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Diagnostic Ultrasound Imaging and Blood Flow
Measurements Second Edition K. Kirk Shung (Author)
Digital Instant Download
Author(s): K. Kirk Shung (Author)
ISBN(s): 9781466582651, 1466582650
Edition: 2
File Details: PDF, 30.59 MB
Year: 2015
Language: english
DIAGNOSTIC
ULTRASOUND
Imaging and Blood
Flow Measurements
S E C O N D E D I T ION
DIAGNOSTIC
ULTRASOUND
Imaging and Blood
Flow Measurements
S E C O N D E D I T ION

K. Kirk Shung
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, USA
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
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 Dedication
This book is dedicated to my wife,
Linda, and three children,
Albert, Simon, and May, and their spouses,
Rini, Jenny, and Chris.
Contents
Preface............................................................................................................... xiii
Acknowledgments............................................................................................xv
Author/Editor page....................................................................................... xvii

Chapter 1 Introduction.................................................................................. 1
1.1 History........................................................................................................ 1
1.2 Role of ultrasound in medical imaging................................................. 2
1.3 Purpose of the book................................................................................. 3
References and Further Reading Materials..................................................... 3

Chapter 2 Fundamentals of acoustic propagation................................... 5

2.1 Stress and strain relationship................................................................. 8
2.2 Acoustic wave equation......................................................................... 11
2.2.1 Compressional wave................................................................ 11
2.2.2 Shear wave................................................................................. 12
2.3 Characteristic impedance...................................................................... 13
2.4 Intensity................................................................................................... 15
2.5 Acoustic radiation force......................................................................... 17
2.6 Reflection and refraction....................................................................... 18
2.7 Attenuation, absorption, and scattering.............................................. 21
2.7.1 Attenuation................................................................................ 22
2.7.2 Absorption................................................................................. 22
2.7.3 Scattering................................................................................... 26
2.8 Nonlinearity parameter B/A................................................................. 33
2.9 Doppler effect.......................................................................................... 36
References and Further Reading Materials................................................... 37

Chapter 3 Ultrasonic transducers and arrays.......................................... 39

3.1 Piezoelectric effect.................................................................................. 39
3.2 Piezoelectric constitutive equation...................................................... 44
3.3 Ultrasonic transducers........................................................................... 50
3.3.1 Mechanical matching............................................................... 57
3.3.2 Electrical matching................................................................... 59

vii
viii Contents

3.4 Characterization of piezoelectric materials........................................ 59

3.4.1 Dielectric constant.................................................................... 59
3.4.2 Dielectric loss tangent.............................................................. 61
3.4.3 Electromechanical coupling coefficient................................. 61
3.4.4 Mechanical quality factor Qm.................................................. 62
3.4.5 Piezoelectric strain or transmission constant d33................. 63
3.5 Transducer beam characteristics.......................................................... 63
3.5.1 Lateral beam profiles................................................................ 67
3.5.2 Pulsed ultrasonic field............................................................. 73
3.5.3 Visualization and mapping of the ultrasonic field.............. 73
3.5.4 Axial and lateral resolutions................................................... 76
3.5.5 Focusing..................................................................................... 79
3.5.6 Protection circuits for transducers......................................... 81
3.6 Arrays....................................................................................................... 84
3.6 Characterization of transducer/array performance.......................... 99
3.6.1 Insertion loss............................................................................. 99
3.6.2 Cross talk................................................................................. 100
References and Further Reading Materials................................................. 101

Chapter 4 Gray-scale ultrasonic imaging.............................................. 105

4.1 A- (amplitude) mode and B- (brightness) mode imaging............... 105
4.1.1 Resolution of B-mode ultrasonic imaging systems............116
4.1.2 Beamforming...........................................................................117
4.1.3 Speckle......................................................................................118
4.1.4 Image quality.......................................................................... 122
4.1.4.1 Point spread function............................................ 122
4.1.4.2 Contrast................................................................... 123
4.1.4.3 Noises...................................................................... 125
4.1.5 Phase aberration compensation............................................ 125
4.1.6 Clinical applications............................................................... 127
4.2 M-mode and C-mode........................................................................... 127
4.3 Ultrasound computed tomography (CT)........................................... 130
4.4 Coded excitation imaging................................................................... 132
4.5 Compound imaging............................................................................. 136
4.6 Synthetic aperture imaging................................................................ 136
4.7 New developments............................................................................... 137
References and Further Reading Materials..................................................141

Chapter 5 Doppler flow measurements.................................................. 143

5.1 Nondirectional CW flowmeters......................................................... 143
5.2 Directional Doppler flowmeters......................................................... 149
5.2.1 Single-sideband filtering....................................................... 149
5.2.2 Heterodyne demodulation.................................................... 150
5.2.3 Quadrature phase demodulation......................................... 151
Contents ix

5.3 Pulsed Doppler flowmeters................................................................ 153

5.4 Clinical applications and Doppler indices........................................ 156
5.5 Potential problems in Doppler measurements................................. 157
5.6 Tissue Doppler and multigate Doppler............................................. 157
References and Further Reading Materials................................................. 158

Chapter 6 Flow and displacement imaging........................................... 159

6.1 Color Doppler flow imaging............................................................... 159
6.2 Color Doppler power imaging............................................................ 168
6.3 Time domain flow estimation............................................................. 168
6.4 Elasticity imaging................................................................................. 171
6.4.1 Elastography............................................................................ 172
6.4.2 Sonoelasticity imaging........................................................... 173
6.5 Acoustic radiation force imaging (ARFI)...........................................174
6.6 Vibro-acoustography............................................................................ 175
6.7 Supersonic shear wave imaging (SSWI).............................................176
6.8 B-Flow imaging..................................................................................... 178
References and Further Reading Materials................................................. 179

Chapter 7 Contrast media and harmonic imaging.............................. 181

7.1 Contrast agents...................................................................................... 181
7.1.1 Gaseous agents........................................................................ 182
7.1.2 Encapsulated gaseous agents................................................ 186
7.1.3 Dilute distribution of bubbles of varying size................... 187
7.2 Nonlinear interactions between ultrasound and bubbles.............. 188
7.3 Modified Rayleigh–Plesset equation for encapsulated
gas bubbles............................................................................................ 189
7.4 Solutions to Rayleigh–Plesset equation............................................. 189
7.5 Harmonic imaging............................................................................... 192
7.6 Native tissue harmonic imaging........................................................ 195
7.7 Subharmonic imaging.......................................................................... 197
7.8 Clinical applications of contrast agents and harmonic imaging.......197
References and Further Reading Materials................................................. 200

Chapter 8 Intracavity and high-frequency (HF) imaging.................. 201

8.1 Intracavity imaging.............................................................................. 201
8.1.1 Transesophageal cardiac imaging........................................ 201
8.1.2 Transrectal and transvaginal imaging................................ 203
8.1.3 Endoluminal imaging............................................................ 204
8.2 Intravascular imaging.......................................................................... 205
8.3 High-frequency imaging..................................................................... 207
8.4 Acoustic microscopes........................................................................... 212
References and Further Reading Materials................................................. 213
x Contents

Chapter 9 Multidimensional imaging and recent developments..... 215

9.1 Parallel processing................................................................................ 215
9.2 Multidimensional arrays..................................................................... 217
9.2.1 2D arrays.................................................................................. 218
9.2.2 Sparse arrays........................................................................... 227
9.3 3D imaging............................................................................................ 229
9.4 Recent developments........................................................................... 231
9.4.1 Photoacoustic imaging........................................................... 231
9.4.2 Multimodality imaging......................................................... 232
9.4.3 Portable scanners.................................................................... 233
References and Further Reading Materials................................................. 234

Chapter 10 Biological effects of ultrasound............................................ 237

10.1 Acoustic phenomena at high-intensity levels................................... 237
10.1.1 Wave distortion....................................................................... 237
10.1.2 Heating..................................................................................... 237
10.1.3 Cavitation................................................................................. 238
10.1.4 Radiation force and streaming............................................. 238
10.2 Ultrasound bioeffects........................................................................... 239
10.2.1 Thermal effects....................................................................... 239
10.2.2 Thermal index......................................................................... 239
10.2.3 Mechanical effects and mechanical index.......................... 240
10.2.4 Bioeffects associated with gaseous contrast agents........... 243
References and Further Reading Materials................................................. 243

