Module 5

Advances in Radiological Imaging

X-rays- principles of generation, uses of X-rays- diagnostic still
picture, fluoroscopy, angiography, endoscopy, and diathermy. Basic
principle of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging
system and nuclear medicine system – radiation therapy. Ultrasonic
imaging system - introduction and basic principle.
Electrical safety Electrical safety– physiological effects of electric
current –shock hazards from electrical equipment –method of
accident prevention, introduction to tele-medicine
X-rays- principles of generation, uses of X-rays- diagnostic
still picture, fluoroscopy, angiography, endoscopy, and
diathermy

 X-rays are electromagnetic radiation of exactly the same nature as light but of very much shorter
wavelength
 The x-rays in the medical diagnostic region have wavelength of the order of 10 -10m.
 They propagate with a speed of 3x 1010cm/s and are unaffected by electric and magnetic fields.
 According to quantum theory , electromagnetic radiation consists of photons , which are
conceived as packets of energy and their interaction with matter involves an energy exchange
and the relation between the wavelength and the photon given by

Where h is Planck's constant c

E hv h
c- velocity of propagation of photons
v- frequency of radiation 
wavelength is lambda
 Properties of X-rays

 Properties can be classified as

 Physical
 Chemical
 Biological
 Physiochemical

Physical properties:
 X rays belong to a family of electromagnetic radiations having
wavelength between 10A and .01 A
 They travel with the same speed of visible light.(1,86000
miles/sec)
 They are invisible to eye and cannot be seen, heard or smelt.
 They cannot be reflected , refracted or deflected by magnetic
or electric field as they do not possess any charge.
 X-rays are pure energy , no mass and they transfer energy
from place to place in the form of quanta.
 X-rays can penetrate various objects and the degree of
penetration depends on the quality of the X-ray beam and also
on the intensity and the wavelength of he X-ray beam.
 X-rays able to penetrate through materials which readily
absorb and reflect visible light.
 X-Rays are produced by collision of electrons with tungsten
atoms thus giving rise to 2 types of spectra
 Continuous spectra
 Line spectrum
Chemical Properties:
 X-rays induce color changes. Methylene blue gets bleached.
Sodium platinocyanide which is apple green turns to dark green
and then to light brown and finally to darker brown.
 X-rays brings about chemical changes in solutions that are
otherwise stable
 X-rays cause destruction of fermenting power of enzymes.
 X-rays produce ionization in gases and influence the electric
properties of liquids and solids. This property is made use in
construction of radiation measuring instruments.
 X-rays also produce fluorescence in certain materials to help them
emit light
 Fluoroscopic screens and intensifying screens have been
constructed on the basis of this property.
 X-rays can affect photographic film in the same way as ordinary
visible light.
Biological Properties:
 When X-rays are incident on a atom, one of the reaction it
produces is excitation.
 These state of excitation in biological materials enable it to
take part in a chemical process into which in he normal state it
would not enter. This is an important cause of biological
damage produced by radiation.
 2 types of biological effect by x-rays
– Somatic effect
– Genetic effect
Physiochemical Properties:
 The photographic paper or film when exposed to x-rays and
then developed will be blackened.
 This blackening is known as film density and degree of
blackening depends on
 Amount of radiation
 Quality of radiation
 Characteristic of the film
 Concentration and age of developing solution
 Length of developing time
 Use of intensifying screens.
 Production of X-rays

 X-rays are produced when electrons collide with matter at a

very high speed.
 The energy got by the electrons at the site of collision as a
parcel of energy in the form of highly penetrating waves X-
rays
 Xras are produced in a specilaly constructed glass tube which
has source for production of electrons ,a energy source to
accelerate the electrons, a free electron path , a means to focus
the electron beam and a device to stop the electrons.
 Two types of X ray tubes
 Stationary anode tube
 Rotating anode tube
Stationary anode tube

When current (mA) is applied to the

coil of wire electron are ejected

The outer-shell electrons of the

filament atom are “boiled off”.
This is known as thermionic
emission
 Electrons are generated by thermionic emission from a filament of
the tube
 The electron beam is electrostatically focused on a target on the
anode by means of a suitably shaped cathode cup.
 The kinetic energy of the electron impinging on the target is
converted to x-rays.
 Cathode consists of the following components:Filament ,Focusing
cup,Supporting wires, Cathode support
 The cathode block which has the filament is usually made from
nickel. The filament is closely wound helix of tungsten wire .
 Anode is constructed of the 2 materials copper and tungsten, known
as a compound anode.
 The target is normally comprised of a small tablet of tungsten and
in special cases , molybdenum are also used.
 Stationary anode tubes are used mostly in small capacity x-ray
machines.
 Low electric power.
 Relative simplicity of design and construction and therefore
low cost.
 Suitable for the production of X-rays at low or medium
intensities.
 Used for applications such as dental radiography and mobile
work where no sophisticated procedures such as rapid
sequential imaging are required.
Rotating anode tube

 Function of anode is Mechanical support for the target

 Dissipates heat
 99% of the kinetic energy from the e- is converted into
heat; 1% is converted into x-rays
 Copper, molybdenum and graphite are common anode
material
 Higher X-ray intensities and electrical power are provided by
the anode tube since it has more efficient anode cooling.
 Anode is a disk of tungsten or an alloy of tungsten and
rhenium
 Rotor is made from copper , either cast or from special quality
rod
 The anode rotating system is a high speed system.
 Further x-ray tubes can be classified on the basis of
application for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes.
 For diagnostic applications high milliampere and low
exposure time is used and for therapeutic high KV and
relatively low ma is employed
X ray machine block diagram
 There are 2 parts in he circuit .
 One produces high voltage and is applied to t tubes anode and
cathode and comprises a high voltage step up transformer followed
by rectification.
 The current through the tube follows the HT pathway and is
measured by an mA meter.
 A K v selector switch facilitates change in voltage between
exposures.
 The voltage is measured with the help of a kV meter.
 The exposure switch controls the timer and thus the duration of the
application of kV
 To compensate for variations from main supply , a voltage
compensator is included in the circuit.
 The second part concerns the control of heating X-ray tube
filament..he filament is heated with6-12 v of AC supply at a
current of 3-5amperes
 The filament temperature determines the tube current ,
therefore the filament temperature control has an attached mA
selector
 The filament current is controlled by using a variable choke in
the primary side of the filament transformer
 The rheostat provides a stepwise control of mA and is mostly
used in modern machines.
 Voltages in the range of 30-200kV are required for the
production of x-rays for diagnostic purposes. For this high
voltage generation following circuits may be used.
 Self rectified circuit
 Full wave rectification X-ray circuit
 Three phase power for X-ray generation
 Six rectifier circuit
 Twelve rectifiers circuit
 High frequency generators are required for generating high
voltages.
 The most important feature that differentiates high frequency ,
3 phase and single phase power is the ripple in the output.
 A low ripple provides a more efficient radiation output
 As very high voltage are applied to the X-ray tube , it is
necessary to use highly insulated cables for its connection to
generator.
 The center of he cable has 3 conductors individually insulated
for the low filament voltages and surrounded by semi
conducting rubber. This again is surrounded by non conducting
rubber which provides the insulation against the high voltage
also carried by the center conductors. The cable is shielded
with a copper braiding , which is earthed and finally covered
with vinyl or some other plastic.
 Collimators and grids are used for limiting the area of interest
covered by the X-rays so as to increase the image contrast and
to reduce the dose to the patient.
 The collimator is placed between the x-ray tube and the
patient. and grids are placed between the patient and the
cassette to reduce the loss of contrast due to scattered radiation.
 Timers are used in Xray machine to initiate and terminate the
x-ray exposure.
 Computed Tomography: Principle, image reconstruction,
scanning system and applications.

