Indications / Optimization For Breast

Question 1

What are indications for a female breast U/S? (7)

Answer 1

1. Mass characterization (eg. solid vs cystic)
2. Evaluation of clinical symptom (eg. new lump)
3. Provide more info following a mammo
4. Evaluation of patients with inflammatory symptoms (eg. mastitis)
5. Guidance of invasive or interventional procedures
6. Diagnosing rupture of breast implants
7. Treatment planning for radiation therapy

Question 2

What are indications for a male breast U/S? (5)

Answer 2

1. Breast asymmetry of enlargement
2. Palpable masses
3. Breast pain or tenderness
4. Nipple discharge
5. Prev history of breast cancer

Question 3

What is the first component of spatial resolution?

Answer 3

Axial resolution

Question 4

Axial resolution

Answer 4

Minimum distance separating two different reflectors along the longitudinal axis of sound travel, so they separate echoes are produced on the display

Question 5

What is the formula for axial resolution?

Answer 5

AR = SPL/2

Question 6

What does a shorter spatial pulse length mean for axial resolution?

Answer 6

Better axial resolution
- directly proportional

Question 7

What happens to axial resolution if you increase frequency? *

Answer 7

Improves axial resolution

Question 8

What happens to axial resolution if you increase depth penetration? *

Answer 8

Decreases axial resolution

Question 9

Transducers in what range can resolve structures of what size?

Answer 9

1. 10-13.5MHz
2. 0.2mm

Question 10

What is the second component of spatial resolution?

Answer 10

Lateral resolution

Question 11

Lateral resolution

Answer 11

Minimum distance separating two different reflectors lying in a plane that is perpendicular to the direction of sound travel, so they separates echoes are produced on the display

Question 12

What is lateral resolution indirectly proportional to? *

Answer 12

Beam diameter

Question 13

What does a shorter pulse length mean for lateral resolution?

Answer 13

Better lateral resolution

Question 14

How do you improve lateral resolution? (2)

Answer 14

1. Making the beam more narrow
2. Increasing the frequency

Question 15

What does more transmit zones means for lateral resolution?

Answer 15

Better lateral resolution

Question 16

What happens when you increase in focal zones?

Answer 16

Decrease in frame rate
- makes it more laggy

Question 17

What does better contrast mean for lateral and axial resolution?

Answer 17

Better for both

Question 18

What does a smaller value for lateral resolution mean?

Answer 18

Better resolution

Question 19

What does improving lateral resolution reduce? *

Answer 19

Artifactual volume averaging in our images

Question 20

Where does the best lateral resolution take place? Why?

Answer 20

Focal zone
- because this is where the beam is narrowest

Question 21

Volume averaging

Answer 21

An imaging artifact that results in the filling in of cystic structures due to a lack of a finite beam width
- artifactual echoes within a cyst when scanning

Question 22

What is contrast resolution?

Answer 22

Is the ability to assign a different shade of grey to returning echoes of varying amplitudes

Question 23

What does contrast resolution improve with? (2) *

Answer 23

1. Increasing transducer frequency
2. Increasing bandwidth (broader)

Question 24

What does an increase in contrast resolution help? (2)

Answer 24

1. Axial resolution
2. Lateral resolution

Question 25

What is dynamic aperture?

Answer 25

Utilizes different numbers of transducer elements to maintain the beam width at different tissue depths

Question 26

What does more focal zones do to the frame rate?

Answer 26

Decrease it

Question 27

What is dynamic range?

Answer 27

Is a measure of the range of signal magnitudes that are generated by or that can be handled by the component of the system under study

Question 28

What can compensate for a wide range of returned echoes?

Answer 28

TGC - selectively amplifying

Question 29

What are 4 benefits to breast cancer screening?

Answer 29

1. Earlier breast cancer detection 2. Reduced breast cancer related deaths 3. Less invasive treatment options 4. Reduced morbidity

Question 30

What are 7 potential harms of breast cancer screening?

Answer 30

1. Over diagnosis 2. False positive results 3. False negative results 4. Need for additional tests 5. Pain 6. Radiation exposure 7. Psychological harm

Question 31

What is slice thickness also called?

Answer 31

Elevation plane

Question 32

Slice thickness

Answer 32

Describes the thickness of the section of tissue that contributes to the echoes visualized on the image display

Question 33

What direction does slice thickness works in?

Answer 33

Perpendicular to the imaging plane

Question 34

What is slice thickness equal to?

Answer 34

Largest width of the transducer

Question 35

What is the worse measure of image resolution?

Answer 35

Slice thickness

Question 36

What cant happen with slice thickness?

Answer 36

Electronic focusing

Question 37

What does 1.5D linear arrays permit?

Answer 37

Dynamic electronic focusing in the elevational or slice thickness plane

Question 38

What does slice thickness improve dramatically in the near field?

Answer 38

Lateral resolution

Question 39

What does the system gain settings determine?

Answer 39

The amount of amplification of an echo receives prior to reaching our TV monitor

Question 40

What do TGC's allow?

Answer 40

Non-uniform amplification