A Comparison Between Urethane and Gel Test Objects for Ultrasound Imaging Performance Testing

Abstract

Both urethane and gel based test objects are widely used for ultrasound imaging performance testing. Urethane has a lower sound propagation speed, resulting in defocusing of the ultrasound beam. The aims of this work were to compare the ability of urethane and gel test objects in demonstrating the deliberate de-optimization of an ultrasound scanner via resolution and dynamic range changes. Images were captured from two test objects using four scanners with optimized and de-optimized settings for focusing and dynamic range. The images were analysed for resolution, grey-scale target contrast and visibility, and high contrast target visibility and the significance of differences between optimized and de-optimized settings were assessed. Overall, the urethane test object demonstrated more significant changes (15; 9 for gel test object) with the lateral resolution changing more often than the other image qualities. If the beam profile or grey scale changes, we are more likely to see a change in resolution measurement and the urethane test object is more likely to demonstrate these changes.