ULTRASOUND

TRANSDUCERS AND
RESOLUTION
Dr V S R Bhupal

 Ultrasound

is produced and detected

with a transducer, composed of one or
more ceramic elements with
electromechanical (piezoelectric)
properties.

The ceramic element converts electrical

energy into mechanical energy to produce

ultrasound and mechanical energy into
electrical energy for ultrasound detection.

Over the past several decades, the transducer

assembly has evolved considerably in design,
function, and capability, from a single-element
resonance crystal to a broadband transducer
array of hundreds of individual elements.

A simple single-element, plane-piston source

transducer has major components including the

piezoelectric material,
matching layer,
backing block,
acoustic absorber,
insulating cover,
sensor electrodes, and
transducer housing.

Piezoelectric Materials
A

piezoelectric material (often a crystal

or ceramic) is the functional component
of the transducer.

It converts electrical energy into mechanical

(sound) energy by physical deformation of the

crystal structure.

 ConverseIy,

mechanical pressure applied

to its surface creates electrical energy.

Piezoelectric materials are characterized by a

well-defined molecular arrangement of
electrical dipoles.

 An

electrical dipole is a molecular entity

containing positive and negative electric
charges that has no net charge.

When mechanically compressed by an

externally applied pressure, the alignment of

the dipoles is disturbed from the equilibrium
position to cause an imbalance of the charge
distribution.

potential difference (voltage) is created

across the element with one surface
maintaining a net positive charge and
one surface a net negative charge.

Surface electrodes measure the voltage,

which is proportional to the incident
mechanical pressure amplitude.

 Conversely,

application of an external
voltage through conductors attached to
the surface electrodes induces the
mechanical expansion and contraction of
the transducer element.

 There

are natural and synthetic

piezoelectric materials.

An example of a natural piezoelectric material

is quartz crystal, commonly used in watches

and other time pieces to provide a mechanical
vibration source at 32.768 kHz for interval
timing.

This is one of several oscillation frequencies of

quartz, determined by the crystal cut and
machining properties.

Ultrasound transducers for medical imaging

applications employ a synthetic piezoelectric
ceramic, most often lead-zirconate-titanate
(PZT).

The piezoelectric attributes are attained after a process

of

Molecular synthesis,
Heating,
Orientation of internal dipole structures with an applied
external voltage,
Cooling to permanently maintain the dipole orientation,
and
Cutting into a specific shape.

For PZT in its natural state, no piezoelectric

properties are exhibited; however, heating the
material past its Curie temperature (i.e., 3280
C to 3650 C) and applying an external voltage
causes the dipoles to align in the ceramic.

The external voltage is maintained until the material

has cooled to below its Curie temperature.

Once the material has cooled, the dipoles retain their

alignment.

 At

equilibrium, there is no net charge on

ceramic surfaces.

When compressed, an imbalance of charge

produces a voltage between the surfaces.

Similarly, when a voltage is applied between

electrodes attached to both surfaces, mechanical

deformation occurs.

 The

piezoelectric element is composed

of aligned molecular dipoles.

 Under

the influence of mechanical

pressure from an adjacent medium
(e.g., an ultrasound echo), the element
thickness

Contracts (at the peak pressure amplitude),

Achieves equilibrium (with no pressure) or
Expands (at the peak rarefactional pressure),

This causes realignment of the electrical dipoles to

produce positive and negative surface charge.

 Surface

electrodes measure the

voltage as a function of time.

 An

external voltage source applied to the

element surfaces causes compression or
expansion from equilibrium by
realignment of the dipoles in response to
the electrical attraction or repulsion
force.

Resonance Transducers

Resonance transducers for pulse echo

ultrasound imaging are manufactured to
operate in a resonance mode, whereby a
voItage (commonly 150 V) of very short
duration (a voltage spike of 1 sec) is
applied, causing the piezoelectric material to
initially contract, and subsequently vibrate at a
natural resonance frequency.

This frequency is selected by the thickness cut, due

to the preferential emission of ultrasound waves
whose wavelength is twice the thickness of the
piezoelectric material.

 The

operating frequency is determined

from the speed of sound in, and the
thickness of, the piezoelectric material.

