UTZ RELEVANT

TERMINOLOGIES
 Sound Waves
• Are longitudinal waves that consist of high and low pressures
• Produced by a mechanical vibration
• The vibrating object causes the surrounding medium to vibrate as well
• The sound waves travels through a medium
 Acoustic Variables
• Helps in identifying which waves are sound waves
and which are not
• When it changes rhythmically in time, a sound
wave is present

There are three Types of Acoustic Variables:

1. Pressure - Concentration of force within an area
(f/a); Pascal (Pa) = unit of measure
2. Density - Concentration of mass within a volume
(m/V); kg/cm3 = unit of measure
3. Distance – measure of particle motion; cm, ft,
miles = unit of measure
 Acoustic Parameters
• It describes the features of a particular sound wave

There are seven types of Acoustic Parameters

1. Frequency
2. Period
3. Amplitude
4. Power
5. Intensity
6. Wavelength
7. Velocity / Propagation Speed
 1. Frequency (f)
• Number of certain events that occur in a particular
time duration
• is the number of cycles of an acoustic variable that
occur in one second
• units: Hertz (Hz) or Cycles per sec (cps)
• typical values: 2 MHz to 15 MHz
• cycles/sec
• 1/p

Note: Frequency affects penetration and axial

resolution (image quality)
 2. Period (T)
•The time required to
complete a single cycle
•units: μsec (or any unit of
time)
•typical values: 0.06 to 0.5
•sec/cycle
•1/f
 Frequency and Period
• they have an inverse proportional relationship
 3. Amplitude
• The variation of an acoustic variable
• The difference between the average value and the
maximum value of an acoustic variable
• Peak / Crest - maximum p`oint on the positive side
• Peak / Trough – maximum point on the negative
side
• Is the height and depth of wave
• Unit: Pa, grams/cm3, cm, inches,or dB

Peak to Peak Amplitude - the difference between

maximum and minimum values of an acoustic
variable
 4. Power (W)
•The rate that work is
performed
•The rate of energy
transfer
•units: Watts
 Power and Amplitude

They are
directly
proportional
 5. Intensity
• The concentration of energy in a sound beam
• Intensity depends upon both the power and the
cross-sectional area of the beam
• intensity (watts/cm2) = power /beam area
• units: watts/cm2
• typical values: 0.001-100 watts/cm2
• Intensity decreases as sound propagates through
the body
• power/area
 Power and Intensity

They are
directly
proportional
 Amplitude and Intensity

They are
directly
proportional

(Intensity = Amplitude2)
 6. Wavelength (λ)
• The length or distance of space
over which a single cycle occurs
• Distance between two consecutive
identical wave
• units: meters, mm or any unit of
length
• Typical values: 0.1-0.8 mm (in soft
tissue)
• λ = v/f
 Frequency and Wavelength

They are
indirectly
proportional
 7. Velocity / Propagation Speed (v / c)
• The rate that sound travels through a medium
• Dependent on the compressibility and density of
the medium
•V=fxλ
• units: m/s, mm/μs

Typical values: Average speed of all sound in:

• soft tissue is 1540 m/s
• air 330 m/s
• fat 1450 m/s
• Bone 2000-4000 m/s
Note: gas (slower)<liquid<solid (faster)
Characteristic that Determines the Propagation Speed of
Sound

1.Stiffness
2.Density
 How does Stiffness affects Speed?
Stiffness
• AKA bulk modulus
• tendency of a body to resist a change in its shape
• how much rigid is the object or how much less
elastic it is

Stiffness and Speed are directly proportional

• As materials become stiffer, the speed of sound in
the material increases
 How does Density affects Speed?
Density
• is the matter with which a body is made up of
• is the mass contained in a unit volume
• is the degree of compactness of a substance

Density and Speed are Inversely Proportional

• As materials become more dense, the speed of
sound in the material decreases
 Ultrasound Interactions and Attenuation

1.Acoustic Impedance
2.Acoustic Boundaries
3.Attenuation
4.Acoustic Window
5.Acoustic Barriers
 Acoustic Impedance (Z)
• is a physical property of tissue
• How particles of the substance behave when
subjected to pressure wave
• It describes how much resistance an ultrasound
beam encounters as it passes through a tissue
• Measures in Rayls
• High density substance = high Z

Formula: Z = pc
• Density – density of material (kg/m3)
• c = speed of sound (m/s)
• Z = acoustic impedance
 Acoustic Impedance (Z)
Substance Z Speed (m/s)
Air 0.0004 330
Fat 1.38 1450
Water 1.48 1480
Blood 1.61 1570
Kidney 1.62 1560
Soft Tissue 1.63 1540
Liver 1.65 1550
Muscle 1.70 1580
Bone 7.80 3500
PZT (crystals) 30 3870
 Acoustic Impedance (Z) Mismatch
• Is difference in Z between two substances
• The greater the impedance mismatch, the
greater the percentage of energy will be
reflected at the interface of a boundary
between the first medium and another
 Acoustic Impedance Mismatch and Reflection
• Substance with same acoustic impedance
• 100% energy transmission = no reflection

ZT = 100% : ZR = 0%

• Substance with small interface in Z

• 95% enegy = 5% reflection

ZT = 95% : ZR = 5%

• Substance with large interface in Z

• 1% energy = 99% reflection

ZT = 1% : ZR = 99%
 Acoustic Impedance Mismatch and Reflection
MISMATCH REFLECTION TRANSMISSION

