In a pitch black cave, bats can't see much, but even with their eyes shut they can navigate rocky topography at incredible speeds. This is because of bats flight isn't just guided by its eyes, but rather by its ears. It may seem impossible to see with sound, but bats, naval officers and doctors do it all the time using the unique.
Properties of ultrasound all sound is created when molecules in the air, water or any other medium vibrate in a pulsing wave. The distance between each peak determines the waves frequency, measured as cycles per second or Hertz. This means that over the same amount of time, a high frequency wave will complete more cycles than a low frequency one. This is especially true of ultrasound, which includes any sound wave.
Exceeding 20,000 cycles per second. Humans can't hear or produce sounds with such high frequencies, but our flying friend can when it's too dark to see, he emits an ultrasound wave with tall peaks. Since the wave cycles are happening so quickly, wave after wave rapidly bounces off nearby surfaces. Each waves tall peak hits every nook and cranny, producing an echo that carries a lot of information. By sensing the nuances in this chain.
Of echoes, our bat can create an internal map of its environment. This is how bats use sound to see and the process inspired humans to try and do the same in World War One, French scientists sent ultrasound beams into the ocean to detect nearby enemy submarines. This early form of Sonar was a huge success in large part because sound waves travel even faster through mediums with more tightly packed molecules.
Like water in the 1950s, medical professionals began to experiment with this technique as a noninvasive way to see inside a patient's body. Today, ultrasound imaging is used to evaluate organ damage, measure tissue thickness, and detect gallbladder stones, tumors, and blood clots. But to explore how this tool works in practice, let's consider its most well known use the fetal ultrasound first. The skin is covered.
Conductive gel since sound waves lose speed and clarity when travelling through air. This gooey substance ensures an airtight seal between the body and the wand emitting ultrasound waves.
Then the machine operator begins sending ultrasound beams into the body. The waves pass through liquids like urine, blood, and amniotic fluid without creating any echoes. But when a wave encounters a solid structure, it bounces back. This echo is rendered as a dot on the imaging screen. Objects like bones reflect the most waves appearing as tightly packed dots, forming bright white shapes. Less dense objects appear in fainter.
Shades of Grey slowly creating an image of the fetus's internal organs to get a complete picture. Waves need to reach different depths in the patient's body, bypassing some tissues while echoing off others. Since longer low frequency waves actually penetrate deeper than short, high frequency ones, multiple frequencies are often used together and composited into a lifelike image. The operator can then zoom in and focus on different areas.
And since ultrasound machines send and receive cascades of waves in real time, the machine can even visualize movement. The waves used for medical ultrasound range from 2,000,000 to 10 million Hertz, over 100 times higher than human ears can hear. These incredibly high frequencies create detailed images that allow doctors to diagnose the smallest developmental deviations in the brain, heart, spine and more.
Even outside of prenatal care, medical ultrasound has huge advantages over similar technologies. Unlike radiation based imaging or invasive surgical procedures, ultrasound has no known negative side effects when used properly. At very high levels, the heat caused by ultrasound waves can damage sensitive tissues, but technicians typically use the lowest levels possible. And since modern ultrasound machines can be small and portable, doctors can use them.
In the field, allowing them to see clearly in any medical emergency. Humans use all sorts of technologies to help us see where our eyes can't learn how magnets, lasers and chemicals help us see into the unknown with these article.
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