Resident Physics Lectures
Ultrasound
Basics
Principles
George David, M.S.
Associate Professor of Radiology
Ultrasound Transducer
Acts as both speaker & microphone
Emits very short sound pulse
Listens a very long time for returning echoes
Can only do one at a time
Speaker Microphone
transmits sound pulses receives echoes
Piezoelectric Principle
Voltage generated when certain materials are
deformed by pressure
Reverse also true!
Some materials change dimensions when
voltage applied
dimensional change causes pressure change
when voltage polarity reversed, so is
dimensional change
V
US Transducer Operation
alternating voltage (AC) applied to
piezoelectric element
Causes
alternating dimensional changes
alternating pressure changes
pressure propagates as sound wave
Ultrasound Basics
What does your scanner know about
the sound echoes it hears?
I’m a scanner,
Jim, not a
magician.
Acme
Ultra-
Sound
Co.
What does your scanner know
about echoed sound?
How loud is the echo?
inferred from intensity of electrical pulse from transducer
What does your scanner know
about echoed sound?
What was the time delay between
sound broadcast and the echo?
What else does your scanner know
about echoed sound?
The sound’s pitch or frequency
What Does Your Scanner Assume
about Echoes
(or how the scanner can lie to you)
Sound travels at 1540 m/s
everywhere in body
average speed of sound in soft tissue
Sound travels in straight
lines in direction
transmitted
Sound attenuated equally
by everything in body
(0.5 dB/cm/MHz, soft tissue average)
Luckily These Are Close Enough to Truth To Give
Us Images
Sound travels at 1540 m/s
everywhere in body
average speed of sound in soft tissue
Sound travels in straight
lines in direction
transmitted
Sound attenuated equally
by everything in body
(0.5 dB/cm/MHz, soft tissue average)
Dot Placement on Image
Dot position ideally indicates
source of echo
scanner has no way of knowing
exact location
Infers location from echo
?
Dot Placement on Image
Scanner aims sound when
transmitting
echo assumed to originate from
direction of scanner’s sound
transmission
ain’t necessarily so
?
Positioning Dot
Dot positioned along assumed line
Position on assumed line calculated based upon
speed of sound
time delay between sound transmission & echo
?
Distance of Echo from Transducer
Time delay accurately measured by scanner
distance = time delay X speed of sound
distance
distance = time delay X speed of sound
What is the Speed of Sound?
scanner assumes speed of sound is that of soft tissue
1.54 mm/msec
1540 m/sec
13 usec required for echo object 1 cm from transducer (2
cm round trip)
13 msec
1 cm
So the scanner assumes the wrong
speed?
Sometimes
•Luckily, the speed of
sound is almost the
same for most body
parts
soft tissue ==> 1.54 mm / msec
fat ==> 1.44 mm / msec
brain ==> 1.51 mm / msec
liver, kidney ==> 1.56 mm / msec
muscle ==> 1.57 mm / msec
?
Gray Shade of Echo
Ultrasound is gray shade modality
Gray shade should indicate
echogeneity of object
? ?
How does scanner know what gray
shade to assign an echo?
Based upon intensity (volume, loudness) of
echo
? ?
Gray Shade
Loud echo = bright dot
Soft echo = dim dot
Complication
Deep echoes are softer (lower volume) than
surface echoes.
Gray Shade of Echo
Correction needed to compensate for sound
attenuation with distance
Otherwise dots close to transducer would be
brighter
Echo’s Gray Shade
Gray Shade determined by
Measured echo strength
accurate
Calculated attenuation
Who am I?
Charles Lane
Attenuation Correction
scanner assumes entire Tissue Attenuation Coefficient
body has attenuation of (dB / cm / MHz)
soft tissue
actual attenuation • Fat 0.6
varies widely in body
• Brain 0.6
• Liver 0.5
• Kidney 0.9
• Muscle 1.0
• Heart 1.1
Ultrasound Display
One sound pulse produces
one image scan line
one series of gray shade dots in a
line
Multiple pulses
two dimensional image
obtained by moving direction
in which sound transmitted
How Do We Move the Beam?
Electronically
Phased Arrays
Sound Wave Definition?
Sound is a Wave
Wave is a propagating (traveling)
variation in a “wave variable”
“An elephant is big, gray, and looks
like an elephant.”
