Reverberation artifact

Case contributed by Matt A. Morgan
Diagnosis not applicable

Presentation

Low grade fever with unilateral breast tenderness, erythema, and swelling

Patient Data

Age: 35Y
ultrasound

Reverberation artifact from the skin surface when using a standoff pad. Ghostly reverberations deep to the strongest artifact can also be seen.

Diagram

Diagram of reverberation artifact

Case Discussion

Reverberation artifact is a common ultrasound artifact and occurs when a sound pulse reverberates back and forth between two strong parallel reflectors.

With the exception of comet-tail artifact, a subtype of reverberation, reverberation artefact has little diagnostic use.

The artifact can be improved by changing the angle of insonation. If the angle is changed, the pulse is reflected off at an angle and either a) does not encounter the second parallel strong reflector, or b) is reflected away from the transducer.

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