Safety guidelines for ultrasound imaging and fetal scanning

NMS used its accurate measurement techniques to develop reliable safety guidelines for fetal screening, improving the safety of 700,000 pregnant women in the UK each year.

Background
Ultrasound is considered safe if properly used. However the acoustic outputs of modern equipment are much greater than that of the early technology and, in view of the continuing developments, they may continue to increase. It is therefore important that outputs are properly understood to enable equipment to be used safely and prevent the possibility of in vivo damage. The Safety Group of the British Medical Ultrasound Society (BMUS) advises and makes recommendations on safety issues in ultrasound. It was charged with developing a coherent set of safety guidelines for all ultrasound practitioners in the UK.

Results
The NMS enables NPL to contribute to this important committee and others like it through its Acoustics and Ionising Radiation Programme. Through their support, the NMS has helped the group formulate safety guidelines based on the most up to date understanding of ultrasound radiation. These guidelines are intended to assist all those who use diagnostic ultrasound equipment for any purpose so that they can make informed judgments about ultrasound safety and protect patients from excessive exposure. NPL scientists were also involved in preparing a major review of Health Effects of Exposure to Ultrasound and Infrasound, which was published by the Health Protection Agencys independent Advisory Group on Non-Ionising Radiation in February 2010.

Impact
The BMUS safety guidelines have since been adopted by the NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme, for ultrasound practitioners who perform routine pregnancy scans at 18-20 weeks. This will enable practitioners to make better informed judgments about ultrasound safety, and further protect patients. The group needed to ensure that the advice they gave to practitioners met strict safety requirements without forcing unnecessary caution which might detract from their ability to do their jobs. To do so they needed to be sure that the measurements of ultrasound radiation on which they based their recommendations were accurate. The expertise of the NMS and NPL directly benefits quality of life in the UK as these guidelines will improve the safety of around two million ultrasound scans which are performed on 700,000 pregnant women in the UK each year.

Contact details:
National Physical Laboratory, Hampton Road, Teddington, Middlesex, TW11 0LW, UK Tel: +44 20 8977 3222 www.npl.co.uk/contact

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