General Ultrasound
NE Calgary

Saddletown Radiology is pleased to provide comprehensive general ultrasound services to meet all your health needs. General ultrasound imaging uses sound waves to produce pictures of the inside of the body, displaying the images in thin, flat sections of the body. These images help examine many of the body’s internal organs and can help to diagnose the cause of things like swelling, pain, and infection in the body’s internal organs, including the gallbladder, liver, kidneys, uterus, pancreas, ovaries, prostate, testicles, breasts, thyroid, and some musculoskeletal tissues. General ultrasound can also be used to examine an unborn child (fetus) in pregnant women, as well as to evaluate the blood flow in the veins and arteries in the neck, legs, abdomen, and heart. General ultrasound is safe, noninvasive, and does not use radiation.

A renal ultrasound looks at one or both kidneys using a diagnostic ultrasound. The kidneys filter waste products out of your blood, which then leave the body as urine. A detailed picture of the kidneys is important in the diagnosis and management of kidney-related diseases. This noninvasive diagnostic exam produces images of the kidney that are used to assess the shape, size, and location of the kidneys and related structures, or to assess the blood flow to the kidneys. Renal ultrasounds can detect things like tumors, abscesses, cysts, obstructions, fluid collection and infection within the kidneys or around the kidneys.

Vascular ultrasound is an ultrasound method used to examine the circulation in the body’s blood vessels. It can also evaluate veins or arteries in nearly any part of the body. It may be recommended in order to locate and identify blockages and abnormalities, detect blood clots in major veins of the legs or arms, determine whether a patient is a good candidate for a vascular procedure, determine if there is an enlarged artery (aneurysm), or evaluate varicose veins, among other things. Evaluating circulation helps determine if there is a risk of stroke or vascular disease. A vascular ultrasound is non-invasive, meaning it does not require the use of dyes, needles, radiation, or anesthesia. During a vascular ultrasound, sound waves are transmitted through the tissues of the area being examined, which reflect off blood cells moving within the blood vessels. The sound waves then return to the ultrasound machine, where they are recorded and displayed on a computer screen as an image of the blood vessel. The findings allow for the calculation of the speed at which the blood cells are moving.

A hernia occurs when an area of tissue or organ pushes through the groin or abdominal muscle. If left untreated, hernias can lead to severe complications, so it is important to schedule an appointment with an experienced specialist who can quickly diagnose and treat your hernia. Sometimes a hernia can be diagnosed with a physical exam only. Other times, there may be symptoms of a hernia (like pain), but no obvious protrusion or palpable mass. In such cases, a hernia ultrasound may be ordered. Using a handheld transducer, a hernia ultrasound is a noninvasive and simple test that uses sound waves to create real-time images of the precise location of your pain and/or the locations most commonly associated with hernia, in order to definitively diagnose a hernia and seek the appropriate treatment.

A vascular doppler ultrasound is a noninvasive test that evaluates movement of materials in the body. While a regular ultrasound uses sound waves to produce images, it cannot show blood flow. A vascular doppler ultrasound uses sound waves to evaluate the body’s circulatory system, and helps identify blockages in the arteries and veins, as well as detect blood clots. Seeing and evaluating blood flow is helpful to detect blood clots in the vein, confirm leaky valves in the veins that can cause swelling or edema, and confirm chronic venous insufficiency. You may need a vascular doppler ultrasound if you have any symptoms of reduced blood flow or heart disease, including weakness or numbness in your legs, a cold feeling in your lower foot or leg, cramping that is painful in your leg muscles or hips when climbing or walking stairs, or a change in colour and/or shiny skin on your leg. You may also need a vascular doppler ultrasound if you have had an injury to your blood vessels, have suffered a stroke, are being treated for a blood disorder, or are pregnant and it is thought that your or your unborn baby might have a blood flow problem.

A pelvic ultrasound is a safe and noninvasive diagnostic exam that uses sound waves to produce images that are used to evaluate organs and structures within the pelvis. Using a handheld device called a transducer, that is placed on the abdomen using a conductive gel, a pelvic ultrasound in women would include investigation of the cervix, fallopian tubes, ovaries, uterus, vagina, and bladder. In men, it would include the bladder, the prostate, and the seminal vesicles. A pelvic ultrasound can help diagnose and assist in the treatment of any abnormalities in the structure of the uterus, like cysts or tumours, and would include endometrial conditions. In terms of preparation for a pelvic ultrasound, your bladder will need to be full, which makes the organs show up more clearly in the pictures for easier reading.