Measurement of acoustic output parameters from medical ultrasound devices with an RF power meter system

Current national and international standards for the measurement of acoustic output parameters of diagnostic medical ultrasound devices rely for their strict implementation on the ability to measure pulse intensity integral or pressure squared integral. A relatively inexpensive measurement system that utilizes a calibrated hydrophone in conjunction with a thermal RMS device is described. It is shown that this system can be used to locate maximum pulse average parameters in static beam devices and true maximum temporal average parameters in complex real-time diagnostic systems. The advantages of the system are discussed and measurement uncertainties are assessed.