SONOGRAPHY CANADA 2026 FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS
AND SOLUTIONS RATED A+
✔✔Phase Aberration - ✔✔distortion and attenuation of sound beam in fat tissue
✔✔Spatial Compounding - ✔✔frame averaging of multiple frames with different steering
to smooth image based on signal coherence
✔✔signal coherence - ✔✔basis of spatial compounding and persistence
✔✔buffering/ refreshing - ✔✔averaging of one new frame with a few older frames to
maintain temp res
✔✔4 temp res factors - ✔✔1 depth
2 scan line density
3 FOV size
4 prop speed of sound
✔✔RTAF - ✔✔uses smoothing and enhancement to process image
✔✔2 phases of RTAF - ✔✔1. analysis
2. enhancement
✔✔Edge enhancement - ✔✔enhancement of anisotropic reflectors
✔✔Smoothing - ✔✔blending of isotropic reflectors
✔✔Deadzone - ✔✔should be <7mm or problem with damping or overpulsing
✔✔Min ax res - ✔✔2mm
✔✔Min lat res - ✔✔5mm
✔✔Max lat res error - ✔✔2mm error
✔✔max ax res error - ✔✔1mm error
✔✔Direct Mechanical Bioeffects - ✔✔streaming and spinning
✔✔Cavitational Mech Bioeffects - ✔✔only can occur with gas bodies present
✔✔Stable Cavitation - ✔✔before threshold is met
vibration and microstreaming
, ✔✔Transient Cavitation - ✔✔after threshold is met
gas bodies implode causing local cell death and shock waves
✔✔attenuation - ✔✔weakening of sound intensity and amplitude with propagation
✔✔power - ✔✔rate of energy transfer
✔✔energy - ✔✔ability to do work
✔✔330m/s - ✔✔speed of sound in air
✔✔1440m/s - ✔✔speed of sound in fat
✔✔4080m/s - ✔✔speed of sound in bone
✔✔absorption - ✔✔accounts for most attenuation
conversion of sound to heat
✔✔specular reflectors - ✔✔angle dependent (best perpendicular)
large reflectors
✔✔scatter - ✔✔freq dependent
angle independent
rough surface texture
speckle pattern
✔✔Lead Zirconate Titanate - ✔✔PZT common piezoelectric element
✔✔Damping - ✔✔mix of metal and plastic epoxy resin
to decrease pulse duration by decreasing #cycles in each pulse
✔✔Effects of damping - ✔✔dec sensitivity
inc ax res
✔✔Matching Layers - ✔✔typically 1-3 layers to increase transmission and not lose
sound to heat in damping before leaving transducer
✔✔coupling gel - ✔✔Z value btwn that of skin and air to increase transmission
✔✔Rayleigh scatter - ✔✔angle independent
freq dependent
wavelength is larger than the size of RBCs
AND SOLUTIONS RATED A+
✔✔Phase Aberration - ✔✔distortion and attenuation of sound beam in fat tissue
✔✔Spatial Compounding - ✔✔frame averaging of multiple frames with different steering
to smooth image based on signal coherence
✔✔signal coherence - ✔✔basis of spatial compounding and persistence
✔✔buffering/ refreshing - ✔✔averaging of one new frame with a few older frames to
maintain temp res
✔✔4 temp res factors - ✔✔1 depth
2 scan line density
3 FOV size
4 prop speed of sound
✔✔RTAF - ✔✔uses smoothing and enhancement to process image
✔✔2 phases of RTAF - ✔✔1. analysis
2. enhancement
✔✔Edge enhancement - ✔✔enhancement of anisotropic reflectors
✔✔Smoothing - ✔✔blending of isotropic reflectors
✔✔Deadzone - ✔✔should be <7mm or problem with damping or overpulsing
✔✔Min ax res - ✔✔2mm
✔✔Min lat res - ✔✔5mm
✔✔Max lat res error - ✔✔2mm error
✔✔max ax res error - ✔✔1mm error
✔✔Direct Mechanical Bioeffects - ✔✔streaming and spinning
✔✔Cavitational Mech Bioeffects - ✔✔only can occur with gas bodies present
✔✔Stable Cavitation - ✔✔before threshold is met
vibration and microstreaming
, ✔✔Transient Cavitation - ✔✔after threshold is met
gas bodies implode causing local cell death and shock waves
✔✔attenuation - ✔✔weakening of sound intensity and amplitude with propagation
✔✔power - ✔✔rate of energy transfer
✔✔energy - ✔✔ability to do work
✔✔330m/s - ✔✔speed of sound in air
✔✔1440m/s - ✔✔speed of sound in fat
✔✔4080m/s - ✔✔speed of sound in bone
✔✔absorption - ✔✔accounts for most attenuation
conversion of sound to heat
✔✔specular reflectors - ✔✔angle dependent (best perpendicular)
large reflectors
✔✔scatter - ✔✔freq dependent
angle independent
rough surface texture
speckle pattern
✔✔Lead Zirconate Titanate - ✔✔PZT common piezoelectric element
✔✔Damping - ✔✔mix of metal and plastic epoxy resin
to decrease pulse duration by decreasing #cycles in each pulse
✔✔Effects of damping - ✔✔dec sensitivity
inc ax res
✔✔Matching Layers - ✔✔typically 1-3 layers to increase transmission and not lose
sound to heat in damping before leaving transducer
✔✔coupling gel - ✔✔Z value btwn that of skin and air to increase transmission
✔✔Rayleigh scatter - ✔✔angle independent
freq dependent
wavelength is larger than the size of RBCs
