Doppler Principles Flashcards
Who first described the doppler effect?
Christian Andreas Doppler
When was the theory of doppler proposed?
1842
What was the theory proposed by Christian Doppler?
A perceived change of the colour of stars as they moved, red towards and blue away.
Where is the doppler theory used?
Sonar, radar (speed traps), cloud direction/precipitation, ultrasound
What is the doppler effect?
A perceived change in frequency.
(As a train moves past you the pitch changes and the emitted noise sounds different when it is directly beside you versus moving away from you BUT the sound is actually the same and it is only a perceived change)
What creates the change in pitch during the doppler effect?
Relative motion.
Movement of the sound or the receiver
Compare sound as it travels towards you versus away.
Moving towards = wave crests are close together, higher pitch
Moving away = wave crests further apart, lower pitch
What is doppler usually used to assess in UT?
Blood flow (qualitative and quantitative)
What information can Doppler give about flow?
- Presence
- Direction
- Quality
What are the 3 ways doppler information is given?
- Spectral tracing
- Colour image
- Audible sound
What does it mean when doppler is used and no colour appears?
There is no flow
What is duplex scanning?
When we scan a 2D image and use Doppler simultaneously the display will show the image and a spectral tracing at the same time.
What is triplex scanning?
Same as duplex but colour Doppler is also turned on.
2D image + Doppler (spectral tracing) + Colour Doppler
How does the colour relate to movement in doppler?
Usually:
Red = Towards (positive) from the probe, faster
Blue = Away (negative) from the probe, slower
BUT the colours can be inverted so you must always check the colour map.
How does the colour map distinguish the flow?
Whichever colour is on top is moving towards the probe.
How does the Doppler effect work in scanning vessels?
The sound reflects off of moving blood cells which alters the frequency that is returned to the probe, the amount of change in the frequency is related to the direction and speed of the RBC’s.
Is the frequency change in the Doppler effect within our range of hearing?
Yes.
When the sound is perpendicular to the vessel, what happens?
It is black, no doppler can be seen.
What is the diameter of RBC’s?
7 μm
What type of scatter happens in blood vessels?
Rayleigh scattering (very weak).
Why does Rayleigh scattering occur?
Because RBC’s only have a diameter of 7 μm they are smaller than a typical wavelength.
How does Rayleigh scattering indicate the quantity of blood in a sample?
The intensity of the scatter is proportional to the number of RBC’s.
Higher intensity = more RBC’s = strong signal/colour
What principle is the Doppler shift based on?
Wave interference
What is the Doppler shift?
A change in frequency. When a reflected wave varies slightly in frequency from the transmitted wave a beat frequency is produced. (Wave Interference)
What is the basic formula for calculating the Doppler shift?
Doppler shift = Received f - Transmitted f
What will the Doppler shift equal?
A positive or negative shift.
Pos = toward probe Neg = away
What is the detailed formula for Doppler shift?
Δf = [2(f-operating) x V x cosθ] / c
V = RBC velocities Cosθ = probe angle C = speed of sound in tissue
What does cos90 in a vessel equal?
Zero, it is perpendicular to the vessel and no colour doppler will be seen.
As sonographers, what is more meaningful to us than calculating the Doppler shift?
Calculating the blood velocity
What is the formula to calculate blood velocity?
V = (Δf x C) / 2(f-operating) x cosθ
Why is it important to use the correct angle in doppler?
The machine calculates the blood velocity based on the angle we give it. If the angle is off then the velocity will be off and this is dangerous because we could unknowingly be creating or hiding pathology).
What is the relationship between the doppler shift and the operating frequency?
Linear relationship
If the doppler shift increases, so does the f-o
What type of probe is needed for doppler and why?
A low frequency probe, because the return intensity from RBC’s is so week we need a probe that gives good penetration.
What type of frequency would we use when scanning in duplex?
High frequency for the image = (good resolution pic)
Lower frequency for the Doppler
What is the RBC velocity’s relationship with the Doppler shift?
Linear
As the RBC’s move faster (velocity increases), the difference in the returned frequency also increases (Doppler shift)
What does the angle of insonation impact?
The velocity calculated.
Why do we use 60 angle of insonation?
It is the easiest angle for all sonographers to replicate and the percent error is acceptable.
What is the most accurate angle for velocity calculation? Why dont we use it?
Zero degrees
We can’t get 0 degrees to a patient’s vessel without cutting them open.
How do you get the correct angle on a vessel?
Line the angle up with the vessel so that it is completely parallel to flow by steering the box and then using “heel-toe” manipulation.
The accuracy of the RBC’s velocity depends on what?
The accuracy of the angle of insonation
Can we ever use angles less than 60 degrees?
Yes, for a vessel that dives but we MUST document it.
Can we ever use an angle greater than 60 degrees?
No, because the percent error is too high.
What happens to the doppler shift as the angle of insonation increases?
As the angle increases the cosine decreases so the doppler shift decreases (doppler shift formula).
What happens to the Doppler shift as the frequency increases?
It increases
What is the definition of the Nyquist limit?
The limit reached when the RBC’s velocities are faster than the machines ability to sample.
Why is the machines ability to sample limited? (Nyquist Limit)?
Pulses can only be sent out as fast as they are returned and are limited by the speed of sound in tissue.
What is the numerical definition of the Nyquist limit?
1/2 of the PRF
What limits the PRF?
Depth
What happens when the blood cells move faster than 1/2 of the PRF?
The Nyguist limit is exceeded (our sample doesn’t move fast enough) and we get “aliasing”.
What is 1/2 of the PRF?
Usually 5-30 kHz
What is aliasing?
An artifact that occurs when the blood cells are not sampled fast enough a false reading occurs and parts of the signal wrap around the baseline.
Does Aliasing occur with continuous wave?
No, the sound is always on so nothing is being missed.
What does aliasing look like on a spectral tracing?
The peaks on the spectral tracing are in the negative underneath the base line because they “wrap around”/
How do the colours in doppler represent velocity?
The lighter colours are faster.
What does aliasing look like on colour Doppler?
The red and blue mix together and if we stop moving there is no black line between them.
What does flow reversal look like?
The same as aliasing (mix of red and blue within the vessel) but when we stop moving there is a black line between them.