Acoustic Artifacts Transducers
Lumify Ultrasound System 117
Philips Healthcare 4535 618 58571_A/795 * MAY 2016
If you encounter poor image quality or transducer problems, see “Troubleshooting” on page
153.
CAUTION
Some ultrasound coupling gels, as well as some solutions for pre-cleaning, disinfecting, and
sterilizing can damage a transducer. Before using a gel or solution on a transducer, see
“Ultrasound Transmission Gels” on page 121 or the “Transducer Care” on page 125 section.
You can also contact your local Philips representative. For contact information, see
“Customer Service” on page 17.
Acoustic Artifacts
The transducer adds its own signature to the echo information in the form of beam width
effects, axial resolution limitations, and frequency characteristics. The control choices made by
the sonographer that affect amplification, signal processing, and echo signal display can lead to
significant differences in the displayed appearance of echo data. Following is a brief discussion
of acoustic artifacts. An understanding of the physical basis for the production of signals
displayed on ultrasound images is helpful in minimizing artifacts on images and interpreting the
results of studies.
An artifact is an echo displayed in a different position than its corresponding reflector in the
body. Artifacts can also be caused by intervening tissue properties. Artifacts can originate from
external noise, reverberations, multi-path reflections, or misadjusted equipment. They can also
come from the ultrasonic beam geometry and unusual changes in beam intensity. Artifacts and
their manifestations are listed below, and following are some definitions of various artifacts.
• Added objects displayed as speckle, section thickness, reverberation, mirror image, comet
tail, or ring down
• Missing objects due to poor resolution
• Incorrect object brightness due to shadowing or enhancement
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