Farmington – Diane Staples, the lead diagnostic medical sonographer at Franklin Memorial Hospital, was recently certified and added to the breast ultrasound registry of the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers.

To achieve the credential, Staples met the association’s prerequisites, including education and career-experience requirements, as well as passing a comprehensive examination. This certificate acknowledges personal achievement of a professional standard of excellence.

Medical sonographers use equipment that produces high-frequency sound waves to create diagnostic images and data that help health care professionals diagnose patients with medical conditions. Ultrasound imaging is used on many parts of the body, including the abdomen, breast, blood vessels, and the developing fetus of a pregnant woman.

Staples earned her associate’s degree in radiologic science from Clark F. Miller School of Radiologic Technology at Central Maine Medical Center School in Lewiston. She later completed the diagnostic ultrasound certificate program at Middlesex Community College in Bedford, Mass.

Staples lives in Farmington with her husband, Jon. They have two grown children: Shannon, a student at the University of Maine at Farmington; and Byron, a junior at Mt. Blue High School. She has been employed by Franklin Memorial Hospital for four years.