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The color flash artifact in medical ultrasound appears as a burst of color, typically red and blue, within a fluid-filled structure or region of interest, without actual blood flow. This common artifact is generated by sudden tissue or transducer movement, causing rapid changes in the received Doppler signals, which the ultrasound system misinterprets as blood…

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…

In medical ultrasound, grating lobes are off-axis artifacts resulting from the geometric arrangement of transducer array elements. These spurious beams, distinct from the main ultrasound beam, can detect echoes from structures located outside the intended imaging plane. This phenomenon can lead to misleading images, obscuring true anatomy and potentially causing misdiagnosis. Understanding grating lobes is…

Acoustic shadowing is an ultrasound artifact appearing as a dark, anechoic region posterior to highly reflective or attenuating structures, like bone or gallstones. This occurs when sound waves are largely absorbed or reflected, preventing them from reaching deeper tissues. Recognizing acoustic shadowing is crucial for accurate diagnosis in medical imaging, helping differentiate between solid structures…

Slice-thickness artifact, also known as partial volume artifact, occurs in ultrasound when the ultrasound beam has a finite thickness, causing structures outside the intended imaging plane to be included in the image. This phenomenon can lead to misinterpretation, as it can mimic pathology or obscure true anatomical features. It is particularly relevant in medical imaging,…

Posterior enhancement, a crucial artifact in medical ultrasound, appears as an area of increased brightness or echogenicity located behind a structure that minimally attenuates the sound beam, such as a fluid-filled cyst or gallbladder. This occurs because the ultrasound waves pass through the fluid with little energy loss, leading to stronger echoes from tissues deeper…