INTERACTION OF

ULTRASOUND IN
TISSUES
 PROPAGATION SPEED
MEDIUM SPEED
AIR 330 m/s
FAT 1459 m/s
SOFT TISSUE 1540 m/s or 1.54
mm/µs
BLOOD 1570 m/s
MUSCLE 1580 m/s
BONE 4080 m/s
• INCIDENT BEAM
-INITIAL BEAM TRANSMITTING
FROM THE TRANSDUCER
• REFLECTED BEAM
-PORTION OF BEAM RETURNING
FROM THE TRANSDUCER
• TRANSMITTED BEAM
-PORTION OF THE BEAM THAT
CONTINUES TO TRAVEL
PERPENDICULAR INCIDENCE
OBLIQUE INCIDENCE
• PERPENDICULAR INCIDENCE
- SOUND DIRECTION THAT IS
PERPENDICULAR TO THE MEDIA
BOUNDARY
• OBLIQUE INCIDENCE
-SOUND DIRECTION THAT IS
NOT PERPENDICULAR TO A
MEDIA BOUNDARY
 ACOUSTIC IMPEDANCE
• RESISTANCE TO TRAVEL AS THE
SOUND BEAM PASSES
THROUGH A MEDIUM
• UNIT OF MEASUREMENT: Rayl
• Z = DV
• DENSITY

• ACOUSTIC
IMPEDANCE
• PROPAGATION SPEED

• IMPEDANCE
• Z = DV
WHERE:
Z= ACOUSTIC IMPEDANCE
D= DENSITY OF MEDIUM
V= VELOCITY OF SOUND
• WHAT IS THE ACOUSTIC
IMPEDANCE OF SOFT TISSUE
WHICH HAS A DENSITY OF
3
1060 kg/m ?
 ATTENUATION
• DECREASE IN THE AMPLITUDE
AND INTENSITY OF THE SOUND
WAVE AS IT TRAVELS THROUGH A
MEDIUM
• 80% ABSORPTION
• 20% OTHERS
• DECIBELS (dB) - unit
• FREQUENCY

• ATTENUATION
• DEPTH

• ATTENUATION
 ATTENUATION COEFFICIENT
• NUMBER THAT REFERS TO
THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY
LOST PER UNIT OF TRAVEL OR
PER CENTIMETER
• UNIT OF MEASUREMENT:
dB/cm
ATTENUATION COEFFICIENTS
TISSUE dB/cm
WATER 0.0022
BLOOD 0.18
FAT 0.6
BRAIN 0.6
LIVER 0.7
KIDNEY 0.9
MUSCLE 1.0
HEART 1.1
BONE 20.0
LUNG 40.0
FORMULA

A=0.5 dB x cm x MHz (one way)

=1.0 dB x cm x MHz (two way)
• CALCULATE THE OVERALL
ATTENUATION OF A 3.5 MHz
TRANSDUCER BEAM
TRAVELLING THROUGH 5 CM
OF SOFT TISSUE
 THE REDUCTION IN THE INTENSITY OF
ULTRASOUND WAVE IS CAUSED BY FIVE
FACTORS:
• ABSORPTION OF ULTRASOUND
WAVE
• REFLECTION
• SCATTERING
• REFRACTION
• DEPTH
 ABSORPTION
• THE PROCESS WHEREBY ULTRASONIC
ENERGY IS TRANSFORMED INTO
OTHER ENERGY FORMS, PRIMARILY
HEAT
• FREQUENCY OF THE TRANSDUCER
• VISCOSITY
• RELAXATION TIME
 REFLECTION
• REDIRECTION OF A PORTION OF
THE SOUND BEAM BACK TOWARD
THE TRANSDUCER
• DIFFERENCE IN ACOUSTIC
IMPEDANCE
• PERPENDICULAR INCIDENCE
BOUNDARY % REFLECTED
FAT/MUSCLE 1.08
FAT/KIDNEY 0.8
SOFT TISSUE/WATER 0.2
BONE/FAT 49
SOFT TISSUE/AIR 99
 INTENSITY REFLECTION COEFFICIENT

