Practical Physics of

Ultrasound
Dr Muhammad Jazib Shahid
Objectives

 Definition of Ultrasound
 Basic Ultrasound Physics
 How Ultrasound Works
 Interaction of Ultrasound with Tissue
 Echogenicities
 Acoustic Impedance
 Resolution
 Frequency vs Resolution
 Transducers and different types
 Modes
Definition of Ultrasound

 Ultrasound is a sound wave frequency exceeding the

upper limit of human hearing i.e 20,000Hz
 Frequency ranges used in medical ultrasound imaging are
2-15MHz.
Basic Ultrasound Physics
Velocity

 Speed at which sound wave travels through a medium

 Determined by the density and stiffness of the media
. Slowest in air/gas
. Fastest in solids
 average speed of ultrasound in body is 1540m/sec
Frequency

 Number of cycles per second

 Units is Hertz (Hz)
 Ultrasound imaging frequency range is is 2-20MHz
 Lower the frequency, higher the penetration.
 Higher the frequency, lower the penetration
Wavelength

 Distance over which one cycle occurs.

Amplitude

 The strength/intensity of sound wave at any given time

 Represent as height of the wave.
 Decreases with increasing depth
 Defines the brightness of the image
 How Ultrasound machine works?
Piezoelectric Effect

 Electrical energy converted to sound waves

 The sound waves are reflected by the tissue
 Reflected sound waves are converted to electrical signal and later to image
Interaction of Ultrasound with Tissue

 Reflection
 Transmission
 Attenuation
 Scattering
Reflection

 Occurs at the boundary between two adjacent tissues or media

 The amount of reflection depends on differences in acoustic impedance
between media
 The ultrasound image is formed from reflected echoes.
Transmission

 Not all the sound waves are reflected. Some continue deeper into the body
 These waves will reflect from deeper tissue structures
Attenuation

 The deeper the wave travels in the body, the weaker it becomes
 The amplitude of the wave decreases with increasing depth
Scattering

 Redirection of sound in several direction

 Caused by interaction with small reflector or rough surface
 Only portion of sound wave returns to the transducer
Echogenicity (caused by reflection)
Echogenecity
Acoustic Impedance

 Acoustic impedance (Z) is a physical property of tissue. It describes how

much resistance an ultrasound beam encounters as it passes through a
tissue. Acoustic impedance depends on: the density of the tissue and speed
of sound waves
 Velocities
. Soft tissue: 1400-1600 m/s
. Bone: 4080 m/s
.Air: 330 m/s
 So, if the density of a tissue increases, impedance increases. Similarly, but
less intuitively, if the speed of sound increases, then impedance also
increases
Acoustic Impedance and Reflection

 REFLECTION occurs with ultrasound waves when two adjacent tissues

have Significantly Different Impedance Values.
Resolution

 The ability to differentiate between structures that are closely related , both
in terms of space and echo amplitude.
 Types:
. Spatial resolution: describes how two physically close two objects can be
and displayed separately.
. Gray scale resolution: ability to resolve two adjacent objects of similar
intensity/reflective properties as separate objects.
Frequency vs Resolution

 Higher the frequency, the better the resolution .

 Lower the frequency, the less the resolution.
 A 12Mhz transducer has very good resolution but cannot
penetrate very deep inti the body.
 A 3Mhz transducer can penetrate deep into the body but
the resolution is not as good as 12Mhz transducer.
Transducers

 It is the hand-held part of the ultrasound machine that is

responsible for the production and detection of ultrasound
waves.

Lead zirconate
titanate (PZT)
Linear array

5-10Mhz
Curved array

3-5Mhz
Intraluminal array

5-10Mhz
Modes

 A-Mode (Amplitude mode)

 B-Mode (Brightness mode)
 M-Mode (Motion mode)
 D-mode (Doppler mode)
Types of mode

B-Mode M-Mode
Mode

D-Mode
Doppler Mode

 It is used to evaluate movement either towards or away from the ultrasound

probe/transducer. The most common Doppler ultrasound application we think
of is detecting movement of blood.
Color Doppler
Thank you for your
Attention