Optimizing machine choice starts with real-world testing on all shapes and sizes.

Ultrasound Has Evolved — Has Your Approach?

When I began scanning in 1996, we relied on mechanical probes and what I jokingly called the “imaginoscope”, a sharp mind to make sense of fuzzy images. Since then, ultrasound has transformed. Today’s systems offer remarkable image quality, streamlined workflows, and features that can dramatically impact diagnostic accuracy.

Yet with greater access comes greater complexity. Choosing the right machine, applying the right technique, and integrating imaging into clinical culture, all of it shapes the outcome for a sick patient. And ultimately, the real cost is in what you miss.

In my first webinar here on The Webinar Vet, The Broad Scope of Ultrasound, I’ll walk you through the critical—often overlooked—factors that influence clinical success with ultrasound, from presentation to prognosis, but in this article, I’ll give you some top tips to help you improve your practice.

Hi, I’m Dr. Eric Lindquist, DVM, DABVP (Canine & Feline), Cert. IVUSS, a pioneer in veterinary diagnostic imaging, and the CEO & founder of SonoPath. With over two decades of clinical experience, international lectureships, and publications in JAVMA and Vet Radiology & Ultrasound, I lead a team of 20+ specialists delivering advanced Educational Telemedicine™ services internationally for SonoPath. I developed a standardized ultrasound protocol called SDEP® to elevate diagnostic efficiency in everyday practice. My approach to ultrasound blends medical training and practicality, delivering real-world, high-impact results for progressive veterinarians worldwide.

Let’s dive in.

1: Machine Choice Is Clinical Strategy

In veterinary medicine, ultrasound isn’t the place to cut corners. Unlike in human healthcare, we are often training veterinarians and technicians to become proficient sonographers in a fraction of the time. That makes your machine choice not just a tech decision, but a clinical one.

Expect to invest £20,000+ for a system capable of full-body scanning. That buys more than hardware, it secures resolution that reveals subtle curvilinear patterns, tissue contrast, and the acoustic power to reach deep structures across diverse patient sizes. But only if you choose wisely.

Probes, presets, image quality, transmission workflow, these vary significantly by brand. Testing machines across patient types is essential. If not, expect missed lesions, transmission issues, and costly repeat scans that drain both time and clinical confidence.

In short: your ultrasound machine is your silent partner in diagnostics. Choose it like your reputation depends on it, because it does. I unpack this a bit more in The Broad Scope of Ultrasound (you can catch up on demand here on the WebinarVet) and let you know what we use and recommend in my companies.

2: It’s Not About the Title: It’s About the Image

In clinical sonography, the question often arises: who should be behind the probe? A specialist? A vet? The truth is, image acquisition and image interpretation are entirely separate skills, and great interpretation is only possible with complete, high-quality image sets.

At SonoPath, we review hundreds of cases each week. The data is clear: image quality does not depend on the title of the sonographer, but on their training, consistency, and willingness to learn. Excellent image sets come from general practitioners, specialists, and, increasingly, from well-trained technicians, mirroring a model that human medicine has trusted for decades.

Our 2021 double-blind study1confirms it: with proper education, technicians, veterinarians, and specialists can all produce clinically diagnostic images at the same level. The real differentiator? Focused training and the right tools, not job titles.

We explore how to build and support this capability a bit more during The Broad Scope of Ultrasound webinar (catch on on demand).

3: Education That Moves the Needle

You should select training that aligns with your workflow and clinical goals, but don’t settle for slow. The right program should get you confidently scanning an abdomen or heart in under 15 minutes, without missing pathology. With the right structure and intent, that benchmark drops to 10 minutes. In emergencies, even five.

Every expert, me included, started unsure. I’ve misread shadows for stones, confused colon with bladder. What matters is how quickly we learn and how deliberately we train. Today’s machines, paired with focused, repeatable education (like SonoPath’s SDEP®), make fast, accurate scanning possible for anyone committed to mastering it. And once you streamline the process, the clinical and economic impact becomes clear.

