Albany Medical Center
Department of Emergency Medicine
Ultrasound Division

Topics

Physics
Knobology
Scanning Technique

Objectives

• 1. Describe impedance, attenuation and resolution as they relate to US.
  

• 2. Discuss briefly tissue properties and how they can be used to enhance image acquisition.
  

• 3. Understand the importance of scanning in 2 planes to generate a 3D conceptual image.
  

• 4. Knobology - explain concepts of gain, time gain compensation (TGC), focal zone, depth, frequency, B-mode, M-mode
  

• 5. Artifacts:
  

• • a. A feeling for the assumptions made by an ultrasound imaging systems.
    

  • b. List the types of imaging artifacts - reverberation, ring down, shadow, edge artifact, enhancement, focal enhancement, mirror, and lobe.
    

  • c. Discuss the causes of these artifacts.
    

• 6. Discuss axial and lateral resolution.
  

• 7. Understand ultrasound orientation in the sagittal/long and transverse planes.
  

• 8. Understand the importance of scanning perpendicular to an object.
  

• 9. Understand appropriate technique for holding the probe.
  

Hands on Experience

Start to obtain good hand control. Get used to staying centered on an object. Trace blood vessels and get comfortable switching from long to short axis while keeping the object in constant view. Play with the features on the sonosite.

Easy scans , may be obtained with poor technique while hard scans will never be obtained with poor technique.

Quiz

Take the ACEP Ultrasound Physics quiz and bring a printout of the results to the meeting.