 It is a medical imaging method employing tomography where

digital geometry processing is used to generate a 3D image of
the internals of an object from a large series of 2 D xray
images taken around a single axis of rotation.
 Tomography derived from Greek :Tomo means slice and
graphy means to write.
 The difference between conventional Xrays and CT is that the
pictures displayed are not photographs but are constructed
from a large number of absorption profiles taken at regular
intervals.
Limitations of X-rays
1. The super-imposition of the three-dimensional information
onto a single plane makes diagnosis confusing and often difficult.
2. The photographic film usually used for making radiographs
has a limited dynamic range and, therefore, only objects that have
large variations in X-ray absorption relative to their surroundings
will cause sufficient contrast differences on the film to be
distinguished by the eye. Thus, whilst details of bony structures
can be clearly seen, it is difficult to discern the shape and
composition of soft tissue organs accurately.
3. In such situations, growths and abnormalities within tissue
only show a very small contrast difference on the film and
consequently, it is extremely difficult to detect them, even after
using various injected contrast media.
4. The problem becomes even more serious while carrying out
studies of the brain due to its overall shielding of the soft tissue
by the dense bone of the skull.
 In CT , X-rays are made to pass through a slice of object or
patient from a variety of directions.
 An image of an unknown object could be produced if one had
an infinite number of projections through the object
 In CT , X-rays from a finely collimated source are made to
pass through a slice of the object or patient from a variety of
directions.
 In directions in which the path length through tissue is longer ,
fewer x-rays are transmitted.
 Bones attenuate more x-rays more than soft tissues.
 In CT , the attenuation characteristics are for each small
volume of tissue in the patient slice is determined, which
constitute the transmitted intensity recorded from various
irradiation directions.
 Uses of X-rays- diagnostic still picture, fluoroscopy,
angiography, endoscopy, and diathermy
Diagnostic still picture:
 Radiography describes the process of creating two
dimensional projection images by exposing an anatomy of
interest to X-rays and measuring the attenuation they undergo
when passing through the object. It is a very common form of
X-ray imaging and is used in clinics around the globe.
 The main application area is the examination of fractures and
changes of the skeletal system. Here, the high attenuation
coefficient of bones compared to the surrounding tissue
delivers a good contrast and allows for distinct detection and
classification of fractures.
 Moreover, radiography can be used to detect changes of a
bone's consistency or density, e. g., in case of osteoporosis or
bone cancer.
2.Fluoroscopy

 Fluoroscopy is of special importance in minimally invasive

interventions, where catheters, endoscopes, and other tools
need to be guided and operated without direct visual contact to
the region where the actual intervention takes place.
 It is also the key technology for visualizing vessels such as
arteries or veins by the use of contrast agent.
3.Angiography
 Angiography refers to the imaging of arteries (venography
for veins) to analyze properties such as shape, size, lumen,
or flow rate. Usually, the attenuation properties of vessels
do not substantially differ from that of the surrounding
tissue which makes X-ray-based imaging hard and yields
poor contrast.

 To increase image quality and contrast often contrast agent

is injected into the blood circulation. Contrast agent is a
liquid that provides an increased attenuation coefficient
compared to normal soft tissue. Typical contrast media are
iodine and barium where first one used for intravascular
and latter used for gastrointestinal examinations
 Basic Principle of CT
 In computed tomography (CT), the picture is made by
viewing the patient via X-ray imaging from numerous angles,
by mathematically reconstructing the detailed structures and
displaying the reconstructed image on a video monitor.
 Computed tomography differs from conventional X-ray
techniques in that the pictures displayed are not photographs
but are reconstructed from a large number of absorption
profiles taken at regular angular intervals around a slice, with
each profile being made up from a parallel set of absorption
values through the object.
 In computed tomography, X-rays from a finely collimated
source arc made to pass through a slice of the object or patient
from a variety of directions.
 For directions along which the path length through-tissue is
longer, fewer X-rays are transmitted as compared to directions
where there is less tissue attenuating the X-ray beam. In
addition to the length of the tissue traversed, structures in the
patient such as bone may attenuate X-rays more than a similar
volume of less dense soft tissue.
 In principle, computed tomography involves the determination
of attenuation characteristics for each small volume of tissue
in the patient slice, which constitute the transmitted radiation
intensity recorded from various irradiation directions. It is
these calculated tissue attenuation characteristics that actually
compose the CT image.
• If a slice of heterogeneous tissue is irradiated given
below, and we divide the slice into volume elements
or voxels with each voxel having its own attenuation
coefficient, it is obvious that the sum of the voxel
attenuation coefficients for each X-ray beam direction
can be determined from the experimentally measured
beam intensities for a given voxel width.
• However, each individual voxel attenuation coefficient
remains unknown. Computed tomography uses the
knowledge of the attenuation coefficient sums derived
from X-ray intensity measurements made at all the
various irradiation directions to calculate the attenuation
coefficients of each individual voxel to form the CT
image.
X-rays incident on patient from different directions. They
are attenuated by different amounts, as indicated by the
different transmitted X-ray intensities
Block diagram of the CT system
 Xray source and detectors are mounted opposite to each other
with patient lying in between
 Light is made to fall on the body from the gantry and
illuminate the section to be examined.
 Xray transmission readings are taken and stored by the
computer . These are got by integrating the outputs of 30
detectors with approximate 600 position pulses.
 The position pulses are derived from a glass graticle that lies
between LED and photodiode assembly that moves with the
detectors.
 Detectors are usually sodium iodide crystals which are
thallium dope to prevent an after glow.
 Detectors absorb X-ray photons and emit the energy as visible
light.
 This is converted to electrons by a photo multiplier tube and
then amplified.
 Analog outputs from these tubes go through signal
conditioning circuitry that amplifies , clips and shapes the
signals.
 A to D converter then prepares the signals for computer
 Simultaneously a separate reference detector measures the
intensity of the primary X –ray beam.
 Set of readings thus produced enables the computer
compensate for fluctuations of X-ray intensity.
 The reference readings taken at the end of each transverse are
used to continually calibrate the detection systems and the
necessary correction is carried out.
 After the initial preprocessing the final image is put on to the
disc.
 Picture is reconstructed in either a 320x320 matrix of .73mm
square giving higher spatial resolution.
 The quality of the reconstructed image is a matter of
differentiation between x-ray attenuation coefficient at different
points and of the size of each pixel.
 The differences in the attenuation coefficient of various body
tissues are slight
 The intersection of photon with tissue result in compton effect
(scattering of high energy xray photon to low energy xray
photon)
 Subsystem of Tomography

