Is there any open courseware available for online sonography courses?

While there is not a lot of open courseware for sonography online classes, there are some related courses that will be helpful and can enhance your studies.

Tufts University offers a course in prenatal diagnosis that includes an informative section on prenatal sonography. The rest of the course is focused on the purposes, procedures and diagnosis methods for a variety of prenatal screening techniques.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) also provides a related course if you are taking sonography classes. A class in biomedical and image processing is that focuses on various types of medical scanning, including sonography through both online lecture and lab components.

MIT also provides a related course on Medical technologies for the developing world that covers a variety of medical technology in high demand, including sonography technology. This course is project-based, and encourages students to design medical technologies based on class field experiences in Nicaragua.

University of Saskatchewan provides a graduate level course introducing health research and the use of synchrotron techniques, which includes the emerging technologies of macromolecular crystallography, x ray absorption spectroscopy and other biomedical imaging techniques. This is an interesting course if you are in graduate level sonography training programs because it gives you insight into advanced alternatives to sonography and radiology.

Although they do not offer accredited online classes for sonography, Johns Hopkins University does provide a number of free online lectures that deal with sonography research and use. Some of these lectures discuss the impact of sonography on population, the use of ultrasound technology to diagnose cancer and comparisons with other imaging equipment.

What blogs or other online resources might be useful in my sonography courses?

If you are currently in a sonography course, you can find a number of helpful online resources.

Montgomery College has a helpful diagnostic medical sonography page that includes clear definitions of the major types of sonography. This site also includes images and pertinent links to specializing organizations.

Sonographersblog is run by a board certified sonographer out of Texas, and includes relevant articles, research and tips for professional sonographers. This site is a good reference for students in sonography classes online, as it provides students with inside information on using research to influence medical diagnosis and treatment procedures.

Sonoworld is a very comprehensive resource for students in sonography courses online or in traditional settings. Dedicated to providing free sonography information, this site has lectures, case studies, images and an online textbook that will supplement your studies.

Radiologyinfo is another informative site, although it is designed for patients instead of practitioners. This site has an extensive list of ultrasound procedures and includes general practice methods, benefits and risks and common uses. You can still find it useful to see what information patients are exposed to online.

What magazines or journals can I read while I study in my offline or online sonography classes?

The American Institute of Ultrasound Medicine publishes a monthly journal called The Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine that covers all aspects of ultrasound medicine. This publication focuses on patient care and research-centered articles. Archived articles older than a year are free, and can be a helpful resource if you are enrolled in top sonography courses.

Cardiovascular Ultrasound is a peer reviewed journal that is most helpful for students in the best online sonography courses. This journal, unlike many others in its field, is available if you are taking open courses or are in an online environment. Since it is open source, it is constantly being updated, which leads to some of the most recent research and advances in cardiological ultrasound practice.

Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging is a helpful journal for students seeking sonography jobs since it promotes an informed discussion about various types of medical imaging career paths, including sonography and radiology. Most current editions are not available online, but past editions can be accessed at no cost.

Another open access journal is BMC Medical Imaging. This journal discusses different types of imaging technologies and current research to provide better imaging services for the medical community. It also lists the most viewed articles to provide you with an idea of what other sonographers are researching.