ABSTRACT
Ultrasound is an imaging technique that uses high-frequency sound waves and their echoes. Ultrasound machines come in various shapes and sizes. The transducer probe is the main part of the ultrasound machine. It produces the sound waves and receives their echoes. The transducer probe generates and receives sound waves using a principle called the piezoelectric effect. In the probe there are quartz crystals called piezoelectric crystals, and when an electric current is applied to these crystals, they vibrate rapidly. Most ultrasound machines have markers to allow correct orientation. This is often in the form of a groove on one side of the transducer probe which corresponds to an orientation marker on the ultrasound screen. Modern technology has given birth to the wireless ultrasound probe that can be connected to a smartphone or tablet. These wireless ultrasound probes are smaller, cheaper, simpler and arguably more ‘practical’ for their role in assisted venous access.
