ARDMS Ultrasound Physics & Instrumentation Practice Exam 2025 – The Complete All-in-One Guide to Exam Success!

The correct answer is mirror image artifact. This artifact occurs when ultrasound waves encounter a strong reflector, such as an interface between tissue and air or a dense structure like a bone. When the ultrasound beam reflects off this strong reflector, it may send echoes back to the transducer that were not produced by the actual structure being imaged, but rather by a "mirror" of that structure on the opposite side of the strong reflector.

This occurs because the sound travels to the strong reflector and then reflects back, effectively creating a false image on the opposite side of the reflector. This can result in the appearance of duplicate structures on the ultrasound image, which can be misleading in diagnosis and interpretation.

Understanding this artifact is critical in ultrasound imaging as it helps sonographers to recognize and differentiate between true anatomical structures and the artifacts that may confuse these images.