Sono Savvy - Physics

Understand the third dimension of the ultrasound beam, how slice thickness affects image quality, and how array design, elevational focusing, and related beam behavior influence what appears on the image.

Learn how different transducer designs create, focus, steer, and sequence the ultrasound beam, and how those design choices affect image shape, footprint, and clinical use.

Learn the three fundamental ultrasound display modes, how each represents returning echoes, and how amplitude, brightness, and motion are displayed differently. 

Break down axial and lateral resolution, what determines each one, and why pulse length, beam width, and focusing affect the system’s ability to distinguish structures that are close together. 

Learn how ultrasound beams are shaped, where they narrow and widen, what determines focal depth, and how beam diameter changes through the near and far field.

Explore how ultrasound transducers create and receive sound, including their basic construction, the piezoelectric effect, and the key components that make pulse-echo imaging possible.

Learn how time-of-flight is used to determine reflector depth and why accurate distance calculations depend on assumptions about how fast sound travels through tissue.

Explore what happens when sound reaches an interface, including acoustic impedance, reflection, transmission, and refraction—and how those interactions affect echoes, artifacts, and scanning technique.

Learn how ultrasound loses energy as it travels through tissue, how decibels and attenuation coefficient describe that loss, and why frequency and distance matter for penetration and image quality.

This episode covers how ultrasound intensity is measured and reported, including spatial and temporal intensity concepts, how they’re combined, and the key rules for comparing different intensity measurements.