E-book

Our books are also available for purchase as e-books, both in ePub format (used by most e-book readers) and  in Amazon Kindle format.

Click here to download a sample version of the ePub version to test your e-book reader for compatibility.

You can preview the Kindle version on the Amazon website.

Reader devices and reader apps which should be compatible include:

Frequently asked questions about e-books

What format are these e-books?
You can buy these e-books in the industry-standard ePub format direct from this website. These versions of the e-books are not protected by the usual Digital Rights Management (DRM, see below.) Instead they use "Social DRM" or "watermarking" to discourage illegal sharing and downloading. The e-books contain several visible and invisible marks, such as your name, email address and a transaction code, by which any illegal distribution can be traced.

Why do you use "Social DRM"?
The major advantage of this method of e-book protection is that you can read the books on a wide range of devices - computers, e-book readers, tablets and smart phones - and use a variety of e-book reader software programs. You are not restricted to devices and software that support Adobe DRM.

Can I get a sample of the e-book to test for compatibility?
Yes, click here to download a sample version of the ePub version of the textbook to test your e-book reader for compatibility. You can preview the Kindle version on the Amazon website.

Do you own an iPad, or a Kindle or Nook reader?

  1. You can purchase an e-book from this website, download it using the link(s) that will be emailed to you and start reading.
  2. Alternatively, for iPad (and iPhone) owners, the e-book can be purchased from the Apple Bookstore* and downloaded for reading.
  3. Similarly, if you are an Amazon customer you can purchase the Kindle version of the e-book (from this website or from the Amazon bookstore) and download it immediately for reading. It can be read on your Kindle reader or (using the free Kindle app) on your desktop or laptop computer, tablet or smart phone. If you have purchased the book from Amazon, the reader will need to be linked to your Amazon account.
  4. For owners of Nook devices the e-book can be purchased from the Barnes & Noble Nook bookstore, downloaded and read.

How do e-books differ from print books?

  1. E-books are different from printed books in many ways. Their content (text, tables, diagrams and images) are not arranged in a fixed layout but instead it “flows” to fit the screen. The appearance varies depending on the font size, font style and layout settings that you are using, the size of your screen and whether it is in “portrait” mode or “landscape” mode. The page numbers (if your e-book reader displays them) are not the same as those in the printed book.
  2. E-books can be read on your computer (using suitable software – see below), on portable devices like iPad, tablet computers and smart phones (using suitable software – see below) or using dedicated hand-held e-readers such as the Amazon Kindle, Sony, Kobo, Nook etc.

Reading e-books

  1. A feature of e-book readers (hardware and software) is that you can alter the layout. Generally you can adjust some or all of the: font style, font size, line spacing, page margins, text justification (left or full justification), hyphenation, background colour etc.
  2. We recommend that you start by accepting the author’s settings. Some readers allow you to explicitly choose this option. In particular, try to use left (not full) justification.
  3. Unfortunately figures and tables can cause large empty spaces to appear in the e-book when they happen to fall where a page break should be. You may like to experiment with the font size and screen orientation (landscape vs portrait) to reduce this. Some readers provide a “scrolling” view which eliminates the problem of page breaks.
  4. Some readers allow you to zoom images (or the entire page) for a better view. At other times a table may be too wide and information may be lost. Try reducing the font size or switching to landscape.
  5. Most e-book readers have a Table of Contents which you can use to jump to a particular section of interest.
  6. Almost all readers have a search function, allowing you to search for a word or phrase. This can be extremely useful and takes the place of the index that you find in the print book.
  7. Most readers allow you to highlight sections of text, add your own notes and bookmark pages. They also keep track of the point you have reached in your reading. If you are reading on multiple devices they may well synchronise to keep the bookmarks, notes etc the same on all devices.

Getting started

  1. Purchase an e-book from this website. You will receive an email with a link allowing you to download the e-book. When you have downloaded it, transfer it to the device(s) that you wish to use to read it, and start reading. Alternatively, follow the relevant steps below depending on your device.
  2. To buy the Apple edition of the book from the Apple Bookstore*, simply buy the book using your Apple ID, download it and start reading. If you have more than one device registered to the same Apple ID you can download the book to each of them.
  3. To buy the Kindle edition from Amazon, simply log in to your Amazon account, purchase the book, transfer it to one or more of your devices and start reading.
  4. To buy the Barnes & Noble Nook edition, purchase the book and download it to your Nook device and/or Nook reader software on another device.
  5. If you are buying the DRM-protected ePub version of the book from another store, follow the instructions provided by the vendor to unlock the book.

Using other readers

You may prefer to use other programs and/or devices to read the e-book. If you have purchased the e-book from this website, you can use a wide range of devices and software. If you have purchased it from another store, the use of Digital Rights Management (Adobe DRM) limits the range of options significantly. The options include:

  1. Hand-held e-book readers such as the Kindle, Sony, Kobo and Nook. Please note that many of these readers have a black-and-white display so information is lost from many of the diagrams and images. Also, not all of these readers are compatible with the format used for the figures and equations. Follow the manufacturer’s directions to load the book into your reader and make sure it is registered using your Adobe ID.
  2. Other e-book reader programs for your desktop computer such as the Kindle reader app. A list of desktop readers that should be compatible can be found above. Find the e-book file on your computer’s hard disk. It will have a name like “The Physics and Technology of Diagnostic Ultrasound A Practition.epub”. Open this file with the e-book reader software and you can start reading.
  3. E-book reader applications on portable devices like the iPad, tablets and smartphones. Only a few of the available apps are compatible with Adobe DRM. It is therefore recommended that for iOS devices (iPad, iPhone) you use Bluefire, a very popular free app. For Android tablets and smart phones, Bluefire is also recommended. Alternatively, you may like to try another Android app, the Aldiko Reader. Again, follow the vendor's instructions to transfer the e-book to the device.

*Important note regarding the Apple bookstore
Unfortunately, e-book purchases via the Apple bookstore may not be available in all countries. If you own an iPad but do not have access to the book on the Apple bookstore you should consider buying the e-book here from this site. Alternatively you could buy the Kindle version and read it on the iPad using the Kindle app for iPad.