Ultrasound enhancement provides clarity to damaged tendons, ligaments

Sabrina Brounts (front), clinical associate professor of large animal surgery, uses ultrasound to gauge how well a Missouri Fox Trotter horse is healing. Also pictured (left to right) are large animal specialty intern Jennifer Whyard and fourth-year students Ben Tegen and Daniel Kieler. Photo: Nik Hawkins The potential was hidden in plain sight, pretty much since the beginning of medical ultrasound. But it took an expert in earthquake waves to unearth the idea that sound waves reflected from human bodies could reveal not only their internal shape, but also their condition. Earthquakes create waves in the earth that are interpreted with seismographs. Medical ultrasound devices make high-frequency waves, and then construct a picture of hidden structures from the echoes. Ultrasound is a safe, affordable and noninvasive way to see internal structures, including the developing fetus.