Chapter 11 Methods for measuring speed, attenuation,

absorption, and scattering..................................................... 245
11.1 Velocity................................................................................................... 245
11.1.1 In vitro methods...................................................................... 245
11.1.1.1 Interferometric method......................................... 245
11.1.1.2 Pulse-echo method................................................ 245
11.1.1.3 Velocity difference method.................................. 248
11.1.2 In vivo methods....................................................................... 248
11.2 Attenuation............................................................................................ 250
11.2.1 In vitro methods...................................................................... 250
11.2.1.1 Transmission methods.......................................... 250
11.2.1.2 Transient thermoelectric method........................ 252
11.2.2 In vivo methods....................................................................... 254
11.2.2.1 Loss of amplitude method.................................... 255
11.2.2.2 Frequency shift method........................................ 255
Contents xi

11.3 Scattering............................................................................................... 257

11.3.1 In vitro methods...................................................................... 257
11.3.2 In vivo methods....................................................................... 261
References and Further Reading Materials................................................. 262
Preface
The field of medical imaging is advancing at a rapid pace. Imaging modal-
ities such as x-ray radiography, x-ray computed tomography (CT), ultra-
sound, nuclear imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and optical
imaging have been used in biology and medicine to visualize anatomi-
cal structures as large as the lung and liver and as small as molecules.
Ultrasound is considered the most cost-effective among them all. It is used
routinely in hospitals and clinics for diagnosing a variety of diseases and
is considered the tool of choice in obstetrics and cardiology because it is
safe and capable of providing images in real time. New applications in pre-
clinical or small animal imaging and cellular imaging are being explored.
Although there have been many clinical books published for ultra-
sound, very few technical books are available. Over the past 35 years, this
has been a major problem for the author in teaching a graduate course in
ultrasonic imaging at the Department of Bioengineering, Pennsylvania
State University, and the Department of Biomedical Engineering, University
of Southern California. It is for this purpose that this book was written.
The book is intended to be a textbook for a senior-level or first-year grad-
uate-level course in ultrasonic imaging in a biomedical engineering, elec-
trical engineering, medical physics, or radiological sciences curriculum.
An attempt has been made to minimize mathematical derivation and to
place more emphasis on physical concepts. In this edition, several chapters,
including the chapter on transducers, were greatly expanded. Chapter 1
gives an overview of the field of ultrasonic imaging and its role in diagnos-
tic medicine relative to other imaging modalities. Chapters 2 and 3 describe
the fundamental physics involved and a crucial device in ultrasound, ultra-
sonic transducers, respectively. Conventional imaging approaches and
Doppler measurements are given in Chapters 4 and 5. More recent devel-
opments, including contrast imaging and 4D imaging, are described in
Chapters 6 to 9. In Chapter 10, current status and standards on ultrasound
bioeffects are reviewed. Chapter 11 discusses methods that have been used
to measure ultrasonic properties of tissues. This chapter is optional and
may be eliminated at the discretion of the instructor. At the end of each
chapter a list of relevant references and further reading materials is given.

xiii
xiv Preface

Material contained in the book should be more than sufficient for a one-
semester graduate- or senior-level course.
The book should also be of interest to radiologists with some technical
background and practicing engineers and physicists working in the imag-
ing industry.
Acknowledgments
The author gratefully acknowledges the financial support provided by
NIH grant #P41-T-R002182 during the period in which this book was
written.

xv
About the Author
K. Kirk Shung obtained a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from University
of Washington, Seattle, in 1975. He is a Dean’s Professor in Biomedical
Engineering, an endowed position, at University of Southern California
and has been the director of NIH Resource Center on Medical Ultrasonic
Transducer Technology since 1997.
Dr. Shung is a life fellow of IEEE and a fellow of the Acoustical Society of
America and American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine. He is a found-
ing fellow of American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering.
Dr. Shung received the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society
Early Career Award in 1985 and was the coauthor of a paper that received
the best paper award for IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and
Frequency Control (UFFC) in 2000. He was selected as the distinguished lec-
turer for the IEEE UFFC society for 2002-2003. In 2010 and 2011, he received
the Holmes Pioneer Award in Basic Science from American Institute of
Ultrasound in Medicine and the academic career achievement award from
the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society.
Dr. Shung has published more than 500 papers and book chapters.
He is the author of a textbook Principles of Medical Imaging published by
Academic Press in 1992 and a textbook Diagnostic Ultrasound: Imaging
and Blood Flow Measurements published by CRC press in 2005. He co-
edited a book Ultrasonic Scattering by Biological Tissues published by CRC
Press in 1993. Dr. Shung is currently serving as an associate editor of
IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control, IEEE
Transactions on Biomedical and Engineering, and Medical Physics. Dr. Shung’s
research interest is in ultrasonic transducers, high frequency ultrasonic
imaging, ultrasound microbeam, and ultrasonic scattering in tissues.

xvii
chapter one

Introduction

1.1 History
The potential of ultrasound as an imaging modality was realized as early
as the late 1940s, when several groups of investigators around the world
utilizing sonar and radar technology developed during World War II
started exploring medical diagnostic capabilities of ultrasound (Goldberg
and Kimmelman, 1988). John Wild and John Reid in Minnesota developed
a prototype B-mode ultrasonic imaging instrument and were able to dem-
onstrate the capability of ultrasound for imaging and characterization of
cancerous tissues in the early 1950s at frequencies as high as 15 MHz. John
Wild’s pioneering effort and accomplishment were recognized with the
Japan prize in 1991. At the same time, Douglas Howry and Joseph Holms
at the University of Colorado at Denver, apparently unaware of the effort
by Wild and Reid, also built an ultrasonic imaging device with which
they produced cross-sectional images of the arm and leg. In Japan, start-
ing in the late 1940s, medical applications of ultrasound were explored by
Kenji Tanaka and Toshio Wagai. Two Japanese investigators, Drs. Shigeo
Satomura and Yasuhara Nimura, were credited for the earliest develop-
ment of ultrasonic Doppler devices for monitoring tissue motion and
blood flow in 1955. Virtually simultaneously with the work going on in
Japan and in the United States, Drs. Inge Edler and Hellmuth Hertz at
the University of Lund in Sweden worked on echocardiography, an ultra-
sound imaging technique for imaging cardiac structures and monitoring
cardiac functions. In parallel with these developments in the diagnostic
front, William Fry and his colleagues at the University of Illinois at Urbana
worked on using a high-intensity ultrasound beam to treat neurological
disorders in the brain. The primary form of ultrasonic imaging to date
has been that of a pulse-echo mode. The principle is very similar to that
of sonar and radar. In essence, following an ultrasonic pulse transmis-
sion, echoes from the medium being interrogated are detected and used
to form an image. Many terminologies used in ultrasound are imported
from the field of sonar and radar. Although pulse-echo ultrasound had
been used since the 1950s to diagnose a variety of medical problems, it
did not become a widely accepted diagnostic tool until the early 1970s,
when gray-scale ultrasound with nonlinear echo amplitude to gray-level

1
2 Diagnostic ultrasound: imaging and blood flow measurements

mapping was introduced. Continuous-wave (CW) and pulsed-wave (PW)

Doppler ultrasound devices for measuring blood flow also became avail-
able during that time. Duplex ultrasound scanners that combined both
functions, allowing the imaging of anatomy and the measurement of
blood flow with one single instrument, soon followed. Today, ultrasound
is the second most utilized diagnostic imaging modality in medicine (sec-
ond only to conventional x-ray) and is a critically important diagnostic
tool of any medical facility.
Although ultrasound has been in existence for more than 40 years and
is considered a mature technology by many, the field is by no means in a
stagnant state. Technical advances are constantly being made. The intro-
duction of contrast agents, harmonic imaging, flow and tissue displace-
ment imaging, multidimensional imaging, and high-frequency imaging
are just a few examples. In this book, these new developments, along
with fundamental physics, instrumentation, system architecture, biologi-
cal effects of ultrasound, and clinical applications, will be discussed in
detail.

