Physics of USG

 Sound is ME travelling thru matter

as a wave producing alternating
compression and rarefactions.
 Limited physical displacement of
the material thru which it is
transmitted.
Basics of acoustics
 Changes in pressure with time is……..
 Distance between points on the time pressure
curve is…..wavelength
 Time taken to complete one cycle is…period
 Number of cycles in unit time is….frequenccy.
 Sound for diagnostic applications is between 2
to 15 MHz
 50 to 60 MHz under investigation
Propagation of Sound
 Brief bursts of sound/energy transmitted
into the body.
 Travels either as Transverse/Longitudinal
waves
 Velocity depends resistance of medium to
compression.
 Resistance depends on density and
elasticity
 Average velocity in body is 1540m/s
Distance Measurement
 Propagation velocity is known and
time interval between transmission
and return of echo known then
distance can be measured.
Interactions of beam with
tissues

Acoustic impedance
Reflection
Attenuation
Acoustic Impedance
 Measure of resistance to sound passing
thru medium
 Product of density of the medium
propagating sound and the propgation
velocity of the medium.
 Interfaces with large Z reflects everything
 With small Z allows some to pass.
 Specular reflectors….
Reflection
 Specular reflectors - Interfaces are large and
relatively smooth sound is reflected in the
same way as a mirror reflects light.
 Beam has to be 90 degrees.
 Diffuse reflectors – if the interfaces are smaller
echoes are scattered in all direction
 Speck : tissue texture of solid organs due to
constuctive and destructive interference of sound.
Refraction
 Change in direction of propagation
of sound wave.
 Happens due to change in tissue
medium with different propogation
velocity
 Imp as it causes misregistration of
structures in an usg image.
Attenuation
 As beam propagates energy is
transferred to the medium as heat
 Pressure waves decrease in
amplitude
 Energy eventually removed due to
combined effects of absorption,
scatter and reflection.
 Higher freq and lower freq
Instrumentation
 Transmitter
 Transducer
 Receiver
 Display
 Storage
Transmitter
 Precisely timed high amp voltage
results in brief pulses of energy
 Rate of pulses emitted by the
transducer – PRF
 PRF’s of 1 to 10 Khz are used.
Transducer
 Device that converts electrical
energy to mechanical
energy….thus generates acoustic
pulses.
 Also a receiver of reflected
echoes…converts back to electrical
energy
 Piezoelectricity principle
 Changing the polarity of a voltage applied to
transducer changes the thickness of
transducer,expands and contracts as polarity changes
 Results in generation of mechanical pressure waves
 Also results in gen of small potentials across the
transducer as it is struck by returning echoes.
 Bandwith – range of frequencies produced by the
transducer.
 A single brief voltage change causes transducer to
vibrate at its preferential freq
 Pulse length – Number of cycles of sound in each
pulse
 Shorter pulse length better axial resolution
 Damping applied
 Fresnel zone/near field (pressure amp varies greatly)
 Frauenhaufer zone/far field (field diverges depending
on radius of transducer and amp remains steady)
 This divergence can be corrected by proper focusing
Receiver
 Weak returning echoes are detected and
amplified.
 Different tissues attenuate differently.
Transducer allows for compensating for the
differences in echo strength at different depths
by selectively amplifying the echoes from deeper
structures/ suppressing from sup structures.
 Compression of varies freq into a range that can
be displayed
 Dynamic range - Ratio of highest to the lowest
amp displayed
Image display
 A mode
 M mode
 B mode
 Black no signal ..white greatest
signal..grey intermediate
 256 shades of grey possible for each
pixel.
 15 to 60 frames/sec.
Steering
 Mechanical  Electronic
 Single piezoelect  Multiple elements
 Fixed focus  Variable focus
 Better suited  Require larger
where access contact.
limited smaller
area available for
contact.
Arrays
 Multiple elements
 Linear
 Curved
 Phased – elements fired in diff
direction in particular sequence by
precise timing
Special imaging modes
 Harmonic imaging
 Spatial componding
 3d/4d USG
ARTIFACTS
 Reverberation
 Refraction
 Side lobes
Reverberation artifacts
 Signal reflects repeatedly between
highly reflective surfaces
 Give solid appearance in cyst
 Change the angle to avoid
 Helpful in identifying clips
Refraction
 Targets not along the beam are insonated
 Structures appear not in the actual volume
of the probe

Side lobe artifacts

 Creates appearance of debris in fluid filled
structures

 Shadowing.
 Due to strong reflector or attenuater
Homework!!
 Read usg physics
 Read artefacts..article in
radiographics