Hangin' with the girls

Today was a rainy day in Kansas. My afternoon schedule cancelled on me after a morning full of
ultrasonography. I spent time between patients researching the best way to learn ultrasound for life on the mission field in a developing country. I found two texts put out through the World Health Organization after reading a really good article about the use of ultrasound in a Tanzanian refugee camp. The article can be found here:

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2657264

The books, as you may or may not be able to tell are entitled "Training in Diagnostic Ultrasound, Essential Principles and Standards" and "Manual of Diagnostic Ultrasound." The entire text of the former book can be found on Google Books. The later can be purchased online lots of places.

Interestingly, here is a nice breakdown of the distribution of the studies done in the camp:

Study type	No. of studies	% normal	% abnormal	% of total exams
Pelvic–gravid	132	86	14	24.1
Abdominal (not RUQ)	124	44	56	22.7
Pelvic–non-gravid	120	27	73	21.9
Renal	54	60	40	9.9
Right upper quadrant	49	51	49	9.0
Prostate	10	30	70	1.8
Cardiac	5	60	40	0.9
Soft tissue	2	0	100	0.4
“Ultrasound exam”	51	100	0	9.3

RUQ right upper quadrant

I thought it was nice to get some guidance, anyhow. Interestingly, a google search will reveal that ultrasound has been used to accurately identify even rib fractures, long bone fractures, guide joint injections and regional anesthesia, as well as find intra abdominal blood on trauma exam. It's truly a remarkable technology and I've found a renewed interest in it.

This afternoon, as I said earlier, I had off. It was nasty out. So, after a quick run I decided to take the girls to a local science exploration museum. Abbi had a blast, as did we. We found the "tornado machine" to be a lot of fun, as you can see below. I'm really not as annoying as I appear in the video. Well, not quite as annoying. Also, you can see April teaching Abbi how to fly an old fashion Wright Brothers style airplane on a flight simulator!