Echocardiography (Cardiac Ultrasound) Certificate - Curriculum

This course is designed to provide students an opportunity to learn the basic anatomy, physiology, basic pathophysiology, and terminology of the heart. Standard views, image orientation, ultrasound appearance and measurements will be stressed. Students will be required to dissect and label all sections of the human heart. Students are guided in the learning process by lecture and self-paced laboratory experience. (Prerequisites: This course is restricted to students in ECHO-CT. Co-requisite: ECHO-307 or equivalent course.) Lecture 3 (Fall).

This course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to learn cardiac imaging procedures, sectional anatomy, and patient positions. Standard views, image orientation, ultrasound appearance and measurements will be stressed. (Prerequisites: This course is restricted to students in ECHO-CT who have completed (MEDS-250 and MEDS-251) or (1026-350 and 1026-360). Co-requisite: ECHO-305 or equivalent course.) Lab 1 (Fall).

This course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to learn advanced cardiac imaging procedures, sectional anatomy, and patient positions. In-depth and advanced review of standard views, image orientation, ultrasound appearance and measurements will be stressed. (Prerequisites: This course is restricted to students in ECHO-CT who have completed ECHO-307 or equivalent course.) Lab 1 (Spring).

This course exposes the student to the role of the electrocardiogram in clinical medicine and its correlation with the echocardiographic examination. The student learns how to perform a 12 Lead electrocardiogram and interpret a normal EKG. Abnormal EKG morphology, conduction disturbances, and rhythms are taught. Implications of abnormalities are discussed. (Prerequisites: This course is restricted to students in ECHO-CT.) Lec/Lab 2 (Spring).

This course is designed to provide the students with the necessary foundation of the physiologic and pathologic processes that underlie the spectrum of human disease entities and is taught in the context of clinical scenarios that demonstrate the basic science principles in a real-world context of health care. Emphasis is placed on the fundamental principles of cell injury and repair, infection, neoplasia, and inflammation as well as hemodynamic disorders, thromboembolic disease and shock. Additional emphasis is placed on organ systems and their disorders such as the circulatory, liver, gallbladder and biliary systems. Material is presented in the context of case studies, utilizing clinical findings and addressing underlying basic physiologic, biochemical and immunologic processes as they relate to patient care and individual patient problem cases. (Prerequisites: Restricted to students in the College of Health Sciences and Technology with at least 3rd year standing who have completed MEDS-250 and MEDS-251 or equivalent courses.) Lecture 3 (Fall).

This course addresses how the principles of ultrasound physics are directly applied to the use of ultrasound instrumentation in medical imaging. Transducers, signal production, memory systems, data display, manipulation of controls, and artifacts, are discussed. Throughout the course, the student will integrate previous knowledge of anatomy with ultrasound physics and instrumentation. (Prerequisites: PHYS-112 or equivalent course and student standing in DMSO-CT, DMSO-BS or ECHO-CT.) Lec/Lab 6 (Fall).

This course is a continuation of Sonography Physics and Instrumentation I (DMSO-309). It provides a foundation of the basic physical principles of ultrasound and the fundamentals of fluid dynamics, Doppler physics including color, power, and spectral Doppler, quality control, Doppler artifacts, and biological effects. Students will learn to integrate previous knowledge of anatomy, ultrasound physics and instrumentation with Doppler skills and techniques. Development of scanning techniques, use of instrument controls, and production of high quality diagnostic images utilizing laboratory equipment are stressed. (Prerequisites: DMSO-309 or equivalent course.) Lec/Lab 6 (Spring).

This course is designed to provide the echocardiography student with the necessary foundation of knowledge and understanding to deal with the patient in a clinical context. It also provides the student with the information necessary to perform basic and semi-advanced cardiac procedures utilizing 2-D imaging, M-mode, and spectral and color Doppler. High-quality image production, recognition of normal cardiac structures and pathologic states relating to various types of cardiomyopathy, murmurs and valvular heart disease and cardiac transplantation are stressed. Examination protocols for various procedures, review of anatomy, film reading and use of other scanning techniques and modalities are addressed. This is an internship course. (Prerequisites: This course is restricted to students in ECHO-CT.) Lecture 3 (Fall).

