Salem Radiology has a comprehensive and very busy ultrasound practice. Among our most common ultrasound procedures are abdominal and pelvic exams, OB (fetal) exams, breast exams and thyroid exams.

As part of our Women's Health / Interventional Radiological Procedure (IRP) expansion in 2008 and in an effort to better serve growing demand from our patients and their doctors, we dramatically expanded (nearly doubling) our ultrasound capacity. We doubled our staff, acquired two new highly versatile state-of-the-art Siemens ultrasound machines, expanded our schedules and built a beautiful new ultrasound suite at our Salem location. We continue to offer ultrasound in our North Andover location as well.

The Basics
Ultrasound is a simple, painless, and safe diagnostic procedure which works by bouncing high-frequency sound waves off of parts of the body and capturing the returning "echoes" as images. There is no radiation associated with an ultrasound exam. Ultrasound images are viewed as "live" images showing various features and functions of the body. Ultrasound captures images of pelvic and abdominal function, breast abnormalities, kidney and thyroid function, and fetal development. The individual performing the examination is a specially-trained certified technologist known as a Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer (RDMS) or more simply, a sonographer.

Patient Preparation   You will be provided specific information about required preparation when your exam is scheduled. Following is a summary of the "prep" required for the more common ultrasound exams:

• Abdomen exams: for morning appointments, no food, drink or smoking from midnight the night before; for afternoon appointments, light early breakfast with no food, drink or smoking before appointment.
• Pelvic exams require that you consume approximately 32 ounces of water 1 hour prior to your exam.
• OB (fetal) ultrasounds: less than 22 weeks requires 32 ounces of water 1 hour prior to exam; greater than 22 weeks requires no prep.
• Breast exams require no preparation.
• Thyroid exams require no preparation.

As always, please remember to bring a copy of any related images, test results or reports from other locations as these are an important part of our radiologist's review of your exam. And, please remember to bring a copy of your insurance card with you.

What Can I Expect?
You will be asked to remove articles of clothing or jewelry around the area being examined. The sonographer may give you special instructions during the examination, such as holding your breath to help keep the echoes from blurring. The procedure starts with the sonographer applying a "conducting gel". The gel acts to help carry the sound waves and enhance the images being returned. The sonographer will then move a probe device known as a transducer over the skin which acts to pass sound waves through the body and capture the echoes. Images are instantly projected onto a television-like monitor and recorded to a digital file or videotape for the radiologist to review and interpret.

Length of Exam   20 minutes (e.g., abdomen) to 60 minutes (e.g. carotid arteries or OB biophysical profile)

Obtaining the Results   You should always consult with your doctor to obtain the results of your exam. The availability of those results depends on the nature of the exam, the findings of the radiologist and the specific needs of your doctor with respect to recommending a treatment plan.

Urgent and Complex Cases   When doctors request results quickly due to the nature of the case, our clinical team will provide the doctor with a "preliminary read" (sometimes called a "STAT" or "WET" read) either on a hand-written fax or via a telephone call to the doctor's office. We will also "call" preliminary results into your doctor's office even if not specifically requested if the radiologist deems that the findings may warrant more timely action by your doctor.

It is also common on these cases and in particular, on complex cases, for our radiologists to consult with your doctor directly. This direct line of communication provides your doctor with prompt and actionable diagnostic information which they in turn can use in recommending an immediate course of treatment. After the preliminary findings are reported to the patient's doctor, these cases follow the standard process described below for non-urgent cases, with a final report going to the doctor's office within approximately 24 hours.

Non-Urgent Cases   For those exams which are not urgent in nature, transcribed reports are typically available within 24 hours. Our radiologists review the images taken during an exam, consult prior images or other related clinical information, and dictate a report of their findings. Our onsite transcriptionists then type the reports which are faxed and / or mailed to your doctor's office based on your doctor's particular preferences.

Your doctors also have the ability to access your images and reports online via the Internet.