[Ultrasound and color Doppler in nephrology. Physical and technical principles]

Sonography is an imaging technique that generates tomographic images using ultrasound. The sound constitutes mechanical energy transmitted in a medium by pressure waves. Sound waves with frequencies greater than 20 kHz are called ultrasounds. Diagnostic ultrasounds use frequencies from 1 to 20 MHz. Ultrasound equipment is composed of a scanner, an image monitor, and different transducers that transform acoustic energy into electrical signals and electrical energy into acoustic energy (piezoelectric effect). The spatial resolution defines the minimum distance between two reflectors or echogenic regions that can be imaged as separate reflectors. The spatial resolution is mainly determined by the array design (linear, curved and sectorial) and by the operative system of the transducer. Modern ultrasound machines are very sophisticated medical devices that often support many transducers, imaging modes and display devices. The scan converter memory is the device in which images are formed and then presented to the monitor and to the hard copy devices.