What is thyroid ultrasound?
If we want to explain very simply, we can say that thyroid ultrasound uses sound waves to produce 2D images of the thyroid gland in the neck. Ultrasound does not use ionized radiation and is usually used to evaluate lumps or nodules found during routine physical examination or other imaging scans.
What is thyroid ultrasound like?
To answer the question “How is thyroid ultrasound?” you must first learn about
ultrasound
self-imaging. Ultrasound imaging is a non-invasive medical scan that helps doctors diagnose and treat patients’ medical conditions. This scan is safe and painless. Using sound waves, it produces images from inside the body. Ultrasound imaging is also called ultrasound. In this method, the imaging specialist uses a small probe called a transducer and gel that is placed directly on the skin.
High-frequency sound waves from the probe are transmitted to the body via gel. The probe collects sounds that return. A computer uses those sound waves to create an image. X-rays are not used in ultrasound examinations. Since ultrasound takes images in real time, it can show the structure and movement of the body’s internal organs. These images can also show blood flow in blood vessels.
Thyroid ultrasound creates images of the thyroid gland and its adjacent structures in the neck. The thyroid gland is located at the front of the neck just above the collar bones and is in the form of a butterfly, and a lobe on either side of the neck is connected with a narrow strip of tissue called eastmus thyroid. It is one of nine endocrine glands located throughout the body that send hormones into the bloodstream.
The thyroid gland builds thyroid hormones that help regulate various bodily functions, including heart rate. It is very common to develop spot areas or nodals in the thyroid that may or may not feel on the surface of the skin. About five to 10 percent of adults have masses in their thyroid that the doctor can identify in their examination. These masses are called palpable nodules.
Ultrasound is very sensitive and shows many nodes that cannot be felt. In some age groups, nodules are seen in ultrasound in 70% of adults. The vast majority of these parts are benign areas of thyroid tissue that pose no health risk. Their minority are real thyroid tumors and may require further diagnosis or treatment.
What is the reason for using thyroid ultrasound?
Thyroid ultrasound is usually used to check for:
• To determine whether a lump in the neck is caused by a thyroid or an adjacent structure
• To analyze the appearance of thyroid nodules and determine whether they are more common benign nodules or whether nodules have features that require biopsies. If biopsy is needed, fine needle-guided aspiration can help improve biopsy accuracy.
• To search for additional nodes in patients who have one or more nodules felt in physical examination
• To see if thyroid nodules have grown significantly over time
Since ultrasound provides real-time or real-time images, doctors may use it to guide procedures, including needle biopsies. Biopsies use needles to extract tissue samples for laboratory testing. Doctors also use ultrasound to guide catheter placement or other discharge devices. This helps ensure safe and accurate placement.
But then a sonothyroid scan might ask you what normal thyroid ultrasound looks like? A normal and healthy thyroid ultrasound shows that the thyroid has a normal size, shape and position.
What are the non-normal results of thyroid ultrasound?
Abnormal thyroid ultrasound results may be due to:
• Cysts (fluid-filled nodules)
• Enlargement of the thyroid gland (goiter)
• Thyroid nodules
• Thyroiditis or thyroid inflammation (if biopsy)
• Thyroid cancer (if a biopsy is performed)
Your doctor can use the interpretation of these results and other test results for your treatment method. Thyroid ultrasound is also able to predict whether thyroid nodules are benign or cancerous. Many thyroid ultrasound reports now give a score to each node and discuss the characteristics of the node that generated the score.
However, ultrasound imaging for thyroid is not the only imaging method. Another imaging method is
thyroid scanning by nuclear medicine
. In the thyroid scan of nuclear medicine, a nuclear drug such as technium or iodine is injected to the patient and then the patient is placed in front of gamma-camra detectors and imaging is performed. Thyroid scans by nuclear medicine have many advantages because it is able to show intrathyroid metabolism and function, but on the contrary thyroid ultrasound is a method associated with radiation or harmful radiation.
How is thyroid ultrasound ready?
Before undergoing thyroid ultrasound, you can eat normally. No special preparation is required for thyroid suvonography. During the ultrasound, your thyroid images will appear on a monitor screen and several images will be measured.
Frequently Asked Questions in Ultrasonography
What are doctors looking for in thyroid ultrasound?
Thyroid ultrasound is an audio wave image of the thyroid gland that is taken by a handheld instrument and converted into a 2D image on the monitor. This scan is used in the diagnosis of tumors, cysts or thyroid goiter and is a painless and risk-free procedure.
How long does thyroid ultrasound take?
Thyroid ultrasound lasts approximately 30 minutes.
When does your doctor prescribe thyroid ultrasound?
If the thyroid function test is abnormal or if your doctor feels your thyroid gland is too large during a neck examination, you may prescribe thyroid ultrasound. Your doctor may also prescribe thyroid ultrasound to diagnose an underactive or hyperthyroid thyroid gland. It may also sometimes be a thyroid ultrasound as part of a general examination and checkup.
Final Word
Finally, it can be said that thyroid ultrasound is a low-risk or safe medical imaging method by which many thyroid diseases can be understood. But one of the challenges patients usually take is getting
thyroid ultrasound turns
.
Many users like to know where the ultrasound is around me? In the scan of medicine, we aim to answer these concerns and questions. Our mission on the one hand is to raise public awareness in the field of medical imaging and on the other hand, direct patients to receive medical imaging appointments from the nearest location and in the easiest way possible. So trust the medical scan and ask us for your problems and solutions without any concerns.
Sample of thyroid ultrasound images:
