The typical value of period in diagnostic ultrasound is?

The typical value of period in diagnostic ultrasound is?

• A. 1 to 10 microseconds
• B. One tenth to one-half of a millionth of one second
• C. 1 second
• D. 10 seconds

Answer: (B)

Period is the time for one cycle, and in diagnostic ultrasound it’s the reciprocal of the frequency the probe emits. Probes operate in the megahertz range, typically about 2–15 MHz, so the period is roughly 1/f, which puts it around 0.5 μs down to 0.067 μs. In practice that’s about 0.1 to 0.5 μs, i.e., one tenth to one half of a millionth of a second. That range fits the typical cycle time used in diagnostic imaging, while the other options are far outside the time scale of a single ultrasound cycle.

Period is the time for one cycle, and in diagnostic ultrasound it’s the reciprocal of the frequency the probe emits. Probes operate in the megahertz range, typically about 2–15 MHz, so the period is roughly 1/f, which puts it around 0.5 μs down to 0.067 μs. In practice that’s about 0.1 to 0.5 μs, i.e., one tenth to one half of a millionth of a second. That range fits the typical cycle time used in diagnostic imaging, while the other options are far outside the time scale of a single ultrasound cycle.