Fundamentals of Point of Care Ultrasound

This is the first in a series of courses on Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS). The course provides an overview of basic ultrasound physics, covering essential topics such as the ultrasound wave, interaction with tissues, image display and artifacts. Learners will gain an understanding of the principles of ultrasound imaging.

The course offers a concise and focused approach, enabling learners to quickly grasp the fundamental concepts and principles of basic ultrasound physics. Whether you are a healthcare professional or student seeking to expand your understanding of ultrasound, this course offers you a good foundation from which you can progress to more specialized aspects of point of care ultrasound imaging.

Week 1 – Getting started

• Introduction to the structure of the course, learning objectives, assessment structure and materials.

Week 2 - Introduction, Probe & Machine

• Types of ultrasound probes

• Commonly used probes for POCUS

• Characteristics of individual probes

• Risks & risk mitigation

• Probe care & disinfection

• Ultrasound machine basics

• Knobology

• Probe & Image Orientation

• Probe Manipulations

Week 3 - Principles of Ultrasound & Image Formation

Understand how ultrasound images are generated & displayed.

• Principles of ultrasound

• Ultrasound interaction with tissues

• Image post-processing

• Display of images

• Optimizing Images

Week 4 – Artifacts

Understand how artifacts are generated and recognition of common ultrasound artifacts

• Acoustic shadowing

• Mirror Imaging Artifacts

• Posterior Acoustic Enhancement

• Edge Shadowing Artifact

• Reverberation Artifact

• Comet Tail Artifact

• Ring Down Artifact

• Side Lobe Artifact