The importance of appropriate frequency selection in sonographic gallstone detection

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Abstract
A prospective study was perfomed on 161 patients referred for gallbladder ultrasound to determine whether routine use of a 5 MHz probe in addition to a standard 3.5 MHz probe provided useful additional information. Seventy-two patients were found to have gallstones. In 26.4% of these patients (19 cases) a confident diagnosis of gallstones was possible only when the 5 MHz probe was used. These results confirm theoretical assertions on the value of high-frequency probes in the evaluation of superficially located organs such as the gallbladder. Our findings lend support to their routine use in cholecystosonography.