drugs in a targeted area, assist in the measurement of the elastic properties of tissue, and can be used to sort cells or small particles for research.

Hope you would find those ultrasound facts really interesting and useful for your additional reading.