Ultrasound Service — Level 1
Probes, image quality and preventive maintenance
Part of the program: Ultrasound Service Engineer — full program (40 h) →
Probes are dropped, bent, soaked in the wrong disinfectant and plugged in hot. This course teaches the engineer to test probes, judge image quality, maintain the system and tell a probe fault from a system fault in minutes.
Most 'broken ultrasound' calls turn out to be the probe.
- About half of ultrasound faults in the field are software. Probes fail too: dropped, bent, cracked or damaged by the wrong disinfectant — and a cracked probe on a patient is an electrical hazard, not just a bad picture.
- A missing channel in the system looks exactly like a dead probe, so expensive probes are replaced while the real fault stays in the machine.
- Image quality fades slowly; without a phantom baseline nobody notices until a diagnosis is missed, and manufacturer courses rarely cover these common basics in their own right.
After the course you can
Curriculum
Follow an echo from the probe face to the monitor and name the block that each common complaint points to, so that you can separate a probe fault from a system fault before you open a cover.free
20 min02Probe types: what each one is for and how each one fails
Recognise linear, convex, phased-array, endocavity, TEE, mechanical 4D and matrix probes, know what each is used for and how each typically fails, so that you test the right thing and never mistake a design property for a fault.20 min03Patient safety: leakage current, acoustic output and disinfection
Explain the three ways an ultrasound examination can harm a patient — electrical leakage through the probe, acoustic output and infection or chemical damage — and what the engineer checks and refuses to do in each case.25 min04Inspecting and testing a probe
Inspect a probe from lens to connector, test it for dead elements and cable faults with the simple methods available on any site, use a phantom and a probe tester where available, and reach and record a clear decision: in service, watch, repair or withdraw.25 min05Electrical safety of the ultrasound system and its probes
Perform and record IEC 62353 periodic and post-repair electrical safety tests on an ultrasound system with every probe, recognise when a probe is an electrical hazard, and know why TEE and endocavity probes need an extra insulation check.22 min06Preventive maintenance of the ultrasound system
Carry out a complete preventive maintenance visit on a cart-based or portable ultrasound system — cooling, probe ports, controls, display, power and UPS, storage, network and preset backups — in an order that finds problems before they become breakdowns.22 min07Image quality control with a phantom and a baseline
Measure penetration depth, resolution, dead zone, uniformity and distance accuracy on a tissue-mimicking phantom with fixed, recorded settings, keep a baseline per probe, and recognise real degradation as opposed to a change in settings or in the phantom.24 min08Documentation: PM report, probe passport and taking a probe out of service
Write an ultrasound PM report and keep a probe passport that prove what was checked and measured, state the limits of your work clearly, and follow a defensible procedure when a probe has to be taken out of service.22 min—Exam
30 · 45 min · 75 %
The certificate
Pass the exam and get a certificate of course completion with your name, hours and score. Every certificate has a unique number and a public verification page, so an employer or a customer can check it in one click. It confirms completion of the course; it is not an educational document (diploma) and not a manufacturer authorisation.
Who it is for
Who it is for
- Hospital biomedical / clinical engineering teams
- Field engineers in independent service companies
Who teaches
Written by a service engineer working with medical equipment since 2014, including 6.5 years at GE Healthcare and service supervision at Mindray, together with the engineers of Service Engineer.
FAQ
Is this manufacturer training?
No. It is independent, vendor-neutral training. It does not replace the manufacturer's procedures or grant authorisation or access to service software.
What does the certificate say?
Your name, the course, the hours, the date and your exam score, with a unique number and a public verification page.
Can my company buy seats for a team?
Yes: a team licence covers five seats and includes a progress overview for the manager.
Which languages is the course available in?
English and Russian.