The Analysis of the Artifacts due to the Simultaneous Use of Two Ultrasound Probes with Different/Similar Operating Frequencies

Abstract

The ultrasound imaging has the potential to become a dominant technique for noninvasive therapies and least invasive surgeries. Few cases may require using multiple probes of different units with different modes of ultrasound on the same patient. It generates imaging artifacts, which makes it complicated to gather information from the acquired image. This study was to identify and analyse the artifacts which are produced by simultaneous use of two probes with different/same operating frequencies. Six imaging studies were performed. First of all, the imaging artifacts of the 3.5 MHz and 6 MHz center frequencies with similar (longitudinal) positions of the probes. Secondly, with similar operating frequencies the 6 MHz probe changed from longitudinal to transverse placement to analyse the resulting artifacts. The third study was done with transverse placement of 3.5 MHz probe. The rest of the three cases were just the repetition with common pulse frequencies. Such artifacts in 3D ultrasound images are more obscure than the other artifacts associated and reported.