You are probably familiar with the use of Ultrasound in medicine. Many couples have had an ultrasound taken of their child in-utero so that they could find out if their baby was developing normally and know its gender. This is important, otherwise, how would they plan their baby’s gender reveal party and what color cupcakes to serve?

All joking aside, Wireless Pocket Ultrasound MX9 is a very important diagnostic tool used in many areas of medicine, including Cardiology, Obstetrics, and Gynecology. We use ultrasound in Orthopaedics as well, for many diagnostic purposes, but also to provide guidance when we do injections into joints, tendons, and ligaments.

Ultrasound for Diagnostics

Ultrasound, or Sonography, can be a very effective diagnostic tool for Orthopaedic Physicians, as the technology has improved greatly and allows for much higher image resolution. Soft tissues that cannot be seen on x-ray, such as muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints, can be visualized easily. It is also helpful for detecting foreign bodies or abnormal growths, such as tumors or calcifications. Ultrasound can also be used to measure the bone health and density of a patient. We utilize a portable, ultrasonic bone densitometer at OSC for health fairs being held in the area, so we can increase awareness of the importance of bone health in the community.

There are other benefits when using Sonography as a diagnostic tool, including:

Real-time assessment of patient pathology
Very low cost, compared to an MRI or CT scan
Non-invasive, zero radiation exposure for patient
Not painful for the patient
Easily accessible, portable equipment
No worry about patient claustrophobia
Patient can be positioned comfortably during the brief exam
Can be used safely on patients with pacemakers or other metal implants

Pocket Wireless Ultrasound Guidance for Steroid Injections

 Steroids get a lot of bad press. Our body produces steroids naturally, as they are hormones important for normal body functioning. It is only when a person abuses prescription steroids and takes them in mass quantities that they become undesirable. You may envision some muscle-bound dude walking around like The Hulk, breaking things and being in a bad mood all the time.

Synthetic pharmacological steroids or corticosteroids are one of the most valuable medications I use to help patients feel better. Steroid medications have incredible anti-inflammatory properties that help to reduce swelling by reducing the immune response. Although no one likes to get an injection, steroids can be directly placed into the inflamed tissue, whether that be a joint, tendon, bursa, ligament or muscle, or near an inflamed nerve. If you take steroids orally, they are distributed throughout your body and a much smaller dose goes to the inflamed area. The injection provides pinpoint (no pun intended) accuracy and gets a much higher concentration of medication where it needs to be. The result – your pain decreases, your function returns and you feel better – FASTER.

Any experienced orthopedic physician can give a steroid injection without ultrasound guidance and should be able to get the medication very close to where it needs to go. However, with ultrasound guidance, guidance, I can visualize the tissue that is injured or diseased and put the medication exactly where I think it will result in the most healing and quickest pain relief. Using ultrasound also allows me to visualize natural pathways within the body, reducing resistance to the hypodermic needle, so that the injection may not cause as much bruising or soreness. It also may result in a more comfortable injection for the patient.

Sonography guided injections provide better accuracy and also a better patient experience, with improved outcomes and recovery. Now you know why we use Ultrasound to guide us when you receive an injection.