Perth Radiological Clinic | Ultrasound | General, Musculoskeletal and Vascular

Ultrasound can be used to capture images of the pelvis and abdomen, the musculoskeletal system, breast abnormalities, the male reproduction system, the kidney, the thyroid, the gall bladder and pancreas, fetal development and many other indications

Your examination (scan) will be performed by a Radiologist or by a Sonographer, who is a specially trained technologist. The ultrasound is performed to obtain information that will assist your doctor in managing your health. The Sonographer/ Radiologist requires a high level of concentration to ensure an accurate assessment is achieved. For this reason, under most circumstances, family and friends of the patient are not permitted to watch non-obstetric ultrasound scans. You will need to either leave children in the care of a babysitter or bring a babysitter to supervise them in the waiting room, as children must not be left unsupervised in the waiting room.

Please advise our booking staff when making your appointment if you have diabetes and are on Insulin, or suffer epilepsy, to ensure the correct timing for your scan.

Please eat a Fat Free meal 8 hours before your examination and then nothing more until after your examination.
Drink clear fluids (black tea, black coffee, water and cordial) as normal during the 8 hours prior to examination.
Continue to take medication.
No Smoking or chewing gum during the fasting period.
Beginning 1½ hours before appointment time, gradually drink 1000mls (1 litre) of water.
Please finish drinking the 1000mls of water 1 hour before your appointment.
Do not empty bladder

It is very important that these instructions are followed carefully and fully, as failure to do so may result in a cancellation and rebooking of the appointment.

No preparation is required for these exams
Abdominal aorta
Breast
Thyroid
Musculoskeletal
Scrotal
Doppler (e.g. Upper or lower limbs, carotid)
Infant Hips (Bring bottle for baby.)

You may be asked to change into a gown and to lie on a table, you will be covered during your examination except for the area required to be examined. A layer of warmed gel will be spread over the area to be examined to facilitate good contact as this helps to produce the best possible images. The ultrasound transducer is then placed over the area to be investigated. Ultrasound examinations are not painful and are generally not invasive. However, some examinations may be uncomfortable depending on the type of procedure required and the preparation for this e.g. a full bladder, may be uncomfortable.

Scans of the shoulder or other joints may require your cooperation in performing special movements while scanning is performed. Colour Doppler ultrasound uses a special technology to look at blood flowing in arteries and veins. This is most commonly used to study the carotid arteries in the neck (supplying the brain) and veins in the legs. During these studies you will often hear strange noises, as signals from flowing blood are transformed into sound. We may need to gently squeeze the calf a few times when examining the leg veins.

On occasion, a biopsy, or sample of tissue, may be required by your doctor to diagnose a medical problem. If you are required to have a liver or breast biopsy, the test may need to be performed at a specific Perth Radiological Clinic. Whilst many biopsies have no specific requirements, biopsies of kidney and liver require special preparation (you will be advised by our booking staff when you make your appointment).

The specimen will then be sent to a pathology laboratory for processing and the results will be forwarded to your doctor.

Sometimes your referring doctor may request you to have a pain relieving injection into a specific area. A radiologist will perform this procedure and the ultrasound probe is used to assist to guide the injection to the correct place. No specific preparation is required for this procedure.

Most ultrasound appointments are for up to 30 minutes, although some complex studies may require longer. Sometimes the radiologist may come to speak with you and view the screen. This is quite routine and should not cause alarm. Films are produced from the scan images and are interpreted by the radiologist. The results will then be forwarded to your doctor.

Please note: Due to the high demand for these tests, a fee may be charged for appointments that are cancelled within 24 hours prior to the booking. Please bring any previous ultrasounds with you on the day of your examination.

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