NAMU CMU case studies
NAMU CMU · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The NAMU Certified Master of Ultrasound (CMU) is an advanced credential for sonographers, physicians, and allied health professionals who want to demonstrate mastery across the full spectrum of diagnostic ultrasound. It is intended for practitioners who already hold a foundational certification and are ready to show depth in physics, abdominal, obstetric and gynecologic, vascular, cardiac, small parts, musculoskeletal, and point-of-care applications, along with professional practice, safety, and ethics. The NAMU CMU case studies are 5 cases and about 3,943 words.
1Day-2 Post-Transplant Duplex: Is the Hepatic Artery Really Occluded?
An obese 58-year-old man is in the intensive care unit on day 2 after orthotopic liver transplantation. AST has risen to 640 U/L and ALT to 810 U/L overnight, lactate is 3.8 mmol/L, and he is tachycardic at 118 beats/min.
841 words, about 4 min2Empty Uterus, Positive hCG: Interpreting the Discriminatory Zone
A 29-year-old woman (G3P1) attends the emergency department with 2 days of light vaginal spotting and intermittent left iliac fossa pain. Her last menstrual period began 7 weeks ago, but her cycles run 35–45 days and she cannot recall the exact date.
820 words, about 4 min3High Carotid Velocities with a Contralateral Occlusion: Grading and Communicating
A 71-year-old man is referred after a 10-minute episode of transient visual loss in the right eye 3 days ago. He is a smoker with treated hypertension and known iron-deficiency anaemia (haemoglobin 10.2 g/dL).
740 words, about 4 min4Low-Flow, Low-Gradient Aortic Stenosis with a Borderline Dobutamine Response
A 79-year-old woman is admitted with 3 months of exertional dyspnoea (NYHA class III) and one episode of syncope. Blood pressure is 118/70 mmHg, heart rate 78 beats/min in sinus rhythm, and body surface area 1.55 m².
809 words, about 4 min5A Missed Gallbladder on Point-of-Care Ultrasound: Documentation and Disclosure
On an evening shift you are asked to perform an abdominal ultrasound on a 44-year-old woman with 12 hours of right upper quadrant pain, fever of 38.6 °C and a white cell count of 14.2 × 10⁹/L. The referral note states that a surgical resident performed a point-of-care ultrasound 4 hours earlier and documented "no gallstones, no wall thickening, normal gallbladder"; the patient was sent home and has now returned with worsening pain.
733 words, about 4 min