A continuation of ECHO-401. The course is designed to provide the echocardiography student with the necessary foundation of knowledge and understanding to deal with the patient in a clinical context. It also provides the student with the information necessary to perform advanced and sophisticated cardiac procedures utilizing 2-D imaging, M-mode, spectral and color Doppler. High-quality image production, recognition of normal cardiac structures and pathologic states relating to cardiac diseases secondary to systemic illness, infiltrative heart, neuromuscular, and connective tissue diseases, endocrine and nutritional diseases, hematological disorders, AIDS, and pericardial diseases, cardiac tumors and thrombi, and diseases of the great vessels are stressed. Examination protocols for various procedures, review of anatomy, film reading and use of other scanning techniques and modalities are addressed. This is an internship course. (Prerequisites: This course is restricted to students in ECHO-CT that have completed ECHO-401 or equivalent course.) Lecture 3 (Spring).

This course is an introduction to stress echocardiography. Emphasis is placed on the basic coronary artery anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, medical indications, fundamental principles, techniques and scan interpretation. Various methods of stress echocardiography such as digital, exercise, and pharmacological echocardiography are stressed. Students observe and perform these procedures during a clinical internship. This is an internship course. (Prerequisites: This course is restricted to students in ECHO-CT.) Lecture 2 (Fall).

Classroom and laboratory experience will provide the candidate with basic knowledge necessary to perform M-mode scans. High-quality image production, measurements, recognition of normal structures and basic pathologic states will be stressed. Examination protocols, review of specific anatomy, film reading, and use of other scanning techniques will be addressed. This is an internship course. (Prerequisites: This course is restricted to students in ECHO-CT.) Lecture 2 (Fall).

This course prepares the student for application of classroom knowledge to the practice of echocardiography by means of a clinical internship. Performing basic, and some advanced echocardiography examinations in both the laboratory and clinical settings is stressed. Nursing procedures, ethical issues and medico-legal considerations are also discussed as they relate to the practice of echocardiography. The candidate is expected to perform basic and advanced examinations with little, if any, assistance by the end of this course. This is an internship course. (Prerequisites: This course is restricted to students in ECHO-CT.) Internship 4 (Fall).

This course provides the final development of echocardiography examination skills by means of clinical internship. The candidate is expected to perform general, advanced and sophisticated echocardiography examinations with no assistance by the end of this course. This is an internship course. (Prerequisites: This course is restricted to students in ECHO-CT that have completed ECHO-420 or equivalent course.) Internship 4 (Spring).

This course is designed to introduce the student to the role of the echocardiographer, ethical issues and career opportunities in the medical field as well as provide an overview of the fiscal and daily operations of an echocardiography department. Speaking, writing, and researching skills are explored. This course also presents methods for researching a selected topic, developing paper-writing strategies, and making oral presentations. Students will research a topic and prepare a written document following common publishing guidelines in addition to making oral presentations. This is an internship course. (Prerequisites: This course is restricted to students in ECHO-CT.) Lecture 2 (Spring).

This course is designed to provide the echocardiography student with the necessary foundation of knowledge and understanding of congenital heart disease with an emphasis on the ultrasound approach. Two-dimensional real-time imaging and Doppler techniques are presented. Performance on laboratory equipment is stressed. This is an internship course. (Prerequisites: This course is restricted to students in ECHO-CT.) Internship 2 (Fall).

A continuation of ECHO-430. This course is designed to provide the echocardiography student with the necessary foundation of knowledge and understanding of advanced congenital heart disease with an emphasis on the ultrasound approach. Two-dimensional, real-time imaging and Doppler techniques are presented. Performance on laboratory equipment is stressed. This is an internship course. (Prerequisites: This course is restricted to students in ECHO-CT that have completed ECHO-430 or equivalent course.) Internship 2 (Spring).

This course introduces the echocardiography student to the various techniques, procedures, and skills necessary to evaluate the heart. Topics include transesophageal and contrast echocardiography, and pericardiocentesis. The role of echocardiography in emergency medicine, operating rooms, and intensive care units is stressed. This is an internship course. (Prerequisites: This course is restricted to students in ECHO-CT.) Internship 2 (Spring).