ADVANCES TRIGGER AN ULTRASONIC BOOM.

The article discusses the principles and innovations in ultrasonic imaging technology for medical applications. Sonography, the technology used, has a transducer array that transmits soundwaves that are reflected back, forming an image of the scanned area. It uses the frequency range from one to ten megahertz penetrating tissues for several centimeters whether through pulsed or continuous wave mode. New innovations include three dimensional and four dimensional scannings. Two types of systems are analog beam-forming and digital beam-forming. Largest ultrasound systems manufacturers include Seimens Medical Solutions, GE Healthcare Systems and Philip Medical Systems. One of the new applications of the technology is the endoscopic ultrasound.