This course material is provided by London School of Radiology as part of the FRCR Part 1 Physics course and delivered by the following lecturer:
- Dr Colin Deane, Consultant Clinical Scientist, King’s College Hospital
The London School of Radiology has been granted permission by the above lecturer to use the videos and materials provided within this course. The above specified lecturer retains the copyright and intellectual property rights of this content. Unless permission has otherwise been obtained, redistribution or unauthorised access to this material is strictly prohibited.
Please leave any feedback using the comments boxes on the individual lesson/topic pages, or use the contact form to get in contact directly. Comments/feedback will not be published and will be used to improve our courses
You can alternatively navigate the learning material using the syllabus map laid out below with relevant videos linked with the curriculum items.
| Content | Examples of expected knowledge |
| Nature and properties of ultrasound waves. | Non-ionising mechanical wave. Define wavelength, speed, elasticity, density, impedance, energy and power. –> Principles of Ultrasound Acoustic Impedance Pressure, Power & Intensity |
| Propagation and interaction of ultrasound waves with matter | Absorption – individual relaxations, frequency dependency. –> Attenuation and Absorption Reflections / transmission. Relation to wavelength & Impedance relations and organ boundary delineation. –> Reflection Scatter – Rayleigh scattering and relation of particle size to wavelength. Speckle. Doppler implications. –> Scattering Reinforcement and Cancellation of Waves – Speckle Refraction – speed of sound variation. Implications for artefacts. –>Refraction Refraction Artefact Diffraction – Sidelobes / grating lobes. Implications for artefacts. –> Terms Used in Ultrasound Attenuation. dB scale / frequency / depth dependence. –> Attenuation and Absorption |
| Basic Design and construction of ultrasound transducers | Production and detection of ultrasound. –> The Piezoelectric Effect, Transducers, Damping and Q Pulse Transmission and Reception Parts of a transducer and implications for imaging performance. –> Array Transducer Construction and Different Types of Array Continuous waves and pulses. –> Continuous Wave Doppler Pulse Wave Doppler Backing layer for axial resolution. –> The Piezoelectric Effect, Transducers, Damping and Q Ultrasound Imaging Performance, Spatial/Contrast Resolution and Slice Thickness matching layers for energy transfer. –> The Piezoelectric Effect, Transducers, Damping and Q Lens for out of plane focus. –> Ultrasound Imaging Performance, Spatial/Contrast Resolution and Slice Thickness |
| Beam shapes and focusing from transducers arrays. | Influence of beam shape and focusing on lateral / axial and out of plane resolution from 1D, 1.5D, 2D arrays. –> Beam Formation, Focussing and Steering Ultrasound Imaging Performance, Spatial/Contrast Resolution and Slice Thickness To know how to produce a representation of the beam thickness. –> Ultrasound Imaging Performance, Spatial/Contrast Resolution and Slice Thickness |
| Image acquisition, reconstruction & Imaging modes | pulse echo principle –> Pulse Transmission and Reception Scanned & non-scanned modes TGC and relationship to tissue attenuation –> Time Gain Control Transmit and receive focusing –> Beam Formation, Focussing and Steering Apodisation. –> Terms Used in Ultrasound |
| Scanner functionality & image optimisation | Output Power –> Pressure, Power & Intensity depth –> Time Gain Control Aliasing, Scale/Pulse Repetition Frequency, Depth Gain –> Time Gain Control Dynamic range –> Dynamic Range focus(s) –> Beam Formation, Focussing and Steering Harmonic Imaging –> What is Harmonic Imaging? compound imaging –> Compound Imaging line density –> Frame Rate Colour Doppler Processing persistence –> Post processing – gamma correction, mapping, edge detection |
| Doppler Ultrasound | Basic principles: Doppler equation –> Continuous Wave Doppler CW operation –> Continuous Wave Doppler PW operation –> Pulse Wave Doppler Nyquist limit –> Aliasing Gate size and position –> Setting Up the Sample Volume, Steering and Angle Correction Doppler angle. –> Setting Up the Sample Volume, Steering and Angle Correction Effect of Insonation Angle on Doppler Frequency Beam/Vessel Angle Error Angle Dependence and Pulsed Wave Sampling Advantages / disadvantages of CWD, PWD, CFD, PD. –> Aliasing Aliasing, Scale, Sensitivity Angle Dependence and Pulsed Wave Sampling Misalignment ErrorsBeam/Vessel Angle ErrorIntrinsic Spectral BroadeningColour Doppler Processing |
| Advanced techniques & their clinical uses. e.g. Contrast Ultrasound, Tissue Optimisation, Elastography, 3D. | CEUS. Basic properties. Principles behind wash-out curves. Clinical uses in liver and kidney. –> Contrast Microbubbles Harmonics. Production & propagation. Influence on image quality w.r.t. beam shapes, clutter artifact, tissue type etc. –> What is Harmonic Imaging? Tissue Optimisation – speed of sound adjustment. Clinical uses in breast. Strain, shear wave, ARFI. Clinical uses in liver, breast, thyroid. Basic principles and clinical advantages / disadvantages. |
| Clinical Artefacts & how to overcome them. | Enhancement. Shadowing –> Enhancement and Attenuation Reflection –> Reflection mis-registration refraction –> Refraction Artefact grating lobes –> Terms Used in Ultrasound reverberation –> Reverberations comet trail aliasing –> Aliasing, Scale/Pulse Repetition Frequency, Depth Aliasing Aliasing, Scale, Sensitivity colour bleed flash mirror –> Mirror Artefact |
| Safety. Physical effects. Safety indices. Safety guidelines. | Basics on types of energy transfer to tissue. Heating Introduction and Summary of Mecanisms Thermal Effects streaming Introduction and Summary of Mecanisms cavitation –> Mechanical Effects – Cavitation mechanical damage. –> Introduction and Summary of Mecanisms Thermal and mechanical indices. –> Mechanical and Thermal Indices Definitions and links to physical effects and scan modes. –> Intensity Terms and Current Regulations Overview of BMUS guidelines. –> Maximum Exposure Times for Embro and Foetus Practical Advice and Guidelines |
Course Content
Theory & B-Mode Imaging
Doppler Ultrasound
Ultrasound Safety
Thank you sir. It was amazing short video revison course. I come to know my silly mistakes which I won’t repeat in FRCR final.