THE FOLLOWING IS A DANVILLE AREA COMMUNITY COLLEGE RELEASE
DANVILLE — The Danville Area Community College Sonography and Echocardiography programs are ecstatic to announce the addition of a Philips Elite ultrasound system to their current imaging fleet. The new system was purchased by the college to offer additional scanning opportunities to the students in preparation for clinical application.
The Philips machine is a dual platform system that can be shared between the two programs in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional acquisition modes. In addition to 2D and 3D acquisition abilities, the system is equipped with the necessary software to provide the echocardiography students experience in the application of left ventricle strain imaging, which is a modality that allows early detection of subclinical left ventricular dysfunction and increases diagnostic confidence in specific cardiac diseases.
The DACC Sonography and Echocardiography programs will now have a total of 4 ultrasound systems to use in the scanning laboratory for preparing the students to enter the clinical atmosphere. The additional machine will allow each program to utilize 3 machines during instructor-supervised scanning sessions which will significantly increase the amount of hands-on time each student is allotted. The systems used by the programs are Philips Elite, Philips 7G XMatrix, GE Vivid E9, and Toshiba Xario XG. The scanning laboratories are equipped to allow students to practice performance of examinations in adult echocardiography, abdominal, small parts, obstetrics, gynecology, and vascular sonography.
Sonography, also called ultrasonography, is the use of sound waves to generate images for the assessment and diagnosis of various medical conditions. These detailed images provide views into the inner workings of the body. Echocardiography is the use of sound waves to generate images for the assessment and diagnosis of various heart conditions.
Graduates with the DACC Sono certificate are immediately employed as staff sonographers primarily in hospitals, clinics, imaging centers and physician’s offices. Sonographers can also be considered for additional training in specialty areas such as vascular and echocardiography. The median salary for sonographers is $71,000.
Graduates with the DACC Echo certificate are immediately employed as echocardiographers primarily in hospitals, clinics, imaging centers and physician’s offices. Career opportunities also exist in administration, education, sales and marketing and applications training for echocardiographers with more advanced degrees. The median salary for echocardiographers is $68,750 – $76,000.
The two ultrasound programs are one-year advanced certificate, selective admission programs that accept 10 students each. Admission criteria, program details, and the application can be found at https://dacc.edu/depts/medicalimaging.
To be considered for the Sonography program students must possess either a degree or certificate and be licensed/registered in Radiologic Sciences, or a Registered Nursing degree and license, or another health profession degree and license/registration, or any bachelor’s or advanced degree. To be considered for the Echocardiography program students must possess any of the above or a degree or certificate and license/registration in Diagnostic Medical Sonography.
The Echo and Sono application deadlines have been extended through the summer, with new classes starting in August. To learn more, contact Tammy Howard at 217-443-8552 or email thoward@dacc.edu.