For example, a 5-MHz transducer will have a

wavelength in PZT (speed of sound in PZT is

4,000 m/sec) of

c 4000 m / sec
4

10
meters 0.80 mm
6
f
5 10 / sec

A short duration
voltage spike causes
the resonance
piezoelectric element
to vibrate at its
natural frequency, fo,
which is determined
by the thickness of
the transducer equal
to 1/A.

 To

achieve the 5-MHz resonance

frequency, a transducer element
thickness of X 0.8 mm = 0.4 mm is
required.

Higher frequencies are achieved with thinner

elements, and lower frequencies with thicker
elements.

Resonance transducers transmit and receive

preferentially at a single center frequency.

Damping Block

The damping block, layered on the back of the

piezoelectric element, absorbs the backward
directed ultrasound energy and attenuates
stray ultrasound signals from the housing.

This component also dampens the transducer

vibration to create an ultrasound pulse width and short
spatial pulse length, which is necessary to preserve
detail along he beam axis (axial resolution).

 Dampening

of the vibration (also known

as ring-down) lessens the purity of the
resonance frequency and introduces a
broadband frequency spectrum.

With ring-down, an increase in the bandwidth

(range of frequencies) of the ultrasound pulse

occurs by introducing higher and lower
frequencies above and below the center
(resonance) frequency.

The Q factor describes the bandwidth of the

sound emanating from a transducer as
fo
Q
Bandwidth

where fo is the center frequency and the

bandwidth is the width of the frequency
distribution.

high Q transducer has a narrow

bandwidth (i.e., very little damping) and a
corresponding long spatial pulse length.

A low Q transducer has a wide bandwidth

and short spatial pulse length.

 Imaging

applications require a broad

bandwidth transducer in order to achieve
high spatial resolution along the direction
of beam travel.

Blood velocity measurements by Doppler

instrumentation require a relatively narrowband transducer response in order to preserve

velocity information encoded by changes in
the echo frequency relative to the incident
frequency.

 Continuous-wave

ultrasound transducers
have a very high Q characteristic.

While the Q factor is derived from the term

quality factor, a transducer with a low Q does

not imply poor quality in the signal.

Matching Layer

The matching layer provides the interface

between the transducer element and the tissue
and minimizes the acoustic impedance
differences between the transducer and the
patient.

It consists of layers of materials with acoustic

impedances that are intermediate to those of soft
tissue and the transducer material.

The thickness of each layer is equal to one-fourth the

wavelength, determined from the center operating

frequency of the transducer and speed of sound in the
matching layer.

 For

example, the wavelength of sound in

a matching layer with a speed of sound
of 2,000 m/sec for a 5-MHz ultrasound
beam is 0.4 mm.

The optimal matching layer thickness is equal

to = x 0.4 mm = 0. 1 mm.

In addition to the matching layers, acoustic

coupling gel (with acoustic impedance similar to

soft tissue) is used between the transducer and the
skin of the patient to eliminate air pockets that
could attenuate and reflect the ultrasound beam.

Nonresonance (Broad-Bandwidth)
Multifrequency Transducers

Modern transducer design coupled with digital

signal processing enables multifrequency or
multihertz transducer operation, whereby rhe
center frequency can be adjusted in he
transmit mode.

Unlike the resonance transducer design, the

piezoelectric element is intricately machined into a
large number of small rods, and then filled with an
epoxy resin to create a smooth surface.

 The

acoustic properties are closer to

tissue than a pure PZT material, and
thus provide a greater transmission
efficiency of the ultrasound beam without
resorting to multiple matching layers.

Multifrequency transducers have bandwidths

that exceed 80% of the center frequency.

 Excitation

of the multifrequency
transducer is accomplished with a short
square wave burst of 150 V with one to
three cycles, unlike the voltage spike
used for resonance transducers.

This allows the center frequency to be

selected within the limits of the transducer

bandwidth.

 Likewise,

the broad bandwidth response

permits the reception of echoes within a
wide range of frequencies.

For instance, ultrasound pulses can be

produced at a low frequency, and the echoes

received at higher frequency.

