As a veterinary technician in cardiology, I feel that this text can be very useful to technicians and veterinarians, alike. Not only for specialists; this book covers many practical techniques for general practitioners to utilize within their hospital to get answers prior to specialist referral; a feat which ultimately speeds up and improves the patient’s outcome.
The introduction of the text helps explain the uses, artifact concerns, and terminology associated with ultrasound diagnostics. There are many useful photos of scans, along with figures explaining attenuation, impedance and velocity of common body tissues. For veterinarians, this is likely a nice refresher, but for technicians it can provide more in-depth information regarding the use of ultrasound, past their technician schooling. As a technician, being able to understand the techniques of ultrasound and artifact possibilities makes troubleshooting issues easier during an exam, as well as utilizing ultrasound for obtaining diagnostic samples (a common technician use of ultrasound).
The bulk remainder of the text is broken into chapters covering ultrasound techniques by the organs/region being scanned (abdominal, liver/gallbladder, spleen, kidneys, etc.). There is also a chapter that covers the placement of central venous and arterial lines. Ultrasound guided procedures and the use of ultrasound in CPCR efforts is also included in the text.
I very much enjoyed the layout of this text. Throughout each chapter, there are highlighted tips in boxes that grab the reader’s attention. This can be particularly useful in an emergency when the practitioner needs to use a reference and just get the helpful, most useful, tips before proceeding. Each chapter also ends in a section titled “Pearls and Pitfalls, the Final Say”. This section is also a useful quick reference, as it highlights key points of the chapter in bullet format.
Overall, I feel that this text is well-written, and accessible to a wide audience range- including technicians, as well as general and specialized practitioners. If ultrasound is not often utilized in the reader’s practice, this text will definitely convince them of the need for such diagnostics. Readers should also be sure to access the companion website on www.wiley.com, as it has a multitude of video clips covering normal and abnormal findings through ultrasound.
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 2014
ISBN-13: 978-1118369593
VIN Bookstore: Currently Unavailable