Ultrasound technicians can specialize in areas of diagnostic medicine that focus particularly on disorders of the nervous system. The nervous system is complex, consisting of a network of cells, known as neurons, which transmit signals and coordinate actions between different parts of the body. The specialty of neurosonography uses ultra high frequency sound waves to uncover blood flow patterns. Ultrasound technology is used to capture images and examine the entire nervous system, both central and peripheral, including the brain, spinal cord, blood vessels, ganglia, and nerves.
Neurosonographers use transducers to perform sonograms on areas of the nervous system, however, the frequencies they use beam different shapes than those that are used by abdominal or obstetric sonographers. By scanning blood vessels in the brain and nervous system, they can check for abnormalities that can be indicative of a potential stroke or brain aneurysm. Scans can be performed in order to examine the inner structure of the brain as well as to find abnormal tumors or masses that may be causing patients to have abnormal symptoms.
Neurosonographers can also work in the area of neonatal care at hospitals in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units. They perform sonograms on premature infants and assist doctors with the diagnosis of neurological and nervous system disorders. They can scan fetuses’ brains for the purpose of diagnosing brain disease or other related health problems. Sonograms are used on infants to determine abnormalities such as congenital defects, intracranial hemorrhage, or hyrdocephalus. Neonatal neurosonographers can also work with infants who have been diagnosed with sickle cell anemia, scanning their blood vessels in order to check for abnormalities that may be indicative of a stroke.
To become a neurosonographer, you must first receive training from an accedited program to be a sonographer. These types of programs can last from two to four years and are offered at universities, colleges, and hospitals. Over the duration of a sonography program students will take courses in anatomy, physiology, basic physics, instrumentation, medical ethics, and patient care. After completing a program, one must pass an examination through the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography to earn certification to practice. After obtaining relevant experience, one can become registered in neurosonography by passing the Neurosonology Specialty Examination in conjunction with the Sonography Principles & Instrumentation Examination. The neurosonology examination, which is three hours long, contains 170 multiple-choice questions covering topics like physics and instrumentation, neurosonography techniques, anatomy and physiology, the recognition of pathology and differential diagnosis, and the medical care of the neonate during scanning.