C5&6: RT Considerations and Artifacts Flashcards
Each frame of US data is made up of what?
multiple scan lines
does a greater number of focal zones increase the time it takes for each frame to be produced
yes
what is the definition of frame rate
number of times the sweep of sound is produced by the transducer (or frames per second)
frame rates on US are approximately how many per second…. and how many scan lines
~30-60 fps
~120 scan lines
what are the 4 factors effecting frame rate
- depth
- sector angle
- # of lines
- # of focal zones
for every focus you add, how does it effect your frame rate
it will half it
how does the number of scan lines effect FR?
lower number will increase FR
how are frame rate and depth related
inversely
how are frame rate and sector width related
inversely (higher FR means narrow sector & vice versa))
how are frame rate and line density related
inversely
what is the range ambiguity formula
what should it be less than or equal to?
RA= Depth(cm) X LPF X # of foci X FR…
OR
FR= 77,000/s / LPF X depth X # of foci
77, 000 (1/2 of the speed of sound in soft tissue)
what is the time it takes to produce 1 frame
LPF X 13 micro seconds X depth (cm)
what is the reciprocal of frame rate
the time it takes to produce an image
what is the formula for frame rate
FR= 1/Tframe OR FR= 1/LPF X 13 microseconds X depth (cm) OR FR= c/2DN (D = depth, N = # of lines per frame)
what is scan line density
-the number of lines per degree or number of lines per centimetres
what is the importance of line density
the importance is the ~1 scan line for degree in needed for appropriate resolution
what is the consequence of a scan line density thats too low or too high
low: a greater need for interpolation
high: overwriting will occur (too many scan lines cross over one another)
are scan lines considered to be a part of spatial resolution
yes
does zooming increase the scan line density
yes
whats the advantage of Cine loop?
can improve the efficiency of seeing small structures missed during RT interrogations
how is a single frame/freeze frame displayed on the monitor and how is this display accomplished
- theres a continuous display of a single frame
- accomplished by the machine reading the same image over and over and continually writing it ijraster format over and over
at what rate does a CRT refresh a freeze frame image?
30 fps
what are side lobe and how do we compensate for them
- off axis beams that radiate away from the main beam… low energy
- occur in single disc mechanical probes due to radial mode vibration….
- compensate w/ insulator ring to suppress radial mode vibration
why are side lobes significant
they can place false reflectors/artifacts in the image as if they had come from the main beam because the machine assumes that sound travels in a straight line
what is responsible for grating lobes, how do we compensate for them
- width and length vibration which causes cross talk of the crystals
- compensate w/ apodization (fire weaker voltages at the periphery of the crystals) and sub dicing
what is subdicing and how is it accomplished
- another way to eliminate grating lobes
- accomplished by dividing each element into smaller pieces/sub elements that act as 1 crystal
to what dimension should we cut the sub-elements when sub dicing and why
- cut them to a dimension less than 1 wavelength
- this dimension will project the grating lobes at 90 degrees or greater from the main beam
what is a 3rd way we could reduce grading lobes (other than apodization and sub dicing)
scanning w/ harmonics helps reduce them
how do we accomplish mechanical isolation of the subdiced crystals (2 ways)
- space out crystals which somewhat allows for mechanical isolation…
- air is used as a spacing material which will minimize the penetrating of sound through to the adjacent crystal - Have the thickness of the crystal drastically different from the length and width dimensions so if there is any length and width vibrations they’ll ring at a different frequency from the central transducer frequency
what does the term channels refer to
the number of elements in the array and there respective delay mechanisms
how many channels do US systems usually have
48, 64 or 128
are more channels better? is yes, why
-more channels = more precise control over the beam characteristics
what is an artifact?
give some examples
anything that doesnt correctly display the structures or functions that are imaged… can refer to:
- echos that arent real (e.g. not representing actual interfaces)
- missing info
- improperly located structures
- improper brightness, shape, size
artifacts can be the result of, or related too, which 4 things
- Malfunctioning equipment
- improper operation of equipment
- defective recording device (film or VHS mostly)
- Acoustic properties of tissues and propagating of sound
what assumptions does the machine make about how sound propagates in tissue (4)
- all tissues have the same acoustic velocity
- sound travels in a straight line
- each strength indicates organ echogenicity only (example where this isn’t the case is acoustic enhancement)
- distance to each reflector equals the round tip time (13 microseconds/cm)
what are the 2 MAIN groups of artifacts
- propagation grp
2. attenuation grp
which aspect of axial resolution is considered to be an artifact
how do we correct for this artifact?
is it helpful or hurtful
- objects less than 1/2 SPL apart in the axis of the beam will be shown as a single echo.
- can increase the frequency to compensate, or reduce RD
- hurtful
which aspect of lateral resolution is considered to be an artifact.
what can accentuate this artifact?
how do we correct for this artifact
is it helpful or hurtful
- point spreading…. reflectors appear smeared across the screen in areas where a structure is smaller than the width of the beam
- increasing the gains or TGCs
- correct by lowering overall gains or TGC and scan in the near zone w/ properly placed focus
- hurtful
can point spreading happen at any point in the beam
yes…. occurs least at the focal point
whats another term for point spreading
image broadening
whats another term for slice thickness
volume averaging or partial volume
also section thickness
which aspect of slice thickness resolution is considered to be an artifact.
why does this occur?
how do we correct for this artifact
is it helpful or hurtful
- volume averaging… can account for filling in of anechoic structures w/ false debris
- occurs due to the assumption that all returning echos come back from the center of the beam, when there are echos that return from in front and behind the structure as well… these echos will be represented in the 2D image as explained
- correct for this by repositioning probe so that the narrowest part of the Z axis (and X/Y axis) is at the desired location
- hurtful