Basic Transthoracic Echocardiographic Imaging

June 12, 2019September 4, 2019 ~ Murat Yazici, Turkey ~ Leave a comment

In the adult transthoracic echocardiographic (TTE) imaging, a standard series of cross-sectional anatomical views are recommended by the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE).

There are two major obstacles for ultrasound beam transmission: 1) bony chest wall, 2) air-filled lungs. Specific ultrasound transducer positions on the chest wall are required in order to perform optimal examination.

Four primary transducer positions or “windows” are recommended. For patients with normal levocardia, the examination begins at (1) the left parasternal window, followed by the apical window, (3) the subcostal or subxiphoid window, and (4) the suprasternal notch window

In this blog post, I will try to explain the “windows” of the echocardiographic imaging through drawings

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Bat Sign

February 18, 2019February 11, 2019 ~ iEM Education Project Team ~ Leave a comment

Dear students/interns, learn ultrasonographic anatomy and clinical ultrasound basics to improve your decision making processes.

The bat sign is critical for correct identification of the pleural line. Always begin lung ultrasound by identifying the bat sign before proceeding to look for artifacts and pathologies.

This sign is formed when scanning across 2 ribs with the intervening intercostal space.

The wings are formed by the 2 ribs, casting an acoustic shadow. The body is the first continuous horizontal hyperechoic line that starts below one rib and extends all the way to the other. (see above video) The body is the pleural line, i.e., parietal pleural. Normally, the pleural line is opposed to and hence indistinguishable from the lung line (formed by the visceral pleura).

To learn more about it, read chapter below.

Read "Blue Protocol" Chapter

Medical students’ ultrasound training – SURVEY

February 18, 2019February 18, 2019 ~ iEM Education Project Team ~ Leave a comment

There are many studies showing benefits of ultrasound training about understanding anatomy, pathologies and improving clinical decision making. Countries show different approaches to implementing ultrasound training at the medical school level. There are many obstacles such as staff, equipment, training manikins, dedicated time in curriculum design. International organizations are trying to find solutions for these obstacles and encouraging to implement ultrasound training into the medical school curriculum. Ultrasound can be a valuable diagnostic and procedural tool in many low resourced countries, especially where the CT scans and x-rays are not available. However, even in developed countries, medical students’ training on ultrasonography skills is still an infancy period.

We conducted a 1-minute survey to explore the global situation in order to understand current applications in medical schools. We hope you fill and share this survey with your professional contacts and students.