Beam width, slice thickness and refraction artifacts
Read more:ASE 2026 · Cardiac ultrasound artifacts
Quick reference:↑ Cross-cutting acquisition and artifacts
| View | Lateral artifacts in any view; ghost echoes mostly in echo-free cavities; duplicated structures lateral to the true one (e.g. aortic valve in short axis). |
|---|---|
| Timing | Ghost echoes follow the off-plane structure; refraction duplicates are less echogenic and partial. |
| Caliper / trace | Not measured: adjust focal zone to the depth of interest, decrease gain, increase frequency, and re-image from another angle or window. |
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Correct example
A lead apparently in the wrong chamber or an echo floating in the atrium that disappears when the focal zone is moved or the window changed is a beam-width/slice-thickness ghost; a faint partial copy of the aortic valve lateral to it is refraction.
Common error
Reporting ghost echoes as masses, overestimating structure size from off-axis echoes, or interpreting refraction duplicates as pathology.
Effect on interpretation
Unnecessary diagnostic procedures for masses that do not exist; refraction can also obscure the true structure.
Why
The beam has finite width and elevational thickness and widens beyond the focal zone, so reflectors outside the thin displayed plane are mapped into it; refraction bends the beam through a tissue 'lens' and maps the structure twice.