Ultrasound Worksheet

A Read the short text and complete the gaps with words from the box.

images      investigation     sound      ionizing      referrals      transducer


Ultrasound examination uses high-frequency _____ (1) waves to view organs and structures inside the
body. The waves are generated and received by a hand-held device called a ____ (2). The reflected
waved are processed by a computer which produces detailed ____ (3) for display on a monitor.
Ultrasound is safe as it does not employ ____ (4) radiation like X-rays. It is a cheap, quick and
non-invasive ___ (5) – with no surgical procedure – for a wide range of ____ (6), although results
can be unsatisfactory in obese patients.

B Video

0 Adjectives review: lateral, subcostal, intercostal, longitudinal, medial, mid-sagittal, superior,
inferior, transverse, supine, decubitus

1 Equipment: ultrasound ____, a selection of _____, an examination _____, positioning _____ (wedge,
sponges, _____), a chair, acoustic ______, examination _______, bed linen and _______, the
sonographer’s _______

2 Before the procedure, the patient should be well ___________, have a ______________;

3 During pre-procedure stage, you should:

explain to the patient the technique of b_________ t____________;

ask the patient to l_____ s___________;

expose the patient’s a______________,

apply p______-w___________ acoustic gel to the upper abdomen;

select a transducer of the appropriate f_______________;

c________________ the correct transducer selection;

perform a s_______________ of the abdomen,

make any necessary adjustments to the machine’s settings to m_________________ the image quality


4 Procedure:

To scan the kidney, what are the most useful transducer positions?

When you rotate the transducer into an oblique plane, what do you ask your patient to do?

What is the liver used for/as?

How many separate longitudinal images do you take?

How do you measure the length of the kidney?

What is the function of the freeze button?

How many transverse images do you take? In which parts of the kidney?

What is colour flow used for? What can obscure the image?


C Grammar Point – Passive Voice Revision

A new ultrasound machine ^1_______ (buy) for our hospital. The project ^2_______ (start) three
years ago and this time last week it ^3_______(deliver)! The launching should have been last month,
but it ^4_______ (delay) until the director was back from his holiday. The machine ^5_______
(finally / install) two days ago, and yesterday it ^6_______(inaugurate) by the town mayor. The
machine is very unusual and ^7_______ (design) by Dan Farley, one of the best in the UK. It has
many functions and ^8_______ (use) by people from all over the county. A machine like this ^9
_______ (need) in Moreton for a long time and ^10_______ (welcome) by the local people.


1 They have bought some new equipment.

Some new equipment __________________________________


2 The sonographer told the patient to lie supine.

The patient _____________________________________


3 The doctor applied acoustic gel.

Acoustic gel _______________________________


4 The nurse will give the patient a pillow to lie on.

A pillow __________________________________


5 The doctor must take three images of the kidney.

Three images _________________________________


6 He’s going to print the images for later use.

The images ___________________________________