Ultrasound Gel
What is it and why do we need it? As you may remember from our post about how ultrasound works, you’ll recall that ultrasound tech utilises sound waves.
Those waves travel through the mother’s tummy and are reflected to the transducer when they reach the surface the clinician would like to examine. Ultrasound waves struggle to travel through air, so when transabdominal ultrasound is performed, we apply a gel to remove any interference from air particles in between the mother’s tummy and the transducer.
This is also the reason why in older ultrasound equipment a full bladder is required to enhance the imaging quality – this is not the case with our advanced Voluson E10!
What are the ingredients you ask? Mainly water and propylene glycol, which is substance often used in food, cosmetics and hygiene products. It is designed to be sticky to allow it to be spread on the tummy without running off.
At City Ultrasound we use a purposely designed ultrasound gel warmer to avoid the unpleasant sensation when a cold gel is applied. Because the small details matter…