• FRACTION OF INCIDENT INTENSITY

REFLECTED
= REFLECTED INTENSITY (W/cm2)
INCIDENT INTENSITY (W/cm2)
IMPEDANCE DIFFERENCE

IRC
 INTENSITY TRANSMISSION
COEFFICIENT
• FRACTION OF INCIDENT INTENSITY
TRANSMITTED INTO THE SECOND
MEDIUM
= TRANSMITTED INTENSITY (W/cm2)
INCIDENT INTENSITY (W/cm2)
• IRC

• ITC
• FOR IMPEDANCES OF 40
AND 60 RAYLS, CALCULATE
THE INTENSITY REFLECTION
AND TRANSMISSION
COEFFICIENTS.
 TYPES OF ECHOES
• SPECULAR
-ECHOES ORIGINATING FROM A
RELATIVELY LARGE REGULARY SHAPED
OBJECTS WITH SMOOTH SURFACES
-INTENSE AND ANGLE DEPENDENT
-EXAMPLES: WALLS OF VESSELS,
TISSUE MEMBRANE, FETAL SKULL,
DIAPHRAGM
 TYPES OF ECHOES
• DIFFUSE
-ULTRASOUND BEAM ENCOUNTERS
SMALLER, MORE IRREGULAR, OR
ROUGHER THAN THE INCIDENT BEAM
-NOT ANGLE DEPENDENT
-EXAMPLES: LUNG AND KIDNEY
PARENCHYMA, RED BLOOD CELLS
RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INTERNAL TEXTURE
OF ORGAN IN AN IMAGE
 INTENSITY REFLECTION COEFFICIENT

PERCENTAGE OF THE INCIDENT

BEAM REFLECTED BACK TOWARD
THE TRANSDUCER ONCE THE
SOUND BEAM PASSES FROM ONE
TISSUE TO THE NEXT
 INTENSITY REFLECTION COEFFICIENT

•IRC = ( Z2 – Z1 ) 2

(Z2 + Z1)
• Z1 = IMPEDANCE OF MEDIUM 1
• Z2 = IMPEDANCE OF MEDIUM 2
 REFLECTION OF SOUND
INTERFACE REFLECTION
FAT-MUSCLE 1%

FAT-BONE 50%

TISSUE-AIR 100%
 SCATTERING
• REDIRECTION OF SOUND IN SEVERAL
DIRECTIONS UPON ENCOUNTERING
A ROUGH SURFACE OR A PARTICLE
SUSPENSION
 REFRACTION
• A CHANGE IN DIRECTION OF THE
SOUND WAVE AS IT PASSES FROM
ONE TISSUE TO A TISSUE OF
HIGHER OR LOWER SOUND
VELOCITY
THERE ARE TWO REQUIREMENTS FOR
REFRACTION TO OCCUR
• OBLIQUE INCIDENCE
• DIFFERENT PROPAGATION
SPEEDS ON EITHER SIDE OF
THE BOUNDARY
INTERFERENCE
 CONSTRUCTIVE
• A PROCESS WHEREBY TWO WAVES
ADD TOGETHER TO PRODUCE A
WAVE OF GREATER AMPLITUDE
THAN EITHER OF THE ORIGINAL
WAVES
 DESTRUCTIVE
• A PROCESS WHEREBY WAVES ADD
TOGETHER TO GIVE A RESULTANT
WAVE OF LOWER AMPLITUDE THAN
EITHER OF THE ORIGINAL WAVES
 DIFFRACTION
• THE SPREADING OUT OF THE
BEAM THAT RESULTS FROM THE
BEAM PASSING THROUGH A
SMALL APERTURE
 ECHO RANGING
• THE DISTANCE TO THE INTERFACE
CAN BE DETERMINED BY
MEASURING THE TIME BETWEEN THE
TRANSMITTED PULSE AND THE
RECEIVED ECHO
• THE DIRECTION FROM WHICH
THE ECHO CAME
• THE DISTANCE TO THE
REFLECTOR WHERE THE ECHO
WAS PRODUCED
RANGE EQUATION

d = ½ ct