Understanding Ultrasound Wave Behavior Study Guide
This guide explains the core concepts of how ultrasound waves interact with tissues, focusing on attenuation, scatter, and divergence. It provides a foundational understanding for interpreting ultrasound imaging and its limitations. Topics include absorption, reflection, refraction, acoustic speckle, and mathematical calculations related to sound intensity and attenuation.
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Principles of Ultrasound Attenuation and Wave Behavior
Understanding Sound Beam Attenuation
Attenuation is the weakening of the sound beam as it travels, measured using the bel and decibel units.
- Attenuation
- Decibel
- Intensity level
- Loudness
- Dynamic range
- Gain
- TGC
- Amplification
- Power
- Voltage
Ultrasound Attenuation and Half-Value Layer
This content explains the attenuation coefficient in soft tissue and how to calculate total attenuation, intensity, and the half-value layer.
- Attenuation Coefficient
- Total Attenuation
- Soft Tissue
- Decibel Loss
- Intensity
- Half-Value Layer
- Wave-front Divergence
- Absorption
- Viscosity
- Friction
Principles of Sound Scatter and Divergence
Sound interacting with interfaces smaller than a wavelength results in scatter, backscatter, and acoustic speckle, while wave front divergence contributes to overall attenuation.
- Scatter
- Backscatter
- Acoustic speckle
- Wave front divergence
- Attenuation
- Parenchyma
- Interference patterns
Principles of Ultrasound Wave Attenuation and Scatter
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Huygens Principle and Ultrasound Wave Behavior
Huygens' principle describes how multiple wavelets from Huygens' sources form a new wave-front through interference, divergence, and diffraction.
- Huygens' sources
- Huygens' wavelets
- Divergence
- Diffraction
- Huygens' principle
- Interference
- Constructive interference
- Destructive interference
- Beat frequency
- Doppler signals
Principles of Ultrasound Wave Behavior and Propagation
Ultrasound Attenuation and Reflection Principles
The relationship between frequency and absorption, types of reflection, and factors determining reflected sound intensity.
- Absorption
- Relaxation time
- Specular reflection
- Non-specular reflection
- Angle of incidence
- Angle of reflection
- Acoustic impedance
- Density
- Stiffness
- Propagation speed
Acoustic Impedance and Sound Reflection
Acoustic impedance describes the relationship between acoustic pressure and the speed of particle vibrations in a sound wave.
- Acoustic impedance
- Intensity reflection coefficient
- Intensity transmission coefficient
- Reflection
- Refraction
- Impedance mismatch
- Interface
Acoustic Impedance and Sound Reflection in Ultrasound
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Sound Refraction and Snell's Law
Sound can bend across an interface due to a difference in media velocity.
- Snell's law of optics
- Refraction
- Media velocity
- Interface
- Total Internal Reflection
- Critical value
- Non-perpendicular incidence
Huygens' Principle and Wave Interference
This content describes sine waves, wave properties, and wave interference through amplitude, frequency, location, and phase.
- Huygens' Principle
- Wave Interference
- Sine wave
- Amplitude
- Frequency
- Phase
- Superposition
Transducer Construction and Standing Waves
Interference effects the uniformity of beam intensity and amplification while standing waves occur when waves propagate in opposite directions.
- Interference effects
- Beam intensity
- Beam amplification
- Beam shape
- Image resolution
- Standing waves
- Nodes
- Anti-nodes
- Constructive interference
- Destructive interference
- Amplitude
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