PERFORM SENSITIVITY & VELOCITY QA ON DOPPLER ULTRASOUND



The Doppler Ultrasound Flow Simulator is designed to simulate blood flow in a tissue mimicking phantom, and may be used to perform quality assurance testing of Doppler ultrasound devices. The two most common tests are sensitivity and velocity accuracy, but a number of other useful tests are also described in the literature (see references).
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The simulator includes a tissue-mimicking flow phantom with a blood-vessel-simulating, ultrasound-compatible tube that enters the phantom at an angle. The phantom has both a top and bottom scanning surface that allows testing at varying depths and angles of orientation. This makes the phantom suitable for testing both peripheral flow and deeper abdominal vessels. The phantom is filled with Zerdine® tissue mimicking gel with a speed of sound of 1540 m/s, an attenuation of 0.7 dB/cm/MHz and a backscatter contrast designed to match that of the liver. It is housed in rugged ABS plastic for added durability. Customers who wish to combine B-mode quality assurance features with Doppler testing may request customization of the phantom to include wire, greyscale and anechoic targets.
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The simulator allows includes the following components:
1) A peristaltic pump capable of providing flow rates of 0.5 to 12.5 ml/s, which translates to an average flow velocity of 2-70 cm/s. (Peak flow velocities will be 2-4 times greater than the average flow velocity due to the effects of laminar and pulsatile fiow.)
2) A fluid reservoir pre-filled with CIRS blood mimicking fluid. Replacement fluid may be ordered separately.
3) A pulse dampener that converts the pulsatile flow from the peristaltic pump into constant velocity flow.
4) Convenient color coded tubing with quick-disconnect fittings
5) Convenient hard-shell carry case designed so that the full system is pre-configured within the case.







Doppler ultrasound images with Doppler Ultrasound Flow Phantom showing pulsatile and continuous flow.