A typical duty factor value in diagnostic ultrasound falls in which range?

A typical duty factor value in diagnostic ultrasound falls in which range?

• A. 80-100%
• B. 50-75%
• C. 0.1-1%
• D. 5-20%

Answer: (C)

Duty factor is the fraction of time the transducer is actively transmitting a pulse during each imaging cycle. In diagnostic ultrasound, we emit very short pulses and spend most of the time listening, so the average energy delivered to tissue remains low. Because pulse durations are only a few microseconds and the interval between pulses is much longer, the duty factor typically falls around one percent or less. That’s why 0.1–1% is the best fit. Higher ranges would imply more continuous emission and greater tissue exposure, which isn’t how diagnostic pulsed ultrasound is used.

Duty factor is the fraction of time the transducer is actively transmitting a pulse during each imaging cycle. In diagnostic ultrasound, we emit very short pulses and spend most of the time listening, so the average energy delivered to tissue remains low. Because pulse durations are only a few microseconds and the interval between pulses is much longer, the duty factor typically falls around one percent or less. That’s why 0.1–1% is the best fit. Higher ranges would imply more continuous emission and greater tissue exposure, which isn’t how diagnostic pulsed ultrasound is used.