Radiology Forums

hanna · Guest

what is the difference between u/s and other modality....the advantages and disadvantage
thx hanna

Sonographer · Guest

Hanna
I assume that you mean the difference between nuclear medicine, CT/MRI, radiography and interventional radiography.
Being that I am a sonographer I can only answer from the sonography standpoint.
Depending on how much you want to know (i.e. wages, environment, opportunities) or "the difference" from the technical aspect.
Ultrasound is the use of soundwaves to visualize anatomy.
The other modalities use radiation to image the anatomy...
Ultrasound is a very operator dependant imaging modality. This means that we are trained to visualize abnormalities, and tell the difference between what looks "normal" and what doesn't. CT/MRI, x-ray include all anatomy in which the radiologist is able to visualize EVERYTHING! Ultrasound is also able to do so, but it is important the sonographer has trained eyes to include all important anatomical structures, masses, etc....
Ultrasound enables us to get more patient interaction time.
This is a bit of a broad question that you have asked, if you can narrow it down to more specific questions, I would be more than happy to answer them for you!
Good luck with your research!

ashmartin07 · Joined: 24 Feb 2008 Posts: 11

As far as pay, last time I checked, it was (from lowest to highest) xray tech, sonographer, nuc med. The benefit on u/s is you are not exposed to radiation. I also enjoy the fact that the radiologist values my opinion b/c I am the one looking at the pt in real-time, whereas with the others, they are just taking a picture. I hope this helps!