# Ultrasound

Source: https://onco.cc/technologies/ultrasound/  
OnCo record `ultrasound` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Ultrasound uses sound waves to make live pictures; it is cheap, safe, and used to guide needles into lumps.

## Summary

Ultrasound sends pulses of high-frequency sound into the body and builds an image from echoes reflected at tissue interfaces, while Doppler shows blood flow. It is first-line for breast lumps, thyroid nodules, liver and lymph nodes, and guides most biopsies because it is real-time, portable and free of radiation. Endoscopic ultrasound, with the probe inside the gut, stages pancreatic, oesophageal and rectal cancer and samples lesions that external probes cannot reach. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound and elastography add characterisation of blood flow and tissue stiffness. Its weaknesses are that image quality depends heavily on the operator and that sound cannot pass through bone or air, so lung and skeletal disease need other methods. Ultrasound is the cheap, safe, live imaging that puts the needle in the lump.

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Status: standard-of-care
- Last checked: 2026-09-04
- Principle: Pulse-echo of high-frequency sound; reflection at tissue interfaces builds the image. Doppler shows blood flow.
- Strengths: Real-time, portable, no radiation; Ideal biopsy guidance
- Limitations: Operator dependent; Cannot see through bone or air

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_ultrasound
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_ultrasound

## Connected records

- technologies: [Active surveillance of papillary microcarcinoma](https://onco.cc/technologies/active-surveillance-thyroid/), [Cryoablation systems](https://onco.cc/technologies/cryoablation-systems/), [Elastography and contrast-enhanced ultrasound](https://onco.cc/technologies/ultrasound-elastography-ceus/), [Endoscopic ultrasound and EBUS systems](https://onco.cc/technologies/endoscopic-ultrasound-systems/), [Hand-held and point-of-care ultrasound](https://onco.cc/technologies/hand-held-ultrasound/), [HCC surveillance in cirrhosis (ultrasound + AFP)](https://onco.cc/technologies/hcc-surveillance/), [High-risk pancreatic surveillance (CAPS / PRECEDE)](https://onco.cc/technologies/pancreatic-surveillance/), [Microwave and radiofrequency ablation systems](https://onco.cc/technologies/microwave-rf-ablation/), [Quantum-dot and molecular ultrasound imaging agents](https://onco.cc/technologies/quantum-dot-imaging/), [Strain echocardiography (global longitudinal strain)](https://onco.cc/technologies/strain-echocardiography-gls/), [Thyroglobulin, calcitonin and CEA in thyroid cancer follow-up](https://onco.cc/technologies/thyroid-cancer-markers/), [Thyroid nodule FNA, Bethesda cytology & molecular classifiers](https://onco.cc/technologies/thyroid-fna-molecular/)
- cancers: [Breast cancer (all types)](https://onco.cc/cancers/breast-cancer/), [Early hepatocellular carcinoma (BCLC 0 and A)](https://onco.cc/cancers/hcc-early/), [Gallbladder cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/gallbladder/), [Gestational trophoblastic neoplasia](https://onco.cc/cancers/gestational-trophoblastic/), [Hepatoblastoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/hepatoblastoma/), [Hepatocellular carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/hcc/), [High-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (FIGO score 7 or more, including ultra-high-risk)](https://onco.cc/cancers/high-risk-gtn/), [HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/breast-hr-positive/), [Inflammatory breast cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/inflammatory-breast-cancer/), [Low-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (FIGO score 0 to 6)](https://onco.cc/cancers/low-risk-gtn/), [Low-risk neuroblastoma (INRG very low and low risk, including stage MS)](https://onco.cc/cancers/neuroblastoma-low-risk/), [Melanoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/melanoma/), [Multisystem Langerhans cell histiocytosis (with or without risk-organ involvement)](https://onco.cc/cancers/lch-multisystem/), [Neuroblastoma (paediatric)](https://onco.cc/cancers/neuroblastoma/), [Ovarian cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/ovarian/), [Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/pancreatic/), [Phyllodes tumour of the breast](https://onco.cc/cancers/phyllodes-tumour/), [Single-system Langerhans cell histiocytosis (bone, skin or one other organ)](https://onco.cc/cancers/lch-single-system/), [Thyroid cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/thyroid/), [Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)](https://onco.cc/cancers/tnbc/), [Wilms tumour (nephroblastoma)](https://onco.cc/cancers/wilms-tumor/)
- fronts: [Imaging](https://onco.cc/fronts/imaging/)
- companies: [Butterfly Network](https://onco.cc/companies/butterfly-network/), [Canon Medical Systems](https://onco.cc/companies/canon-medical/), [Cook Medical](https://onco.cc/companies/cook-medical/), [FUJIFILM Healthcare](https://onco.cc/companies/fujifilm/), [GE HealthCare](https://onco.cc/companies/ge-healthcare/), [iSono Health](https://onco.cc/companies/isono-health/), [Mindray](https://onco.cc/companies/mindray/), [Pentax Medical (HOYA)](https://onco.cc/companies/pentax-medical/), [Philips](https://onco.cc/companies/philips/), [Siemens Healthineers](https://onco.cc/companies/siemens-healthineers/)
- trials: [MSLT-II](https://onco.cc/trials/mslt-ii/), [To Evaluate Dose and Safety of NanoEcho Particle-1 Using NanoEcho Imaging Device Examinations of Rectal Lymph Nodes in Healthy Volunteers and Rectal Cancer Patients.](https://onco.cc/trials/nct06693375/), [UKCTOCS](https://onco.cc/trials/ukctocs/)
- ideas: [Mobile diagnostic units that biopsy, scan and treat on the same visit](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-acc-mobile-see-and-treat-units/), [One-stop breast clinics: imaging, biopsy and a preliminary answer in a single visit](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-acc-one-stop-breast-diagnostic-clinic/), [Replace six-monthly ultrasound with a blood test for liver cancer in cirrhosis](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-prev-hcc-blood-surveillance-cirrhosis/), [Risk-targeted ultrasound screening in high-incidence regions, tested against usual care](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-gbc-risk-targeted-ultrasound-in-high-incidence-regions/), [Stop biopsying small thyroid nodules and never screen the thyroid](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-prev-thyroid-no-screening-no-small-biopsy/), [Ultrasound restraint and surveillance to reverse thyroid cancer overdiagnosis](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-thyroid-overdiagnosis-reversal/)
- terms: [Gallbladder polyp (polypoid lesion)](https://onco.cc/terms/gallbladder-polyp/), [Thyroid cancer after neck radiotherapy, and whether to look for it](https://onco.cc/terms/second-primary-thyroid-after-neck-radiotherapy/)
- key papers: [Management and follow-up of gallbladder polyps: updated joint guidelines between the ESGAR, EAES, EFISDS and ESGE](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-gallbladder-polyp-joint-guideline-eur-radiol-2022/), [Outcomes of Gallbladder Polyps and Their Association With Gallbladder Cancer in a 20-Year Cohort](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-szpakowski-gallbladder-polyps-20-year-cohort-jama-netw-open-2020/), [Polyp size of 1 cm is insufficient to discriminate neoplastic and non-neoplastic gallbladder polyps](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-wennmacker-gallbladder-polyp-size-threshold-surg-endosc-2019/), [The risk of malignancy in ultrasound detected gallbladder polyps: A systematic review](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-elmasry-gallbladder-polyp-malignancy-systematic-review-int-j-surg-2016/)
- roadmaps: [Gallbladder cancer roadmap: from a chance finding at gallstone surgery to a disease with its own trials](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/gallbladder-cancer-roadmap/)
- people: [Usha Menon](https://onco.cc/people/usha-menon/)

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