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The intensity of an ultrasound beam is measured using a hydrophone. A hydrophone is a specialized device that detects and measures the acoustic pressure of the ultrasound waves in water or tissue-mimicking materials. It is highly sensitive and can measure the variations in pressure, which are used to calculate the intensity and other acoustic parameters of the ultrasound beam.

ARDMS Sonography Principles and Instrumentation guidelines

Hoskins, P. R., Thrush, A., Martin, K., & Whittingham, T. A. (2010). Diagnostic Ultrasound: Physics and Equipment.

To avoid exceeding the Nyquist limit and prevent aliasing in Doppler ultrasound, the pulse repetition frequency (PRF) should be increased. The Nyquist limit is half of the PRF, so by increasing the PRF, the Nyquist limit is raised, allowing the system to accurately measure higher velocities without encountering aliasing artifacts.

ARDMS Sonography Principles and Instrumentation guidelines

Zwiebel, W. J., & Pellerito, J. S. (2017).Introduction to Vascular Ultrasonography. Elsevier.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Continuous wave (CW) Doppler utilizes two separate crystals: one constantly transmitting and one constantly receiving. This setup allows CW Doppler to measure very high velocities without aliasing, but at the cost of losing range specificity (no depth resolution).

According to sonography instrumentation reference:

“Continuous wave Doppler uses two separate elements for continuous transmission and reception of sound waves, allowing for detection of very high velocities but without depth specificity.”

Therefore, the correct answer is D: Dedicated transmit and receive crysta

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What artifact is indicated by the arrows in the image below?

An ultrasound image of a fetus Description automatically generated

A. Ring down

B. Grating lobe

C. Enhancement

D. Refraction

Answer: A

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

The image shows a bright, continuous, vertical band extending from a gas-containing structure (seen at the top). This is characteristic of ring down artifact, which occurs when multiple small gas bubbles resonate and create continuous echoes below the structure.

According to sonography instrumentation reference:

“Ring down artifact results from resonance of gas bubbles, producing a continuous series of echoes distal to the source. It appears as a bright, vertical band that does not fade with depth.”

Therefore, the correct answer is A: Ring down.

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Frame rate in color flow Doppler is influenced by several factors, including the imaging depth. Decreasing the depth reduces the time it takes for sound waves to travel to the imaging area and back to the transducer. This allows for more frames to be captured per second, thereby increasing the frame rate. Higher frame rates improve temporal resolution, making it easier to visualize moving structures.

Time Gain Compensation (TGC), also known as Depth Gain Compensation (DGC), is used to adjust the amplification of ultrasound signals based on their depth. As ultrasound waves travel deeper into the tissue, they become weaker due to attenuation. TGC compensates for this attenuation by progressively increasing the gain for deeper echoes, ensuring that structures at different depths appear with similar brightness on the ultrasound image. This function is critical for creating a uniform image and accurately visualizing deeper anatomical structures.

American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS). Sonography Principles and Instrumentation (SPI) Examination Review Guide.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Damping material is applied to the back of the piezoelectric crystal to absorb energy and shorten the pulse duration. Shorter pulse durations reduce spatial pulse length, which directly improves axial resolution by enabling better separation of structures along the beam path.

According to sonography instrumentation reference:

“Greater transducer damping results in shorter pulse duration and improved axial resolution but reduces sensitivity.”

Therefore, the correct answer is D: Improved axial resolution.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Transmit focus narrows the ultrasound beam width at specific depths, improving lateral resolution — the ability to distinguish two objects side-by-side.

According to Principles and Instrumentation:

"Lateral resolution depends on beam width and is improved by focusing, which narrows the beam in the lateral dimension."

Axial resolution depends on pulse length.

Elevational resolution depends on slice thickness.

Temporal resolution relates to frame rate.

Therefore, the correct answer is C: Lateral.

QUESTION NO17

Which statement characterizes the primary difference between image A and image B?

A close-up of a medical scan Description automatically generated

A. Image A demonstrates a better axial resolution.

B. Image A demonstrates a lower overall gain setting.

C. Image A demonstrates a shallower field of view.

D. Image A demonstrates a wider scale of contrast.

Answer: B

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

In image A, the structures appear darker with less overall brightness compared to image B. This indicates that the overall gain (receiver amplification) is set lower in image A, resulting in a dimmer image. Gain controls how much the returning echoes are amplified after detection.

According to Principles and Instrumentation:

"Overall gain amplifies all returning echoes equally. A lower gain setting results in a darker image, while higher gain brightens the display."

Axial resolution (A) is primarily dependent on frequency and pulse length, not visible here.

Field of view (C) appears similar between both images.

Contrast scale (D) refers to dynamic range, not directly indicated here.

Therefore, the correct answer is B: Image A demonstrates a lower overall gain setting.

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Contrast agents used in ultrasound imaging typically consist of microbubbles filled with gas. The significant mismatch in acoustic impedance between the gas in the microbubbles and the surrounding blood creates strong reflectors of the ultrasound waves, enhancing the echogenicity of blood and improving the visibility of blood flow and tissue perfusion. The high contrast provided by the gas-filled microbubbles makes them particularly effective as ultrasound contrast agents.

Spectral Doppler mirroring, also known as crosstalk, occurs when the Doppler signal appears on both sides of the baseline. This can be caused by excessively high Doppler gain, which amplifies the signal and creates artificial mirror images. Decreasing the Doppler gain reduces the signal amplitude, thereby minimizing the mirroring artifact.

ARDMS Sonography Principles and Instrumentation guidelines

Hoskins, P. R., Thrush, A., Martin, K., & Whittingham, T. A. (2010). Diagnostic Ultrasound: Physics and Equipment.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:

Overall gain amplifies the strength of all returning echoes equally, regardless of depth. It does not affect the transmitted pulse or selectively compensate for attenuation; it simply amplifies received signals uniformly.

According to sonography instrumentation reference:

“Overall gain controls the amplification of all returning echoes across the entire image, increasing brightness uniformly at all depths.”

Therefore, the correct answer is B: Amplification of signals from all depths.

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