Tishk International University

Pharmacy Faculty
Biophysics

Ultrasound in Medicine (5)

First Grade- Spring Semester 2020-2021

Instructor: Assist. Prof. Dr. Ronak T. Ali

 Objectives:

 This presentation will explain what ultrasound is and how it is used in

medicine.
What is Ultrasound?

 Ultrasound is simply sound that

has a very high frequency.

 Humans are not able to hear

ultrasound, though some
animals can hear them.

 Sounds with frequencies

above 20 000 hertz are called
ultrasounds.
Uses of Ultrasound in Medicine

 Ultrasound is used for

examining soft tissue inside
the body.

 Parts of the body that may

be examined include
muscles and unborn
babies.

 Blood flow can also be

monitored using
ultrasound. © 2000 ATL Ultrasound
Ultrasound images courtesy of ATL
The Power of Ultrasound

 Modern ultrasound
equipment can
produce
 3D images
 Colour enhancement
to show blood flow
 Digital files for
examination on
computers © 2000 ATL Ultrasound
Ultrasound images courtesy of ATL
Why Use Ultrasound?
 Ultrasound is very safe. There
is no firm evidence that it
does any harm to the body
(or the baby in the case of
pregnancy scans).

 X-rays are potentially

dangerous, particularly to
young children and pregnant
women (they damage the
unborn baby).
How Does It Work?

 Medical ultrasound systems use very high

frequencies - several megahertz (mega
means million or 106).

 A sound is a wave it has all the usual wave

properties (reflection, refraction, diffraction).
Ultrasound imaging makes use of the fact
that sound can be reflected.

 The idea is just like that used in radar and

sonar.
 More about how it works…

 A thin layer of jelly is placed between

the probe and the skin to make sure all Ultrasound
the sound enters the body. probe

 The probe contains a transmitter

and a receiver.

 A pulse of ultrasound is sent out by the

transmitter. skin

 The pulse is reflected from a surface

and returns to the receiver.
 The ultrasound machine measures Body tissue
how long it takes for the pulse to return (muscle etc)
How the image is created…

 Millions of sound waves are

transmitted every second.

 As the waves reflected at

different times, the
computer in the ultrasound
machine calculates how far
the wave travelled before
being reflected (using d=vt).

 Using this information the

computer builds up an
image of the inside of the
patient.
© 2000 ATL Ultrasound
Ultrasound images courtesy of ATL
 Starter Questions

Answer all question in sentences. If you are stuck, look back through
the presentation. Press a key to go to the next question.

1. What is ultrasound?

2. What can ultrasound be used for?

3. Which of these frequencies are ultrasound frequencies?

2 500 Hz 23 000 Hz 15.1 kHz 36 kHz

4 MHz 0.58 MHz 600 000 Hz 0.00009 Hz

4. What advantages does ultrasound have over x-rays for

examining inside the body?
 Answers to Starter Questions

1. Ultrasound is sound with a frequency above 20 000 Hz. If you have just said that it is a
sound we cannot hear, that is not quite accurate enough.

2. Ultrasound can be used for examining soft tissue inside the body. For example, muscle, the
heart and unborn babies.

3. The following are ultrasound frequencies:

23 000 Hz, 36 kHz, 4 MHz, 0.58 MHz, 600 000 Hz

4. Ultrasound does not have any damaging effect on the body. It is entirely safe to use, even
on very young foetuses. X-rays are harmful, particularly on young and unborn children.
Problem Solving Strategies

 Most of the problems involving ultrasound

need you to use v=d/t or v=fl

 Things to look out for:

 Units- time will often be in milliseconds

(ms). Take care not to get this
confused with metres per second
(m/s or ms-1). and distances may be
in mm or cm

 There will often be an echo (or reflection

involved. This means that you will need to
think carefully about the times and
distances involved. The following worked
examples should help you.
 Basic Question Example 1

Things to look out for…units!

The speed of sound in human tissue summarise the information:
is 1500m/s. How long will it take for v = 1500 m/s
a sound wave to reach a muscle 4 d= 4 cm (…units!) = 0.04 m
cm below the surface of the skin?
t=?
choose your equation
Press a key to go through the t=d/v
worked example substitute in your numbers
t = 0.04/1500
t= 0.0000267s
change to standard form
t = 2.67 x 10-5s
(don’t forget your units)
Basic Question Example 2
Things to look out for…units!
How deep is a baby’s head if it takes
0.005 ms for a sound wave to reach it
in the mother’s womb? The speed of
sound in body tissue is 1500 m/s.
Press a key to go through the worked
example
summarise the information:
v = 1500 m/s
d= ?
t = 0.05 ms (units!) = 0.005 x 10-3 s
choose your equation
d=vt
substitute in your numbers
d = 1500 x 0.05 x 10-3
d= 0.075 m
(don’t forget your units)
Questions involving reflections

 The thing you must remember in these is

that the sound has to make a round trip.

