Amplitude information from Doppler color flow mapping systems: a preliminary study of the power mode

The flow of a saline-glycerin solution with sand particles through a continuous in vitro flow system was imaged by using two commercially available Doppler color flow mapping systems in a power mode (Toshiba SSH-160A and Advanced Technology Laboratories [ATL] Ultramark 9). The images generated from seven solutions with particle concentrations ranging from 0.0001 x 10(12) to 6 x 10(12) particles/liter and a mean velocity of 30 cm/s measured with use of pulsed Doppler ultrasound were used to examine the dependence of the power mode on particle concentration. To examine the velocity dependence, 20 mean velocities ranging from 0.1 to 0.53 m/s (3 to 30 liters/min) and three particle concentrations (1, 3 and 6 x 10(12) particles/liter) in the solution were used. The recorded images were digitized and analyzed off-line. The SUM values, or the adjusted color intensity levels in delineated areas of interest in the displayed flow, were compared. In general, the power mode was sensitive in displaying slower velocity flows; in the selected particle concentration and velocity ranges, it was both velocity and concentration dependent. The specific dependence differed for the two color flow mapping systems.