Spotting Echo Artifacts

Part 1: Artifacts

Introduction

Artifacts are a normal part of echocardiography. They happen when the ultrasound machine makes assumptions about how sound travels through the body that are not always true. The system assumes that sound travels in straight lines, that it always moves at 1540 m/s in tissue, and that echoes only return from the main ultrasound beam. When these assumptions break down, the image may show structures that do not exist, place anatomy in the wrong location, or create false Doppler signals.

This article is Part 1 of our artifact series. We’ll walk through the major categories of echocardiographic artifact, explain the physics, show how each appears on echo, highlight common pitfalls, and share practical scanning tips to separate artifact from real disease. Part 2 will be released on September 22.

Put your echo skills to the test with a free 20-question quiz - Click here

Can you spot every artifact in the video above? Hint: There are at least six. Most people miss at least one. Let’s break them down step by step so you’ll know how to avoid them on your future studies. Did you catch any we didn’t? Watch the clip below to see if you got them all.