Thyroid and neck sonography provides high-resolution imaging of the thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, and cervical lymph nodes. It is the first-line imaging modality for thyroid nodule evaluation and guides fine-needle aspiration biopsy for suspicious lesions.
Sonographers apply the ACR TI-RADS lexicon to classify nodule echogenicity, composition, shape, margin, and echogenic foci to estimate malignancy risk. Additional applications include parathyroid adenoma localization before surgery and lymph node assessment for metastatic disease in patients with thyroid cancer. Doppler imaging characterizes nodule vascularity.
Thyroid and neck sonography falls under the ARDMS Small Parts (SP) specialty within the RDMS credential. Sonographers may work in endocrinology offices, ENT surgery practices, radiology departments, and nuclear medicine facilities. The specialty is frequently combined with breast sonography in small parts imaging roles.