1.2 Role of ultrasound in medical imaging

Ultrasound not only complements the more traditional approaches such
as x-ray, but also possesses unique characteristics that are advantageous in
comparison to other competing modalities, such as x-ray computed tomo­
graphy (CT), radionuclide emission tomography, and magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI). More specifically, ultrasound (1) is a form of nonionizing
radiation and is considered safe to the best of present knowledge, (2) is less
expensive than imaging modalities of similar capabilities, (3) produces
images in real time, unattainable at the present time by any other methods,
(4) has a resolution in the millimeter range for the frequencies being clini-
cally used today, which may be made better if the frequency is increased,
(5) can yield blood flow information by applying the Doppler principle, and
(6) is portable and thus can be easily transported to the bedside of a patient.
Ultrasound also has several drawbacks. Chief among them are that
(1) bony structures and organs containing gases cannot be adequately
imaged without introducing specialized procedures, (2) only a limited
window is available for ultrasonic examination of certain organs such
as the heart and neonatal brain, (3) it is operator skill dependent, and (4)
it is sometimes impossible to obtain good images from certain types of
patients, including obese patients.
The many advantages that ultrasound is capable of offering have
allowed it to become a valuable diagnostic tool in such medical disciplines
as cardiology, obstetrics, gynecology, surgery, pediatrics, radiology, and
neurology, to name just a few. The relationship among ultrasound and other
imaging modalities is a dynamic one. Ultrasound is the tool of choice in
Chapter one: Introduction 3

obstetrics primarily because of its noninvasive nature, its cost-effectiveness,

and its real-time imaging capability. This role will not change in the foresee-
able future. Ultrasound also enjoys similar success in cardiology, demon-
strated by the fact that echocardiography is a training that every cardiologist
must have. The future of ultrasound in cardiology, however, is not as rosy
as in obstetrics because while ultrasound is progressing at a rapid rate,
other competing imaging modalities, such as multislice spiral CT and MR,
are also making great strides in improving the image acquisition rate and
image quality. Ultrasound may lose ground in certain areas, but it may gain
in other areas. Ultrasound mammography is an example of gradually gaining
importance in breast cancer imaging. Nevertheless, at a time of heightened
public concern with health care costs, the cost-effectiveness of an imaging tool
is a crucial factor in planning diagnostic strategies. Diagnostic ultrasound is
particularly attractive in this respect and is likely to remain a major diagnostic
modality for many years to come.
Although the pace of development in therapeutic ultrasound has not
been as striking as diagnostic ultrasound, significant progress has also
been made in the past decades. These efforts have been primarily focused
on developing better devices for hyperthermia, frequently in combination
with chemotherapy or radiotherapy, for the treatment of tumors, and for
high-intensity focused tissue ablation.

1.3 Purpose of the book

This book is written based upon the notes for a graduate course on ultra-
sound imaging that the author has been teaching at the Department of
Bioengineering, Pennsylvania State University, and the Department of
Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California, since 1979. In
the 2nd edition several chapters are expanded and updated. The book is
intended to be a textbook for a senior- to graduate-level course in ultra-
sonic imaging. It should also be useful for physicists, engineers, clinicians,
and sonographers who are interested in learning more about the technical
side of diagnostic ultrasound as a reference.

References and Further Reading Materials

Cho ZH, Jones JP, and Singh M. Foundations of medical imaging. New York: John
Wiley, 1993.
Christensen DA. Ultrasonic bioinstrumentation. New York: John Wiley, 1988.
Cobbold RSC. Foundations of biomedical ultrasound. Oxford: Oxford Press, 2007.
Evans DH and McDicken WN. Doppler ultrasound: Physics, instrumentation, and
signal processing. 2nd ed. New York: John Wiley, 2000.
Goldberg BB and Kimmelman BA. Medical diagnostic ultrasound: A retrospective on
its 40th anniversary. Laurel, MD: AIUM, 1988.
4 Diagnostic ultrasound: imaging and blood flow measurements

Jensen JA. Estimation of blood velocities using ultrasound. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, 1996.
Kino GS. Acoustic waves: Devices, imaging, and analog signal processing. Englewood
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1987.
Kremkau FW. Sonography: Principles and instruments. 8th ed. St. Louis, MO:
Saunders, 2010.
Shung KK, Smith MB, and Tsui BWN. Principles of medical imaging. San Diego:
Academic Press, 1992.
Smith NB and Webb A. Introduction to medical imaging: Physics, engineering, and
clinical applications. New York: Cambridge Press, 2010.
Suetens P. Fundamentals of medical imaging. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2002.
Szabo TL. Diagnostic ultrasound imaging: Inside out. 2nd ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier
Press, 2014.
Webb A. Introduction to biomedical imaging. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2003.
Zagzebski JA. Essentials of ultrasound physics. St. Louis, MO: Mosby, 1996.
chapter two

Fundamentals of
acoustic propagation
Ultrasound is a sound wave characterized by such parameters as pres-
sure, particle (or medium) velocity, particle displacement, density, and
temperature. It differs from other sound waves in that its frequency is
higher than 20 × 103 cycles/s or 20 kilohertz (kHz). The audible range of
the human ear is from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Since ultrasound is a wave, it
transmits energy just like an electromagnetic wave or radiation. Unlike
an electromagnetic wave, however, sound requires a medium in which to
travel, and thus cannot propagate in a vacuum. To better visualize how
the sound propagates through a homogeneous medium, the medium can
be modeled as a three-dimensional (3D) matrix of elements that may rep-
resent molecules, atoms, or elemental volumes or particles, separated by
perfect elastic springs representing interelement forces. To simplify the
matter even more, only a 2D lattice is shown in Figure 2.1, where the ele-
ments are represented by spheres. When a particle is pushed to a distance
from its neutral position, the disturbance or force is transmitted to the
adjacent particle by the spring. This creates a chain reaction. If the driv-
ing force is oscillating back and forth or in a sinusoidal manner, the par-
ticles respond by oscillating in the same way. The distance, U, traveled
by the particle in the acoustic propagation is called particle or medium
displacement, usually in the order of a few tenths of a nanometer in water.
The velocity of the particle oscillating back and forth is called particle or
medium velocity, u, and is in the order of a few centimeters per second in
water. It must be noted that this velocity is different from the rate at which
the energy is propagating through the medium. The velocity at which
the ultrasound energy propagates through the medium is defined as the
phase velocity or the sound propagation velocity, c. In water, c ≈ 1500 m/s.
This is illustrated in Figure 2.1, which shows that the sound velocity is
much faster than the particle velocity. While the particle has only moved
a short distance, the perturbation has already been transmitted to other
particles over a much longer distance, U’. As a sinusoidal disturbance is
propagated into a liquid medium, regions of medium compression and
rarefaction are produced, as shown in Figure 2.2. If the pressure is plot-
ted, it represents pressure variation over static ambient pressure. In air,
the ambient pressure is 1 atm. In a water tank or in the human body, the

5
6 Diagnostic ultrasound: imaging and blood flow measurements

Molecules

Force X

Spring representing
U´ intermolecular forces

U = Particle displacement
U´ = Distance that the energy has traveled
ux = Particle velocity = ∂U/∂t

Figure 2.1 A 2D matrix of molecules perturbed by an external force. The actual

physical displacement of the lattices, U, is much smaller than the distance that the
energy has traveled, represented by U’.

ambient pressure can be much higher than 1 atm. The displacement of the
particles U is in the same direction as the direction of wave propagation
X. This type of wave is called a longitudinal or compressional wave. The
particle displacement in the rarefaction region is the largest, while it is
the smallest in the compression. If the displacement of a particle versus
distance or the displacement of a particle versus time is plotted, it can be
seen that the particle moves in a sinusoidal format, as shown in Figure 2.3.
The wavelength of a sound wave λ is defined as the distance between two
points of the same phase in space, e.g., two peaks, or the distance for one

Figure 2.2 Regions of compression and rarefaction are formed in medium during
sinusoidal wave propagation.
Chapter two: Fundamentals of acoustic propagation 7

Fixed Time

Displacement of Medium

Distance along Z-axis

(a)

Fixed Distance
Displacement of Medium

Time
(b)

Figure 2.3 At a fixed time (a), the distance between two troughs or two peaks is
defined as the wavelength, whereas at a fixed distance (b) the time lapse between
two troughs is called the period.

cycle of wave to occur, at a fixed time, and the period, T, is defined as the
time lapse between two points in time of the same phase, e.g., two peaks,
or the time that it takes for one cycle of wave to occur at a fixed point in
space. It follows from these definitions that

Tc = λ (2.1)

Since frequency f is defined as f = 1/T, Equation (2.1) can be rewritten as

fλ = c (2.2)
8 Diagnostic ultrasound: imaging and blood flow measurements

For an ultrasonic wave at 5 MHz, the wavelength is about 300 μm. It

will be shown later that the spatial resolution of an ultrasonic imaging
system, that is, its capability to spatially resolve an object, is primarily
determined by the wavelength. The ultimate resolution that a 5 MHz
ultrasonic imaging system can achieve is 300 μm. To improve the resolu-
tion, one option is to increase the frequency. In contrast, the wavelengths
involved in x-ray or optical imaging are much shorter. Thus, for these
modalities the frequency in general is not as critical when spatial resolu-
tion is concerned.

