Stories That Inspire Global Impact

In medical ultrasound, range ambiguity is an artifact occurring when echoes from deep structures arrive after the next pulse has been transmitted. The ultrasound system incorrectly places these delayed echoes closer to the transducer, causing superficial structures to appear deeper or false structures to appear. This misregistration of echoes is critical to understand for accurate…

Side lobe artifacts are common distortions in medical ultrasound imaging, appearing as false echoes adjacent to strong reflectors. These occur because the transducer's main sound beam is accompanied by weaker "side lobes" that can pick up reflections from off-axis structures. While the main beam focuses energy, these unintended emissions can interact with highly reflective objects,…

A beam width artifact in medical ultrasound occurs when the finite width of the ultrasound beam averages echoes from structures both within and adjacent to the intended path. This can lead to the appearance of false echoes or the blurring of small structures, making accurate diagnosis challenging. It is particularly noticeable with cystic lesions, where…

Anisotropy in ultrasound refers to the phenomenon where the appearance of a tissue or structure changes depending on the angle of the ultrasound beam. This is a crucial "artifact" in medical imaging, often seen in fibrous tissues like tendons and ligaments. When the beam is not perpendicular to the tissue fibers, echoes may be diminished,…

Speckle artifact in medical ultrasound refers to the grainy, salt-and-pepper appearance on an image, resulting from the constructive and destructive interference of scattered sound waves. This inherent imaging artifact, while degrading image quality, is distinct from true anatomical structures. Understanding speckle is crucial for accurate diagnostic interpretation, as it can obscure subtle pathologies or mimic…

The reverberation “ladder” artifact in medical ultrasound appears as multiple equally spaced, parallel bright lines decreasing in intensity with depth. This artifact is a common "artifact" phenomenon resulting from the ultrasound beam repeatedly bouncing between two highly reflective, parallel surfaces within the body, such as air-filled structures or metallic objects. This artifact can obscure underlying…

A dirty shadow in ultrasound imaging is a type of artifact characterized by an ill-defined, irregular anechoic or hypoechoic region posterior to a highly reflective or gas-filled structure. Unlike a clean shadow, which has sharp borders and indicates a solid object (e.g., bone or calculus), a dirty shadow often suggests the presence of gas or…

In medical ultrasound, a clean shadow is a type of artifact characterized by a sharp, anechoic (black) area behind a highly reflective or attenuating structure. This phenomenon occurs when sound waves are completely blocked by an object, preventing them from reaching deeper tissues. Common examples include shadows cast by gallstones, kidney stones, or calcifications, which…

The twinkle artifact in medical ultrasound is a common phenomenon appearing as a rapidly changing mosaic of colors behind highly reflective, rough surfaces like calcifications or kidney stones. This artifact, often misinterpreted as true blood flow, is crucial for sonographers to recognize as it can aid in the detection and characterization of certain lesions. Understanding…