Selection of transducer:

Selection of the proper transducer is an essential factor for insuring optimum performance in any ultrasonic gaging application. It is necessary to consider the material being measured, the range of thickness that must be covered, part geometry, and part temperature. A wide variety of transducers with various acoustic characteristics have been developed to meet the needs of industrial applications. Typically, lower frequencies of 2.25 MHz and below will be used to optimize penetration when measuring thick, highly attenuating, or highly scattering materials, while higher frequencies of 5 MHz and above will be recommended to optimize resolution in thinner, non-attenuating, non-scattering materials. Material: The type of material and the range of thickness being measured are the most important factors in selecting a gage and transducer. Many common engineering materials including most metals, ceramics, and glass transmit ultrasound very efficiently and can easily be measured across a wide thickness range. Most plastics absorb ultrasonic energy more quickly and thus have a more limited maximum thickness range, but can still be measured easily in most manufacturing situations. Rubber, fiberglass, and many composites can be much more attenuating and often require high penetration gages with pulser/receivers optimized for low frequency operation. Thickness: Thickness ranges will also dictate the type of gage and transducer that should be selected. In general, thin materials are measured at high frequencies and thick or attenuating materials are measured at low frequencies. Delay line transducers are often used on very thin materials, although delay line (and immersion) transducers will have a more restricted maximum measurable thickness due to potential interference from a multiple of the interface echo. In some cases involving broad thickness ranges and/or multiple materials, more than one transducer type may be required. Geometry: As the surface curvature of a part increases, the coupling efficiency between the transducer and the test piece is reduced, so as radius of curvature increases the size of the transducer should generally be decreased. Measurement on very sharp radiuses, particularly concave curves, may require specially contoured delay line transducers or non-contact immersion transducers for proper sound coupling. Delay line and immersion transducers may also be used for measurement in grooves, cavities and similar areas with restricted access. Temperature: Common contact transducers can generally be used on surfaces up to approximately 125 F or 50 C. Use of most contact transducers on hotter materials can result in permanent damage due to thermal expansion effects. In such cases, delay line transducers with heat-resistant delay lines, immersion transducers, or high temperature dual element transducers should always be used. See section 7.1 for further information on high temperature measurements. In general, the most reliable and repeatable results will be obtained with the highest frequency and smallest diameter transducer that will gave adequate performance over the thickness range to be measured. Small diameter transducers are more easily coupled to the test piece and permit the thinnest couplant layer at a given coupling pressure. Furthermore, higher frequency transducers produce signals

with faster rise times, thereby enhancing measurement accuracy. On the other hand, the acoustic properties or surface condition of the test material may require that transducer frequency be lowered in order to overcome poor coupling and/or sound attenuation or scattering within the material. Corrosion applications are a category in themselves, normally handled with dual element transducers. Duals are typically rugged and able to withstand exposure to high temperatures, and are highly sensitive to detection of pitting or other localized thinning conditions. However, they are generally not recommended for precision gaging applications because of the possibility of zero drift and timing imprecision due to the trigonometric correction required by the v-shaped sound path that they generate.

ESR
The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), also called a sedimentation rate or Westergren ESR, is the rate at which red blood cells sediment in a period of 1 hour. It is a common hematology test, and is a non-specific measure of inflammation. To perform the test, anticoagulated blood is placed in an upright tube, known as a Westergren tube, and the rate at which the red blood cells fall is measured and reported in mm/h. A non-specific measure of inflammation that is commonly used as a medical screening test. INFLAMMATION: Response of body for injury/irritation in the form of pain swelling, redness, heat METHOD: Anti-coagulated blood is placed in an upright tube, known as a Westergren tube and the rate at which the red blood cells fall is measured and reported in mm/h. E.S.R ANALYSIS METHOD INFLAMMATORY ANALYSIS: The high proportion of fibrinogen in the blood causes red blood cells to stick to each other. Also used in the analysis of 1. Lymphoproliferative disorders 2.Myeloma,temporal arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica 3.Chronic infective conditions like tuberculosis and infective endocarditis 4. monitoring the response to therapy for temporal arteritis, polymyalgia rheumatica and rheumatoid arthritis. (ESR 95% limits) Age (years) 20 10 15 55 14 21 90 19 23

Men Women

E.S.R VALUES & RANGES

ESR values increases for inflammation decreased in sickle cell anemia, polycythemia and congestive heart failure.