2.1 Stress and strain relationship

Acoustic propagation involves the propagation of a mechanical distur-
bance whose behavior can be derived from the fundamental concepts of
strain and stress. An incremental cube of material within a body with
external forces being applied to it is shown in Figure 2.4. The stress is
defined as the tensile force exerted on the incremental cube by other parts
of the body per unit area. On a unit surface perpendicular to the Z-axis or
Z-plane, the stress can be separated into three components:

κzz = longitudinal stress in the Z-direction

κyz = shear stress in the Y-direction
κxz = shear stress in the X-direction

Similarly, κzy, κyy, κxy and κzx, κyx, κxx denote the stresses acted on in the
Y- and X-planes. The deformation of the cube caused by an external force

y
∂κyz
κyz + ∆z
∂z

∂κxz
κyz κxz + ∆z
∂z

κxz
x ∂κzz
κzz κzz + ∆z
∂z
Δy

Δx
z
Δz

Figure 2.4 A stress is applied to a unit cube.

Chapter two: Fundamentals of acoustic propagation 9

is described by the parameter strain, defined as the displacement per unit

distance. The longitudinal strain in the Z-direction by the Z-plane is
∂W
ε zz =
∂z

and the shear strain in the X-direction by the Z-plane along the Z-axis is
∂U
ε xz =
∂z

where U, V, and W denote, respectively, the displacements in the X-, Y-,

and Z-directions. They are functions of (x, y, z). The longitudinal and
shear strains are graphically illustrated in Figure 2.5.

z ∂W
W+ ∆z
∂z

Δz
W

y
(a)

∂U
∆z
∂z

Δz

U(0) = 0
x
(b)

Figure 2.5 (a) Longitudinal strain of a Z-plane in the Z-direction. (b) Shear strain
of a Z-plane in the Y-direction.
10 Diagnostic ultrasound: imaging and blood flow measurements

Under the condition of small displacements, the stress-strain relation-

ships are linear (Malecki, 1969):

∂W
κ zz = ( ν + 2 ) = ( ν + 2 )ε zz (2.3)
∂z
∂V
κ yz = = ε yz (2.4)
∂z
∂U
κ xz = = ε xz (2.5)
∂z

where ν and μ are Lamé constants and μ is called the shear modulus
because it relates the shear strain to the shear stress. The Lamé constants
are related to the more conventional material constants, such as Young’s
modulus (E), bulk modulus (B), and Poisson’s ratio (νp), by the following
equations:

(3 ν + 2 )
E=
ν+

2
B= ν+
3
ν
νp =
2( ν + )

The definitions of these conventional elastic constants can be better

understood by examining Figure 2.6, where a square bar is shown under
tensile stress. The Young’s modulus is defined as the ratio of stress/
strain or κzz/εzz, and the Poisson ratio is defined as the negative of the

hεyy

Aκzz 2h Aκzz

2L Lεzz
z

Figure 2.6 A bar of square cross section under tensile stress. 2L and A are, respec-
tively, the length and cross-sectional A of the bar. 2h is the height.
Chapter two: Fundamentals of acoustic propagation 11

ratio of strain in the transverse direction to the strain in the longitudinal

direction, or –εyy/εzz.
The bulk modulus is the inverse of the compressibility of the medium.
The compressibility (G) of a medium is defined as the negative of the
change in volume per unit volume per unit change in pressure:

1 ∂V
G=−
V ∂p

where V denotes the volume of a medium and p is pressure. Pressure

is the normal compressional force applied on a surface per unit area of
the surface and has a unit pascal or newton/m2. Therefore, the pressure
applied on a surface equals the negative of the stress applied on that sur-
face. For a surface perpendicular to the Z-axis, p = –κzz. In a fluid where μ
approaches 0, B ~ ν and E ~ 0.

2.2 Acoustic wave equation

The equation of motion in the Z-direction for an incremental cube, as
shown in Figure 2.4, can be readily obtained by applying Newton’s second
law, that is, summing the net force applied on the cube in the Z-direction:

∂κ zz ∂κ zy ∂κ zx ∂2 W
+ + =ρ 2 (2.6)
∂z ∂y ∂x ∂t

where ρ is the mass density of the cube and t is time. The left-hand side
of the equation is the total force acting on the cube in the Z-direction, and
the right-hand side is simply the product of the mass and the acceleration
produced by the force.

2.2.1 Compressional wave

For the case where there are no shear stresses, κzy and κzx = 0, and
Equation (2.6) can be reduced to

∂κ zz ∂2 W
=ρ 2 (2.7)
∂z ∂t

Substituting (2.3) into (2.7),

∂2 W ρ ∂2 W
2
= (2.8)
∂z ν + 2 ∂t 2
12 Diagnostic ultrasound: imaging and blood flow measurements

This second-order differential equation is called the wave equation.

The solutions for this equation have the form of f(z ± ct), where the nega-
tive sign indicates a wave traveling in the +Z-direction, whereas the posi-
tive sign indicates a wave traveling in the –Z-direction. The displacement
W is in the same direction as the wave propagation, Z. This type of wave
is called a compressional or longitudinal wave. The sinusoidal solution for
this equation is

W  ( z, t) = W0 e j(ωt ± kz ) (2.9)

where W– and W+ denote displacements for positive and negative going

waves, respectively, ω = angular frequency = 2πf, k = ω/c is the wave num-
ber, and sound velocity c is given by

ν+2
c= (2.10)
ρ

For a fluid, μ can be assumed to approach 0; therefore,

B 1
c= = (2.11)
ρ Gρ

It is worth noting from this equation that the sound velocity in

a medium is determined by the density and the compressibility of a
medium. Sound velocity in air is much smaller than that in water. This is
because although air has a small density, its compressibility is quite large,
and thus offsets the smaller density.

2.2.2 Shear wave

For a case where κzz = κzy = 0, a new type of wave in which the displace-
ment W is perpendicular to the direction of propagation X is character-
ized by

∂κ zx ∂2 W
=ρ 2
∂x ∂t

By substituting κzx = μ(∂W/∂x) into the equation above,

∂2 W ρ ∂2 W
= (2.12)
∂x2 ∂t 2
Chapter two: Fundamentals of acoustic propagation 13

This equation describes a wave traveling in the X-direction with a dis-

placement in the Z-direction. The sinusoidal solution to Equation (2.12) is

W  ( x , t) = W0 e j(ωt ± kt x ) (2.13)

This type of wave expressed by (2.13) is called shear or transverse wave.

The wave number for the shear wave is given by kt = ω/ct, where ct is the
shear wave propagation velocity given by

ct = (2.14)
ρ

It is obvious from Equation (2.14) that a shear wave can only exist in a
medium with nonzero shear modulus; that is, fluid cannot support the
propagation of a shear wave.
Both the longitudinal and shear velocities, as apparent from (2.11)
and (2.14), are affected by the mechanical properties of a tissue.
Pathological processes that alternate these properties can cause the
sound velocity to change. Therefore, if the velocity of a tissue can be
accurately measured, the result can be used to infer or diagnose its
pathology. A few ultrasonic devices on the market today for diagnos-
ing osteoporosis are based on this principle since osteoporosis causes
a loss of bone mass.

