Ultrasound has become an increasingly popular health screening tool, often without the need for a doctor. In addition to black-and-white ultrasound, color ultrasound or Doppler ultrasound has become very common and seems to be overtaking black-and-white ultrasound in disease diagnosis.
One day, I took my child to a private ultrasound facility on Nguyen Kiem Street for a general check-up.
Here, the receptionist suggested, upon learning that I was only having a black-and-white ultrasound: “Why don’t you have a color ultrasound for clearer images? There’s nothing to see with black-and-white.” While I was unsure which type to choose, an elderly man sitting next to me added: the doctor told me to get an ultrasound, but didn’t specify whether it should be color or black-and-white. You might as well not regret spending a few extra dollars for a clearer color ultrasound that the doctor can use for accurate treatment.
Due to such persuasive remarks, most patients who initially planned to have a black-and-white ultrasound ended up opting for the color version, even though it cost three times more!
This issue has been explained by Dr. Nguyen Quang Thai Duong from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City:
The current situation of Doppler ultrasound in Ho Chi Minh City is very chaotic. Many ultrasound facilities have abused this advanced technique for commercial purposes, causing unnecessary waste for patients. Taking advantage of patients’ lack of understanding, many ultrasound centers still suggest patients undergo Doppler scans even when such procedures are unnecessary.
Doppler ultrasound is a high-technical ultrasound that should only be performed based on the treatment doctor’s recommendation.
Because it is a high-tech ultrasound, the practitioners must be properly trained. Currently, in Ho Chi Minh City, only a few doctors have received formal training in Doppler ultrasound. Even at the University Hospital of Medicine and Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City, among the 20 ultrasound doctors, only three are specifically trained in Doppler ultrasound.
Color ultrasound images on the scanner. (Photo: VNN)
Despite not being trained in Doppler ultrasound, some ultrasound facilities, chasing profit due to the trend of patients preferring color scans, have altered their screens to display color, charging patients three times more. Meanwhile, they themselves do not understand the purpose of color ultrasound, and sometimes the color images do not differ from black-and-white ultrasound.
– Is Doppler ultrasound better than black-and-white ultrasound?
– To answer this question, Dr. Thai Duong added: It is certainly better; however, not every examination of a body part requires Doppler ultrasound. Doppler ultrasound is applied to investigate and detect the following conditions:
Assessment of heart diseases. Vascular diseases when there is suspicion of narrowing or blockage in the blood vessels of the body to detect and prevent complications, such as blood clots in the brain leading to stroke. However, Doppler ultrasound can only assess blood vessels of medium size and above.
– Transplants: assessing the blood vessels supplying organs such as kidneys or transplanted livers to check if they are normal.
– Evaluate circulatory diseases in the body, such as cirrhosis.
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| Ultrasound using modern equipment detects fetal anomalies early. (Illustrative image: VNN) |
Determining the circulatory nature of a tumor or abscess to guide the nature of the tumor (benign or malignant), differentiate complex disease structures, and assess the inflammatory status of tissues.
According to imaging principles, not every color ultrasound necessarily has to be in color, because in reality, sometimes the ultrasound images appear in black-and-white but still utilize Doppler techniques, and conversely, not every colored image is Doppler.
Because of this confusion, many patients have been exploited by some ultrasound facilities. Surveys show that most current private ultrasound facilities only apply color for billing purposes and do not actually perform the technique.
According to Dr. Thai Duong’s advice, Doppler ultrasound is a difficult technique, and not all ultrasound facilities are qualified to perform it, especially liver Doppler ultrasound, which is very challenging, and few private facilities can do it. Therefore, to avoid unnecessary waste, patients should only undergo Doppler ultrasound when recommended by their treatment doctor and must choose a reputable facility. For general abdominal, gynecological check-ups, a standard black-and-white ultrasound is sufficient.
NHAT PHUONG conducted this article
