Abstract
Many thanks to all three authors for their enthusiastic responses. Clearly, with the medics featured first, I am preaching to the converted since they also advocate the importance of education before using ultrasound, and are going to some considerable lengths to ensure that other clinicians in their field have a good understanding. I note with interest that both value contributions from radiologists and/or sonographers to support their theoretical and practical courses. Now, it would perhaps be interesting to hear from other clinicians who have had a different experience with ultrasound training and education, or have a different viewpoint.
I am grateful for the response from the scientist who supports scanning in the absence of a clinical indication. While I have no intentional desire to restrict the scanning population, I would support the restriction of some applications. It is an interesting idea to suggest putting the onus of safety at the door of the manufacturers, especially since mainstream machines that I have used for obstetrics default to 100% acoustic power output on switch on. Perhaps manufacturers would like to comment on our reader's suggestion?
Here at the journal office we welcome your letters.