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 WASHINGTON, D.C. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Shardonna Amaya needs energy to keep up with her son Carlos, energy she didn't have for nearly two years -- while doctors tried to figure out why she had intense pelvic pain.
"I found myself kinda doubting my capabilities of being a mom," Shardonna says. "I didn't think I was doing the best I could do."
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Several conventional ultrasound scans didn't detect anything. Then doctors at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., finally solved the mystery by using a new ultrasound system with a technology called Volume Imaging Protocol.
Until now, if you needed an ultrasound to diagnose cancer or a vascular disease or get a closer look at an organ it's taken up to 40 minutes and you often need to repeat scans if the results are in question.
 But with Volume Imaging Protocol, a quick scan with a wand captures the images in half the time of an old ultrasound machine. What happens next, however, is really revolutionary. Standard ultrasound produces a still image -- showing only a slice of the organ. Compare that to the new machine, which captures a moving, 3-D image of the entire organ.
And for the first time, it allows radiologists to manipulate the image any way they want in their search for a diagnosis. According to radiologist Michael Smith, M.D., doctors can see angles we couldn't see before. It decreases the need for repeat scans and makes diagnosing patients much easier.
 "We used to have a backlog, a waiting list of 21 or 22 days, and now we can offer next day service," Dr. Smith, of Washington Hospital Center, tells Ivanhoe. Only a handful of hospitals currently use this new system, but many are studying the technology and considering a change. Radiologists say it's particularly beneficial for diagnosing conditions in the female pelvis, kidneys and thyroids.
It finally allowed doctors to figure out Shardonna had polycystic ovary syndrome. She got treated and now is energetic and healthy enough to consider having a second child.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
If you would like more information, please contact:
So Young Pak
Senior Media Relations Specialist
Washington Hospital Center
110 Irving St. NW
Washington, DC 20010
(202) 877-2748
soyoung.pak@medstar.net
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