Ultrasound Equipments

Ultrasound Equipments
The Physics of Ultrasound. The Principles of Ultrasound Diagnostic Equipment. Image Processing.

The Physics of Ultrasound

The term ultrasound refers to acoustical waves above the range of human hearing (frequencies higher than 20000 kHz). Ultrasound waves are vibrations or disturbances consisting of alternating zones of compression and rarefaction in physical medium such as gas, liquid, or solid matter. It will be studied the following:
Frequency Velocity Generation Reflection Beam pattern Resolution

Ultrasound Frequency
Humans can hear only a limited rang of frequencies (Audible spectrum). The frequency range of audible sound is approximately 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Frequencies lower than 20 Hz are Infrasound and frequencies higher than 20 kHz are called Ultrasound Diagnostic ultrasound equipments used ultrasound frequencies in the range of approximately 1 MHz to Ultrasound 10 MHz
0 20 Hz Infrasound 20 kHz 1MHz 10 MHz Audible sound Diagnostic Ultrasound

Velocity of ultrasound waves

The table shows velocity of ultrasound waves to each material of human body The average velocity in human body is about 1530 m/sec, this average velocity will be significant in the study of equipment principles, which will be explained later
Material Air Blood Brain Fat Soft tissue Kidney Liver Muscle Skull bone Water Velocity m/sec 330 1570 1540 1450 1540 1560 1550 1580 4080 1480
5

Generation of ultrasound waves

Piezo-electric effect:
Transducer without any voltage applied If we apply voltage in pulses the transducer will expand and contract By applying this voltage in very quick pulses we can vibrate the transducer and produce the ultrasound wave If any external forces is applied to the transducer a voltage is generated This phenomena is called piezo-electric effect
Ultrasound waves

Transducer

~
Voltage

Ultrasound waves
6

Voltage-ultrasound conversion
In the practice high voltage pulses of about 100 V are applied to the transducer The transducer converts the voltage pulses into the ultrasound waves, which my be transmitted into the human body
Transmission Pulses Transducer

Object

Voltage

Transducer

Ultrasound waves
7

Voltage-ultrasound conversion
When the ultrasound waves reach an object they are reflected back to the transducer The reflection echoes are then converted by the transducer into voltage to be used as reception signals
Reflection Echoes Transducer

Object

Voltage

Transducer

Ultrasound waves

Voltage-ultrasound conversion

Ultrasound reflection
Ultrasound waves transmitted in the human body. Z B = B CB At the border of different structures some of the Z A = A CA transmitted waves are reflected back according to the acoustic impedance different between two Z B = B CB structures. Acoustic impedance:
Transmitted U.S. wave

Reflected U.S. wave

Z = C

Z A = A CA

Penetrated U.S. wave

Z: Acoustic impedance : Density C: velocity

10

Acoustic impedance
The table shows acoustic impedance of each material in the human body The average impedance is about 1.6 Acoustic impedance of each material is different from each other and that is why U.S. waves are reflected from the different structures
Material Air Blood Brain Fat Soft tissue Kidney Liver Muscle Skull bone Water Acoustic impedance 0.00043 1.62 1.6 1.38 1.6 1.62 1.66 1.7 7.8 1.52
11

Ultrasound beam pattern

As it shown above, if there no acoustic lens on the transducer surface, the ultrasound beam is transmitted in a straight line in the near field then begins divert from a certain point in the far field as shown above. This is called an unfocused beam If there an acoustic lens on the transducer surface the ultrasound beam will be focused and convert as a certain point called the focal point We can say generally the focused beam can obtain a clearer image.
Near field

far field Near field

Lens

Focal Far point field

12

Resolution
They are two major parameters, which influence the diagnostic image quality these are axial and lateral resolution Resolution can be defined as the ability of the equipment to distinguish two separate objects
X Y D Transducer X: Axial resolution Y: Lateral resolution

13

Axial Resolution
Axial resolutions describe resolution in the axial direction Axial resolution is determined by the U.S. wave length and frequency If the U.S. beam use a short wave length as is shown above we can distinguish two separate objects which are based closed together in line in axial direction. This is because wave length of the U.S. beam is shorter than the distance between the two objects.