 Scanning system:-takes suitable readings for a picture to be

reconstructed and includes X-ray source and detectors
 Processing Unit:- converts these readings into picture
information
 Viewing part :- presents this information in visual form and
includes other manipulative aids to assist diagnosis.
 Storage Unit:-enables the information to be stored for
subsequent analysis.
 Scanning system

 Purpose to acquire information to reconstruct a picture for an

accurate diagnosis . The readings are taken in the form of
profiles.
 When a plane parallel X-ray beam is passing through a
required section , a profile is defined as the intensity of
emergent beam plotted along a line perpendicular to x-ray
beam.
 The profile represents a plot of a total absorption along each of
the parallel X-ray beam.
 180 such profiles at 1 intervals are normally needed to
construct a diagnostically useful picture.
 First generation used parallel beam geometry in which X-ray
beam passes through the body and its attenuation is detected
by a sensor.
 Second generation used fan beams , multiple detectors.
 Third generation used fan beam , rotating detectors
 Fourth generation used fan beam , fixed rotation
 Fifth generation used scanning electron beam.
 X-ray source:
 In CT scanners the highest image quality , free from disturbing
blurring effects is got with the aid of pulsed X-ray radiation.
 During rotation high voltage is applied at all times .
 A grid uses the tube prevents the electron current from striking the
anode except when desired , allowing the X-rays to be emitted in
bursts.
 Detectors:
 Detectors must have a high overall efficiency inorder to minimize the
patient radiation dose.
 3 types of commonly used detectors are gas ionization detectors ,
xenon detectors , stimulator photomultiplier detectors

Processing system
 Data acquisition system – has precision preamplifier , current
to voltage converter, analog integrated multiplexers and A to D
converters – data transfer rate is 10mb/sec
 Processing Unit: For CT images , the patient slice is divided
into numerous 3 D voxels, the image of the slice 2 D picture in
which each pixel corresponds to attenuation coefficient of a
voxel in the object slice.
 Image Reconstruction

The formation of a CT image is a distinct three phase process.

1. The scanning phase produces data, but not an image.
2. The reconstruction phase processes the acquired data
and forms a digital image.
3. Digital-to analog conversion phase: The visible and
displayed analog image (shades of gray) is produced by the
digital-to analog conversion phase.
1. The scanning phase:
 During the scanning phase a fan-shaped x-ray beam is scanned
around the body. The amount of x-radiation that penetrates the
body alongeach individual ray (pathway) through the body is
measured by the detectors that intercept the x-ray beam after it
passes through the body.
 The projection of the fan-shaped x-ray beam from one specific
x-ray tube focal spot position produces one view. Many views
projected from around the patient's body are required in order
to acquire the necessary data to reconstruct an image. Each
view produces one "profile" or line of data as shown here.
 The complete scan produces a complete data set that contains
sufficient information for the reconstruction of an image. In
principle, one scan produces data for one slice image.
2. Image Reconstruction Phase
 Image reconstruction is the phase in which the scan data set is processed to
produce an image. The image is digital and consist of a matrix of pixels.
Filtered back projection is the reconstruction method used in CT. "Filtered"
refers to the use of the digital image processing algorithms that are used to
improve image quality or change certain image quality characteristics, such as
detail and noise.
 "Back projection" is the actual process used to produce or "reconstruct" the
image.
Back projection Principle
 We start with one scan view through a body section(like a
head) that contains two objects. As we know, the data
produced is not a complete image, but a profile of the x-ray
attenuation by the objects.
 Let's now take this profile and attempt to draw an image by
"back projecting" the profile onto our image surface. We
have now rotated the x-ray beam around the body by 90and
obtained another view.
 If we now back project this profile onto our image area we
see the beginnings of an image showing the two object. Two
views does not give us a high-quality image. Several hundred
views are used to produce clinical CT images. A part of there
construction process is the calculation of CT number values
for each image pixel.
Image Reconstruction Computer, used in CT scanners
This method enables pictures to be reconstructed within a few
seconds. Figure shows a block diagram image reconstruction
computer, used in CT scanners.
 CT or CAT - Disadvantages

 significantly more data is collected

 soft tissue X-ray absorption still relatively similar
 still a health risk

Applications:
 CT enables direct imaging and differentiation of soft tissue
structures, such as liver, lung tissue, and fat.
 CT is especially useful in searching for large space occupying
lesions, tumors and metastasis and can not only reveal their
presence, but also the size, spatial location and extent of a tumor.
 CT imaging of the head and brain can detect tumors, show
blood clots and blood vessel defects, show enlarged ventricles
(caused by a build up of cerebrospinal fluid) and image other
abnormalities such as those of the nerves or muscles of the eye.
 Due to the short scan times of 500 milliseconds to a few
seconds, CT can be used for all anatomic regions, including
those susceptible to patient motion and breathing. For example,
in the thorax CT can be used for visualization of nodular
structures, infiltrations of fluid, fibrosis (for example from
asbestos fibers), and effusions (filling of an air space with
fluid).
 CT has been the basis for interventional work like CT guided
biopsy and minimally invasive therapy. CT images are also
used as basis for planning radiotherapy cancer treatment. CT is
also often used to follow the course of cancer treatment to
determine how the tumor is responding to treatment.
 Magnetic Resonance Imaging system
• NMR is powerful imaging technique because of high
resolution and potential for chemical specific imaging.
• It is a non invasive imaging technique.
• Uses magnetic fields and RF signals to get anatomical
information about the human body as cross sectional images in
any direction and can easily discriminate between diseased
and healthy tissues.
• CT provides information about the bones and tissue structure
of an organ whereas NMR highlights the liquid like areas in
those organs and can be used to detect flowing liquids.
Principle:
• MRI systems provide highly detailed images of tissue in the
body.
• The systems detect and process the signals generated when
hydrogen atoms, which are abundant in tissue, are placed in a
strong magnetic field and excited by a resonant magnetic
excitation pulse .
• All materials contains nucleus that have a combination of
protons and neutrons. It possesses a spin and the amount of
spin give rise to a magnetic moment.
• The magnetic moment has a magnitude and direction.
• In tissues, Magnetic moments of nuclei making up the tissue
are randomly aligned and net magnetization=0.
• Random alignment of magnetic moments of the nuclei making up
the tissue, resulting in a zero net magnetization.

