ULTRASOUND

ULTRASOUND

1. equations

   • distance travelled by the wave = speed of ultrasound waves in body tissue x time taken
   • the depth of the boundary below the surface = 1/2 x speed of ultrasound waves x time raken

2. key points

   • ultrasound waves are waves that have a frequency above 20khz
   • ultrasound waves are partly reflected at a boundary between 2 types of body tissue
   • ultrasound waves reflected at boundaries are timed, and the timings are used to calculate distances
   • an ultrasound scan is non ionising so it is safer then x ray

3. uses

   • can be used in industrial imaging. Flaws in metal casting can be detected by ultrasound waves

4. ultrasound is often reflected reflected