If you have been scanning for several years on one particular model of scanner, upgrading your machine can feel really disorientating. This is usually down to two things: the picture looks so different from what you are used to and the controls are in different places. The initial excitement at your brand new machine arriving can quickly fade when you suddenly feel out of your depth, wishing you could reach for your old ultrasound unit and the reassuringly familiar.

If this sounds like you right now, know that this is totally normal! It has nothing to do with budget, proficiency or experience and spending more money wouldn’t have made it any easier; I see sonographers upgrading to £100k machines going through the exact same thing.

1) Upgrading your machine means higher resolution.

In many ways, it can feel like learning to scan all over again. After upgrading your machine, you’ll be experiencing higher resolution images than previously. That means you will be able to see things you’ve never seen before, and suddenly your brain is asking “what is that?”

Take Nicky, for example. She recently upgraded to the new ScanPad. She was delighted with the improvement in image quality, but very quickly began to see the type of detail she would never have been able to obtain with her old scanner. One of these findings was that of a placental shelf, seen below:

It has been really difficult for Nicky not to worry about this pregnancy, having discovered this new finding, even though she knows that it may have been present many times before with her previous scanner and just hadn’t been able to see it.

Another ‘victim’ of this phenomenon was Mark, who upgraded from his older model ScanPad to the Apogee 1000 Lite. Despite being a highly experienced, veteran scanner, he panicked on his first few scans, sending in images and asking “what am I seeing??”, before being assured that the scan appeared completely normal.

Rebecca in Kent recently had a similar experience upgrading to the Apogee 1000 Lite: “I’ve fallen in love with scanning all over again,” she said, but admits that she’s having to relearn what normal looks like.

2) New control placement when upgrading your machine.

This might sound obvious, but one of the most off-putting parts of upgrading to a better machine is learning where your most-used controls are. Just like typing on a keyboard, our fingers automatically move to familiar positions when we become accustomed to our scanners, and you are bound to feel annoyed and a little flustered the first few times you use your exciting new machine. Again, this is absolutely normal and I am here to tell you that yes, the same basic controls are definitely there (they will just be in a different position and perhaps will be hidden by a few extra ones) and yes, you will regain that same familiarity with you new machine and be whizzing around your control panel after a little practise!

Change can be good!

In short, upgrading your machine is always a challenging process. It really does force you to relearn ultrasound, but remind yourself of why you decided to make the change: to offer more to your clients, to further your knowledge, to become a far better and more confident scanner. Please remember to be patient with yourself and have a little faith in your capabilities; we are only ever a phone call, email or instant message away, and we can even setup a Zoom call to talk you through everything on your scanner – absolutely free, for life.

We know our machines inside out, and use them ourselves, so any time you need a second opinion or help figuring something out, just ask!