 The sound must travel to the baby from the

transmitter.

 The sound must then travel back to the

transmitter from the baby.

 If the baby is 7 cm below the skin, this

means the total distance travelled is 14
cm. You must remember to take the total
distance into account!
Questions involving reflections 1

The speed of sound in the summarise the information

human body is 1500 m/s. If a
v = 1500 m/s
foetus is 6 cm below the
mother’s skin, how long will it d = 6cm (change units and double the distance)
take for the echo to be
d= 0.12 m
received?
t=?
choose your equation
t = d/v
substitute in your numbers
t = 0.12/1500
t = 0.00008 s
change to standard form
t = 8 x 10-5 s
Questions involving reflections 2

It take 0.2 ms for the sound from summarise the information

ultrasound probe to travel to a
baby’s heel and back again. If v = 1500 m/s
sound travels at 1500 m/s inside d=?
the body, how far is the baby’s
foot below the mother’s skin? t = 0.2 ms (change units and halve the time)
t = 0.0001s
choose your equation
d = vt
substitute in your numbers
d = 1500 x 0.0001
d = 0.15 m
General Questions 1

Show all your working and include units in your answers. If you are
stuck, look back at the worked examples.

1. If the speed of sound in the human body is 1500 m/s, how long will it
take sound to travel 0.12 m?

2. Medical ultrasound uses frequencies of 160.8 MHz. Write this

frequency in hertz using standard form.

3. Change 2.3 ms to seconds.

4. How far would an ultrasound wave travel in 2.3 ms if it has a speed

of 1500 ms?

5. A sound wave travelled 8 cm through bone in 0.04 ms. How fast

was the wave travelling?
General Answers 1

Check your answers. If you have got any wrong, ask your teacher
for help.

1. 0.00008 s (0.08 ms)

2. 1.608 x 108 Hz (or 160.8 x 106 Hz…but this isn’t quite as good)

3. 0.0023

4. 3.45 m

5. 2000 m/s
General Questions 2

Show all your working and include units in your answers. If you are
stuck, look back at the worked examples. These questions use v=fl.

1. What is the wavelength of an ultrasound wave if it has a frequency

of 2 000 000 Hz and is travelling with a speed of 1500 m/s?

2. When checking a patient for a muscle injury, sound with a

wavelength of 0.000875 m is used. If the frequency of the sound
was 2 MHz, find the speed of the sound in the body.

3. A dog whistle emits ultrasound. If the speed of sound in air is 330

m/s and the sound has a wavelength of 1.1 mm, find the frequency
of the dog whistle.
General Answers 2

Check your answers. If you have got any wrong, ask your teacher
for help.

1. 0.00075 m

2. 1750 m/s

3. 30 000 Hz
Credit Questions

Show all your working and include units in your answers. If you are stuck,
look back at the worked examples

1. When examining a 20 week old baby, an ultrasound pulse of frequency

2.5 MHz travels 12 cm down to the baby’s back. The sound is travelling at
1500 m/s.
a) How long will it take for the echo to return to the probe?
b) What is the wavelength of the ultrasound?

2. A sound wave used to examine the bladder has a frequency of 15 MHz.

The sound travels at 1500 m/s through the body. The sound travels for
0.04s before returning to the probe.
a) How far below the surface of the skin is the bladder?
b) Calculate the wavelength of the ultrasound.
Credit Answers

Check your answers. If you have got any wrong, ask your teacher
for help.
1.
a) 0.16 ms
b) 0.6 mm

2. A sound wave used to examine the bladder has a frequency of 15

MHz. The sound travels at 1500 m/s through the body. The sound
travels for 0.02 ms before returning to the probe.
a) 3 cm
b) 0.1 mm
 A-Mode

‘A’ for Amplitude

Simplest mode (no longer in use), basically:

clap hands and listen for echo:

 M-Mode

M’ for Motion
Repeated A-mode measurement

Very high sampling frequency: up to 1000 pulses per second

• useful in assessing rates and motion
• still used extensively in cardiac and fetal cardiac imaging

motion of heart wall

during contraction
 B-Mode

‘B’ for Brightness

An image is obtained by translating

Or tilting the transducer

normal heart

fetus