MISMATH REFLECTION TRANSMISSION

 IF THERE IS LARGE ACOUSTIC MISMATCH
EX: AIR AND SOFT TISSUE

DO NOT
PRODUCES
LARGE HAVE
A BRIGHT VERY LITTYLE
PROPORTION ENOUGH
IMAGE ON ENERGY IS
OF ENERGY IS TRANSMITTED ENERGY TO
THE
REFLECTED PRODUCE
DISPLAY
IMAGE
 Acoustic Impedance Mismatch and Reflection
• Therefore it is not practical to use ultrasound
to produce images of soft tissue subjects
containing Gas or Bone
• Ultrasound imaging is very good at
discriminating between substances with small
differences in Z such as soft tissues
 Acoustic Boundaries
• AKA Tissue Interface
• Position within tissues where the values of acoustic
impedance change
• Outer covering
 Attenuation
• Weakening of the sound as it propagates
• Reduction in amplitude and intensity as sound travels
• The denser the tissue = the higher the attenuation

NOTE: attenuation will not only occur in the beam of

sound produced by the transducer as it produces
propagates through tissue, but also in returning echoes
as they travel back to the transducer

There are five main processes causing attenuation:

1. Absorption
2. Divergence
3. Scattering
4. Reflection
5. Refraction
 Absorption
•Process by which energy in the
ultrasound beam is transferred
to the propagating medium,
where it is transformed into a
different form of energy, mostly
heat
•Higher frequency = greater
amount of absorption
 Divergence
• As beam of ultrasound travels through, it will
diverge
• The divergence will result in the same power
spread over larger area
• The intensity of the beam will therefore be
reduced
 Scattering
• AKA side lobes
• Occurs when an ultrasound waves strikes a
boundary between two small structures and
the wave is scattered in different direction
• Responsible for providing the internal texture
of organs in the image

Rayleigh Scattering – when the scatter is equal

in all direction
 Reflection
• Occurs when two large structures of
significantly different Z form an interface, the
interface becomes a reflector and some of the
wave energy is reflected back to the
transducer
• The energy remaining in the wave is
decreased
• Echo – reflected beam
 Reflection
There are two types of Reflection
1. Specular Reflector
• Occurs when the boundary is smooth and
larger than the beam dimension
• Angle of incidence = angle of reflection

2. Diffuse Reflector
• Occurs when the reflecting interface is
irregular in shape and its dimensions are
smaller than the diameter of the UTZ beam
• Incident beam is reflected in many different
directions
 Refraction
• Transmission with a bend
• When the beam encounters an interface
between two different tissues at an oblique
angle, the beam will be deviated as it travels
on through tissue
• The angle of incidence is 90 degrees = no
refraction will occur
• The physics of refraction are described by
Snell`s Law
 Snell`s Law
• Snell–Descartes law and the law of refraction
• Formula which gives the relationship between
the angle of incidence and the angle of
refraction when a beam sound passes
through an interface between two issues
where the speed of sound is different
 Acoustic Window / Field
• Compartments which allow UTZ to pass
readily are through them
• is the area defined by the pathway of the
ultrasound beam between the transducer and
the acoustic reflector
 Acoustic Barriers
Impedes transmission of ultrasonic energy
 Piezoelectric Effect
• Piezo – it is a Greek word “Piezin” which
means to “press, squeeze, or pressure”
• Electric – comes from the word “Elektron”
meaning “amber” which is an organic plant
resin that was used in early electrical study
• Piezoelectric Effect - ability of a material to
generate an electrical charge in response to
applied pressure
 Piezoelectric Elements
• Or transducer element or active element
➢Heart of transducer
➢the most important component
➢Crystalline materials composed of dipolar
molecules
➢Serve as transmitter and receiver of ultrasound
➢It converts electrical energy to mechanical energy
• Quartz – naturally occurring crystals with
piezoelectric properties
• Lead Zirconate Titanate – a commonly used man
made ceramic materials that are more efficient,
better sensitivity, and can be easily shaped
 Piezoelectric Materials
NATURAL SYNTHETIC
Quartz Lead Zirconate Titanate
(PZT)
Tourmaline Barium Titanate
Rochelle Salts Lead Metaniobate
Ammonium dihydrogen
phosphate
Lithium Sulphate
 Piezoelectric Elements
• Made of dipolar molecules
• Usually these dipolar molecules have a
random arrangement
• They are unable to align themselves without
an applied electric field
 Piezoelectric Element
If these dipolar molecules are heated above the
Curie temperature in presence of an electric
held, the molecular align themselves with that
field
 Piezoelectric Crystal as Transmitter of Sound
•Piezoelectric crystals are
used in the production of
ultrasound by converting
•Electrical energy into the
Mechanical Energy
•E - M
 Piezoelectric Crystal as Receiver of Sound
Piezoelectric
materials are used in
the detection of echo
by converting the
Mechanical Energy
into Electrical Energy
 NOTE
•As the crystal diameter decreases,
the beam divergence increases

•As the crystal diameter increases,

the beam divergence decreases
 References
• http://ultrasoundregistryreview.com
• http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu
• Ms. J. Barbiran and A.Espino Lecture