Quiz #2 Flashcards
What is attenuation?
It is a loss of energy.
What happens when sound waves travel through a tissue?
It weakens.
What does a wave lose the deeper it propagates?
A wave loses amplitude, power and intensity (energy.)
What does attenuation depend on?
It depends on frequency, distance and tissue.
What is the relationship between frequency, distance and attenuation?
They are directly related.
What is attenuation always measured in?
dB
What are the 3 sources of attenuation?
- Reflection
- Scattering
- Absorption
What is the most important source of attenuation?
Absorption, which is in the form of heat.
Will you have more or less attenuation with longer distances?
More attenuation.
Will you have more or less attenuation with shorter distances?
Less attenuation.
Will you have more or less attenuation with higher frequencies?
More attenuation.
Will you have more or less attenuation with lower frequencies?
Less attenuation.
Echo amplitude lost by:
dB/cm
For most soft tissues, the attenuation coefficient is?
.5-1 dB/cm for a 1 MHz probe.
What is the attenuation coefficient for water?
.0002
What is the attenuation coefficient for blood?
0.18
What is the attenuation coefficient for the liver?
0.5
What is the attenuation coefficient for the muscle?
1.2
What is attenuation highly dependent on?
It is highly dependent on probe frequency.
What happens to attenuation coefficient for a tissue at 1MHz when using a 2MHz probe?
It doubles.
What happens to attenuation coefficient for a tissue at 1 MHZ when using a 4MHz probe?
It quadruples.
How do you calculate attenuation?
dB=(Tissue attenuation coefficient)x(distance)x(frequency of probe)
What is the term used to describe the brighter echoes deep to a liquid mass compared to adjacent tissues?
Enhancement.
What is penetration?
depth.
What improves penetration?
Penetration improves with a lower frequency probe (less attenuation).
What is resolution?
Clarity.
What improves the resolution?
Resolution improves with a high frequency probe (decreased wavelength).
What is another way to describe attenuation?
Half value attenuation.
What does half value thickness equal?
It equals the distance sound must travel to reduce the intensity to 1/2 its original value.
Describe THIN HALF VALUE
It can’t go very deep without losing half its energy.
What are the characterisitics of THIN HALF VALUE?
- High attenuation
- High frequency
- Tissue with high impedance
Describe THICK HALF VALUE
It can go very deep before losing half its energy.
What are the characteristics of THICK HALF VALUE?
- Lower attenuation
- Low frequency
- Tissue with low impedance.
What is the most important cause of attenuation?
Absorption.
Which of the following transducers would be the best choice for scanning the greater saphenous vein? A. 2 MHz B. 5 MHz C. 7 MHz D. 10 MHz
D. 10 MHz
Which of the following transducers would be the best choice for scanning the renal arteries? A. 2 MHz B. 5 MHz C. 7 MHz D. 10 MHz
A. 2 MHz
What is the term used to describe the brighter echoes deep to a liquid mass compared to adjacent tissues?
Enhancement
Why are the echoes deep to a fluid filled structure brighter?
The fluid has less attenuation than adjacent tissues.
How does the sound beams interact with the tissues?
- Some energy is reflected (as echoes)
- Some energy is transmitted (travels deeper)
- Some energy is changed (absorbed as heat)
What are B-mode images created from?
B-mode images are created from echoes while some energy is transmitted deeper.
What does it mean when energy remains constant?
It is not lost, only changed (conservation of energy)
How is ultrasound energy changed?
It is reflected, transmitted or changed into heat.
What are the 3 main reflectors?
- Specular; which can be prependicular or non perpendicular
- Diffuse or non-specular
- Scatterer; Rayleigh scatter.
What are specular reflectors?
It is the bouncing of light from the surface of a mirror, or something similarly shiny and smooth, where parallel rays of light all bounce off at the same angle.
What are the two types of specular reflectors?
- Perpendicular
- Non-perpendicular
What is “incidence”?
It refers to the angle the soundbeam came in to hit the flat surface specular reflector.
Incidence and transmitted beams are at the same angle as long as what?
Tissue 1 and tissue 2 have similar speed of sound.
On an ultrasound b-mode image, how can you tell what is a perpendicular or non-perpendicular image?
- Perpendicular image: Detail is visible (double lines in the vessel wall)
- Non-perpendicular: double line is not visible