• When a material is placed in a magnetic field B0, some of the

randomly oriented nuclei experience an external magnetic torque
which tends to align the individual parallel or anti-parallel
magnetic moments to the direction of an applied magnetic field.
• This gives a magnetic moment that accounts for the nuclear
magnetic resonance signal on which the imaging is based. This
moment is in the direction of applied magnetic field Bo.
• With the magnetic moments being randomly oriented with
respect to one another, the components in the X-Y plane
cancel one another out while the Z components along the
direction of the applied magnetic field add up to produce this
magnetic moment M0 shown in Figure given below

The application of external

magnetic field causes the
nuclear magnetic moments to
align themselves, producing a
net moment in the direction of
the field B0
NMR Resultant Signal Pick up by the Instrument
• When a nucleus with a magnetic moment is placed in an externally
applied magnetic field, the energy of the nucleus is split into lower
(moment parallel with the field) and higher (anti-parallel) energy
levels.
• The energy difference is such that a proton with specific frequency
(energy) is necessary to excite a nucleus from the lower to die higher
state.
• The excitation energy E obtained by the application of external RF
signal, and is given by the Planck's equation

E = hωo

Where h is Planck's constant. This energy is usually supplied by an RF

magnetic field.
ωo = Frequency of applied RF.
• The excited proton tends to return or relax to its low-energy
state with spontaneous decay and re-emissions of energy at a
later time Y in the form of radio wave photons. This decay is
exponential in nature and produces a “free induction decay”
(FID )signal (Fig. below) that is the fundamental form of the
nuclear signal obtainable from an NMR system.
• To summarize, if in a static field, RF waves of the right
frequency are passed through the sample of interest (or
tissue), some of the parallel protons will absorb energy and
be stimulated or excited to a higher energy in the anti-
parallel direction.
• Sometime later, the RF frequency absorbed will be
emitted as electromagnetic energy of the same frequency
as the RF source.
• The amount of energy required to flip protons from the
parallel to the anti-parallel orientation is directly related to
the magnetic field strength; stronger fields require more
energy or higher frequency radiation. This is picked up by
the instrument and then processed
 BASIC NMR COMPONENTS
• The basic components of an NMR imaging system are shown
in Fig.
1. Magnet: Provides a strong uniform, steady, magnet field B0.
2. RF transmitter, which delivers radio-frequency magnetic field
to the sample.
3. Gradient system, which produces time-varying magnetic fields
of controlled spatial non-uniformity;
4. Detection System, which yields the output signal; and
5. Imager system, including the computer, which reconstructs and
displays the images.
Imager System
• The imaging sequencing in the system is provided by a
computer. Functions such as gates and envelopes for the NMR
pulses, blanking for the pre-amplifier and RF power amplifier
and voltage waveforms for the gradient magnetic fields are all
under software control.
• The computer also performs the various data processing tasks
including the Fourier transformation, image reconstruction, data
filtering, image display and storage. Therefore, the computer must
have sufficient memory and speed to handle large image arrays
and data processing, in addition to interfacing facilities
The Magnet:
• In magnetic resonance tomography, the base field must be
extremely uniform in space and constant in time as its purpose is
to align the nuclear magnets parallel to each other in the volume
to be examined.
• Also, the signal-to-noise ratio increases approximately linearly
with the magnetic field strength of the basic field, therefore, it
must be as large as possible.
• Four factors characterize the performance of the magnets used in
MR systems; viz., field strength, temporal stability, homogeneity
and bore size.
• The gross non-homogeneities result in image distortion while the
bore diameter limits the size of the dimension of the specimen that
can be imaged.
• Such a magnetic field can be produced by means of four different
ways, viz., permanent magnets, electromagnets, resistive magnets
and super-conducting magnets.

• Permanent Magnet:
In case of the permanent magnet, the patient is placed in the
gap between a pair of permanently magnetized pole faces.
Permanent magnet materials normally used in MRI scanners
include high carbon iron alloys such as alnico or neodymium iron..
Although permanent magnets have the advantages of producing a
relatively small fringing field and do not require power supplies,
they tend to be very heavy (up to 100 tons) and produce relatively
low fields of the order of 0.3 T or less.
• Electromagnets:
– Make use of soft magnetic materials such as pole faces
which become magnetized only when electric current is
passed through the coils wound around them. Electromagnets
obviously require external electrical power supply.

• Resistive magnets:
– make use of large current-carrying coils of aluminium strips
or copper tubes. In these magnets, the electrical power
requirement increases proportionately to the square of the
field strength which becomes prohibitively high as the field
strength increases. Moreover, the total power in the coils is
converted into heat which must be dissipated by liquid
cooling.
• Superconductive magnets
Most of the modem NMR machines utilize superconductive
magnets. These magnets utilize the property of certain materials,
which lose their electrical resistance fully below a specific
temperature. The commonly used superconducting material is Nb Ti
(Niobium Titanium) alloy for which the transition temperature lies
at 9 K (-264°C). In order to prevent superconductivity from being
destroyed by an external magnetic field or the current passing
through the conductors, these conductors must be cooled down to
temperatures significantly below this point, at least to half of the
transition temperature. Therefore, superconductive magnet coils are
cooled with liquid helium which boils at a temperature of 4.2 K (-
269°C).
RF Transmitter System
• The system consists of an RF transmitter, RF power amplifier
and RF transmitting coils. 1. RF Transmitter System
• In order to activate the nuclei so that they emit a useful signal,
energy must be transmitted into the sample. This is what the
transmitter does.
• The RF transmitter consists of an RF crystal oscillator at the
Larmor frequency. The RF voltage is gated with the pulse
envelopes from the computer interface to generate RF pulses
that excite the resonance.

RF Power Amplifier
• These pulses are amplified to levels varying from 100W to
several kW and are fed to the transmitter coil.
RF Transmitting Coils
• The coil generates RF field perpendicular to the direction of
main magnetic field.
• Coils are tuned to the NMR frequency and are usually
isolated from the remaining system using RF shielding cage.

Detection System :-
• The function of detection system is to detect the nuclear
magnetization and generate an output signal for processing by
the computer.
• The receiver coil usually surrounds the sample and acts as an
antenna to pick up the fluctuating nuclear magnetization of the
sample and converts it to a fluctuating output voltage V(i).
• NMR signal is given by

Where M(t, x) is the total magnetization in a volume and

Bc(x) the sensitivity of the receiver coil at different points in
space. Bc(x) describes the ratio of the magnetic field produced
by the receiver coil to the current in the coil.

