Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 31, 2025
Diagnostic Ultrasound Imaging of Mouse Diaphragm Function
Published on: April 21, 2014
Influence of Ultrasound Settings on Laboratory Vertical Artifacts
Joao Leote1, Tiago Muxagata2, Diana Guerreiro2
1Critical Care Department, Hospital Garcia de Orta EPE, Almada, Portugal; Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde de Lisboa, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
Objective:
The aim of the work described here was to analyze the relationship between the change in ultrasound (US) settings and the vertical artifacts' number, visual rating and signal intensity METHODS: An in vitro phantom consisting of a damp sponge and gelatin mix was created to simulate vertical artifacts. Furthermore, several US parameters were changed sequentially (i.e., frequency, dynamic range, line density, gain, power and image enhancement) and after image acquisition. Five US experts rated the artifacts for number and quality. In addition, a vertical artifact visual score was created to determine the higher artifact rating ("optimal") and the lower artifact rating ("suboptimal"). Comparisons were made between the tested US parameters and baseline recordings.
Results:
The expert intraclass correlation coefficient for the number of vertical artifacts was 0.694. The parameters had little effect on the "optimal" vertical artifacts but changed their number. Dynamic range increased the number of discernible vertical artifacts to 3 from 36 to 102 dB.
Conclusion:
The intensity did not correlate with the visual rating score. Most of the available US parameters did not influence vertical artifacts.