Ultrasonography
Technique by which ultrasonic energy is used to detect the state of the internal body organs Bursts of ultrasonic energy are transmitted from a piezoelectric or magnetostrictive transducer through the skin and into the internal anatomy When this energy strikes an interface between two tissues of different acoustical impedance, reflections (echoes) are returned to the transducer The transducer converts these reflections to an electric signal This electric signal is amplified and displayed on an oscilloscope at a distance proportional to the depth of the interface Ultrasonic diagnosis differs from radiological (X ray) diagnosis in that no shadow images are obtained The cross sectional or linear images are obtained through parts of the body Ultrasonic imaging is safe Uses mechanical energy at a level which is not harmful Hence it is called a non invasive technique

Potential applications Neurology to find brain tumor Ophthalmology to find any foreign objects in eye Cardiology to determine the cross section of the heart and the heart rate Gynecology to monitor the fetus growth and to indicate the presence of twins To identify breast cancers

Principle A sound waves travels in a pulse & when it is reflected back it becomes an echo. The pulse-echo principle is used for ultrasound imaging. A pulse generated by one or more piezoelectric crystals in an ultrasound probe or transducer. Ultrasound probe crystal is shocked by single extremely short pulse of electricity to vibrate at a frequency determined by its thickness.

Once echo are converted into electrical signals, these are processed & transformed into a visual display of the measure of the amplitude of the echo this is echo quantification. The transducer picks up the return echo & record any changes in the pitch or direction of the sound, the image is immediately visible on the screen.

Ultrasonic Imaging Instrumentation The transducer position data are fed to the computer The computer sends this information to signal processing unit It also receives the signals from the receiver and controls the receiver sensitivity Proper depth gain compensation is calculated by the computer and given to the signal processing unit

The ultrasonic velocity is calculated and given to display unit Using the image storage unit, the patient information is displayed Digital real time scanners are used for displaying ultrasound images

The echoes from the patient body surface are collected by the receiver circuit Proper depth gain compensation is given by DCG circuit The received signals are converted into digital signals and are stored in the memory Meanwhile, the scan converter control receives signals of transducer position and TV synchronous pulses and generates X and Y address information which is fed to the digital memory The stored digital image signals are processed and colour coded and are given to digital to analog converter Then they are fed into video section of the television monitor

Fluoroscopy

Real-time imaging Most general-purpose fluoroscopy systems use TV technology, operating at 30 frames/sec May be recorded (barium swallow examinations) or unrecorded (catheter positioning) Cinecardiography may operate at 120 fps using 35mm film Higher sensitivity than screen-film systems 1 to 5 R per frame versus 600 R for a 400-speed screen-film system to give OD = 1.0 The fluoroscopic imaging chain

Image intensifier Four principal components: A vacuum bottle to keep air out An input layer to convert the x-ray signal to electrons

Electronic lenses that focus the electrons (G1, G2, and G3 in the figure) An output phosphor that converts the accelerated electrons to visible light

Internal structure of an image intensifier

Input screen Input screen consists of four layers: The vacuum window (thin Al window that is part of the vacuum bottle) A support layer (also thin Al), curved for accurate electron focusing The input phosphor (CsI in thin, needle-like crystals) The photocathode (a thin layer of antimony and alkali metals, such as Sb2S3) that emits electrons when struck by visible light

Input section of an image intensifier

Pincushion distortion arising because the input surface of the II is curved and the output surface is flat

Output phosphor Made from zinc cadmium sulfide doped with silver (ZnCdS:Ag), which emits green light Small phosphor particles (1 to 2 m) in a thin coating (4 to 8 m) to preserve high spatial resolution Anode is a very thin (~ 0.2 m) coating of aluminum on the vacuum side of the phosphor

Output window of an image intensifier

Much smaller image at the output phosphor than at the input phosphor (23- to 35-cm diameter input imaged focused onto a 2.5-cm diameter circle)

Must deliver resolution >70 line pairs/mm to preserve a resolution of 5 line pairs/mm at the input plane In normal operation, electrons emitted by the photocathode over the entire surface of the input window are focused onto the output phosphor.

In magnification mode, the voltages applied to the electrodes are changed, such that only the electrons released from the smaller diameter FOV are properly focused onto the output phosphor.