2.3 Characteristic impedance

For sinusoidal excitation, the medium velocity or particle velocity in the
Z-direction uz can be found from the particle displacement W by differen-
tiating W with respect to t:

∂W
uz = = jωW
∂t

It can be seen that the particle velocity is always 90° out of phase relative to the
displacement. Since pressure is related to the stress by the following equation,

p = –κzz

it follows from (2.3) that

∂W
p = −( ν + 2 ) (2.15)
∂z
14 Diagnostic ultrasound: imaging and blood flow measurements

For a longitudinal wave, the displacement W is given by (2.9).

Substituting (2.9) into (2.15),

p ± = ± jk( ν + 2 )W ± = ± jωρcW ±

Replacing jωW by uz,

p ± = ± ρcuz ± (2.16)

Note that the pressure, like the velocity, is 90° out of phase relative to the
displacement. Equation (2.16) also indicates that the pressure and velocity
are in phase for the positive-traveling wave, and 180° out of phase for the
negative-traveling wave.
The specific acoustic impedance of a medium is defined as

p±
Z± = = ±ρc (2.17)
uz±

where the product ρc is also called the characteristic acoustic impedance

of a medium. The acoustic impedance has a unit of kg/m2-s or Rayl to
commemorate Lord Rayleigh, the father of modern acoustics. The positive
and negative signs are for the positive and negative going waves, respec-
tively. The acoustic velocity and impedance for a few common materials
and biological tissues are listed in Table 2.1. The acoustic velocity in a
medium is a sensitive function of the temperature, but its dependence on
frequency is minimal over the frequency range from 1 to 15 MHz. As will

Table 2.1 Acoustic Properties of Biological Tissues and Relevant Materials

Attenuation Backscattering
Speed, Acoustic coefficient, coefficient,
m/s At impedance, np/cm at cm–1sr–1 at
Material 20–25°C MRayl 1 MHz 5 MHz
Air 343 0.0004 1.38 —
Water 1480 1.48 0.00025 —
Fat 1450 1.38 0.06 —
Myocardium 1550 1.62 0.35 8 × 10–4
(perpendicular
to fibers)
Blood 1550 1.61 0.02 2 × 10–5
Liver 1570 1.65 0.11 5 × 10–3
Skull bone 3360 6.00 1.30 —
Aluminum 6420 17.00 0.0021 —
Chapter two: Fundamentals of acoustic propagation 15

be seen later, the acoustic impedance is a very important parameter in

ultrasonic imaging since it determines the amplitude of the echoes that
are reflected or scattered by tissue components. These echoes are acquired
by an imaging device to form an image.

2.4 Intensity
The intensity of an ultrasonic wave is the average energy carried by a
wave per unit area normal to the direction of propagation over time. It is
well known that energy consumed by a force F that has moved an object
by a distance L is equal to FL. The power is defined as energy per unit
time. Since ultrasound is a pressure wave, intuitively one may deduce
from the above relationship that the power, P, carried by an ultrasonic
wave is given by

P = (Force exerted by the pressure wave ∙ Medium displacement)/Time

= Force ∙ Medium velocity

Now since intensity i(t) is the power carried by the wave per unit area,
it follows that

i(t) = dP/dA = p(t)u(t)

For the case of sinusoidal propagation, the average intensity I can be

found by averaging i(t) over a cycle:
T
1 1
I = p0 u0 ⋅
T ∫ sin ωt = 2 p u
0
2
0 0 (2.18)

where p0 and u0 denote peak values of pressure and medium velocity, and
T is the period. Since Z = p/u = ρc, substituting p = ρcu into (2.18),

1
I= ρcu02
2

Here it is appropriate to define a few terms related to ultrasound inten-

sity that have been used frequently in medical ultrasound as indicators of
exposure level. These definitions are necessitated by the fact that a major-
ity of the current ultrasonic imaging devices are of the pulse-echo type, in
which very short pulses of ultrasound consisting of a few cycles of the oscil-
lation are transmitted. This is illustrated in Figure 2.7. Therefore, the tempo-
ral averaged intensity differs from that given by Equation (2.18). Moreover,
the intensity within an ultrasound beam in general is not spatially uniform.
The typical profile of an ultrasonic beam is shown in Figure 2.8. The spatial
16 Diagnostic ultrasound: imaging and blood flow measurements

τ
Tr

Intensity
ITP

Time
τ /T = Pulse duration/pulse repetition period
= Duty cycle
ITP = Temporal peak intensity, ITA = Temporal
averaged intensity = (τ /T) ITP

Figure 2.7 An ultrasonic pulse train in time with a temporal peak intensity ITP,
pulse duration τ, and pulse repetition period T.

averaged intensity ISA is defined as the average intensity over the ultra-
sound beam.

r
1
ISA =
A ∫ 0
I (r ) dA

where 2Δr is the beam width, which is often defined as the spatial extent
between the two –3 or – 6 dB points, and A (the beam area) = π (Δr)2.
Figure 2.8 shows that the spatial peak intensity in the beam is 1 W/cm2,
while the spatial average intensity is only 0.8 W/cm2.
Temporal average intensity is defined as the average intensity over a
pulse repetition period Tr and is given by the product of duty factor and
temporal peak intensity, where the duty factor is defined as

Duty factor = Pulsed duration (τ)/Pulsed repetition period (Tr)

Figure 2.7 shows that the duty factor is 0.2 in this case. Whenever bio-
logical effects of ultrasound are considered, it is absolutely crucial to state

ISP 1 w/cm2
0.8 w/cm2
Intensity

ISA –6 dB

r
2 Δr

Figure 2.8 The ultrasonic lateral beam profile in the X-direction with the propa-
gation direction in the Z-direction.
Chapter two: Fundamentals of acoustic propagation 17

ISPPA = spatial peak pulse average intensity

ISPTP
Intensity

ISPPA

Time

Figure 2.9 Definition of ISPPA.

or understand which definition of intensity is being used (AIUM, 1984). In

general, spatial average temporal average intensity ISATA and spatial peak
temporal average intensity ISPTA are preferred. The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) also requires reporting a few other numbers when
submitting an ultrasonic device for approval, including ISPPA, spatial peak
pulse-averaged intensity, and the total power emitted by a probe, depicted
in Figure 2.9. The spatial peak pulse-averaged intensity is defined as the
spatial peak intensity averaged over the pulse duration. As an example, a
probe at 5 MHz emitting a total power of 1.1 mW at a pulse repetition fre-
quency of 3 kHz may have an ISPTA of 1.1 mW/cm2, ISPPA of 25 W/cm2, and
spatial peak and temporal peak pressure of 0.66 MPa at the focal point.
These numbers indicate that the time-averaged intensity may be low, but
the instantaneous peak pressure and intensity, which are concerns for
mechanical bioeffects, can be very high. The potential bioeffects of ultra-
sound will be discussed in Chapter 10.

2.5 Acoustic radiation force

Like an optical wave, an acoustic wave exerts a body force called acoustic
radiation force (ARF) to a medium due to the nonlinear interaction between
ultrasound and the medium when there is a decrease in ultrasonic intensity
in the direction of wave propagation (Nightingale, 2011). The ARF, fr, is related
to the intensity of the beam for a plane wave by the following equation:

2αI
fr = (2.19)
c

where I denotes intensity, c is sound velocity in the medium where the plane
wave is propagating, and α is the attenuation coefficient of the medium.
It has a unit of newton/m3. This can be found from Equation (2.19). The
unit for 2αI/c is (1/m) ∙ (newton-m/s-m2) ∙ (s/m) = newton/m3. The non-
linear interaction between ultrasound and a medium will be discussed in
18 Diagnostic ultrasound: imaging and blood flow measurements

