Performance tests of Doppler ultrasound equipment with a tissue and blood-mimicking phantom.

A tissue- and blood-mimicking phantom was assembled for assessing the performance of ultrasound Doppler equipment. The phantom is in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped with a 10 x 20 cm scanning window and a depth of 16 cm. Components of the phantom include a tissue-mimicking material, 7.9 mm diameter simulated vessels, a fluid with similar back-scatter as whole blood, and a peristaltic pumping system producing peak scatterer velocities greater than 1 m/sec. Performance tests done with the phantom are outlined. These include assessments of the maximum depth of penetration and of the directional discrimination capabilities of the instrument, determinations of the accuracy of displayed flow velocities, and accuracy assessments of the displayed position of the Doppler sample volume.