• The receiver coil design and placement is such that Bc(x) has
the largest possible transverse component. The longitudinal
component of Bc(x) contributes little to the output voltage and
can be ignored.
• The RF signals constitute the variable measured in
magnetic resonance tomography. These are extremely
weak signals having amplitude in the nV (nano-Volt)
range thus requiring specially designed RF antennas.
• The sensitivity of an MR scanner therefore depends
on the quality of its RF receiving antenna. For a given
sample magnetization, static magnetic field strengths
and sample volume, the signal-to-noise-ratio (SN
R)of the RF signal at the receiver depends in the
following manner upon the RF-receiving antenna.
• This implies that the SNR of an MR scan can be
improved by maximizing magnetization to coil volume.
• Some of the commonly available coils are:
• Body Coils: Constructed on cylindrical coils forms with
diameter ranging from 50 to 60 cm entirely surround the
patient's body.
• Head Coils: Designed only for head imaging, with typical
diameter of 28 c
Surface coils:
• Orbit/ear coil: flat, planar ring-shaped coil with 10 cm diameter;
Neck coil: flexible, rectangular shaped surface coil (10 cm x 20
cm) capable of adaptation to the individual patient anatomy; and
Spine coil: cylindrical or ring-shaped coil with 15 cm diameter.
Organ-enclosing coils:
• Breast coil: cylindrical or ring-shaped coil with 15 cm diameter.
• Helmholtz-type coil: a pair of flat ring coils each having 15 cm
diameter with distance between the two coils variable from 12
to 22 cm.
Matching Network :
Following the receiver coil is a matching network which
couples it to the pre-amplifier in order to maximize energy
transfer into the amplifier. This network introduces a phase
shifty to the phase of the signal.
Pre-amplifier:
The pre-amplifier is a low-noise amplifier which amplifies the
signal and feeds it to a quadrature phase detector.
Quadrature phase detector
• The detector accepts the RF NMR signal which consists of a
distribution of frequencies centred around or near the
transmitted frequency w and shifts the signal down in
frequency by w.
• The detector circuit accepts the inputs, the NMR signal V(t)
and a reference signal, and multiplies them, so that the output
is the product of the two inputs. The frequency of the
reference signal is the same as that of the irradiating RF pulse.
The output of the phase-sensitive detector consists of the sum
of two components, one a narrow range of frequencies
centred at 2w0, and the other, a narrow range centred at zero.
• The low pass filter following the phase-sensitive detector
removes all components except those centred at zero from the
signal.
ADC
• It is necessary to convert the complex (two-channel) signal to two
strings of digital numbers by analog-to-digital converters. The A-D
converter output is passed, in serial data form to the computer for
processing.

Gradient System for Spatial Coding:

• Spatial distribution information can be obtained by using the fact that
the resonance frequency depends on the magnetic field strength.
• By varying the field in a known manner through the specimen
volume, it is possible to select the region of the specimen from which
the information is derived on the basis of the frequency of the signal.
• The strength of the signal at each frequency can be interpreted as the
density of the hydrogen nuclei in the plane within the object where
the magnetic field corresponds to that frequency.
• The imaging methods differ mainly in the nature of the
gradient time dependence (static, continuously time-
depended or pulsed), and in the type of NMR pulse
sequence employed.

• Spatial information and therefore images obtained by

super-imposing a linear magnetic field gradient on the
uniform magnetic field applied to the object to be imaged.
When this is done, the resonance frequencies of the
processing nuclei will depend primarily on the positions
along the direction of the magnetic gradient.
• This produces a one-dimensional projection of the structure of
the three- dimensional object. By taking a series of these
projections at different gradient orientations, a two or even
three-dimensional image can be produced.
• In NMR systems, for spatially resolving the signals emitted by
the object, the initially homogeneous magnetic field B0 is
overlaid in all three spatial dimensions, X, Y, Z with small
linear magnetic fields-gradient fields G.
• These gradient fields are produced with die aid of current
carrying coils and can be switched on or off as desired, both
during the application of the RF energy and also in any phase
of the measuring procedure.
• A block diagram of gradient control system is shown in Fig.
given below. The hardware can be broken down into four sub-
system.
• Block diagram of gradient control system. Each X,Yand Z coil pair has its
own control circuit.
1. Serial Parallel Computer
• The first sub-system includes the interface between the computer and the
gradient control system. Its primary function is to allow the independent
positioning of the three planes (X, Y and Z).
2. The digital oscillator
• Consists of a 555 timer followed by shift registers A digital oscillator
facilitates varying itis output frequency over an extremely wide range
through the use of a single control
• The 8-bit input from the interface circuit is used directly to one attenuator
while the same 8-bits are inverted to control the second attenuator. The
output of the attenuators is then voltage-amplified by two op amps prior to
the driven circuits.
• Current control used to adjust the static field gradients be available for
setting the DC levels upon which the alternating gradients are
superimposed .
• An op amp serves the differential voltage drop across a dummy
load and produces an output which is then DC coupled to the
drivers.
• The high current drivers use a conventional design with a
single op amp providing the input to a driver and a
complimentary pair of power transistors to provide a sufficient
current to the gradient coil.
• In typical scanners, gradient coils have an electric resistance of
about l Ohm and an inductance of 1 mH. The gradient fields
are required to be switched from 0 to 10 mT/ m in about 0.5
ms. The current switches from O to about 100 A in this
interval. The power dissipation during the switching interval is
about 20 kW. This places very strong demands on the power
supply and it is often necessary to use water cooling to prevent
overheating of the gradient coils.
• With well-designed coils, errors resulting from non-linear
gradients will perhaps not be evident in a medical image since
the image will remain clear and will not contain rigidly shaped
objects or those with sharp edges for close comparison. But
these gradient coils are usually designed to optimize linearity
in the central region.
• Away from the centre, gradient linearity becomes
progressively worse.
• Without restoration, the image will not give accurate
information on the outer regions.
• Therefore, non-linear field gradients result in a geometrical
distortion of the image reconstructed from projections.
 BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF NMR IMAGING
• The three aspects of NMR imaging which could cause potential
health hazard are:
(i) Heating due to the rf power.
A temperature increase produced in the head of NMR imaging
would be about 0.3°C. This does not seem likely to pose a problem.
(ii) Static magnetic field:
No significant effects of the static field with die level used in NMR
are known, but the possible side effects of electromagnetic fields are
decrease in cognitive skills, mitotic delay in slime moulds, delayed
wound healing and elevated serum triglycerides.
(iii) Electric current induction due to rapid change in magnetic field:
It is believed that oscillating magnetic field gradients may induce
electric currents strong enough to cause ventricular fibrillation.
However, no damage due to NMR from exposures has been
reported. It is suggested that fields should not vary at a rate faster
than 3 tesla/s.
 ADVANTAGES OF NMR IMAGING SYSTEM

