Division of Ultrasound

Ultrasound preparation (the room is darkened to help us see the screen).

What kind of equipment do we use to perform ultrasounds?
Ultrasound machines produce no radiation. Our machines are about the size of a grocery cart. A TV screen is attached to the machine so that we can view the images. We like to have dim lighting in the room to help us see the pictures more clearly. Ultrasound machines are portable and require no special support or shielding other than a good source of electricity. You may see our machines rolling around the hospital on their way to the intensive care units for bedside scanning of critically ill children or to the operating room to assist our surgeons during challenging procedures.

Our most experienced receptionist, Darcia Rawles

You are encouraged to stay with your child the entire time. You will notice that the rooms are kept fairly dark so that we can see the screen well (something like a darkened movie theater). Most patients will not be asked to remove their clothing. The technologist will push the clothing aside just over the area being imaged. Pictures are made by gently touching the patient's skin with a transducer, which is shaped a bit like a microphone. It is coated with a warmed, jelly-like substance that lets it slide over the skin and helps improve the quality of the image. This is painless and children generally need only calm reassurance by families and staff. Depending on the examination, scanning takes between 10 and 30 minutes (usually 10-15 minutes).

Once the pictures are made, the sonographer reviews them with one of our pediatric radiologists. In some cases, the radiologist will then scan the child as well. Children and families should feel free to ask questions throughout the entire process.

Ultrasound preparation (the room is darkened to help us see the screen).

Members of our division have also undergone additional specialty training so that we can perform transcranial Doppler examinations to evaluate the blood vessels supplying the brain with ultrasound. This is sometimes requested as a screening tool in children with Sickle Cell Disease and other settings when abnormalities of these blood vessels are suspected.

In conjunction with the Advanced Fetal Care Center at Children's Hospital Boston, the same radiologists and technologists who care for your newborn infants and children also perform the fetal ultrasound examinations at our hospital on site in the AFCC. This situation allows the natural application of our neonatal and pediatric expertise to the fetal period. This unique viewpoint adds a new level and depth of understanding, bridging the gap between the fields of obstetrics, maternal fetal medicine, and the many subspecialties of pediatrics.