INTERFERENCES AND

TYPES OF PROBES
INTERFERENCE
Combination of two or more waves of the same
frequency, amplitude to form a resultant wave.
They travel in same direction.

TYPES:
1. Constructive Interference
2. Destructive Interference
CONSTRUCTIVE INTERFERENCE
It is any interference in which waves combine so that the
resultant wave is bigger than either of the two original
waves, is called constructive interference.
If the crests and troughs of the two waves align perfectly at
the same time and same phase, amplitude of the resultant
wave increases.
Example of constructive interference :
 Two speakers playing same music while facing each other.
At this time, music will appear louder and powerful as
compared to music played by single speaker.
DESTRUCTIVE INTERFERENCE
It is any interference in which waves combine so that the
resultant wave is smaller than the largest of the original
waves.
When destructive interference occurs between two waves
that have the same amplitude that occurs at different
phases, the waves may completely cancel each other out.
In this interference, if the crest of one wave align with the
trough of the other wave, they either form a smaller wave or
cancel each other out completely. This is called
destructive interference.
ULTRASOUND TRANSDUCER
An ultrasound transducer, also called a probe, is a device
that produces sound waves that bounce off body tissues
and make echoes.
The transducer also receives the echoes and sends them to
a computer that uses them to create an image called
sonogram.
An essential element of each ultrasound transducer is a
piezoelectric crystal. It serves to generate as well as receive
ultrasound waves
Transducers can be either passed over the surface of the
body – external transducers or can be inserted into an
orifice, such as the rectum or vagina – these are internal
transducers.
The ultrasound transducers differ in
construction based on:
Piezoelectric crystal arrangement
Aperture (footprint)
Frequency
TYPES OF PROBES
1. Linear
2. Curvilinear
3. Phased array
4. Pencil
5. Endocavity
1. LINEAR PROBE
The piezoelectric crystal arrangement is linear.
The shape of the beam is rectangular, and the near-
field resolution is good.
It has high frequency and helpful in studying
superficial structures.
 APPLICATIONS:
Breast examination
Thyroid
Vascular examination
2. CURVILINEAR PROBE

It is also called the curved transducer because the piezoelectric
crystal arrangement is curvilinear.
Moreover, the beam shape is convex and the transducer is good for
in-depth examinations.
It has low frequency and decrease image resolution as the image
depth increases.
It has good penetration.

 APPLICATIONS:
Abdominal examinations
Skin edema
3. PHASED ARRAY TRANSDUCER
Also called sector ultrasound probe.
The beam point is narrow but it expands depending on the
applied frequency.
Furthermore, the beam shape is almost triangular and the near-
field resolution is poor.
These transducers have good depth penetration.

 APPLICATIONS:
Cardiac examinations, including Transesophageal examinations
Abdominal examinations
Brain examinations
4. PENCIL TRANSDUCER
Also called CW Doppler probes, are utilized to measure
blood flow and speed of sound in blood.
This probe has a small footprint and uses low
frequency.
5. ENDOCAVITY TRANSDUCER
The endocavity transducers include endovaginal,
endorectal, and endocavity transducers
Typically, they have small footprints and the frequency
varies.
It has high-frequency range and better imaging.
TRANSESOPHAGEAL (TEE) PROBE
It has a small footprint and is used for internal
examinations.
It is often employed in cardiology to obtain a better
image of the heart through the oesophagus.
Transesophageal echo (TEE) test is a type of echo that
uses a long, thin, tube (endoscope) to guide the
ultrasound transducer down the esophagus (“food pipe”
that goes from the mouth to the stomach). This lets the
doctor see pictures of the heart without the ribs or
lungs getting in the way.
BE CAUTIOUS!
A black line on the screen of the ultrasound
system will most likely mean that the transducer
has a dead crystal inside.
A shadow on the screen of the ultrasound system
could indicate a weak crystal inside the transducer
that does not produce the necessary vibration.
COMPONENTS OF TRANSDUCER
The active element is basically a piece of polarized
material – a piezoelectric ceramic sandwiched
between electrodes.
The transducer converts mechanical energy into
electrical energy and vice versa. It acts as both a
transmitter and receiver of sound.
Elements located in the transducer use the
piezoelectric effect to create sound.
The thickness of the piezoelectric crystals determines
the frequency of the transducer. The higher the
frequency, the thinner the active element and vice
versa.
PIZOELECTRIC EFFECT
Appearance of an electric potential across certain faces
of crystal when it is subjected to mechanical pressure.
The piezoelectric effect converts mechanical energy,
due to crystal deformation into electrical energy. This is
how ultrasound receives sound waves
The same effect can be used in reverse – inverse
piezoelectric effect – whereby the application of an
electric field to a crystal causes realignment of the
structure. This realignment results in crystal
lengthening or contraction, converting electrical energy
into kinetic or mechanical energy. This is how
ultrasound transducers produce sound waves.
HOW US IMAGE IS PRODUCED?
A transducer use a piezoelectric crystal to generate and receive
ultrasound waves.
A piezoelectric substance has the property of changing its size
and shape when an electric current is applied to it.
Electric current will result in rapid expansions and
compressions of the material and thus produce an ultrasound
image.
The piezoelectric crystal also deforms in shape when an
ultrasound wave strikes the material, resulting in the
production of an electric current.
The steps involved in creating a final ultrasound image are
transmission and reception of waves, conversion to electrical
signals, filtering and extensive computer processing.
The main components of transducer consists of:
Physical housing assembly
Electrical connections
Piezoelectric element
Backing material
Acoustic insulator
Impedance matching layer
PHYSICAL HOUSING AND ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS
Physical housing contains all the individual components
including the crystal, electrodes, matching layer and
backing layer.
electrical insulation and protection of the element
includes a plastic case, metal shield and acoustic insulator