Sound Wave Variable
Examples
pressure (force / area)
density (mass / volume)
temperature
Also called acoustic variable
Sound is a propagating (moving)
variation in a “wave variable”
Energy & Power
Power
rate of energy use
Units: watts or milliwatts
Energy = Power X Time
Units: kilowatt-hours
Electric
Bill
300 KW-hr.
Light Bulbs rated in power!
Electricity billed in energy!
Intensity
Intensity of Sound Beam
intensity = power / cross sectional area
Sound Wave Variation
Freeze time
Measure some acoustic variable as a function of
position
Pressure Acoustic
Variable
Density Value
Position
Temperature
MORE
Make multiple measurements of an acoustic
variable an instant apart
Results would look the same but appear to move in
space
2
MORE
Track acoustic variable
at one position over
time
Sound Waves
Waves transmit energy
Waves do not transmit matter
“Crowd wave” at sports event
people’s elevation varies with time
variation in elevation moves around stadium
people do not move around stadium
Transverse Waves
Particle moves perpendicular to wave travel
Water ripple
surface height varies with time
peak height moves outward
water does not move outward
Compression (Longitudinal)
Waves
Particle motion parallel to direction of
wave travel
Motion of
Individual Coil
2
2
Wave Travel
Medium
Material through which wave moves
Medium not required for all wave types
no medium required for electromagnetic waves
radio
x-rays Talk louder!
infrared I can’t hear
ultraviolet you.
medium is required for sound
sound does not travel through vacuum
Sound Waves
Information may be encoded in wave energy
radio
TV
ultrasound
audible sound
Sound Frequency
# of complete variations (cycles) of an acoustic
variable per unit time
Units
cycles per second
1 Hz = 1 cycle per second
1 kHz = 1000 cycles per second
1 MHz = 1,000,000 cycles per second
Human hearing range
20 - 20,000 Hz
Sound Frequency
Ultrasound definition
> 20,000 Hz
not audible to humans
dog whistles are in this range
Clinical ultrasound frequency range
1 - 10 MHz
1,000,000 - 10,000,000 Hz
Period
time between a point in one cycle & the
same point in the next cycle
time of single cycle
Units
time per cycle (sometimes expressed
only as time; cycle implied)
Magnitude
of acoustic
variable
period
time
Period
1
Period = -------------------
Frequency
as frequency increases, period decreases
if frequency in Hz, period in seconds/cycle
Period
Period = 1 / Frequency
if frequency in kHz, period in msec/cycle
if frequency in MHz, period in msec/cycle
1 kHz frequency ==> 1 msec period
1 MHz frequency ==> 1 msec period
Reciprocal Units
Frequency Period Units
Units
Hz (cycles/sec) seconds/cycle
kHz (thousands msec/cycle
of cycles/sec)
MHz (millions of msec/cycle
cycles/sec)
Sound Period &
Frequency are
determined only by the
sound source. They are
independent of medium.
Who am I?
Burt Mustin
Propagation Speed
Speed only a function of medium
Speed virtually constant with respect to frequency
over clinical range
Speed depends on medium’s
Density (mass per unit volume)
more dense ==> lower speed
Stiffness (or bulk modulus; opposite of elasticity or
compressibility)
more stiffness ==> higher speed
“same letter, same effect”
Wavelength
distance in space over which single cycle
occurs
OR
distance between a given point in a cycle &
corresponding point in next cycle
imagine freezing time, measuring between
corresponding points in space between
adjacent cycles
Wavelength Units
length per cycle
sometimes just length; cycle implied
usually in millimeters or fractions of a millimeter for
clinical ultrasound
Wavelength Equation
Speed = Wavelength X Frequency
[c=lXn]
(dist./time) (dist./cycle) (cycles/time)
As frequency increases, wavelength
decreases
because speed is constant
Wavelength
Speed = Wavelength X Frequency
c=lXn
(dist./time) (dist./cycle) (cycles/time)
mm/msec mm/cycle MHz
Calculate Wavelength for 5 MHz sound
in soft tissue
Wavelength = 1.54 mm/msec / 5 MHz
5 MHz = 5,000,000 cycles / sec = 5 cycles / msec
Wavelength = 1.54 / 5 = 0.31 mm / cycle
Wavelength is a
function of both the
sound source and the
medium!
Who am I?
