Skip to content 
It’s important to make sure that you look after your probes. They are an expensive and very important part of your ultrasound package. We’ve all come along to the ultrasound scanner only to find the previous user has left gel on the probe that’s dried off into a horrible and often sticky mess. Not nice is it? The best way to clean this goo off is just to use a damp cloth, wiping the lens with only light pressure. You don’t need aggressive cleaners as the gel is water based, so only needs a little water to help remove. If you ever need to do a more thorough clean you can use non-spirit based disinfectant wipes, but please don’t use anything with alcohol or surgical spirits to clean the probe head, this will only damage it over time.
If your probes are showing signs of physical damage such as a pierced lens from FNA damage, a delaminating lens, cracked casings or cable and grommet damage – don’t panic. These issues look serious, but are often repairable by a reputable ultrasound equipment company, which can be considerably cheaper than investing in a replacement probe. Probes with physical issues like this will often fail an ‘earth leakage test’ when your scanner is being serviced. An engineer may condemn the probe and mark it not fit for use, so it’s sensible to get any damage inspected and repaired before things goes too far. If you think your probe is damaged please get in touch and I can advise if a repair is possible and make a recommendation of the best place to send it.
There are some issues which just can’t be repaired. Very defined narrow black lines down the image are the result of low strength or blown crystals, normally the result of the probe being knocked, or worse still being dropped onto the floor. Unfortunately these are often unrepairable. I would recommend draping the probe cable round the back of your neck and over your shoulder, that way if you drop it, it wont fall to the ground. You can also use a wrist strap (a camera strap) tied around the cable to prevent the probe falling.