Two electrical connections are formed on the front and back

of the crystal. These electrodes are connected to the
ultrasound machine which generates electrical pulses to
excite crystal and through piezoelectric effect generates
pulse of ultrasound energy.
ACOUSTIC INSULATOR:
 It stops the transducer vibrating in hand.

BACKING MATERIAL:
 adhered to the back of the crystal (behind the positive electrode)
 absorbs ultrasound energy directed backward and attenuates stray
ultrasound signals from the housing.
 dampens the resonant vibrations in the piezoelectric element which
creates a shorter spatial pulse length; this allows for better axial
resolution but higher bandwidth

PIZOELECTRIC MATERIAL:
 FORMS US and receives echoes.
 may consist of a single element or be a broadband transducer with
multiple elements

MATCHING LAYER:
interface between the transducer element and the tissue
allows close to 100% transmission of the ultrasound from
the element into the tissues by minimizing reflection due
to traversing different mediums (acoustic impedance)
achieves this by consisting of layers of material with
acoustic impedances that are between soft tissue and
transducer material.
 may consist of one or multiple layers
Matching layer is placed to stop reflection.
BANDWIDTH
All ultrasound transducers contains a range of frequencies
termed as bandwidth.
The resonant frequency is the frequency at which the
transducer will operate most efficiently.
Frequency at which PZT material vibrates is resonant
frequency.
Resonant frequency determine by thickness of crystal
Thick crystal- low frequency sound
Placing backing material stops natural vibrations of PZT
material and it increases band width and resonant frequency.
It decreases pulse duration
Pulse length decreases, axial resolution increases.
MECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS
Initial transducers
Active element in probe which produce sound waves
In mechanical transducers, beam is achieved through
physical movement of some part of transducer, usually
the crystal element
Consists of single element/piezoelectric crystal
It has a single focus which is fixed
Mechanically stimulate
Probe should not be hit mechanically because PZT
material inside the probe can damage which
deteriorates the image quality
TRANSDUCER ARRAYS
It has multiple elements
Array means “you can change focus”
The elements are attached with separate wire
Stimulate electrically
Multi focus
TYPES OF ARRAYS
Linear Phased Array
Linear Sequential Array
Curved Transducer Array
- Curved sequential array
- Curved phased array
Annular array
LINEAR PHASED ARRAY
• Linear – long
• Phased – focus adjust
• Array – multi focus
Electrically changed
All signals produce sound waves
Phased array ultrasound transducer is typically 2-3 cm
long, consisting of 64-128 elements
Used in echo
LINEAR PHASED ARRAY
LINEAR SEQUENTIAL ARRAY
It consists of up to 512 elements
Multiple rectangular crystals placed in a row
It forms a rectangular image.
Not all elements produce sound waves.
Elements are activated in groups from one end of the
transducer to the other which produce sound waves.
Linear Sequential Array
VASCULAR IMAGE
CURVED TRANSDUCER ARRAY
The elements are arranged in a curve, giving this type
of the transducer a wider view (larger footprint) in the
far field.
Elements in curved-array probe can be activated
individually or in small groups.
Used in ultrasound
ANNULAR ARRAY (RING ARRAY)
ANNULAR ARRAY TRANSDUCER