Section 2.8 in more detail. Energy will be deposited into tissues as the wave
penetrates deeper and harmonics are generated, resulting in a decrease in
intensity and causing a force exerted on an object in the direction of wave
propagation. This concept may be more easily understood from the particle
point of view, i.e., a phonon in acoustics and a photon for optics. When a
phonon or a photon collides with an object, e.g., a molecule, momentum
transfer occurs and causes a force exerted on the object. The radiation force
per unit area or radiation pressure pr exerted by the wave on an object much
larger than the wavelength is given by
pr = a(I/c) (2.20)
where a is a constant depending upon the acoustic properties of the tar-
get and its geometry (Kossoff, 1972). If a target is made of a material of
large acoustic impedance, such as steel, and reflects almost completely
the ultrasound beam propagating in water, a = 2. If the target is a perfect
absorber, a = 1. The reason for this can be understood by simply consider-
ing the momentum transfer that occurs as two objects collide, i.e.,
pr Δt = ρΔu
where ρ is the mass density, Δt is the contact time of the two objects, and
Δu is the change in velocity of one of the two objects, assuming that the
other is stationary. Since the momentum transfer that occurs at the inter-
face for a perfect reflector is twice as large as that for an absorber, fr acting
on a perfect reflector should be twice as large. A more complete treatment
can be found in Westervelt (1951).
The acoustic radiation force is a very useful phenomenon for deter-
mining power of an ultrasonic beam. A device that has often been used
for measuring the intensity of an ultrasonic beam, called radiation force
balance, is shown in Figure 2.10. A target with the surface covered with
either an absorbing or a reflective material is suspended in water. The
ultrasonic radiator should be positioned such that the beam is normally
incident upon the target. The weight determined by the balance would
yield the radiation pressure from which the intensity can be calculated
using Equation (2.20).
The acoustic radiation force has been used as a means to perturb an
object remotely so that from the displacement of the object, which can be
measured via ultrasonic imaging, an assessment of the elastic properties
of the medium surrounding the object may be made (Nightingale, 2011).

2.6 Reflection and refraction

As a plane ultrasonic wave encounters an interface between two media, I
and II, of different acoustic impedance, it will be reflected and refracted.
Part of the energy carried by the incident wave is reflected and travels at the
Chapter two: Fundamentals of acoustic propagation 19

To Balance

Transducer

Ultrasound Beam

Water

Absorbing Target Water Tank

Figure 2.10 A radiation balance with an absorbing target.

same velocity as the incident wave. The transmitted or refracted wave in the
second medium travels at a different velocity. The directions of the reflected
and refracted waves are governed, just as in optics, by Snell’s law. This is
illustrated in Figure 2.11, where the subscripts i, r, and t refer to incident,
reflected, and transmitted or refracted waves, respectively. The boundary
conditions are that the pressure and medium velocity must be continuous,
and the energy is conserved across the boundary, that is, at the boundary:

pi + pr = pt
ui + ur = ut
Ii = Ir + It

Incident wave Reflected wave

θi θr

Z1

Z2

θt

Refracted wave

Figure 2.11 A plane ultrasonic wave reflected and refracted by a flat interface
between two media.
20 Diagnostic ultrasound: imaging and blood flow measurements

By applying these relationships, it is found that as in optics,

θi = θr and sinθi/sinθt = cl/c2 (2.21)

where θt = π/2, sinθt = 1, and θic = sin–1(cl/c2) if c2 > cl. For any incident angle
greater than θic, there is no transmission; that is, total reflection occurs.
Therefore, θic is called the critical angle.
The pressure reflection and transmission coefficients, R and T, can be
easily found by using the boundary conditions that the pressure and par-
ticle velocity should be continuous across the boundary.
pr Z2 cos θi − Z1 cos θt
R= = (2.22)
pi Z2 cos θi + Z1 cos θt

pt 2 Z2 cos θi
T= = (2.23)
pi Z2 cos θi + Z1 cos θt

For normal incidence, θi = θt = 0, and (2.22) and (2.23) become

R = pr/pi = (Z2 – Z1)/(Z2 + Z1) (2.24)

T = pt/pi = 2Z2/(Z2 + Z1) (2.25)

Since p = Zu, I = po2/2Z, from Equations (2.22) and (2.23), it can be

shown that,
2
Ir Z2 cos θi − Z1 cos θt
= (2.26)
Ii Z2 cos θi + Z1 cos θt

It 4Z2 Z1 cos θi
= (2.27)
I i (Z2 cos θi + Z1 cos θt )2

The quantities (Ir/Ii) and (It/Ii) are, respectively, intensity reflection and
transmission coefficients at the interface. For normal incidence, θi = θt = 0,
(2.26) and (2.27) become
Ir/Ii = [(Z2 – Z1)/(Z2 + Z1)]2 (2.28)
It/Ii = 4Z2Z1/(Z2 + Z1)2 (2.29)

As an acoustic wave propagates through an inhomogeneous medium

such as biological tissues, part of its energy will be lost due to absorption
and scattering, which will be discussed later, and part of its energy will
be lost due to specular reflection at the boundary of two adjacent layers
of tissues. The ultrasonic images are formed from the specularly reflected
echoes due to planar interfaces as well as the diffusely scattered echoes due
to small inhomogeneities in tissue parenchyma. Therefore, any change in
Chapter two: Fundamentals of acoustic propagation 21

the elastic properties of the tissues as a result of a disease may be detectable

from the ultrasonic image. This has been the principal rationale behind the
conventional pulse-echo ultrasonic imaging methods. Since both scattering
and reflection depend on the elastic properties of the tissues, which deter-
mine the acoustic impedance of the tissue, intuitively one may postulate
that echographic visualizability of tissues is determined mostly by their
connective tissue content (Fields and Dunn, 1973). The acoustic impedance
of connective tissues and tissues containing high concentrations of connec-
tive tissues has been found to be much higher than other types of tissue
components, such as fat and protein and tissues containing less connec-
tive tissues. The velocity in collagen has been found to be approximately
1.7 ∙ 105 cm/s (Goss and O’Brien, 1979). The acoustic impedance of blood
vessels, which are composed mainly of connective tissues, should be and
was found to be higher than that of most other tissues (Geleski and Shung,
1982). Because of their higher impedance than surrounding tissues, tis-
sues that contain more connective tissues should be more echogenic than
those that contain less. However, it must be noted that the attenuation of
ultrasound in connective tissues is also much higher (Greenleaf, 1986).
Very little energy can transmit through a mass such as a solid tumor com-
posed of mainly connective tissues. Thus, an acoustic shadow may be
created behind such a mass. This has been used as one of the criteria for
diagnosing tumors. The origin of the ultrasonic echoes observed in an
ultrasonic image for most of the soft tissues has not yet been determined.
There is, however, experimental evidence suggesting that at least in mus-
cle and myocardium, the collagen fibers surrounding the muscle fibers
affect to a great extent the echogenicity of these tissues (Hete and Shung,
1993). Although the postulation that tissue echogenicity is largely deter-
mined by its connective tissue content may appear to be true, other fac-
tors, such as cellular dimension and tissue complexity, should also play
an important role and cannot be ignored (Shung and Thieme, 1993). There
has been a long-standing interest in correlating the acoustic parameters,
such as scattering, attenuation, and acoustic impedance, to the biological
composition of the tissues or ultrasonic characterization of biological tis-
sues (Greenleaf, 1986; Shung and Thieme, 1993).

2.7 Attenuation, absorption, and scattering

When an ultrasonic wave propagates through a heterogeneous medium,
its energy is reduced or attenuated as a function of distance. The energy
may be diverted by reflection or scattering or absorbed by the medium
and converted to heat. The reflection and scattering of a wave by an object
actually are referring to the same phenomenon, the redistribution of the
energy from the primary incident direction into other directions. This
redistribution of energy is termed reflection when the wavelength and
22 Diagnostic ultrasound: imaging and blood flow measurements

wavefront of the wave are much smaller than the object, and is termed
scattering if the wavelength and the wavefront are greater than or compa-
rable to the dimension of the object.

2.7.1 Attenuation
The pressure of a plane monochromatic wave propagating in the
Z-direction decreases exponentially as a function of z:

p( z) = p( z = 0)e −αz (2.30)

where p(z = 0) is the pressure at z = 0 and α is the pressure attenuation

coefficient.
Therefore,

1 p( z = 0)
α= ln
z p( z)

The attenuation coefficient has a unit of np/cm and is sometimes expressed

in the unit of dB/cm, or

α(dB/cm) = 20(log 10 e)α(np/cm) = 8.686α(np/cm)

To convert α in np/cm to dB/cm, simply multiply α in np/cm by 8.686.

