Master the ARDMS Ultrasound Physics 2025 – Zap Through Waves & Ace Your Exam!

When an ultrasound system uses too much gain, the signal amplification may result in the presence of artifacts that can obscure important structures in the image. Gain is a variable that adjusts the overall brightness of the ultrasound image; however, excessive gain can cause the entire image to become overly bright or cluttered with noise. This noise and the resultant artifacts—such as increased speckle or reverberation—can mask anatomical details that are critical for accurate diagnosis.

In ultrasound imaging, maintaining an appropriate level of gain is essential to achieve a balance between visibility of subtle structures and preserving image clarity. Properly adjusting gain allows for the enhancement of signal strength without saturating the display, which can distort true anatomical information and mislead interpretation. Thus, while gain is necessary for visibility, an excessive amount can detract from the image quality, making it difficult to identify key features.