Patricia Cullen
Founder and Clinical Director
Awareness of conditions like endometriosis and the value of ultrasound assessment helps women to make informed decisions about their health and fertility.
Endometriosis affects a significant number of women, yet diagnosis often takes years. Symptoms can include pelvic pain, heavy periods, bowel or bladder discomfort, fatigue and fertility challenges. Patricia Cullen, women’s health ultrasonographer, hopes to raise awareness of the importance of understanding our bodies, promoting early access to medical imaging to educate and empower.
“The more patients I scanned, the more I began noticing subtle signs of endometriosis in patients who didn’t even know they had it,” explains Cullen. “Sometimes a small intervention, simply giving someone awareness of their anatomy and cycle, can make a huge difference.”
Sometimes a small intervention, simply giving someone awareness of their anatomy
and cycle, can make a huge difference.
Role of ultrasound scanning
Advanced pelvic ultrasound assessments can identify signs consistent with endometriosis and provide valuable information for clinicians, supporting earlier management planning. Ovascan, an independent fertility ultrasound clinic set up by Cullen, provides imaging appointments, including endometriosis mapping, fertility and early pregnancy scanning, pelvic and ovarian assessment and blood testing.
“I established OvaScan because many women were struggling to access fertility and gynaecology ultrasound assessments when they needed them, and with a sonographer who had knowledge and experience working in fertility,” explains Cullen. “Women who needed fertility scans often had nowhere to go, and local clinics wouldn’t have the capacity to see them’’
Clearly passionate about how ultrasound can help promote women’s health, Cullen provides supportive, comprehensive and educational scan appointments, having received advanced training at King’s College London.
“I started offering pre-fertility workup scans to patients planning fertility treatment in Ireland and abroad, finding that often educating women on their bodies was sometimes enough, and many have gone on to conceive naturally.”
Fertility insight
Fertility ultrasound isn’t only for those trying to conceive. It evaluates ovarian reserve indicators, uterine structure, follicle development and reproductive health factors.
“Our clinic gives people an awareness of their body,” explains Cullen. “Knowing information early gives people options, whether that’s fertility preservation, treating an issue that they may have been unaware of, before trying to conceive or making informed decisions about their future.”
While the clinic accepts self-referrals, the detailed imaging and education are used as tools to support wider care, and patients must have appropriate medical follow-up. To find out more, go to: https://www.ovascan.ie/.
