It is often associated with imaging during pregnancy. Sonographers provide guidance during fine-needle tissue biopsy and use sophisticated diagnostic ultrasound imaging machines and transducers that use high-frequency sound waves to produce dynamic visual images of:

• Abdominal organs (including liver, gallbladder, kidney)

• Pelvis

• Obstetrics (pregnancy)

• Superficial structures (including breast, testis, thyroid)

• Abdominal blood vessels

Sonographers work directly with healthy and critically ill inpatients and outpatients of all ages, performing predominantly noninvasive procedures in small, low-lit rooms. They stand or sit beside the patient, who is on a stretcher, exam table or wheelchair. Sometimes the sonographer will transport a portable ultrasound to a patient's room and perform the test there.