What is the primary purpose of compression in ultrasound imaging?

What is the primary purpose of compression in ultrasound imaging?

• A. Decrease the amplitude
• B. Decrease the range of amplitudes
• C. Decrease the range of frequencies
• D. Increase image brightness

Answer: (B)

Compression reduces the wide variation in echo amplitudes to a narrower range that the display can reproduce. This dynamic range compression lets both strong and weak echoes be represented within the limited grayscale tones, improving contrast resolution and making subtle structures easier to see. It doesn’t change the actual echo amplitudes or frequencies, and it’s not the same thing as increasing overall brightness—the effectiveness comes from how amplitudes are scaled for display.

Compression reduces the wide variation in echo amplitudes to a narrower range that the display can reproduce. This dynamic range compression lets both strong and weak echoes be represented within the limited grayscale tones, improving contrast resolution and making subtle structures easier to see. It doesn’t change the actual echo amplitudes or frequencies, and it’s not the same thing as increasing overall brightness—the effectiveness comes from how amplitudes are scaled for display.