CHAPTER 7

ULTRASOUND

Trijayanti P.
19708251022
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES
1 Is sound a transverse or longitudinal vibration?

2 Is energy transmitted within a sound wave?

3 Why does inhaling helium make the pitch of a voice rise?

Under what circumstances is sound refracted and reflected

4
in the same way as light?
5 Can we actually produce simple sound field patterns?

6 How big should an ultrasound transducer be?

Ultrasound is sound which is at too
high a pitch for the human ear to
detect.

It is widely used in medical

diagnosis because it is non-invasive,
and there are no known harmful
effects at the
power levels that are currently used

It is most commonly used in the

same way that bats use ultrasound
for locating obstacles
when flying at night.
 If the ultrasound is transmitted into the body, the interfaces
between the different structures in the body will produce echoes at
different times. A display of echo size against time (an A scan) gives
information about the position of the structures. This is used, for
instance, to locate the mid-line of the brain. If the position and orient
ation of the transmitter and receiver are known, and the echoes are
used to intensity modulate a display, A two-dimensional map of the
structures within the body can be obtained.This is a B scan which
can be used, for instance, to determine theorientation and well being
of the foetus within the uterus.
7.2 Wave Fundamental
At audible frequencies, sound waves are capable of moving the eardrum,
and thus giving rise to the sensation of hearing. At higher (ultrasonic)
frequencies, the sound is not audible, but can be used to image materials
and measure the velocity of moving objects. Sound waves are usually
defined as a compressional disturbance travelling through a material. This
definition is actually too limiting, as any material which will support some
shear (e.g. a solid or a liquid with non-zero viscosity) will support
transverse waves as well as longitudinal (compressional) waves.
However, the transverse waves are usually of much less importance than
longitudinal waves in biological materials
The physics of ultrasound waves is no different from those for audible sound and the
equations relating to these were derived in section 3.4.1 of Chapter 3. The classical
wave equation was derived as

where ψ(x, t) gives the displacement of an element of fluid initially at point x and
where

c is the speed of the wave, B the bulk modulus of the medium and ρ the density.
In an ideal gas, where (PV )γ is constant, c is given by
ρ will be less for helium than for air and so, from the above equation, c will
be higher than in air. Now for any transmitted wave c = fλ, where f is the
frequency and λ the wavelength. The wavelength is fixed by the size of the
vocal cavity and therefore frequency will increase in proportion to velocity.

Radiation pressure
A sound wave travelling through a medium exerts a static pressure on any
interface across which there is a decrease in intensity along the direction
of propagation. The mechanism is disputed, but the result can be used to
measure the power output of ultrasound transducers. Power = force ×
velocity, so the transducer power can be found by using a force balance.
A force of 6.7 × 10−4 N is generated by the complete absorption of the
beam from a 1 W transducer in water, where the ultrasound velocity is
1500 m s−1.
7.3. GENERATION OF ULTRASOUND
7.3.1. Radiation from a plane circular piston

We will take a plane circular piston as an example of a transducer. The

method used for deriving the pressure distribution generated by
the transducer can be applied to any shape of transducer. We make use of
Huygen’s principle, divide the surface of the transducer into infinitesimal
elements, calculate the pressure due to one element, and then integrate
over the surface of the transducer. The full derivation is not given here,
because it is far too long, and the interested reader is referred to a standard
acoustics text (e.g. Kinsler et al 1982).
Figure 7.1. A circular piston that can move back and forth to generate a pres
sure wave.
In this discussion, we often refer to ultrasound transducers, but you should remember
that the theory is equally applicable to sound that we can hear.

We start by assuming that a piston (i.e. a rigid circular plate) of radius a is mounted on
a rigid infinite baffle (figure 7.1), and use the notation of Kinsler et al. The piston is
moving normal to the baffle (i.e. In the Z direction) at a speed U0 exp(jωt). Each
infinitesimal element, of area dS, acts as a point source on the piston. It can be shown
that the pressure generated by a point source at a distance r with respect to time t is
given by
where U0 dS is the strength of the source, k is the wavenumber 2π/λ, and ρ0 is the
density of the undisturbed medium. The total pressure generated by the piston is
therefore given by

where the integral is over the surface σ ≤ a.