1.The NMR provides substantial contrast between soft tissues that

are nearly identical.
2. NMR uses no ionizing radiation and has minimal hazards for
operators of the machines and for patients.
3. Unlike CT, NMR imaging requires no moving parts, gantries or
sophisticated crystal detectors.
4. The system scans by superimposing electrically controlled
magnetic fields consequently, scans in any pre-determined
orientation are possible.
5. With the new techniques being developed, NMR permits imaging
of entire three-dimensional volumes simultaneously instead of
slice by slice, employed in other imaging systems.
6. In NMR both biochemical (spectroscopy) and spatial information
(imaging) can be obtained without destroying the sample.
 Nuclear medicine system - Radiotherapy

 The use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in Radiotherapy

(RT) planning is rapidly expanding.
 There are wide range of image contrast mechanisms available to
MRI and the way they are exploited for RT planning. However a
number of challenges are also considered: the requirements that
MR images are acquired in the RT treatment position, that they are
geometrically accurate, that effects of patient motion during the
scan are minimised, that tissue markers are clearly demonstrated,
that an estimate of electron density can be obtained.
 Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is increasingly being used in
Radiotherapy (RT) planning owing to its superior soft-tissue
contrast compared with CT.
 The advantage of MRI compared with CT scanning for
radiotherapy planning is the excellent soft tissue contrast.
 Contrast agents in MRI are generally paramagnetic, and
produce a strong reduction in T1 and/or T2 of nearby
hydrogen nuclei. The most commonly used contrast agents are
based on a gadolinium chelate, with the dominant effect of
reducing T1. Tissues accessed by these gadolinium agents
therefore appear bright in a T1-weighted image.
 MRI uses low amplitude non-ionising radio waves, unlike CT
scanning which uses ionising radiation. MRI is of particular
benefit for paediatric populations in which radiation dose
needs to be carefully controlled, and in cases where repeat
scans are helpful during treatment both to ensure that the
treatment plan is revised to follow radiation-induced tissue
changes, and also to monitor early response.
 Another feature of MRI is that owing to the method of data
acquisition the slice orientation is not required to be transaxial,
as it is for CT, but can be sagittal, coronal, or at any oblique
angle desired. This enable images to be better aligned with
anatomy. However most radiotherapy planning software still
assumes that images are acquired in the transverse plane, and
it may be a while before this particular feature of MRI can be
optimally utilised.
 ULTRASONIC IMAGING SYSTEMS

• The term ultrasound refers to acoustical waves above the range

of human hearing (frequencies higher than 20.000 Hz).
• Medical ultrasound systems operate at frequencies of up to 10
MHz or more.
• An ultrasonic wave is acoustical; i.e., it is a mechanical wave in
a gaseous, liquid, or solid medium. Such mechanical waves
consists of alternating areas of higher and lower pressures,
called compression and rarefaction zones, respectively.
• Ultrasonic imaging is used in medicine, engineering, geology,
and other scientific areas. Radio signals are electromagnetic
waves, while medical ultrasound signals are acoustical
 Properties of Ultrasound and X-rays
• Ultrasound rays are Non-invasive, While X-rays are invasive.
• Ultrasound rays are Externally applied and non-traumatic, also apparently safe at
the acoustical intensities. While X-rays only respond to atomic weight differences
and often require the injection of a more dense contrast medium for visualization of
non-bony tissues.
• Diagnostic ultrasound is applied for obtaining images of almost the entire range of
internal organs in the abdomen
• These include the kidney, liver, spleen, pancreas, bladder, major blood vessels and
of course, the foetus during pregnancy.
• It has also been usefully employed to present pictures of the thyroid gland, the
eyes, the breasts and a variety of other superficial structures.
• In a number of medically meaningful cases, ultrasonic diagnostics has made
possible the detection of cysts, tumours or cancer in these organs .
• The main limitation of ultrasound is that it is almost completely reflected at
boundaries with gas and is a serious restriction in investigation of and through gas-
containing structures.
• 8. Ultrasonic waves are sound waves associated with frequencies above the audible
range and generally extend upward from 20 kHz.
 Characteristics

• Ultrasonic waves can be easily focused, i.e., they are

directional and beams can be obtained with very little
spreading.
• They are inaudible and are suitable for applications where
it is not advantageous to employ audible frequencies.
• By using high frequency ultrasonic waves which are
associated with shorter wavelengths, it is possible to
investigate the properties of very small structures.
• Information obtained by ultrasound, particularly in
dynamic studies, cannot be acquired by any other more
convenient technique.
 Use of ultrasound in Medical Field

• The use of ultrasound in the medical field can be divided into two major areas: the
therapeutic and the diagnostic.
• The major difference between the two applications is the ultrasonic power level at
which the equipment operates.
• In therapeutic applications, the systems operate at ultrasonic power levels of up to
several watts per square centimeter while the diagnostic equipment operates at
power levels of well below 100 in W/ cm'.
• The therapeutic equipment is designed to agitate the tissue to the level where
thermal heating occurs in the tissue, and experimentally has been found to be quite
successful in its effects for the treatment of muscular ailments such as lumbago.
• For diagnostic purposes, on the other hand, as long as a sufficient amount of signal
has returned for electronic processing, no additional energy is necessary. Therefore,
considerably lower ultrasonic power levels are employed for diagnostic
applications.
 BASIC PULSE ECHO SYSTEM

