Transfer functions for describing ultrasound system performance.

A practical method of assessing ultrasonic A-scan pulse-echo scanner performance is described, which relies upon the identification and quantitation of an overall system transfer function. The mapping of reflecting elements into an image is then described by this transfer function, and indices of system performance, and particularly resolution and range accuracy, are developed in terms of the shape of the transfer function. Some advantages of this method compared to more conventional methods of assessing scanner performance are discussed.