We will consider first the axial response of the transducer, and then
examine the beam profile. For points on the axis, r =√r2 + σ2. The axial response
can be found by evaluating the integral in equation (7.2) with r =√r2 + σ2, and the
elemental area dS taken as an annulus of radius σ and width dσ:
The integral can be evaluated, as the integrand is a perfect differential:

so the complex acoustic pressure is given by

The pressure amplitude on the axis is given by the magnitude of p(p, 0, t),
which after some tedious manipulation can be shown to be:
This is plotted in figure 7.2 for a piston radius of five wavelengths

Figure 7.2. Pressure amplitude on the axis of a circular transducer

If r/a 1, i.e. the axial distance is large compared to the piston radius, this expression
reduces to P(r, 0) = 2ρ0cU0 sin(ka2/4r). The pressure amplitude on the axis oscillates
between 0 and 2ρ0cU0, with the final maximum at r = a2/λ. If, in addition, r/a ka, i.e.
the axial distance is large compared to both piston size and radius, the axial pressure
amplitude is asymptotic: P(r, 0)= 12 ρ0 cU0(a/r)ka. The pressure distribution has two
different regions—the near field (also called the Fresnel zone) atr < a2/λ, which
displays strong interference effects, and the far field (also called the Fraunhofer zone)
at r > a2/λ, where the pressure displays a 1/r dependence. Calculation of the off-axis
pressure distribution in the near field is difficult, and is discussed in Wells (1977).
 The pressure distribution in the far field is interesting, and is clearly related
to the light intensity distribution produced by a circular aperture. We can impose the
restriction that r a, and treat the piston as a series of line sources of different lengths
(figure 7.3). We could reach the same result by integrating the elemental area dS
over the piston. The strength of each source is dQ = U0 dS = 2U0a sin φ dx.
The pressure for this line source on an infinite baffle is

In the far field, with r a, the distance r is approximately

Figure 7.3. Piston treated as a series of line sources.
 Inserting this into equation (7.3), and letting r →r in the denominator, gives

We can replace dx by making use of x = a cosφ to give

The integral has a real and imaginary part. The imaginary part vanishes, by
symmetry, and the real part is a first-order Bessel function:
 thus giving:

We can relate this to the previous result for the asymptotic case. If θ = 0, the
bracketed term is unity. The exponential term gives the time variation of the pressure,
and the remaining term is the same as the asymptotic expression for the axial case. All
of the angular dependence is in the bracketed term. If we examine a table of first-order
Bessel functions, we find that J1(x) = 0 for x = 3.83, 7.02, 10.17, etc. In other words,
the beam energy is confined to lobes, with zeros at angles defined by the values of x
for which J1(x) = 0. Conventionally, for an ultrasound transducer, the side lobes are
ignored, and the axial spread of the beam is taken as the angular size of the main lobe.
The centre lobe reduces to zero for angles given by θ = sin−1(3.83/ka) =
sin−1(0.61λ/a). For a transducer that is 10 wavelengths in diameter, the beam diverges
in the far field with a half-angle of 7.0◦ (in the near field, the beamcan be considered to
be parallel).
 If a/λ < 0.61 (i.e. the transducer is less than 1.22 wavelengths in diameter),
J1(x) = 0 for any real values of θ, so there are no side lobes. In the limit as ka → 0
the transducer radiates spherical waves. Figure 7.4 shows the beam shape for a
piston that is 10 wavelengths in diameter.

Although circular pistons are a good representation of loudspeakers and the

classical ultrasound transducer, they have been replaced for many ultrasound
applications by arrays of rectangular transducers (see section 12.3.4). It can be
shown that the normalized power emitted in a direction (θ, φ) relative to the axis
for a rectangular piston is given by
 Figure 7.4. The beam shape around a circular transducer of radius equal to 5 wavelengths. T
he amplitude is shown radially in dB.

where lx and ly are the lengths of the sides of the plate, and θ and ϕ are the angular
deviations from the axis in the planes parallel to lx and ly , respectively.
7.3.2. Ultrasound transducers
Table 7.1 gives the velocity of sound in some biological media, from which it can be
calculated that the wavelength at 1 MHz is of the order of 1.5 mm in soft tissue.
Acoustic impedance is the product of the density and velocity of the sound for the
mediumand is therefore very low for air.
Figure 7.5. Simplified cross-section of an ultrasound transducer
7.4. INTERACTION OF ULTRASOUND WITH MATERIALS
7.4.1. Reflection and refraction
In the current context, for audible sound, we are usually only interested in the
transmission through air. Environmental and architectural acoustics, which deal
with noise propagation in the world in general and in buildings in particular, are
important and interesting fields in their own right, but we refer interested readers
to Kinsler et al (1982).
Of more importance to us is the interaction of ultrasound with biological tissue,
because this interaction is the basis of both ultrasound imaging techniques and
Doppler blood velocity measurement. The interaction of ultrasound with tissue is
complex, and what follows is a summary.
Aplane wave (see figure 7.6) in medium1(acoustic impedance Z1 = ρ1c1) is incident
on the boundary (at x = 0) with medium 2 (acoustic impedance Z2 = ρ2c2). The
complex pressure amplitudes of the incident, transmitted and reflected waves are
Pi,Pt and Pr, respectively. We define the pressure transmission and reflection
coefficients Tp and Rp as Tp = Pt/Pi and Rp = Pr/Pi. We have shown in section
3.4.1 that the intensity of a plane progressive wave is given by I = p2/2ρc, so the
intensity transmission and reflection coefficients are real and given by
The power transmitted by the beam is the product of the intensity and the cross-
sectional area. The reflected beam always has the same cross-sectional area as
the incident beam, whereas the cross-sectional area of the transmitted beam is,
in general, different. The power transmission and reflection coefficients are
therefore given by

Energy in the beam is conserved, therefore Rπ + Tπ = 1.

