
Ultrasound imaging is fairly familiar as a result of its widespread use during pregnancy. Ultrasound images are fairly low quality, but ultrasound equipment is cheap and portable which makes it useful it many situations.
Ultrasound scans can also be performed using probes which can be inserted into the body. Some of these probes are small enough to be inserted into a blood vessel. This is useful for investigating some heart conditions.
Ultrasound works by sending out pulses of high-frequency sound, and then listening for echos bouncing back from organs and structures inside the body. By timing how long the echos take to return, the computer can work out how far away the organs are.
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