Ultrasonography (US)

• This is usually the first scanning procedure that you may be subjected to after consulting a general physician with the presenting symptoms. The technique uses ultrasound waves to create images and is non invasive and painless. A transducer that passes ultrasound waves through the body is placed on the abdomen, and an image is produced on the monitor of the equipment.
• Ultrasonography is less sensitive as compared to CT in diagnosing pancreatic tumors, but is useful to eliminate doubts of other diseases.⁷
• Endoscopic ultrasound (waves passed through a tube that is introduced into the stomach) and laparoscopic ultrasound (waves are passed through a lighted tube that is introduced into the body through a small cut in the abdomen) are advanced techniques that have specific uses in imaging pancreatic cancer.
• Intraoperative ultrasonography (IOUS) is used to detect location of resectable tumors during a surgery.⁸