• The pulse-echo technique, basically, consists in

transmitting a train of short duration ultrasonic pulses into
the body and detecting the energy reflected by a surface
or boundary separating two media of different specific
acoustic impedances.
• With this technique, the presence of a discontinuity can
be conveniently established and its position located if the
velocity of travel of ultrasound in the medium is known
also, it is possible to determine the magnitude of
discontinuity and to assess its physical size.
• The basic layout of the apparatus based on this principle is
shown in Fig. given below
Basic Principle
• The transmitter generates a train of short duration pulses at a
repetition frequency determined by the PRF generator.
• These are converted in to corresponding pulses of ultrasonic waves
by a piezoelectric crystal acting as the transmitting transducer.
• The echoes from the target or discontinuity are picked up by the
same transducer and amplified suitably for display on a cathode ray
tube.
• The X plates of the CRT are driven by the time base which starts at
the instant when the transmitter radiates a pulse.
• In this way, the position of the echo along the trace is proportional
to the time taken for a pulse to travel from the transmitter to the
discontinuity and back again. Knowing the velocity of ultrasonic
waves and the speed of the horizontal movement of trace on the
CRT, the distance of the target from the transmitting end can be
estimated.
Transducer
• The transducer consists of a piezo-electric crystal which generates
and detects ultrasonic pulses.
• The piezo-electric materials generally used are barium titanate and
lead zirconate titanate.
• When the transducer is excited at its resonance frequency, it will
continue to vibrate mechanically for some time after the electrical
signal ceases. This effect is known as 'after ringing' and destroys the
precision with which the emission or detection of a signal can be
timed. To reduce it, the transducer must have a good transient
response and consequently a low Q is desirable. To achieve this, the
transducers are normally damped.
• The probes are designed to achieve the highest sensitivity and
penetration, optimum focal characteristics and the best possible
resolution. This requires that the acoustic energy be transmitted
efficiently into the patient.
Pulse Repetition Frequency Generator
• This unit produces a train of pulses which control the sequence of
events in the rest of the equipment. The PRF is usually kept
between 500 Hz to 3 kHz.
• Oscillator or some form of the astable multi-vibrator can be used as
the PRF Generator.
• The width of the output pulse from the PRF generator should be
very small, preferably of the order of a micro-second, to generate
short duration ultrasonic pulse.
• Generally astable circuit is used to generate train of pulses with the
required frequency and then to use them to trigger a mono-stable
multi-vibrator which produces pulses of the required width. With
the short pulse duration and the repetition rate of 1 kHz, only a few
micro-seconds are occupied by the emission of the pulse, and the
transducer is free to act as a receiver for the remainder of the time.
Transmitter
• The transmitter is driven by a pulse from the PRF generator
and is made to trigger an SCR circuit which discharges
capacitor through the piezo-electric crystal in the probe to
generate an ultrasonic signal. The circuit typically employed is
shown in Fig.
• Under normal conditions, the SCR is non-conducting. The
capacitor C, can charge through the resistance R to the +V
potential.
• If a short triggering positive pulse is applied to the gate of
the SCR. it will fire and conduct for a short time.
Consequently, the voltage at ‘A’ will fall rapidly resulting in
a short duration, high voltage pulse at ‘B*.
• This pulse appears across the crystal which generates short
duration ultrasonic pulse. For producing a pulse with a very
short duration it is necessary to use an SCR with a fast turn
’on' time and high switching current capability, which can
be able to withstand the required supply voltage.
Receiver:

• The function of the receiver is to obtain the signal from the

transducer and to extract from it the best possible
representation of an echo pattern.
• To avoid significant worsening of the axial resolution, the
receiver bandwidth is about twice the effective transducer
bandwidth
Wide Rand Amplifier:
• The echo-signals received at the receiving transducer may be as small as
a few microvolts.

• This is achieved in a wide-band amplifier, which is wide enough to

faithfully reproduce the received echoes and to permit the use of
different transducers operating at several different frequencies.
• A desirable gain of wide hand amplifier is of the order of 80-100 dB. It
must also have a very wide dynamic range.
• The amplifier must also have a low noise level to receive echoes from
deep targets. The Input amplifier is usually a dual gate MOSFET which
is very suitable lor high frequency signals and provides a high input
impedance to the signals from the transducer.
• Due to the wide dynamic range of echo-amplitudes that are contained in
an ultrasonic image, a log amplifier is usually utilized. By utilizing a log
amplifier, one can see small relative differences in both low amplitude
and high amplitude echoes in the same image.
Swept Gain Control:
• The receiving amplifier can only accept a limited range of input signals
without overloading and distortion. Abrupt changes in tissue properties
that shift the acoustical impedance can cause the echo amplitudes to vary
over a wide dynamic range, perhaps 40 to GO dB.

Detector:

• Alter the logarithmic amplification, the echo signals are rectified in the
detector circuit. The detector employed could he of the conventional
diode-capacitor type with an inductive filter to have additional filtering of
the earner frequency.
• In this rectification process, the negative half-cycles in the echo voltage
waveforms are convened into positive half-cycles. This is followed by a
demodulation circuit in which the fundamental frequency signal upon
which the echo amplitude information has been riding, is eliminated.
• The output of the demodulator circuit is in the form of an envelope of the
echo signal.
Video Amplifier:
• The signal requires further amplification after its demodulation in
detector circuit before it can be given to the Y- plates of the Cathode
ray tube (CRT). The output of the detector circuit is typically around I
V. but for display on the CRT. the signal must be amplified to about 100
to 1000 V. In addition to this, the amplifier must have a good transient
response with minimum possible overshoot. The most commonly used
video amplifier is the RC coupled type, having an inductance in series
with the collector load.

Time Delay Unit:

• Time base will begin to move the spot across the CRT face at the same
moment as the SCR is fired. If desired, in special cases, the start of the
trace can be delayed by the time delay unit so that the trace can be
expanded to obtain better display and examination of a distant echo.
Time Base:
• The Time base speed is adjusted so that echoes from deepest
structures of interest will appear on the screen before the beam
has completely traversed It.
• Taking the speed of ultrasound in soft tissue to be about 1500
m/s, a time of 13.3 micro sec. must be allowed for each
centimeter that the reflecting interlace is below the surface.
• In many applications, distance markers appropriate to each time-
base setting appear directly on the screen, which greatly simplifies
distance measurements.
• Several standard circuits are available for generating the sawtooth
waveform to provide a time base suitable for horizontal deflection
of the spot on the CRT screen. The horizontal sweep generator is
controlled by the PRF generator as die sweep starts at the moment
that the transmitting pulse is applied to the transducer.
Time Marker:
• The time marker produces pulses that are a known time apart
and, therefore, respond to a known distance apart in human
tissues. These marker pulses are given to the video amplifier
and then to the Y plates for display along with the echoes.

Display:
• After amplification in the video amplifier, the signal is given
to die Y plates of die CRT. CRT is not only a fast-acting device
but also gives a clear presentation of the received echo signals.
PROPAGATION OF ULTRASONIC THROUGH TISSUES
AND REFLECTIONS
• Ultrasound waves are vibrations or disturbances consisting of
alternating zones of compression and rarefaction in a physical
medium such as gas, liquid, or solid matter.
• All waves, including both acoustical and electromagnetic (or
ocean waves, for that matter) possess three related attributes:
frequency (F). wavelength (X), and velocity (V).
• Frequency: is defined as the number of complete cycles per unit
of time. The basic unit of cycles is the hertz (Hz), which equals
one cycle per second (1 Hz = 1 cps);
• Wavelength: is the distance traveled by one cycle propagating
away from the source and is expressed in meters (m), or
subunits centimeters (cm) or millimeters (mm). The wavelength
is also the distance between successive identical features on
successive cycles.
• Velocity: is the speed of propagation of the wave. In radio signals, the
velocity is the speed of light (c), or 300.000,000 m/s. In human tissue,
ultrasound propagates at a much slower rate. i.e.. around 1500 m/s.
• The two forms are
1. Longitudinal Propagation
• In the longitudinal form, the waves propagate in the same direction as the
zones of compression and rarefaction.
2. Transverse Propagation
• In transverse propagation, the waves propagate in a direction orthogonal
(at right angles) to the direction of the zones of compression and
rarefaction. Transverse propagation occurs when the wave propagate
along the surface of the medium, as on the surface of a container of water
or the surface of a bone.

