JOAN ATKIN, MD: That's exactly what they are.
It's like sonar, like what the bats use. It is sound waves, and so
there's no radiation, no exposure, and nothing that can harm the growing
fetus inside. But you bounce back sound waves and produce a picture
on a screen. Nowadays, we've gotten much better resolution, so the
pictures are looking better and better, and even the parents looking at
it can recognize parts of their fetus.
MARTY MOSS-COANE: And they can actually see it on
a screen.
JOAN ATKIN, MD: They can, while we're doing it.
MARTY MOSS-COANE: What is the actual gizmo, I guess;
that's not a very medical term, that's used to get these pictures?
Dr. Jackson?
UNJERA JACKSON, MD: The actually equipment is a
relatively large machine that has a transducer attached to it. The
transducers are of various megahertz frequencies, depending upon the penetration
that we wish to achieve in a particular case. The waves are paced
through the transducer, into the tissue and then back again, and the picture
is then cast on the screen.
MARTY MOSS-COANE: Is ultrasound used routinely in
pregnancy?