Catch up on our Webinarvet webinar, The Broad Scope of Ultrasound, to see how efficiency, training, and tech intersect, and why it pays to get this right.

4: Telemedicine That Works for the Real World

One seminar won’t make anyone scan perfectly, and interpretation skills vary widely. That’s why having structured telemedicine support and a practical scanning protocol is essential.

Yes, radiologist-read scans remain the gold standard. But the truth? There simply aren’t enough radiologists to keep pace with today’s growing volume of image sets. That’s not changing anytime soon.

The good news is... you have options. Many board-certified specialists, from internal medicine and emergency care to surgery and general practice, now bring years of realworld sonography experience to image interpretation. This creates the opportunity to choose the right lens for the clinical question at hand.

Need a radiologist’s eye? Prefer an internist’s logic? Want surgical context or emergency perspective? Today’s telemedicine landscape lets you tailor interpretation to the case, not just to availability. That’s how I built SonoPath’s Educational Telemedicine™ structure: to bridge the gap between knowledge and care and to empower clinicians with expert guidance, anytime, anywhere.

In The Broad Scope of Ultrasound, I’ll show you how to leverage this model so your imaging outcomes are no longer limited by who's reading but rather elevated by how you're scanning.

5: See More. Strain Less.

Monitor size and resolution are more than comfort features, they directly impact your diagnostic accuracy. You should be scanning from about an arm’s length away. If you're trained to find adrenal glands, they should jump onto the screen. If you're squinting during a demo, you’ll be squinting every day you use that machine.

Aim for a 15–18-inch screen and at least 1920 x 1080 resolution. These specs help you catch subtle patterns quickly without straining your eyes or your workflow. It’s a small detail, but like everything in imaging, small details stack up to make the difference.

We break down how to evaluate these factors (and why they’re too often overlooked) in The Broad Scope of Ultrasound.

6: Knobology Matters—Don’t Let Workflow Slow You Down

I’m not a fan of touchscreens: they’re prone to errors and interrupt flow. Give me tactile buttons any day. But everyone works differently, and that’s fine. The key question is: how efficient is your machine’s knobology?

Compare how quickly you navigate controls. Count the steps it takes to complete a scan.

Knobology should feel intuitive and fluid, not like a clumsy dance where you’re constantly off-beat. From years of scanning experience (and a brief stint in ballroom dancing), I can tell you this: poor design doesn’t just frustrate, it costs you time and focus every single case.

We’ll dive deeper into optimizing workflow and why it matters in The Broad Scope of Ultrasound.

7: Image Transmission: The Hidden Bottleneck

High-quality imaging is non-negotiable, whether scanning a ferret or an overweight Rottweiler, abdomen to heart, thyroid to stifle. But even the best images mean little if your machine can’t transmit them efficiently.

Look for systems that deliver full cases (30 to 40 videos) at manageable file sizes around 500MB, not gigabytes. Large files clog bandwidth, cause transmission failures, and delay reporting. Time lost here is frustration gained.

We face this daily in telemedicine at SonoPath, dedicating tech support to troubleshoot transmission issues across varied machines. That’s why we’ve developed protocols to minimize these pitfalls; knowledge I’m sharing so you avoid costly delays on your end.

When investing in ultrasound (or CT or DR) consider the true cost: missing a lesion due to poor imaging or workflow. The impact reaches beyond your first opinion, it affects your professional reputation, your practice, and most importantly, your patients. And that’s the outcome none of us can afford.

Join me on The Webinarvet on Demand in as I discuss The Broad Scope of Ultrasound and help guide you to avoid these risks and elevate your imaging outcomes.

1. Lindquist E, Lobetti R, McFadden D, et al. Abdominal ultrasound image quality is comparable among veterinary sonographers with varying levels of expertise for healthy canine and feline patients. Vet Radiol Ultrasound. Nov/Dec 2021; 62, 1-6. Digital, 705-710. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34510634