• In medical ultrasound both forms are seen. While the main mode is
longitudinal propagation, a mode conversion to transverse propagation
can occur. Mode conversion is associated with a significant loss of signal
level.
• Ultrasound travels freely through fluid and soft tissues. However,
ultrasound bounces back (is reflected back) as echoes when it hits a more
solid (dense) surface.
• For example, the ultrasound will travel freely though blood in a heart
chamber. But, when it hits a solid valve, a lot of the ultrasound echoes
back. Another example is that when ultrasound travels though bile in a
gallbladder it will echo back strongly if it hits a solid gallstone. So, as
ultrasound 'hits' different structures of different density in the body, it
sends back echoes of varying strength.
• Ultrasonography (sonography) uses a probe containing multiple acoustic
transducers to send pulses of sound into a material. Whenever a sound
wave encounters a material with a different density (acoustical
impedance), part of the sound wave is reflected back to the probe and is
detected as an echo. The time it takes for the echo to travel back to the
probe is measured and used to calculate the depth of the tissue interface
causing the echo. The greater the difference between acoustic impedances,
the larger the echo is. If the pulse hits gases or solids, the density
difference is so great that most of the acoustic energy is reflected and it
becomes impossible to see deeper.
• Figure given below illustrates the situation for reflection and
refraction.
• At the boundary between two zones of different density,
some of the wave energy is reflected back into the
original medium, and some propagates into the second
medium but is refracted (i.e.. changes its direction of
travel).

• if the incident wave impinges on the surface or boundary

at an angle of 90 degrees (i.e.. it is coincident with the
normal line), it will be reflected back on itself. But if the
angle is other than 90 degrees, then the reflected wave
will travel away from the surface at the same angle.
• Refraction phenomena affect the portion of the incident
wave that enters the second medium.
Specular reflection, diffuse reflection, and scattering
• A single incident ray resulting in a single reflected mi is
termed specular reflection.
• In medical ultrasound systems this rarely occurs because it
requires a flat surface that is large compared with the
wavelength of the signal. In most situations, however, the 1
surface is rough and thus so produces diffuse reflections.
DISPLAY TYPES OR IMAGING MODES
• Various imaging modes or display types found in today's
ultrasound systems are:

A-mode (Amplitude Mode):

• A-scan mode uses a stationary transducer to fire a pulse into
tissue. The oscilloscope or hard-copy readout scans time along
the horizontal axis and plots the signal amplitude along the
vertical axis. A large spike at the left corner (unless it is
suppressed) represents the transmit spike. The tissue at the
interface with the transducer will produce some near-field
scatter immediately to the right of the transmit spike. Other
spikes represent reflections from targets within the tissue.
• This mode displays the amplitude of a sampled voltage signal for a
single sound wave as a function of time.
• This mode is considered One Dimensional and used to
measure the distance between two objects by dividing
the speed of sound by half of the measured time
between the peaks in the A-mode plot.

• For A-scan applications, the CRT is usually of the

electrostatic deflection type. It is better to use CRT with
post-deflection acceleration of the electron beam so that
a very bright trace is obtained with lower deflecting
voltages on the plates. The cathode ray tube should
preferably be a flat face type to eliminate screen
curvature error. A variable persistence scope with
storage facilities would be useful for prolonged viewing.
Applications:
1. Echoencephalograph:
• In the normal brain, the mid-line surfaces are parallel to the flat areas of
the bone near the ear. When there is a head injury, the brain gets tilted to
one side or the other due to bleeding, but it still retains its normal shape.
In such cases, the echoes can be easily obtained but they are placed at
different distances from the probe, when the probe is placed first on one
side and then on the other side of the skull.
2. Echo-ophthalmoscope
• A-mode ultrasonic technique was found to be useful in ophthalmology
for the diagnosis of retinal detachments, intra-ocular tumours, vitreous
opacities, orbital tumours, and lens dislocation. It helps in the
measurement of axial length in patients with progressive myopia,
localization of intra-ocular foreign bodies and extraction of nonmagnetic
foreign bodies.
• Echo-ophthalmoscopy employs a 7.5-15 MHz pencil type transducer. The
transmitted pulse should be of very small width (in nanosec) and range.
B-mode (Brightness) imaging is the same as A-mode, except that
brightness is used to represent the amplitude of the sampled
signal. B mode imaging is performed by sweeping the
transmitted sound wave over the plane to produce a 2D image.
• A-Mode display is very difficult to interpret when many
echoes are present simultaneously and often potentially useful
information is wasted. A pictorial display can be conceived as
a means of simultaneously presenting the echo information as
well as information about the position of the probe and the
direction of propagation of the sound. This is achieved in the
B-scan display which results from brightness modulation with
amplitude of the echoes obtained for various probe positions
and orientations to produce a cross-sectional image of the
object integrated by a storage display from individual scans.
• The B-scan mode may use the same lime base as the A-scan but plots the
strength of the returning signal as changes in brightness, i.e., a strong
reflection is brighter than the weaker reflection. When the transducer is
mechanically scanned back and forth, successive images are built up. allowing
a two-dimensional (2-D) view of the underlying structure. Again, the strength
of the reflection is graphed by the brightness of the cathode ray tube display.
M-mode (Motion) display
• M-mode (Motion) display refers to scanning a single line in the object and then
displaying the resulting amplitudes successively. This shows the movement of
a structure such as heart. Because of its high pulse frequency (up to 1000
pulses per second), this is useful in assessing rates and motion and is used
extensively in cardiac and foetal cardiac imaging.
• M-mode (M for motion) is a technique that uses B-mode information to
display the echoes from a moving organ, such as the myocardium and valve
leaflets, from a fixed transducer position and beam direction on the patient.
• The echo data from a single ultrasound beam passing through moving anatomy
are acquired and displayed as a function of time, represented by reflector depth
on the vertical axis (beam path direction) and time on the horizontal axis.
• M-mode can provide excellent temporal resolution of motion patterns,
allowing the evaluation of the function of heart valves and other cardiac
anatomy.
• Only anatomy along a single line through the patient is represented by the M-
mode technique.
• If one of the echo sources is a moving structure, then the echo
dots of light from that structure will also move back and forth.
If the dots are made to move with an electronic sweep, from
bottom to the top of the screen at a pre-selected rate of speed,
the moving dots will trace out the motion pattern of the
moving structure. This display is known as M-mode display. If
a photographic film is continuously exposed to one sweep
cycle of this display, a composite picture will result, providing
a waveform representation of the motion pattern of the moving
structure. Alternately, thermal video printers are used for
recording the M-mode information.