High frequency A-Mode display Low frequency

14

Axial Resolution
If the U.S beam uses a longer wave length as shown below, we can not distinguish two separate objects, this is because the wave length is longer than the distance between the two objects Because a higher frequency main a short wave length, we can say generally: that the higher the U. S. frequency, the higher the axial resolution

High frequency A-Mode display Low frequency

15

Lateral Resolution
Lateral resolution describes resolution in the lateral direction If the U.S. beam is wide, as shown in the top figure, the displayed object size may be bigger than the actual object size so lateral resolution is poor. If the U.S. beam is narrow the displayed object size will be a closer to the actual size so lateral resolution is better. Generally speaking: the narrow the U.S. beam, the higher the lateral resolution. A
A B B far field Displayed Near field Convergence Divergence Object size A B A B
16

Relationship
This table shows the relationship between frequency, resolution and penetration In general, the higher the U.S frequency the higher the resolution and the lower the penetration. Conversely , the lower the U.S frequency the lower the resolution but the higher the penetration. To determine a wide range of diagnostic requirements we need a wide range of U.S. frequencies That is why there is a wide selection of probe frequency for studies of different organs. Frequency Resolution Penetration Low Poor Good High Good Poor

17

The principles of ultrasound diagnostic equipment

Ultrasound Equipment Display Mode Electronic Focus Two Dimensional Scanning

18

Principles of ultrasound equipment

Ultrasound Equipment: U.S diagnostic equipment uses a pulse reflection system
T-Delay Pulse generator

R-Delay

Receiver

D.S.C

Digital Scan Converter

Organ

TV-monitor
19

Principles of ultrasound equipment

Pulse generator: A pulse circuit generate a high voltage pulses, then the T-delay line circuit applies appropriate delay time for each transmitted pulse for electronic focusing of the U.S. beam When the U.S. probe touches the patient skin surface U.S. waves are transmitted to the patient The delayed high voltage pulses are applied to the piezoelectric transducer elements They produce the U.S. waves, which will entire the patient, and are reflected back by the intern structures.
T-Delay Organ Pulse generator

20

Principles of ultrasound equipment

The reflected echo signals are received by the same probe Then they are input into the R-delay line circuit to compensate for the transmission delay factor of the pulses and mix the echo signals. Then the receiver circuit amplifies the mixed echo signal from the R-delay line

Organ

R-Delay

Receiver

21

Principles of ultrasound equipment

In new equipment the echo signals are produced using a digital scan converter D.S.C So that the image data is thought enter the frame menu and read sequentially out in a format suitable for display on TV-monitor. The result is real time imaging
R-Delay Receiver

D.S.C

Digital Scan Converter

Organ

TV-monitor
22

Absorption
This table shows the absorption Material Absorption at of MHz U.S. waves in each 1 MHz dB/cm material Air 12 Absorption is measured in Blood 0.2 decibels per centimeters (dB/cm) Brain 0.9 Note that absorption in air and Fat 0.6 skull bone is very high as shown in the table Soft tissue 0.8 If absorption is very high the Kidney 1 U.S waves can not pass through Liver 0.9 As a general rule U.S diagnosis Muscle 2.3 is not restructures containing 13 gas or structures hidden behind Skull bone Water 0.002 bon such as lung, stomach and brain. 23

Relationship between Depth and Time

The average velocity of U.S. in the human body is about 1530 m/sec Pulse Echo At this velocity an U.S. wave will take about 6.5 sec to travel from the probe transducer to a target 1 1 cm cm below the skin as shown 13 sec Soft tissue An additional 6.5 sec is required for the U.S. wave to return to the probe transducer As a result the total time taken for 1sec :1530 m X :1 cm the U.S. wave to be transmitted 1 and received to and from a target, X = 1530 100 cm = 6.5 sec which is 1 cm from the transducer, is about 13 sec as shown 24

Relationship between Depth and Time

The U.S. transmission timing and reception period are determined by rate pulse The rate pulse allows a reception period of up to 260 sec. This 260 sec translate to distance of about 20 cm depth in the human body So we can say generally that the maximum scanning depth is limited to this 20 cm
Pulse Depth [cm] Depth time 1 cm = 13 sec 260 sec
25

Echo

Display Mode
We will explain some of the display modes for U.S. imaging. Here we will take about 3 of the most common modes. they are: 1) A-Mode 2) B-Mode 3) M-Mode

26

Principles of A-Mode
A-mode display gives information about the distance between tissue boundaries e.g. to measure organ thickness If we observe an iconoscopes display, let the vertical direction be the time or depth axis and let the horizontal direction be the amplitude of the received signal wave This display method is called Amplitude Mode or just A-Mode

