How-To Guide

P32
R eceiverControls
R eceivercontrolsareusedby theoperatorto im proveim agequality.T hesecontrols
havenoeffectonoutput.R eceivercontrolsonly affecthow theultrasoundecho is
received.T hesecontrolsincludegain,tim egaincom pensation(T GC),dynam ic
range,andim ageprocessing.T heim portantthingtorem em ber,relativetooutput,
isthatreceivercontrolsshouldbeoptim izedbefore outputisincreased.For
exam ple,beforeincreasing output,optim izegaintoim proveim agequality.
An Example of Applying the ALARA Principle
Anultrasound scanofapatient’sliverbeginsw ithselectingtheappropriate
transducerfrequency.Afterselectingthetransducerand theapplication,w hichare
based on patientanatom y,adjustm entstooutputpow ershould bem adetoensure
thatthelow estpossiblesettingisusedtoacquirean im age.Ifanadequateim age
canbeobtained w iththeincreaseingain,thenadecreaseinoutputshould be
m ade.O nly afterm akingthese adjustm entsshouldyou increaseoutputtothenext
level.Having acquiredthe2D display ofthe liver,Colorcan beusedtolocalizeblood
flow.A sw iththe2D im agedisplay,gainandim ageprocessingcontrolsm ustbe
optim ized beforeincreasingoutput.Insum mary:S electthecorrecttransducer
frequency and applicationforthejob;startw ithalow outputlevel;and optim ize
theim ageby receivergain,andotherim agingcontrols.
Additional Considerations
Ensurethatscanningtim eiskepttoam inim um and thatonly m edically required
scanningisperform ed.N evercom prom isequality by rushingthrough anexam .A
poorexam m ay requireafollow -up,w hichultim ately increasesexposuretim e.
Diagnosticultrasoundisanim portanttoolinm edicine,andlikeany tool,itshould
be usedefficiently andeffectively.