 Harmonic

imaging is a recently
introduced technique that uses this
ability;

lower frequency ultrasound is transmitted into

the patient, and the higher frequency

harmonics (e.g., two times the transmitted
center frequency) created from the interaction
with contrast agents and tissues, are received
as echoes.

 Native

tissue harmonic imaging has

certain advantages including greater
depth of penetration, noise and clutter
removal, and improved lateral spatial
resolution.

Transducer Arrays
The

majority of ultrasound systems

employ transducers with many individual
rectangular piezoelectric elements
arranged in linear or curvilinear arrays.

Typically, 128 to 512 individual rectangular

elements compose the transducer assembly.

Each element has a width typically less than half

the wavelength and a length of several millimeters.

Two modes of
activation are used
to produce a beam.

These are the linear

(sequential) and
phased
activation/receive
modes.

Linear Arrays
Linear

array transducers typically contain

256 to 512 elements; physically these
are the largest transducer assemblies.

 In

operation, the simultaneous firing of a

small group of 20 adjacent elements
produces the ultrasound beam.

The simultaneous activation produces a

synthetic aperture (effetive transducer width)

defined by the number of active elements.

 Echoes

are detected in the receive mode

by acquiring signals from most of the
transducer elements.

Subsequent A-line acquisition occurs by

firing another group of transducer elements

displaced by one or two elements.

rectangular field of view is produced

with this transducer arrangement.

For a curvilinear array, a trapezoidal field of

view is produced.

Phased Arrays
A

phased-array transducer is usually

composed of 64 to 128 individual
elements in a smaller package than a
linear array transducer.

All transducer elements are activated nearly

(but not exactly) simultaneously to produce a

single ultrasound beam.

By using time delays in the electrical activarion

of the discrete elements across the face of the
transducer, the ultrasound beam can be
steered and focused electronically without
moving the transducer.

During ultrasound signal reception, all of the

transducer elements detect the returning echoes from
the beam path, and sophisticated algorithms
synthesize the image from the detected data.

BEAM PROPERTIES
The

ultrasound beam propagates as a

longitudinal wave from the transducer
surface into the propagation medium,
and exhibits two distinct beam patterns:

a slightly converging beam out to a distance

specified by the geometry and frequency of

the transducer (the near field), and
a diverging beam beyond that point (the far
field).

For an unfocused,
single-element
transducer, the
length of the near
field is determined
by the transducer
diameter and the
frequency of the
transmitted sound.

 For

multiple transducer element arrays,

an effective transducer diameter is
determined by the excitation of a group
of transducer elements.

Because of the interactions of each of the

individual beams and the ability to focus

and steer the overall beam, the formulas
for a single-element, unfocused transducer
are not directly applicable.

The Near Field

The

near field, also known as the

Fresnel zone, is adjacent to the
transducer face and has a converging
beam profile.

Beam convergence in the near field occurs

because of multiple constructive and
destructive interference patterns of the
ultrasound waves from the transducer
surface.

 Huygens

principle describes a large

transducer surface as an infinite
number of point sources of sound
energy where each point is
characterized as a radial emitter.

By analogy, a pebble dropped in a quiet pond

creates a radial wave pattern.

As individual wave
patterns interact, the
peaks and troughs from
adjacent sources
constructively and
destructively interfere,
causing the beam profile
to be tightly collimated in
the near field.

 The

ultrasound beam path is thus largely

confined to the dimensions of the active
portion of the transducer surface, with
the beam diameter converging to
approximately half the transducer
diameter at the end of the near field.

 The

near field length is dependent on the

transducer frequency and diameter:
d 2 r2
Near field length

where d is the transducer diameter, r is the

transducer radius, and is the wavelength of

ultrasound in the propagation medium.

soft tissue, = 1.54mm/f(MHz), and

the near field length can be expressed
as a function of frequency:

In

d2
mm 2 MHz
Near field length
mm
4 1.54

A higher transducer
frequency (shorter
wavelength) will
result in a longer
near field, as will a
larger diameter
element.

 For

a 10-mm-diameter transducer, the

near field extends 5.7 cm at 3.5 MHz and
16.2 cm at 10 MHz in soft tissue.

For a 15-mm-diameter transducer, the

corresponding near field lengths are 12.8 and

36.4 cm, respectively.

