Point-of-care ultrasound is a type of technique that allows the examination of the patients at the bedside. At the present moment, it is not going to replace other classical technologies like the stethoscope, but it is a promising development. The equipment is becoming more compact, it is not an expensive device and also can be widely used for different functions. Because of this, it has been very important in the emergency department. Although the benefits and facilities point-of-care are clear, it is necessary to discuss some issues in order to spread the usage and increase the efficiency of this technique. The ultrasonography (US) was developed based on research about the sound and its interaction with different materials. The earliest
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The type of energy involved in this process is what we named of ultrasound, which is a high-frequency sound wave. For humans, audible sounds are around 20 to 20,000 Hz; the ultrasound is above this range and the ones applied in diagnostic use is in the millions of Hertz (MHZ) (Bhargava, 2002). The technique used by the US transducer is called of US pulse-echo technique – the pulse is what is transmitted by the machine and the echo is the part that is reflected. The image is formed from the differences of the times that the echoes takes to be recognized after the pulse is transmitted and also with their strength (Brant,2012). In fact, those times are related with the distance between the transducer and the target tissue and the strength is what provide the black and white image. The brightness – which can vary in a grey scale - depends on the contents of the tissue; the ultrasound penetration is not good in air and bones, although it can pass well trough liquids and solid organs (Moore and Copel, 2011)*. The echogenicity is the characteristic used to classify the tissues. They can be label from anechoic, when it is black on the image, hypoechoic, when it is gray, to hyperechoic, when it is white. For example, the bones and blood vessels are anechoic while the connective tissues are hyperechoic (Ihnatsenka, …show more content…
Other advantage is that it can be repeated to accompany possible changes in the patient’s condition. Because of those aspects, the point-of-care ultrasound has great applicability in several areas. First, it has been widely used in the emergency department (E.D), especially to look for potential hemorrhage in trauma patients, which increase the efficacy of the assessment. As a result, it may also reduce the hospital staying, avoid the need for peritoneal lavage and also decrease the mortality rate in the E.D (O’Dochartaigh and Douma, 2015). The protocol applied is called FAST (Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma) and it consist on a goal-directed examination described as a “method to document fluid in the pericardial sac, hepato-renal fossa, spleno-renal fossa, and pelvis or pouch of Douglas” by Kool and Blickman,
The type of energy involved in this process is what we named of ultrasound, which is a high-frequency sound wave. For humans, audible sounds are around 20 to 20,000 Hz; the ultrasound is above this range and the ones applied in diagnostic use is in the millions of Hertz (MHZ) (Bhargava, 2002). The technique used by the US transducer is called of US pulse-echo technique – the pulse is what is transmitted by the machine and the echo is the part that is reflected. The image is formed from the differences of the times that the echoes takes to be recognized after the pulse is transmitted and also with their strength (Brant,2012). In fact, those times are related with the distance between the transducer and the target tissue and the strength is what provide the black and white image. The brightness – which can vary in a grey scale - depends on the contents of the tissue; the ultrasound penetration is not good in air and bones, although it can pass well trough liquids and solid organs (Moore and Copel, 2011)*. The echogenicity is the characteristic used to classify the tissues. They can be label from anechoic, when it is black on the image, hypoechoic, when it is gray, to hyperechoic, when it is white. For example, the bones and blood vessels are anechoic while the connective tissues are hyperechoic (Ihnatsenka, …show more content…
Other advantage is that it can be repeated to accompany possible changes in the patient’s condition. Because of those aspects, the point-of-care ultrasound has great applicability in several areas. First, it has been widely used in the emergency department (E.D), especially to look for potential hemorrhage in trauma patients, which increase the efficacy of the assessment. As a result, it may also reduce the hospital staying, avoid the need for peritoneal lavage and also decrease the mortality rate in the E.D (O’Dochartaigh and Douma, 2015). The protocol applied is called FAST (Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma) and it consist on a goal-directed examination described as a “method to document fluid in the pericardial sac, hepato-renal fossa, spleno-renal fossa, and pelvis or pouch of Douglas” by Kool and Blickman,