Which component is responsible for converting echo timing into a display image by creating pixels from the received data?

Which component is responsible for converting echo timing into a display image by creating pixels from the received data?

• A. The transducer
• B. The digital scan converter
• C. The receiver
• D. The display monitor

Answer: (B)

Understanding how an echo returns to create a picture starts with depth information. The time it takes for an echo to return tells you how far away the reflecting tissue is along each scan line. To turn those timing data into a displayable image, another step is needed: mapping that depth data from every scan line into a two-dimensional grid of picture elements. The digital scan converter does exactly this. It takes the processed echo amplitudes along each line, assigns them to the corresponding depth along that line, and converts the curved, line-based data into a rectangular array of pixels that the display can show. It also handles converting the data from the polar arrangement of the scan into a Cartesian image and may interpolate to create a smooth image between lines. The transducer generates and receives the sound, the receiver amplifies and processes the echoes, and the display simply shows the resulting image—without forming the pixel grid itself.

Understanding how an echo returns to create a picture starts with depth information. The time it takes for an echo to return tells you how far away the reflecting tissue is along each scan line. To turn those timing data into a displayable image, another step is needed: mapping that depth data from every scan line into a two-dimensional grid of picture elements. The digital scan converter does exactly this. It takes the processed echo amplitudes along each line, assigns them to the corresponding depth along that line, and converts the curved, line-based data into a rectangular array of pixels that the display can show. It also handles converting the data from the polar arrangement of the scan into a Cartesian image and may interpolate to create a smooth image between lines. The transducer generates and receives the sound, the receiver amplifies and processes the echoes, and the display simply shows the resulting image—without forming the pixel grid itself.