0 A-Mode Amplitude-Mode Depth [cm]

Amplitude

27

Principles of B-Mode
The B of B-Mode stands for brightness Shifting the position of U.S. transmission and reception results in scanning Echo signals received and then go to intensity modulation so that across sectional image can be displayed on CRT Using this display method we can see internal structure I a patient study
Width [cm]

Intensity modulation

B-Mode Brightness-Mode

Depth [cm]

28

Principles of M-Mode
Here we illustrate M-Mode. The M of m-mode stands for motion. This display mod is useful for studying moving targets such as inertial mitralvalve The transducer position should remain fixed when using this mode, while the display mode used customarily screened in a movement code scrolling Scrolling allows movement of the valve to be displayed as Intensity an image
modulation Time [sec]

M-Mode Motion-Mode Depth [cm]

29

Principles of M-Mode

30

A, B and M-Mode

31

Principles of Electronic Focus

In actual practice a block of transmission elements are driven for transmission each U.S. wave That the transducer elements are not driven at the same time, the first U.S. pulse will be driven from transducers 1 and n then transducers 2 and n-1 and so on

Delay line circuit

Delayed Transducer pulses Array

1 2

Input pulses
n-1 n

Focal Point

32

Principles of Electronic Focus

This sequential driving causes the U.S. beam to convert at a focal point and that is called Electronic focusing The distance of the focal point from the probe is determined by the delay time between transmission pulses.

33

T&R-Delay Line
For transmission a pulses input to the Input pulses transmission delay line The transmission delay line generates a delay time between pulses to achieve a desired focusing distance For reception the echo signals are input to the reception delay line, where they are a phase corrected and mixed together.
T-delay line

Delay Time

Transmission Same Transducers Reception

Delay Time
R-delay line

Mixed Echo
34

B-Mode Scanning Method

Next we will explain some of the types of B-Mode scanning Here we will explain the two most common scanning modes They are: Linear scanning Sector scanning

35

Principles of Linear Scanning

In practice many tiny transducers called transducer elements arrayed in straight line The U.S. scanning beam is produced by simultaneously driving a block of several transducer elements.
Pulses Generator n 3 2 1

Transducer Array

36

Principles of Linear Scanning

The block is new to across the links of the elements array by electronic switching This effect moving the scanning beam across the links of the transducer One scanning line of the U.S. image is produced from the information gathered between each switching interval of the U.S. beam
Pulses Generator n 3 2 1

Transducer Array

37

Linear Scanning
On the left hand side is the probe and the shape of the beam On the right hand side is the display format of linear scanning The advantages of linear scanning are a large field of view at shallow regions of the body and easier identification of skin orientation
Probe This is the actual B-Mode real time image display of linear scanning Beam shape
38

TV Display Format

Principles of Sector Scanning

For sector scanning all the transducer elements are used for transmission and reception
Pulse Generation

T-delay line Delay time Transducer Array

39

Principles of Sector Scanning

The angle of the U.S. beam is changed by the delay time between transmission pulses as shown
Pulse Generation

T-delay line Delay time Transducer Array

40

Sector Scanning
On the left hand side is the probe and the shape of the beam On the right hand side is the display format of sector scanning
TV Display Format

Probe

Shape

The advantages of sector scanning are: a large field of view at deep region of the body and a small skin contact area

41

Sector Scanning
Therefore the sector probe can transmit U.S. waves to a very small acoustic window such as between the ribs to exam the heart as shown

This is the actual B-Mode real time image display of sector scanning

42

Image Processing
STC Dynamic range Echo enhancement Combination focus

43

Sensitivity Time Control (STC)

The transmitted U.S. waves attenuated gradually through absorption as they penetrate the human body This mains that echoes reflected from near the skin surface will be stronger than echoes reflected from deep regions of the human body The STC or sensitivity time control can be Transducer used to compensate for this difference in echo signals strength from shallow to deep regions Received as shown Echo As echo strength Gain decreases over distance, gain of the STC signal for different depth can be increased independently, so that the echoes all have the Compensated Echo same strength

penetration

Gain compensation

44

Sensitivity Time Control (STC)

