Sound Beam: Shape and Components - Video Lesson

Hey, everybody. Welcome back to today's lesson on qualities of the sound beam. This lesson focuses on the near zone, far zone, focal length, and focal zone, particularly their characteristics and clinical implications. Understanding these components is critical for optimizing imaging techniques and making accurate diagnoses. Let's start with understanding that sound beams produced by an ultrasound transducer can be divided into three areas. The near zone, the focal zone, and the far zone. First, the near zone, also called the Fresnel zone, is the region closest to the transducer where the sound beam undergoes significant narrowing. The beam begins at the transducer and progressively narrows until it reaches the focal point. In transducers with multiple piezoelectric elements, the sound beam has multiple wave fronts that interact with one another.