Figure 7.6. Reflection and transmission of normally incident
Plane waves.
The incident, reflected and transmitted waves are defined by

Note the reversal of the sign of x for the reflected wave, and the different wave
numbers k1 and k2 in the two media, as a result of the different phase speeds c1
and c2. We can now state the boundary conditions which have to be satisfied. The
acoustic pressures on both sides of the boundary are equal (i.e. there is no net
force acting to displace the boundary), and the particle velocities normal to the
boundary are equal (i.e. The two fluids do not separate). The boundary conditions
are
Dividing pressure by velocity gives

A plane wave has p/u = ±ρc, so this is a statement of the continuity of the normal
specific acoustic impedance across the boundary. The incident, reflected and trans-
mitted waves must all satisfy the relationship pressure/velocity = acoustic impedance,
therefore

Substituting into equation (7.5) gives

Re-arranging, and making use of 1 + Rp = Tp, gives the reflection and
transmission coefficients:

The intensity reflection and transmission coefficients are thus given by

For normal incidence, all the beams have the same cross-sectional area, so
the power coefficients are the same as the intensity coefficients.
Figure 7.7. Reflection and transmission of an oblique incident
beam.
The
The incident, reflected and transmitted waves now subtend angles of θi, θr and θt,
respectively, at the x-axis. The equations for the incident, reflected and transmitted
waves now include the angles θ

(note that θt is complex, for reasons that will become clear).

Once again, the pressure at the boundary is continuous
This condition applies for all values of y, so the exponents must be the same. We
can therefore find the relationship between the angles of incidence, reflection and
refraction by equating the exponents,

These will be recognized from optics, the first states that the angles of incidence
and reflection are equal, and the second is Snell’s law (see section 3.5.1). As the
exponents are equal, continuity of pressure at the boundary gives the previous
expression,

The second boundary condition is continuity of the normal component of boundary

velocity,
Substituting u = p/Z and making use of θi = θr , and remembering the definitions
of Rp and Tp gives

Tp can be eliminated by making use of equation (7.8) to give

This is referred to as the Rayleigh reflection coefficient. From Snell’s law we can
find the angle of transmission in terms of the velocity of sound:
If the media can support shear waves, the boundary conditions must be satisfied
parallel to the boundary, as well as perpendicular to the boundary. The resulting
analysis is complex, particularly for anisotropic media such as tissue, and will not
be pursued here. The shear wave velocity is always less than the longitudinal
wave velocity, so that a shear wave can still be propagated into the second medium
when the angle of incidence is equal to the critical angle. As the angle of incidence
is further increased, the shear wave will approach the boundary. It is thus possible
to propagate a shear wave along the boundary by a suitable choice of angle of
incidence. This has been used as a means of measuring the mechanical properties
of the skin.
7.4.2. Absorption and scattering
A pressure wave travelling through a medium will decrease in intensity with
distance. The loss of intensity is due to the divergence of the beam, scattering which
is not specular, mode conversion at interfaces and absorption. Beam divergence and
scattering reduce the intensity but not the energy of the beam, whereas mode
conversion and absorption both result in the beam energy being converted to another
form.
The most important contribution to absorption comes from relaxation processes, in
which the ultrasound energy is converted into, for instance, vibrational energy of the
molecules of the tissue. This is not a one-way process-there is an exchange of energy.
If an increase in pressure compresses the tissue, work is done on the tissue which is
recovered as the pressure drops and the tissue expands
In general, the returned energy is out of phase with the travelling wave, so the
beam intensity is decreased. The lost energy is converted to heat. The absorption is
frequency dependent and varies for different materials. As the absorption usually
increases with frequency, it is normally quoted in terms of dB cm−1 MHz−1, but this
should not be taken to mean that the absorption is strictly linear with frequency.
Typical values are given in table 7.2. The very high absorption in bone and lung
tissue means that they are effectively opaque to ultrasound, and structures which are
behind them will be hidden. As the absorption rises with frequency, there will be a
maximum depth for detecting echoes with ultrasound of a particular frequency.
Frequencies of 5–10 MHz can be used for scanning the eye, but the upper limit for
the abdomen is 2–3 MHz.
 Thank you
Insert the title of your subtitle Here