ASSESSMENT OF WALL VELOCITY-GRADIENT IMAGING USING A TEST PHANTOM

A new phantom has been designed to gain a better understanding of tiss ue Doppler imaging (TDI). Specifically, the phantom can easily be used to determine myocardial velocity gradients. The phantom mimics the le ft ventricle and is made of fine-grade sponge material whose ultrasoun d image closely resembles the gray scale image obtained from heart wal ls. Theoretical analysis of phantom wall movements offers a plausible explanation for the velocity gradients developing across the heart mal ls. The results of computer analysis were found to be in very good agr eement with TDI M-mode recordings of phantom wall displacement. Copyri ght (C) 1996 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology.