A useful ultrasound artifact and its application - the 'twinkling sign' : pictorial interlude

Extracted from text ... CASE REPORT 30 SA JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY ? March 2006 The 'twinkling sign' is described as a colour Doppler artifact in which a rapidly changing mixture of red and blue colours is displayed distal to a strongly, rough reflective structure (Figs 1 and 2).1 This probably results from complex back scatter of the ultrasound waves with prolonged pulse duration, interpreted by Doppler as movement.2 This sign is a fundamental artifact because it is well detected by the digital Doppler system which has a higher noise immunity. The focal depth minimally affects the shape of the artifact by narrowing its focal ..