Beam width artifact

Ultrasound beam width artifact occurs when a reflective object located beyond the widened ultrasound beam, after the focal zone, creates false detectable echoes that are displayed as overlapping the structure of interest.

Features

To understand this artifact, it is important to remember that the ultrasound beam is not uniform with depth; the main beam leaves the transducer with the same width as it, then narrows through the near field as it approaches the focal zone and widens again through the far field ¹. 

Usually, it occurs when scanning an anechoic structure and some peripheral echoes are identified, such as gas bubbles in the duodenum simulating small gallstones and peripheric echoes in the bladder. 

Solution

It is possible to avoid this artifact by adjusting the focal zone to the depth level of interest and by placing the transducer at the center of the object being studied ¹. The artifact may also be reduced by increasing the frequency of the probe to create a narrower focal zone ².

See also

• ultrasound artifacts