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Ultrasound imaging
Gizeaddis Lamesgin (MSc.)
Jimma University
Jimma Institute of Technology
Biomedical Engineering Department
What is Sound?
Sound is propagated through a mechanical movement of a
particle through compression and rarefaction that is
propagated through the neighbor particles depending on the
density and elasticity of the material in the medium.
What is Sound?
Sound waves propagate mechanical energy causing periodic
vibration of particles in a continuous, elastic medium.
What is Ultrasound?
Ultrasound is the term that describes sound waves of
frequencies exceeding the range of human hearing and their
propagation in a medium.
Propagation velocity
Acoustic impedance
Reflection
Refraction
Attenuation
Propagation Velocity
Sound is energy transmitted through a medium-
Each medium has a constant
velocity of sound (c)
Product of frequency (f) and wavelength ()
c=f
Frequency and Wavelength therefore are directly
proportional- if the frequency increases the
wavelength must decrease.
Propagation Velocity
Ultrasound wavelength is determined by the
frequency and the speed of sound in the propagation
medium.
Ultrasound wavelength
determines the spatial
resolution achievable
along the direction of
the beam.
Propagation Velocity
A high-frequency ultrasound beam provides superior
resolution and image detail
However, the depth of beam penetration is reduced at higher frequency.
Lower frequency ultrasound has less resolution, but a
greater penetration depth.
Ultrasound frequencies selected for imaging are
determined by the imaging application.
For thick body parts (e.g., abdominal imaging), a lower
frequency ultrasound wave is used (3.5 to 5 MHz) to image
structures at significant depths,
for small body parts or organs close to the skin surface (e.g.,
thyroid, breast), a higher frequency is employed (7.5 to 10
MHz).
Propagation Velocity
Propagation velocity is dependent
Tissues resistance to compression (density or stiffness)
the more rigid the tissue and or/less dense the tissue,
the higher the ultrasound propagation velocity
Propagation Velocity
Acoustic properties of biological tissues
Solution
Reflection
The production of echoes at reflecting interfaces
between tissues of differing physical properties.
pi pi
pt
pt
pr pr
|pt| << |pr| |pt| >> |pr|
Transducer
Receiver
Processor
Display
Storage
Instrumentation of ultrasound
Pulser
also known as the transmitter provides the electrical voltage for
exciting the piezoelectric transducer elements, and controls the
output transmit power by adjustment of the applied voltage.
Preamplification
Each transducer element produces a small voltage proportional to the
pressure amplitude of the returning echoes.
An initial Preamplification increases the detected voltages to useful
signal levels
Processed A-line
data with
appropriate TGC
demonstrates that
equally reflective
interfaces have
equal amplitude.
Ultrasound Scanning Modes
A-Mode scan:
Records the amplitude of returning echoes from the tissue
boundaries with respect to time (one dimensional).
the echo time represents the acoustic impedance of the
medium and depth of the reflecting boundary of the tissue,
A-mode currently used in ophthalmology applications for
precise distance measurements of the eye..
Ultrasound Scanning Modes
M-Mode Scan
Provides information about the variations in signal
amplitude due to object motion.
A fixed position of the transducer, in a sweep cycle, provides a
line of data that is acquired through A-mode.
In a series of sweep cycles, each sequential A-line data is
positioned horizontally.
As the object moves, the changes in the brightness levels
representing the deflection of corresponding pixels in the
subsequent sequential lines indicate the movement of the
tissue boundaries.
M-mode scanning is used most commonly in cardiac imaging
Ultrasound Scanning Modes
M-Mode Scan
The x-axis represents the time while the y-axis indicates
the distance of the echo from the transducer.
B-mode image
of a fetus.
The dark region
is the uterus,
which is filled
with fluid
2-Dimensional imaging
Fire beam vertically, wait for echoes, store information &
then fire new line from neighbouring transducer etc in a
sequence of B-mode lines.
Reflecting
200
Surfaces
50
100
150
200
Ultrasound
beam
Other orientations
Image Formed
Boundaries giving
of ultrasound beam
rise to echoes
The Co-ordinate Generator
This device is often also called the scan converter.
Echogenicity:
Hyperechoic - greatest intensity - white
Hypoechoic
Image quality
Lateral Resolution
Focal Zone
Probe Selection
Frequency Selection
Recognition of Artifacts
Axial Resolution
= C/f
= 1.1mm
Axial Resolution
screen
body
Lateral Resolution
screen
body
Ultrasound Artifacts
Acoustic shadowing
Acoustic enhancement
Lateral cystic shadowing (edge artifact)
Contact artifact
Wide beam artifact
Side lobe artifact
Reverberation artifact
Gain artifact
Acoustic Shadowing
Biliary stones
Renal stones
Tissue calcifications
Acoustic Shadowing
Shadowing is a
hypointense signal
area distal to an
object or interface,
and is caused by
objects with high
attenuation or
reflection of the
incident beam.
Acoustic Enhancement
Artifacts video
Doppler Ultrasound
Doppler Effect
~MHz
~MHz
Difference
(audible)
2f o v cos
FD
c
and
FDc
V
2f o v cos
Doppler shift
The only quantity that is measured directly by a typical
Doppler ultrasound unit is Doppler shift.
Determination of the velocity of blood in units such as
centimeters per second requires an estimate of the sonation
angle.
Errors in the estimate of this angle (using on-screen cursors)
limit the accuracy of velocity estimates.
This error is more significant at larger angles (near 90 degrees)
than at smaller angles
Example
A 10-MHz ultrasound probe detects a 1.4-kHz Doppler shift at
a sonation angle estimated as 45 degrees. Find the estimated
velocity of blood flow and the percent error in the estimate if
the angle of sonation is incorrect by as much as 3 degrees:
Solution
FDc
V
2f o v cos
Continuous Wave (CW) Doppler
Ultrasound transmitted continuously rather than in pulses
CW Doppler
spectrogram
showing the
velocity
profile of the
blood flow through
a heart valve
Pulsed Wave (PW) Doppler
Pulsed Doppler ultrasound combines the velocity
determination of continuous-wave Doppler systems and the
range discrimination of pulse echo imaging.