If a tissue has an attenuation coefficient of 0.1 np/cm, in dB/cm, α = 8.686 ×
0.1 dB/cm = 0.8686 dB/cm. Typical values of the attenuation coefficient in
some materials are given in Table 2.1.
The relative importance of absorption and scattering to attenua-
tion of ultrasound in biological tissues is a matter being continuously
debated. Investigations to date have shown that scattering contributes
little to attenuation, at most a few percent, in most soft tissues (Shung and
Thieme, 1993). Therefore, it is safe to say that absorption is the dominant
mechanism for ultrasonic attenuation in biological tissues.

2.7.2 Absorption
As was discussed earlier, part of the ultrasound energy propagating in an
inhomogeneous medium is lost due to the redistribution of the energy,
such as scattering and reflection, and part of the energy is absorbed by the
medium. The energy absorbed by the medium is converted to heat. The
absorption mechanisms in biological tissues are quite complex and have
been assumed to arise from (1) classical absorption due to viscosity and (2)
a relaxation phenomenon. Both mechanisms depend upon the frequency
of the wave. In earlier developments an ideal fluid with μ ~ 0 has been
assumed, and this means that the absorption due to the classical viscous
Chapter two: Fundamentals of acoustic propagation 23

loss is ignored. However, in reality, this is seldom the case. Recall the defi-
nition of shear strain in the X-direction along the Z-axis:
∂U
ε xz =
∂z
In fluids, the rate of strain, which is of more interest than the strain
itself, is given by
∂ε xz ∂ ∂U ∂ux
= = (2.31)
∂t ∂t ∂ z ∂z

where ux is the particle velocity in the X-direction and ∂ux/∂z is the velocity
gradient along the Z-axis. When a fluid with finite viscosity is subject to
shear stress, κxz, as shown in Figure 2.12, it exhibits a velocity gradient,
∂ux/∂z. The coefficient of viscosity, denoted as η with a unit in poises, is
defined as the ratio of shear stress to the resultant velocity gradient:
κ xz
η= (2.32)
∂ux / ∂ z
It has been shown that for a homogeneous medium like water, the
absorption coefficient for an ultrasonic wave of frequency ω is related to
viscosity and frequency by the following expression:
2ω 2 η
α=
3ρc

where η = μ/jω from Equations (2.5) and (2.32). Note here that the absorp-
tion coefficient is proportional to ω2. In many homogeneous materials,
such as air and water, where the elemental particles of the medium are

κxz ∂ux
∂z

ux

Fluid

Figure 2.12 Shear stress in the X-direction on a Z-plane produces a velocity

gradient along the Z-direction.
24 Diagnostic ultrasound: imaging and blood flow measurements

much smaller than the wavelength, this (frequency)2 dependence of

absorption is seen, but in most biological materials, this is not the case.
Experimental results on the attenuation coefficient of ultrasound in bio-
logical tissues indicate an approximately linear dependence on frequency
below 15 MHz, and an alternative theory is needed to explain this behav-
ior. It has been theorized that ultrasonic absorption in biological tissues is
dominated by a relaxation process.
When an elemental particle in a medium such as a molecule is
pushed to a new position by a force and then released, a finite time
is required for the particle to return to its neutral position. This time
is called the relaxation time of the particle. For a medium that is com-
posed of the same type of particles, the relaxation time is also the relax-
ation time of the medium. If the relaxation time is short compared to the
period of the wave, its effect on the wave should be small. However, if
the relaxation time is comparable to the period of the wave, the particle
may not be able to completely return to its neutral state before a second
wave arrives. When this occurs, the wave is moving in one direction,
whereas the molecules are moving in the other direction. More energy
is thus required to reverse the direction of the particle motion. If the
frequency is increased high enough that the molecules simply cannot
follow the wave motion, the relaxation effect again becomes negligible.
Maximum absorption occurs when the relaxation motion of the particles
is completely out of synchronization with the wave motion. Therefore,
the relaxation process is characterized by a relaxation frequency where
the absorption is maximal and is negligibly small for low-frequency and
high-frequency regions, illustrated in Figure 2.13. Mathematically, the
relaxation process can be represented by the following equation:
Bf 2
αr =
1 + ( f /fR )2

where αr = component of the absorption coefficient due to the relaxation

process, f R = relaxation frequency = 1/TR, TR = relaxation time, and B is a

αr

fR f

Figure 2.13 Ultrasonic absorption caused by a relaxation process characterized

by relaxation frequency f R.
Chapter two: Fundamentals of acoustic propagation 25

αr

f
fR1 fR2

Figure 2.14 Ultrasonic absorption caused by multiple relaxation processes char-

acterized by relaxation frequency f R1, f R2, ….

constant. In a biological tissue, there are many components, giving rise to

many relaxation frequencies. The absorption coefficient in a tissue can be
expressed as

α a /f 2 = A + ∑ 1 + ( fB/f
i
i

Ri )2
(2.33)

where A is a constant associated with classical absorption and Bi and fRi are
the relaxation constants and frequencies associated with different tissue
components (Dunn and Goss, 1986). A possible scenario for this equation
is illustrated in Figure 2.14, where many relaxation processes may overlap,
resulting in a linear increase in the diagnostic ultrasound frequency range
or a constant αλ. Figure 2.15 shows the absorption of ultrasound in various
biological tissues as a function of frequency. As can be seen, the absorption

100

Bone

10–1
Brain, liver,
αλ

kidney, muscle

10–2 Fat

Water
Conc. red cells

10–3
0.1 1 10 100 1000
Frequency (MHz)

Figure 2.15 Ultrasonic absorption in biological tissues as a function of frequency.

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 THE JOURNAL OF

AMERICAN FOLK-LORE.

Vol. VI.—JULY-SEPTEMBER, 1893.—No.

XXII.
 BLACKFOOT MYTHOLOGY.[1]

The Blackfoot Indian Confederacy comprises the Piegan, Blood,

and Blackfoot tribes. Each tribe is located on its own reservation, and
the three reservations are within the provisional district of Alberta.
The separation of the tribes, the rapid settlement of the country by
the white people, the death of many of the old chiefs, and the
depressed spirits of the people have seriously impaired the purity of
the folk-lore of the natives. The following fragments were gathered
from the lips of the Blood Indians, as I sat in their lodges with note-
book in hand. The younger members of the tribe could not be relied
upon to relate these myths accurately. Those I have given have been
repeatedly verified by the aged members of the tribe.
 CREATION MYTH.
Napioa, the Old Man, floated upon a log in the waters, and had
with him four animals: Mameo, the fish; Matcekûpis, the frog;
Maniskeo, the lizard; and Spopeo, the turtle. He sent them down into
the waters in the order named, to see what they could find. The first
three descended, but never returned; the turtle, however, arose with
his mouth full of mud. Napioa took the mud from the mouth of the
turtle, rolled it around in the hollow of his hand, and in this manner
made the earth, which fell into the waters, and afterward grew to its
present size.