Quantum detection efficiency X-rays must pass through the vacuum window and the input screen substrate before reaching the phosphor This reduces the QDE of an image intensifier Maximal around 60 kVp Dose to patient decreases at higher kVps, so optimal kVp for a given examination will generally be higher than 60 kVp

Comparison of QDE of an image intensifier with that of a thin-film transistor digital detector array

Modes of operation Continuous fluoroscopy

Basic form of fluoroscopy; continuously on x-ray beam

High dose rate fluoroscopy Specially activated mode allowing exposure rates of up to 20 R/min to the patient in the US

Variable frame rate pulsed fluoroscopy 30, 15, and 7.5 frames/sec operation allows lower temporal resolution for parts of procedure

Frame averaging

Frame averaging Fluoroscopy images generally noisy Sometimes beneficial to compromise temporal resolution for lower noise images Digitize fluoroscopic images and perform real-time averaging in computer memory for display

I displayed I n 1 I n 1

Requirements of bio amplifier:

The essential function of a biopotential amplifier is to take a weak electric signal of biological origin and increase its amplitude so that it can be further processed, recorded, or displayed. Usually such amplifiers are in the form of voltage amplifiers, because they are capable of increasing the voltage level of a signal. Nonetheless, voltage amplifiers also serve to increase power levels, so they can be considered power amplifiers as well. In some cases, biopotential amplifiers are used to isolate the load from the source. In this situation, the amplifiers provide only current gain, leaving the voltage levels essentially unchanged. To be useful biologically, all biopotential amplifiers must meet certain basic requirements. They must have high input impedance, so that they provide minimal loading of the signal being measured. The characteristics of biopotential electrodes can be affected by the electric load they see, which,

combined with excessive loading, can result in distortion of the signal. Loading effects are minimized by making the amplifier input impedance as high as possible, thereby reducing this distortion. Modern biopotential amplifiers have input impedances of at least 10 MV. The input circuit of a biopotential amplifier must also provide protection to the organism being studied. Any current or potential appearing across the amplifier input terminals that is produced by the amplifier is capable of affecting the biological potential being measured. In clinical systems, electric currents from the input terminals of a biopotential amplifier can result in 241
c06_1 12/02/2008 242

microshocks or macroshocks in the patient being studieda situation that can have grave consequences. To avoid these problems, the amplifier should have isolation and protection circuitry, so that the current through the electrode circuit can be kept at safe levels and any artifact generated by such current can be minimized. The output circuit of a biopotential amplifier does not present so many critical problems as the input circuit. Its principal function is to drive the amplifier load, usually an indicating or recording device, in such a way as to maintain maximal fidelity and range in this readout. Therefore, the output impedance of the amplifier must be low with respect to the load impedance, and the amplifier must be capable of supplying the power required by the load. Biopotential amplifiers must operate in that portion of the frequency spectrum in which the biopotentials that they amplify exist. Because of the low level of such signals, it is important to limit the bandwidth of the amplifier so that it is just great enough to process the signal adequately. In this way, we can obtain optimal signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). Biopotential signals usually have amplitudes of the order of a few millivolts or less. Such signals must be amplified to levels compatible with recording and display devices. This means that most biopotential amplifiers must have high gainsof the order of 1000 or greater. Very frequently biopotential signals are obtained from bipolar electrodes. These electrodes are often symmetrically located, electrically, with respect to ground. Under such circumstances, the most appropriate biopotential amplifier is a differential one. Because such bipolar electrodes frequently have a common-mode voltage with respect to ground that is much larger than the signal amplitude, and because the symmetry with respect to ground can be distorted, such biopotential differential amplifiers must have high commonmoderejection ratios to minimize interference due to the common-mode signal. A final requirement for biopotential amplifiers that are used both in medical applications and in the laboratory is that they make quick calibration possible. In recording biopotentials, the scientist and clinician need to know not only the waveforms of these signals but also their amplitudes. To provide this information, the gain of the amplifier must be well calibrated. Frequently biopotential amplifiers have a standard signal source that can be momentarily connected to the input, automatically at the start of a measurement or manually at the push of a button, to check the calibration. Biopotential

amplifiers that need to have adjustable gains usually have a switch by which different, carefully calibrated fixed gains can be selected, rather than having a continuous control (such as the volume control of an audio amplifier) for adjusting the gain. Thus the gain is always known, and there is no chance of its being accidentally varied by someone bumping the gain control. Biopotential amplifiers have additional requirements that are applicationspecific and that can be ascertained from an examination of each application. To illustrate some of these, let us first consider the electrocardiogram (ECG), the most frequently used application of biopotential amplifiers.