STC
45

Dynamic Range
Dynamic rang of the image is defined as the center of request strongest echo signals which can be displayed The dynamic range control is to adjust the display range of the U.S. image The dynamic range actually uses a wide band operational amplifier In the figure we can see the amplification factor of the amplifier Here the strength of the signal is too great to be displayed at this dynamic range If we have a larger dynamic range, a greater range of signal intensities can be displayed

46

Dynamic Range
By changing the amplification factor the range of the output echo signals is changed as shown Here the dynamic range has been increased to cover the highest signal strength If dynamic range is too wide, observation of the image becomes difficult because the image contents to many similar signals If the range too narrow, contrast increases but too narrow range will increase areas of intense darkness or brightness as signals beyond the ranges are lost

47

Dynamic Range
output Display Limit

Output Echo 0 Time

DR UP Input

Time

Input Echo
48

Dynamic Range
output

Output Echo 0 Time

DR UP Input

Time

Input Echo
49

Echo Enhancement (E.E)

Echo enhancement is to enhance the definition of the U.S. image If for example a square wave is the input to the echo enhancement circuit, both edges of the square wave can be enhanced as shown in the top figure The practical application of echo enhancement is to enhance the borders of internal structures in diagnostic images as shown below The higher membrane enhancement liver select the greater the enhancement Output Input Echo
Enhancement Circuit Image Image

50

Principles of combination focus

Combination focus has multiple focal points to narrow beam width from shallow to deep regions The first U.S. pulse is focused in the near field The reception data from the first pulse in the near field is told in the digital memory After that the second U. S. pulse is emitted focusing in the far field Then the near and far field reception data are combined by the digital memory And so on the TV monitor we see a higher resolution image in both, the shallow and deep regions using the combination focus

51

Principles of combination focus

Near Focus Far Focus

Combination Focus

Focal Point Focal Point

Depth [cm]
52

Types of Ultrasound Probes

Linear Array:
frequency range app. from 5 MHz to 13 MHz Length from 30 to 60 cm Applications: (Small Parts), (Orthopedics, Breast, Musculoskeletal)

Convex array:
frequency range app. from 3.5 MHz to 9 MHz Length from 20 to 60 cm Applications: Abdomen, GYN, OB, Urology

Micro-convex:
Application: Pediatrics
53

Types of Ultrasound Probes

Phased array:
frequency range app. from 2 MHz to 8 MHz angle from 60 to 90 cm Applications: cardiology (heart)

Adult

Pediatric

Multi-Plane TEE-Transducer:
with a frequency range of 4.0 to 8.0 MHz and an image plane rotation between 0 and 180 deg,
Multi-Plane TEE-Transducer
54

Types of Ultrasound Probes

Fingertip / Intraoperative
frequency range app. from 5 MHz to 10 MHz

Endocavity
frequency range app. from 5 MHz to 10 MHz Application: Endovaginal, Endorectal

Endoscopic / Mini-probes
frequency range app. from 5 MHz to 20 MHz
55

Doppler Effect
The Doppler effect is simply what someone moving away from a source of sound, such as a whistle experiences. That person will hear a pitch lower than the pitch heard by a person standing still Likewise, someone moving toward the whistle will hear a higher pitch

Doppler effect

56

Doppler Effect
The diagram shows a Doppler transducer placed on the skin and aimed at an angle, , towards a blood vessel, which contains blood flowing with a velocity of u m/s, at any instant. The transducer emits ultrasound waves of frequency, fo, and echoes generated by moving reflectors in the blood, e.g. red blood cells, have a frequency, fr. The difference between these two frequencies, f, is related to the velocity of the flowing reflectors throught the following equation:

where v is the velocity of sound in the medium. So, for instance, when ultrasound with a frequency in the range 2-10 MHz is applied in medicine to detect blood flowing in arteries (where typical velocities are 0-5 m/s), the equation above reveals that the frequency differences will be in the audible range of sound frequencies, i.e. 0-15 kHz. Their signals can therefore be fed through speakers so that this sound 57 can be heard

Doppler Effect
Using Doppler effect to measure blood flow

An ultrasonic blood flow meter

58

Types of US Doppler Technique

Pulsed-wave Doppler (PW Doppler) Continuous-wave Doppler (CW Doppler) Color Flow Imaging (CIF)

59

Types of US Doppler Technique

Block diagram of a Doppler system

U. S T&R

Phase Detection

Frequency Analysis FFT

Frame Memory DSC

Color Flow Imaging

Monitor

Video Recorder VCR

60