Is 3d ultrasound safe for my baby?
Perhaps you’ve asked yourself this question. Maybe someone has warned you not to get a 3D ultrasound. I need to know…I need to know that I am not causing any harm.
I can remember in 2007 when it was a relatively new technology, someone told me “ 3D is a lot of ultrasound energy to be directing at a baby”. I believed them at the time. I also believed other sonographers who told me that you couldn’t tell gender at 12 weeks. Like any person in search of a reliable truth, I went looking for answers. And I found a lot of them at the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine. Their mission is to advance the safe and effective use of ultrasound in medicine.
Let’s tackle this myth, and let the AIUM and FDA provide the anwer:
Myth #1: 3D ultrasound is a lot of ultrasound energy, and should be kept at a minimum.
Facts: Thermal Index or TI is one of two factors we can look at. If Thermal Index is 0.7 or less, there is no time limit for scanning. 3D ultrasound, on my GE machine, is 0.3 ! That’s a very very low Thermal Index. 2D scanning (regular black and white pictures) is actually more at !
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TI range Max Scanning Time
(minutes)
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3.0 < TI Not recommended
2.5 < TI ≤ 3.0 <1
2.0 < TI ≤ 2.5 <4
1.5 < TI ≤ 2.0 <15
1.0 < TI ≤ 1.5 <30
0.7 < TI ≤ 1.0 <60
TI ≤ 0.7 No time limit
Now, the other factor is Mechanical Index or MI. The FDA says that this should be kept below 1.9
It is at 0.9 during both 2D and 3D modes on my machine.
My personal practice is to allow 45 minutes for our longest session. Frequent breaks, repositioning of the mother allow us to get good images without constant scanning. Actual scanning time usually is closer to 20 minutes. I am also a registered technologist, and I make sure the machine settings are appropriate. Maybe all of this doesn’t make you feel any safer, but I surely do. If at any time during your scan, you feel uncomfortable about the time spent scanning, or any other concern…please feel free to speak up!
