Crystal Clear Imaging - A new “sonar like” tool helps physicians make more accurate diagnoses

Physicians at Seton Medical Center can observe structures inside your body with amazing clarity to diagnose problems at early stages. One versatile tool they use is called endoscopic ultrasound, which enables examination of the stomach and intestines. Endoscopic ultrasound is so accurate that it provides the most precise treatment for the best possible outcome.

An endoscope is a thin, flexible tube with a light and a video camera on its tip. This is inserted through the mouth to navigate the esophagus, stomach, or colon, and gives doctors a live, crystal clear image of these organs’ linings. What makes endoscopic ultrasound unique is that it adds a second imaging technology—ultrasound—to its video camera. Ultrasound creates live images with high-frequency sound waves and their echoes, similar to the way a submarine uses sonar. With an ultrasound probe on the tip of the endoscope, physicians can see through organs’ linings and view clear images of their deeper layers, or even view adjacent structures. For example, the scope can see through the stomach wall to the nearby pancreas.

“With this technique, we can find tiny tumors that other imaging tests such as CT and MRI might not be able to detect,” says Vino J. Verghese, M.D., a Gastroenterologist affiliated with Seton. “Endoscopic ultrasound helps us to stage cancers as accurately as possible.” With highly accurate diagnoses, Seton’s physicians are able to provide the most appropriate treatments and offer their patients every advantage toward overcoming cancer and other diseases.