Seminars in nuclear medicine
-
This article is meant to serve as a simple introduction to diagnostic ultrasound, explaining the nature of sonar and the basic equipment for its production and use. A scans, B scans, time-position scans, and Doppler-shift techniques are described, with some examples of the clinical applications of each. ⋯ The limitations of the technique are indicated, with measures that can be adopted to reduce them. The safety of the procedure is emphasized, with its freedom from the known biological effects of ionizing radiation.
-
Echocardiography (ECHO) and radionuclide cardiography have had a significant impact on pediatric cardiology because they have proved to be sensitive enough to permit early diagnosis of many forms of heart disease and in some cases to estimate its severity and to provide information concerning ventricular performance. An overview of the anatomic and functional information that can be obtained from these two methods will be presented first, followed by details concerning the indications for their use and their relative clinical value in various acquired and congenital heart diseases. We have stressed particularly those facets of pediatric cardiac disease that differ most from those in the adult.