Developing Probe-Specific Depth of Penetration Baselines for Ultrasound Quality Assurance: A Quality Improvement Study
Abstract
Purpose
To establish standardized, probe-specific depth of penetration baselines for protocol-specific clinical use across ultrasound transducers to support routine quality assurance (QA), enable early detection of probe degradation, and improve clinical operations, addressing a gap not currently defined by some manufacturers.
Methods
Multiple LOGIQ-E10 GE Healthcare ultrasound units comprising 60 transducers were evaluated. Comprehensive ultrasound QA physics testing was performed in accordance with ACR quality control guidelines to establish baseline system and probe performance based on its specific clinical application. Depth of penetration measurements were conducted on all probes, including IC5-9-D, L6-24D, L2-9-D, L8-18I-D, C2-9D, C1-6-D, C3-10-D, RIC5-9-D, ML4-20-D, and M5Sc-D, representing linear, curvilinear, phased-array, and specialty transducers. Measurements were performed using large Sono 403 GS LE Precision Multipurpose ultrasound phantom. Time-gain compensation was set to neutral, overall gain adjusted for uniform background echogenicity, and no post-processing was applied. Depth of penetration was measured by evaluating the maximum depth at which tissue-mimicking structures remained distinguishable from background noise with clinically acceptable contrast with the speed of sound of 1540 m/s2.
Results
Probe-specific depth-of-penetration baselines were successfully established for all examined transducers. Performance metrics demonstrated consistency across specific probe types, with findings reproducible among identical transducers in full compliance with ACR quality control standards. This baseline now supports routine QA and enables early identification of underperforming probes.
Conclusion
This quality improvement project established probe-specific depth of penetration baselines for routine ultrasound QA, improving image quality consistency, enabling early detection of probe degradation, and enhancing clinical operations.