Book an Ultrasound in Pune
Ultrasound scans at NABL-accredited imaging centres · reports read by senior radiologists.
All assessments
Whole Abdomen Ultrasound
Ultrasound · 20 min
Thyroid / Neck Ultrasound
Ultrasound · 15 min
USG Pelvis
Ultrasound · 20 min
USG KUB
Ultrasound · 20 min
Carotid Doppler
Doppler ultrasound · 25 min
USG Breast (Both)
Ultrasound · 20 min
Obstetric Ultrasound (Level II)
Ultrasound · 30 min
Ultrasound — what it shows, and who it is not for
Written for patients: what the scan can and cannot answer, the radiation involved, what to tell the team beforehand, and what the radiologist's report will say.
What Ultrasound shows
Soft tissue and fluid, in real time and in motion. Ultrasound is the first-line test for the liver, gallbladder and bile ducts, kidneys and bladder, uterus and ovaries, thyroid, breast, testes, superficial lumps, and pregnancy at every stage. Doppler adds the direction and speed of blood flow, which is what makes it the standard test for veins, carotid arteries and the heart. It cannot see through bone or gas, so the brain in adults, the lungs and gas-filled bowel are effectively off-limits.
A hand-held probe sends pulses of high-frequency sound into the body and listens for the echoes returning from each tissue boundary. The time each echo takes to return gives depth, its strength gives brightness, and a picture is built many times per second — which is why the image moves as the probe moves. A water-based gel is applied first because sound will not cross even a thin layer of air between the probe and your skin. Doppler measures the frequency shift of echoes from moving blood, producing the colour overlay and the audible whooshing sound.
Safety and radiation
Ultrasound uses sound waves, not radiation, and there is no known harmful effect at diagnostic settings — it is the only cross-sectional modality used freely in pregnancy and repeatedly in children. Operators still follow the ALARA principle, using the lowest output for the shortest time needed, particularly in obstetric scanning. There is nothing to recover from and no restriction afterwards. The main limitation is not safety but operator dependence: the quality of an ultrasound depends heavily on the person holding the probe.
Who should not have a Ultrasound scan
- No absolute contraindications
- There is no medical reason ultrasound cannot be performed on anyone, at any age, including in pregnancy. The limitations below are about image quality and consent rather than harm.
- Open wounds, burns or dressings over the area
- The probe needs direct contact with skin through gel, so a recent surgical wound, a burn, an ulcer or a plaster cast over the region may make the scan impossible or require it to be deferred until the dressing can be removed.
- Bowel gas and body habitus
- Sound does not travel through gas, so gas-filled bowel can obscure the pancreas, aorta and pelvic organs, and depth reduces resolution in larger patients. Fasting and a full bladder are used to improve the window; where the view remains inadequate, a CT or MRI is recommended instead.
- Transvaginal or transrectal scanning requires consent
- Internal probes give far better resolution of the pelvis, but they are always optional. They are not used without explicit consent, and a transabdominal approach is offered instead — including where an internal scan would be inappropriate.
- Not a substitute for mammography in screening
- Ultrasound complements mammography rather than replacing it: it cannot reliably show the microcalcifications that mammography detects. For symptomatic assessment in younger women it is the correct first test; for population screening it is not.
- Fetal sex determination is illegal in India
- Under the PCPNDT Act, no person or centre may disclose the sex of a fetus at any stage, and no request for it will be entertained. This applies to every obstetric scan and does not affect any other part of the examination or its report.
When a Ultrasound is ordered
- Abdominal pain, jaundice and suspected gallstones
- Kidney, ureter and bladder assessment
- Pelvic pain, menstrual problems and fertility monitoring
- Pregnancy, at every trimester
- Thyroid, breast and superficial lumps
- Suspected deep vein thrombosis and varicose veins
- Carotid and peripheral arterial disease
- Guidance for biopsies, aspirations and drainages
Contrast and preparation
The great majority of ultrasound scans need no contrast and no injection at all. A microbubble contrast agent is occasionally used to characterise liver lesions or improve heart chamber visualisation, but this is a specialist study booked separately. What most scans do require is preparation — fasting for the gallbladder, a full bladder for the pelvis.
What your report will cover
The report describes each organ examined — size, echotexture, outline, and any focal lesion with measurements and characteristics — plus fluid collections, Doppler flow findings where performed, and the adequacy of the examination. A good report also states what could NOT be seen, because an obscured pancreas or a collapsed gallbladder changes how confidently the study can be interpreted.
The path from booking to results
Book in the app
Choose your tests, pick a slot that works, and pay when it suits you.
We come to you
A phlebotomist visits home at your chosen time — or drop by a partner lab instead.
Processed at an NABL lab
Every sample is handled at one of our accredited labs, tracked end to end.
Report + doctor review
Your digital report lands with a complimentary read-through from a doctor.