John Fiedler
Pulsed Sound
For imaging ultrasound, sound is
Not continuous
Pulsed on & off
On Cycle (speak)
Transducer produces short duration sound
Off Cycle (listen)
Transducer receives echoes
Very long duration
ON OFF ON OFF
(not to scale)
Pulse Cycle
Consists of
short sound transmission
long silence period or dead time
echoes received during silence
same transducer used for
transmitting sound
receiving echoes
sound silence sound
Pulsed Sound Example
ringing telephone
ringing tone switched
on & off
Phone rings with a
particular pitch
sound frequency
sound silence sound
Parameters
Sound Pulse
frequency • pulse repetition
period frequency
wavelength • pulse repetition
propagation speed period
• pulse duration
• duty factor
• spatial pulse
length
• cycles per pulse
Pulse Repetition Frequency
# of sound pulses per unit time
# of times ultrasound beam turned on & off per
unit time
independent of sound frequency
determined by source
clinical range (typical values)
1 - 10 KHz
Pulse Repetition Period
time from beginning of one pulse until
beginning of next
time between corresponding points of adjacent
pulses
Pulse Repetition Period
Pulse Repetition Period
Pulse repetition period is reciprocal of
pulse repetition frequency
PRF = 1 / PRP
as pulse repetition frequency increases, pulse repetition
period decreases
units
time per pulse cycle (sometimes simplified to just time)
pulse repetition period & frequency
determined by source
Pulsed Sound
Pulse repetition frequency & period independent sound
frequency & period
Same Frequency
Higher Pulse
Repetition Frequency
Higher Frequency
Same Pulse
Repetition Frequency
Pulse Duration
Length of time for each sound pulse
one pulse cycle =
one sound pulse
and
one period of silence
Pulse duration independent of
duration of silence
Pulse Duration
Pulse Duration
units
time per pulse (time/pulse)
equation
pulse duration = Period X # cycles per pulse
(time/pulse) (cycles/pulse) (time/cycle)
Pulse Duration Period
Pulse Duration
Longer Pulse Duration
Same frequency; pulse repetition frequency,
period, & pulse repetition period
Shorter Pulse Duration
Pulse Duration
Pulse duration is
a controlled by
the sound
source, whatever
that means.
Duty Factor
Fraction of time sound generated
Determined by source
Units
none (unitless)
Equations
Duty Factor = Pulse Duration / Pulse Repetition Period
Duty Factor = Pulse Duration X Pulse Repetition Freq.
Pulse Duration
Pulse Repetition Period
Spatial Pulse Length
distance in space traveled by ultrasound
during one pulse
H.......E.......Y
HEY
Spatial Pulse Length
Spatial Pulse Length
Spat. Pulse Length = # cycles per pulse X wavelength
(dist. / pulse) (cycles / pulse) (dist. / cycle)
depends on source & medium
as wavelength increases, spatial pulse length
increases
Wavelength
Calculate SPL for 5 MHz sound in
soft tissue, 5 cycles per pulse
(Wavelength=0.31 mm/cycle)
Spat. Pulse Length = # cycles per pulse X wavelength
SPL = 0.31 mm / cycle X 5 cycles / pulse = 1.55 mm / pulse
Spatial Pulse Length
Spat. Pulse Length = # cycles per pulse X wavelength
Wavelength = Speed / Frequency
as # cycles per pulse increases, spatial pulse
length increases
as frequency increases, wavelength decreases &
spatial pulse length decreases
speed stays constant
Why is Spatial Pulse Length
Important
Spat. Pulse Length = # cycles per pulse X wavelength
Wavelength = Speed / Frequency
Spatial pulse
length determines
axial resolution
Acoustic
Definition
Impedance
Acoustic Impedance = Density X Prop. Speed
(rayls) (kg/m3) (m/sec)
increases with higher
Density
Stiffness
propagation speed
independent of frequency
Acoustic Impedance of Soft
Tissue
Density:
1000 kg/m3
Propagation speed:
1540 m/sec
Acoustic Impedance = Density X Prop. Speed
(rayls) (kg/m3) (m/sec)
1000 kg/m3 X 1540 m/sec = 1,540,000 rayls
Why is Acoustic Impedance
Important?
Definition
Acoustic Impedance = Density X Prop. Speed
(rayls) (kg/m3) (m/sec)
Differences in acoustic impedance determine
fraction of intensity echoed at an interface
