Randy Reichenfeld. Lois Cone. Amber Lamar. Louis M. Izzo. Garnold Bodenheimer. Samantha Natiello.Sarah Brettrager. Just a few days ago, I'd never heard of any of these people. I've now come to learn they're just some of the 50---50!---men and women who have already signed up as fans of ADVANCE for Imaging and Radiation Therapy Professionals' ...

As you may know, October is Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month. This is our opportunity to increase the public's awareness of the importance of the modality and our profession. It boggles my mind that many people still think that sonography is only used to evaluate pregnancies. However, we know that there are many other important clinical ...

Percutaneous Transhepatic Cholangiography (PTC) is a procedure used to evaluate and treat diseases of the biliary ductal system. During the procedure, a thin needle is placed in one of the biliary radicals. Prior imaging of the area with CT and ultrasound will help delineate the anatomy. Ducts that are normal in size are very difficult to place ...

As summer winds down, the school year rapidly approaches. Hopefully you've taken a vacation that gave you time to replenish your batteries and approach the rest of the year with new-found vigor. With the fall season comes a large number of educational conferences for sonography professionals. In addition to providing continuing medical education ...

I recently received the brochure and registration materials for the 2008 Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound's Annual Meeting. I was somewhat surprised to have received the brochure, because historically the SRU has generally not been very receptive to non-radiologists. In fact, according to the SRU website, http://www.sru.org/, the Society is ...

A colleague recently shared with me a short video that appears on www.youtube.com that describes the potential to use the piezoelectric effect as a form of alternative energy. Sonographers know that the ''piezoelectric effect'' describes the ability of certain materials to generate an electric charge in response to applied mechanical pressure ...

In case you haven't heard, the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS) has announced that starting in Spring 2009, a new Sonography Principles and Instrumentation (SPI) examination will be made available. Before all of you who are already certified have a panic attack, I'll state up-front that active registrants who ...

There have been many studies published recently regarding the benefits of breast ultrasound, even as a screening tool. Breast ultrasound is a common exam for patients experiencing some type of breast symptom throughout our healthcare system. But who is performing this test? Mammographers can now perform breast ultrasound after ...

I recently received the results of the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography's 2008 Sonographer Salary and Benefits Survey. Every few years the SDMS does a survey and provides its membership with the results---it's a nice benefit of being an SDMS member. The results contained in the 87-page survey are rather detailed with data provided ...

The world around us has certainly sped up since I was a child. When I was about seven or eight, I remember after a day of swimming in our pool, my dad suggested we go to this new hamburger place to get Big Macs. Now, fast food surrounds us wherever we go; telephones accompany us in the car; and the internet has opened up the entire world to us at ...