 Lateral

resolution (the ability of the

system to resolve objects in a direction
perpendicular to the beam direction) is
dependent on the beam diameter and is
best at the end of the near field for a
single-element transducer.

Lateral resolution is worst in areas close to

and far from the transducer surface.

 Pressure

amplitude characteristics in the

near field are very complex, caused by
the constructive and destructive
interference wave patterns of the
ultrasound beam.

Peak ultrasound pressure occurs at the end

of the near field, corresponding to the

minimum beam diameter for a single-element
transducer.

 Pressures

vary rapidly from peak

compression to peak rarefaction several
times during transit through the near
field.

Only when the far field is reached do the

ultrasound pressure variations decrease
continuously.

 The

far field is also known as the

Fraunhofer zone, and is where the beam
diverges.

For a large-area single-element transducer, the

angle of ultrasound beam divergence, 0, for the

far field is given by

sin 1.22
d

where d is the effective diameter of the

transducer and is the wavelength; both must

have the same units of distance.

 Less

beam divergence occurs with highfrequency, large-diameter transducers.

Unlike the near field, where beam intensity

varies from maximum to minimum to

maximum in a converging beam, ultrasound
intensity in the far field decreases
monotonically with distance.

Transducer Array Beam

Formation and Focusing
In

a transducer array, the narrow

piezoelectric element width (typically less
than one wavelength) produces a
diverging beam at a distance very close
to the transducer face.

Formation and convergence of the ultrasound

beam occurs with the operation of several or
all of the transducer elements at the same
time.

Transducer elements in a linear array that are

fired simultaneously produce an effective
transducer width equal to the sum of the
widths of the individual elements.

Individual beams interact via constructive and

destructive interference to produce a collimated

beam that has properties similar to the properties
of a single transducer of the same size.

 With

a phased-array transducer, the

beam is formed by interaction of the
individual wave fronts from each
transducer, each with a slight difference
in excitation time.

Minor phase differences of adjacent beams

form constructive and destructive wave
summations that steer or focus the beam
profile.

COMMON TRANSDUCERS USED

IN CLINICAL SETTING

STRAIGHT LINEAR ARRAY

The
straight linear array probe is designed
PROBE
for superficial imaging.
The crystals are aligned in a linear fashion
within a flat head and produce sound
waves in a straight line.
The image produced is rectangular in
shape.

 This

probe has higher frequencies (513

MHz), which provides better resolution
and less penetration.
Therefore, this probe is ideal for imaging
superficial structures and in ultrasoundguided procedures.

Vascular access
Evaluate for deep venous thrombosis
Skin and soft tissue for abscess, foreign
body
Musculoskeletaltendons, bones,
muscles

CURVILINEAR ARRAY PROBE

The

curvilinear array or convex probe is

used for scanning deeper structures. The
crystals are aligned along a curved
surface and cause a fanning out of the
beam, which results in a field of view that
is wider than the probes footprint.

 The

image generated is sector shaped. These

probes have frequencies ranging between 1 and
8 MHz, which allows for greater penetration, but
less resolution. These probes are most often
used in abdominal and pelvic applications.
They are also useful in certain musculoskeletal
evaluations or procedures when deeper
anatomy needs to be imaged or in obese
patients.

 Abdominal

aorta
Biliary/gallbladder/liver/pancreas
Abdominal portion of FAST exam
Kidney and bladder evaluation
Transabdominal pelvic evaluation

ENDOCAVITARY PROBE
The

endocavitary probe also has a

curved face, but a much higher frequency
(813 MHz) than the curvilinear probe.
This probes elongated shape allows it to
be inserted close to the anatomy being
evaluated.

 The

curved face creates a wide field of

view of almost 180 and its high
frequencies provide superior resolution .
This probe is used most commonly for
gynecological applications, but can also
be used for intraoral evaluation of
peritonsillar abscesses.
Transvaginal ultrasound
Intraoral

PHASED ARRAY PROBE

Phased

array probes (Fig. 4-4a) have

crystals that are grouped closely
together.
The timing of the electrical pulses that
are applied to the crystals varies and
they are fired in an oscillating manner.

