Bought an ultrasound imaging equipment...

[Bicurico]

Hello,

Just for fun and because it was really cheap, I bought an untested ultrasound imaging device. It is a version for veterinary application and is untested. It comes with one probe. I do actually expect it to be working, but I may be wrong.

The price (on eBay) was exceptionally low. I bought it only because I think it is cool to have a device like this and to motivate me to learn about ultrasound imaging in general.

The question I have is: does anyone know which are the common faults of such equipment? I saw a company offering the service of probe repair. Anyone can tell me what goes wrong with a probe and how to repair it? I don't think that they cut new piezoelectric crystals...

Any further comment on ultrasound imaging is welcome: the do, the don't and possible hacks.

[thm_w]

Yeah would be interesting to have.

Did you see this repair video:

[Bicurico]

The device arrived today. Very dirty and with a strange power cord, that would not fit.
I us d a regular power cord and the device switched on and is surprisingly fully functional.
Gave it a good cleanup and bought some gel.
Well, it is the veterinary version, but I was able to watch my heart working.
I can't really believe that I own this now, as it was a real bargain.
Need to learn how to interpret the images now...

Sadly this is a device from 1998 and as such, it does not have a Harddisk.

I did not dismantle it fully, too many screws and no real reason to do so. I think that the clinic/Human version has a different ROM set. So it seems I won't be able to hack or patch the FW to activate different modes beyond the veterinary ones.

Cool device, though.

[Gyro]

The device arrived today. Very dirty and with a strange power cord, that would not fit.
I us d a regular power cord and the device switched on and is surprisingly fully functional.
Gave it a good cleanup and bought some gel.

What does the probe look like (shape)? I'm just wondering how many cows' arses it's been up in it's life!

Well, it is the veterinary version, but I was able to watch my heart working.
I can't really believe that I own this now, as it was a real bargain.
Need to learn how to interpret the images now...

Don't do that, you'll never sleep again. 

A neat acquisition.

[mikeselectricstuff]

Sadly this is a device from 1998 and as such, it does not have a Harddisk.

If it has composite video out, you could capture this to record the images

[coppice]

Sadly this is a device from 1998 and as such, it does not have a Harddisk.

Maybe it was an older model in 1998, or something basic. When I first saw our daughter in 1997 the pictures were stored on a disk in the machine. I don't think the machine was especially new at the time.

[Bicurico]

It is a Dynamic Imaging Concept MCV.

It came with a 7MHz probe, not sure what the type name is.

I do think it was used inside some butts, but I did clean everything and had a shower afterwards

It looks almost as new now, with some minor scratches.

The probe produces a rectangular type of image instead of the usual pizza sliced shape.

I have not tested it to see inside things, but without the gel you don't get far and I would not apply gel to the wall.

[Bicurico]

Just learned that it is a linear probe and not a endocavitary probe!
 

[coppice]

Just learned that it is a linear probe and not a endocavitary probe!

Isn't it rather obvious whether the probe is for insertion into a hole in the body, or for scanning across its surface?

[Bicurico]

Because vets can stick their whole arm inside a cow or a horse, I was/am not totally sure.

[Bicurico]

I will post pictures when possible and you will understand my doubts.

[Gyro]

I think your chances of not having a gross history probe have just improved. 

Sorry to have planted the thought.

[Bicurico]

Honestly it wouldn't matter to me if the probe was used on the inside is animals.
I trust my cleaning and from the looks of it, the device has been sitting in a corner for ages.
The real kick for me is to learn how this works and how to interpret the images, at least to be able to chat with the doctor on the next ultrasound exam.
I image, by the way, that modern machines are much much better than the one I have.
Another thing I need to figure out is in what the "veterinary" version actually differs from a human/clinic version.
For instance, which parameters change from bovine to ovine selection? Which is the best option to measure a human. I trust the (Portuguese) saying: if you want o know your body, look at a pig.

[Bicurico]

Last pic shows the bones of my foot...

[Bicurico]

https://youtu.be/s-F_dSpMSqk?si=3FQgcXnxVvVSZBGY

The device has composite video out, so I was able to grab some video footage.
Didn't use the gel this time, as it requires washing myself afterwards.

[coppice]

Nice piece of farm machinery you have there, Equine, ovine, bovine, canine, feline. What happened to the poor pigs? Don't they deserve medical care, or was this made for a Muslim or Jewish market?

[Bicurico]

I asked myself the same...

Perhaps pigs are not monitored using ultrasound? Like the cost/usefulness is not there?

Also, I wonder what the different modes do. Scanning myself, I have not found any difference in image, when selecting different animal types from the menu. I was expecting different power levels or so, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Maybe it is just for the few measurement modes available in each animal type menu. The special menu is where all the regular ultrasound options are, like brightness mode or movement mode.

But yes, either the equipment is far too old or the probe is inadequate/broken. The images are of very poor quality.

[jh15]

Maybe the host of the youtuber "Better Biomed" knows some info or where to source documentation.

[Bicurico]

The device has a composite video input, too.

It switches automatically as soon as it detects a composite video signal. I guess this allows to connect a video printer and access its menu?