Ultrasound Gel And It's Proper Use

I have two stories here for your reading pleasure.  One about the safe use of ultrasound gel, and another about using guacamole as an imaging medium in scanning non-human primates.  This first story deals with a pet peeve of mine:  tossing out old ultrasound gel bottles.  I think most sonographers are aware that ultrasound gel can harbour bad pathogens, and the gel warmer is a great incubator.  Most but not all sonographers regularly toss out used gel bottles on a monthly basis.  One further note before I paste the link regards the use of bottled ultrasound gel as an endovaginal lubricant.  I find that practice horrendous.  Why introduce pathogens into a females vaginal canal from a warm bottle of gooey gel that has been in the warmer for a few months?  Always use sterile KY jelly packets as the lubricant when performing these procedures.  Here is the link all sonographers should read regarding this subject.

CHICAGO (November 12, 2012) – In the December issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, guidelines have been proposed by epidemiologists from Beaumont Health System to reduce the risk of infection from contaminated gels. The recommendations are based on the authors’ own experiences with an outbreak traced to contaminated ultrasound transmission gel.

In December 2011, researchers uncovered an unusual cluster of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a cardiovascular surgery intensive care unit during routine infection control surveillance. The outbreak was found to have stemmed from bottles of ultrasound transmission gel that were contaminated during the manufacturing process and that were being used for intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography.  This information ultimately led to a national recall of the product.

Thanks Sonoworld

http://www.shea-online.org/View/smid/428/ArticleID/182.aspxhttp://www.shea-online.org/View/smid/428/ArticleID/182.aspx

Next I present a novel use of guacamole as an imaging medium in scanning non-human primates as seen in the picture above.  It make sense that the female can feast on the treat while allowing the sonographer to image the unborn child.  Blessings!

Getting an orangutan to agree to an ultrasound is as hard as it sounds, but Fresno Chaffee Zoo keepers found the solution - guacamole paste instead of ultrasound gel.

In Atlanta, zookeepers armed with fruit snacks have trained gorillas to place their arms into blood pressure cuffs.

Zookeepers are relying increasingly on behavioral management to provide better health care for animals in captivity.

Advancements in training have allowed animals to help themselves, said Grey Stafford, director of conservation at Wildlife World in Phoenix and an animal trainer for 20 years.

Thanks Times-Tribune

http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/health-science/guacamole-paste-makes-a-fine-goo-for-ultrasound-1.1024428