 The

sound waves that are generated

originate from a single point and fan
outward, creating a sector-type image. This
probe has a smaller and flatter footprint
than the curvilinear one, which allows the
user to maneuver more easily between the
ribs and small spaces. These probes have
frequencies between 2 and 8 MHz.

IVUS PROBE
IVUS

is a miniature ultrasound probe

positioned at the tip of a coronary
catheter.
The probe emits ultrasound frequencies,
typically at 20-45 MHz, and the signal is
reflected from surrounding tissue and
reconstructed into a real-time
tomographic gray-scale image.

Spatial Resolution

 In

ultrasound, the major factor that limits

the spatial resolution and visibility of
detail is the volume of the acoustic pulse.

The axial, lateral,

and elevational (slice
thickness)
dimensions
determine the
minimal volume
element.

 Each

dimension has an effect on the

resolvability of objects in the image.

Axial Resolution
Axial

resolution (also known as linear,

range, longitudinal, or depth resolution)
refers to the ability to discern two closely
spaced objects in the direction of the
beam.

Achieving good axial resolution requires that

the returning echoes be distinct without
overlap.

 The

minimal required separation

distance between two reflectors is onehalf of the spatial pulse length (SPL) to
avoid the overlap of returning echoes, as
the distance traveled between two
reflectors is twice the separation
distance.

Objects spaced
closer than SPL
will not be resolved.

 The

SPL is the number of cycles emitted

per pulse by the transducer multiplied by
the wavelength.

Shorter pulses, producing better axial

resolution, can be achieved with greater

damping of the transducer element (to reduce
the pulse duration and number of cycles) or
with higher frequency (to reduce wavelength).

 For

imaging applications, the ultrasound

pulse typically consists of three cycles.

At 5 MHz (wavelength of 0.31 mm), the SPL

is about 3 x 0.31 0.93 mm, which provides an

axial resolution of /2(0.93 mm) = 0.47 mm.

 At

a given frequency, shorter pulse

lengths require heavy damping and low
Q, broad-bandwidth operation.

For a constant damping factor, higher

frequencies (shorter wavelengths) give better

axial resolution, but the imaging depth is
reduced.

Axial resolution remains constant with depth.

Lateral Resolution
Lateral

resolution, also known as

azimuthal resolution, refers to the ability
to discern as separate two closely
spaced objects perpendicular to the
beam direction.

For both single

element transducers
and multielement
array transducers,
the beam diameter
determines the
lateral resolution.

 Since

the beam diameter varies with the

distance from the transducer in the near
and far field, the lateral resolution is
depth dependent.

The best lateral resolution occurs at the near

fieldfar field face.

 At

this depth, the effective beam

diameter is approximately equal to half
the transducer diameter.

In the far field, the beam diverges and

substantially reduces the lateral resolution.

 The

typical lateral resolution for an

unfocused transducer is approximately 2
to 5 mm.

A focused transducer uses an acoustic lens (a

curved acoustic material analogous to an
optical lens) to decrease the beam diameter
at a specified distance from the transducer.

 With

an acoustic lens, lateral resolution

at the near field-far field interface is
traded for better lateral resolution at a
shorter depth, but the far field beam
divergence is substantially increased.

The lateral resolution of linear and curvilinear

array transducers can be varied.

Elevational Resolution
The

elevational or slice-thickness
dimension of the ultrasound beam is
perpendicular to the image plane.

Slice thickness plays a significant part in

image resolution, particularly with respect to

volume averaging of acoustic details in the
regions dose to the transducer and in the far
field beyond the focal zone.

Elevational
resolution is
dependent on the
transducer element
height in much the
same way that the
lateral resolution is
dependent on the
transducer element
width.

 Slice

thickness is typically the worst

measure of resolution for array
transducers.

Use of a fixed focaI length lens across the

entire surface of the array provides improved

elevational resolution at the focal distance.

 Unfortunately,

this compromises
resolution due to partial volume
averaging before and after the
elevational focal zone (elevational
resolution quality control phantom image
shows the effects of variable resolution
with depth.

 Multiple

linear array transducers with five

to seven rows, known as 1.5dimensional (1.5-D) transducer arrays,
have the ability to steer and focus the
beam in the elevational dimension.