There was only one person named Napioa. He lived in the world
when the people who dwelt with him had two heads. He did not
make these people, although he made the world, and how they came
upon the earth no one knows. The Bloods do not know where Napioa
came from. They do not know whether he was an Indian or not. He
was not the ancestor of the Blackfeet, but the Creator of the Indian
race. He was double-jointed. He is not dead, but is living in a great
sea in the south. He did not make the white people, and the Indians
do not know who made them.
After he made the earth, he first made a woman. Her mouth was
slit vertically, and he was not satisfied, so he closed it, and recut it in
the same shape as it has remained till to-day. Afterward he made
several women, and then he made several men. The men lived
together, but separate from the women, and they did not see the
women for some time. When the men first saw the women they were
astonished and somewhat afraid. Napioa told them to take one
woman each, but they were afraid. He encouraged them, and then
they each took a wife.
Napioa made the buffalo. They were quite tame. He gave bows and
arrows to the Indians and told them to shoot the buffalo. They did
so; and as the buffalo were tame, they killed a large number.
 ORIGIN OF THE WIND.
The stories differ. Some say that it is caused by a very large deer
which dwells in the mountains; others, that there are large cattle in
the mountains, who roar loudly and thus cause the wind to blow; and
again others, that it is caused by a large bird flapping its wings in the
mountains. The prevailing form is the following:
Napioa at one time had with him the wolf as his companion. He
also had with him an owl, which he employed to look for things for
him when it was dark. As he was travelling around he saw a lodge in
which were a man and a woman. In this lodge were two bags; one
contained the winter and the other the summer. He told the owl to
look in and see what there was inside the lodge, and when he looked
he saw the two bags. Napioa said that he was going to place some
months in each bag, and make the summer and winter of equal
length. He went inside, and the woman had a long piece of ice. He
failed to accomplish his purpose. He came out of the lodge
determined to gain possession of the summer and winter bags. He
told the prairie chicken to steal the bags, and it got hold of the
summer bag and escaped. Being pursued by the man and woman, the
prairie chicken hid in the long grass. The man and woman cut the
long grass to get the bag. The chicken clung close to the earth, and
had part of the extremity of its body taken off. In the struggle the bag
burst, and a very strong wind sprang up.
Some time after this, Napioa, having burnt himself, was anxious
for a wind to blow to cool himself. He went up to the top of a
mountain and began “making medicine,” and the wind soon began to
blow. It blew so hard that he had to hold on to the bushes, but they
were torn up by the roots. At last he caught hold of a birch tree and
firmly clung to it, so that by the force of the wind and his weight
marks were left upon the bark of the tree.
 THE BLOOD-CLOT BOY.
There lived, a long time ago, an old man and his wife, who had
three daughters and one son-in-law. One day, as the mother was
cooking some meat, she threw a clot of blood into the pot containing
the meat. The pot began to boil, and then there issued from it a
peculiar hissing noise. The old woman looked into the pot, and was
surprised to see that the blood-clot had become transformed into a
little boy. Quickly he grew, and in a few moments he sprang from the
pot, a full-grown young man. The father and mother were delighted,
but the son-in-law was angry and jealous. The name of the blood-clot
boy was Kûtoyĭs. The son-in-law was a lazy, badtempered young
man, who made the old man hunt the buffalo, procure the wood, and
carry the water. He had a lodge of his own, where he dwelt with his
wife. When the old man brought in the meat he threw it down in his
lodge; and no sooner had he placed it there than the son-in-law came
and took whatever he needed, oftentimes leaving the old man and his
family in want. The old man brought in wood and water for his
family, and the son-in-law took what he wanted. Sometimes the old
man and his family were compelled to suffer, because as he was old
he could not work very hard, and all that he had was taken from him.
The son-in-law would not hunt, but depended altogether upon the
old man to support him. Kûtoyĭs went out to hunt with his father,
and he proved himself to be an expert hunter. He saw a fine fat
buffalo cow, and he killed it. He procured abundance of meat for his
father, and he carried it home for him. He would not allow the old
man to do any work. He filled his lodge with meat. He then went out
and got a large supply of wood and water. As Kûtoyĭs and his father
were walking together, they heard the son-in-law scolding. The old
man was afraid. Kûtoyĭs told his father not to be afraid. He told him
to say to his son-in-law that he could not get any of the meat, wood,
or water. If he threatened to kill him, he was to answer him in the
same manner. The son-in-law came to the old man’s lodge and began
to remove the meat. The old man told him to leave it alone. He
threatened to kill the old man, and the father-in-law angrily retorted
that he would kill him. The son-in-law became very angry, and ran to
his lodge for his bow and arrows. When he had procured them he
returned, scolding and threatening; and as he reached the old man’s
lodge, Kûtoyĭs, who had been hiding behind the lodge, sprang in
front of the old man, and the two men fought. Kûtoyĭs drew his bow
and killed his brother-in-law dead. After his death the old man and
his family had peace and abundance of food. The son-in-law had no
distinguishing name. Kûtoyĭs sought to drive out all the evil in the
world, and to unite the people and make them happy.
The fathers and mothers in the camp told this story to their
children to hush them to sleep.
 NAPIOA.
Napioa is the Secondary Creator of the Indians. There are two
kinds of stories told concerning him. One class reveals him in the
character of a good man, and the other class as a bad man. He is not,
however, a man, but a supernatural being, able to perform deeds
which no human being could perform. The Indians do not know the
manner of his birth, nor the place from whence he came. He is still
living in a great sea away in the south. He made his home for a long
time at the source of the Old Man’s River, in Alberta, where may be
seen the lake from which he drank, the stones which he threw along
the ground when he was sporting, and the indentations in the ground
showing where he lay. At the Red Deer River there is a high ridge,
where there is a land-slide, down which Napioa slid as a toboggan
slide.
One day, as he was travelling across the prairie, he saw a bird
which threw its eyes upward, and said, “Tuhu!” As he came up to the
place where the bird was, he said, “Let me see how you do that?”
After being told to repeat this word and throw his head back, he felt
quite elated. He was so much overjoyed that he threw his eyes up
repeatedly. He was standing under a tree, and as he threw his eyes
upward they were caught in the branches of the tree, and he lost his
sight. He then went off alone. As he wandered on his journey he kept
beckoning in different directions, so that if any one saw him he
would receive help and find his people. A woman saw him throwing
his arms about as if desiring some one to come to him, and at once
she went and asked him what he wanted. He said, “Take me to the
place where the people are.” She took him and led him along by
means of a stick, the woman going in front and Napioa following. He
was afraid that she might leave him, so he tied a bell to her dress,
that he might follow her should she try to escape. Nothing eventful
happened until they crossed a river, when he inquired, “Are there
any buffalo to be seen?” The woman answered, “Yes, there are some
at the river now.” He told her to point his arrow toward the buffalo,
that he might shoot one. She did so; but he missed the buffalo, and
then he shouted that the arrow did not belong to him. Again he
commanded her to point an arrow in the right direction; but the
buffalo were not killed, and again he asserted that the arrow did not
belong to him. After several attempts he shot a buffalo, and then
called out, “That was my arrow.” He bade the woman skin the
animal, cut up the meat, and bring it to the camping ground. While
she was doing this he said that he would put up the lodge. He sought
the lodge-poles; and as he brought them one by one, he failed to find
those that he had already placed on the ground. He had quite a
number of lodge-poles arranged here and there, but owing to his
blindness he could not collect them. When the woman returned she
asked him why he had so many poles, and none arranged in their
proper places. “That you might choose the best ones,” he replied.
Thus was Napioa ever crafty, never allowing any one to say that there
was anything wrong with him. The lodge being prepared, and supper
ended, Napioa went to sleep. As he lay with his hair drawn over his
eyes, the curiosity of the woman tempted her to lift the hair that she
might see his face. As she slowly lifted his locks she gazed into the
empty sockets from which his eyes had been torn, and suddenly
seized with terror, she fled from the lodge and sped her way through
the darkness. Napioa heard the bell, and springing from his grassy
bed, pursued her, guided by the ringing of the bell. She ran in
different directions; but he was fast gaining upon her when she tore
the bell from her dress, and as she threw it one way she ran in
another direction, and thus escaped from the wiles of Napioa.

The dwellers in the Western lodges have many legends relating to

places of historical interest in the country, and these throw a flood of
light on the religious ideas, migrations, social and domestic customs,
political life, and other matters of interest connected with the tribes
comprising the Blackfoot Confederacy. Some of the legends are local,
and when told by the aged men as they sit around their camp-fires,
vary somewhat in detail according to the intellectual ability,
inventiveness, and strength of memory of the narrator. I have
listened to some of these legends as told over and over again for the
past nine years, and I find that the young men are not able to relate
them as accurately as the aged; besides, as the country is becoming
settled with white people, they are less disposed to tell to others their
native religious ideas, lest they are laughed at because of not
believing the same things as their superior brethren of the white
race. As the children grow up they are forgetting these things, and
the years are not far distant when the folk-lore of the Blackfeet will
be greatly changed, and many of their traditions forgotten.
 THE LEGEND OF SHEEP CREEK.
Napioa, the Old Man, the Secondary Creator of the Blackfeet, was
travelling one day with the Kit-Fox, near Sheep Creek, which is
located about twenty-five miles south of Calgary, in the Provisional
District of Alberta. As they travelled together they saw a large rock,
and Napioa felt constrained to make an offering of his robe to it. He
presented the robe, and, with the Kit-Fox as his companion,
departed. He had not proceeded far upon the way, when perceiving
that it was going to rain, he told his companion to return and ask the
rock to give him back his robe, as he was afraid of being drenched
with the rain. The rock refused to give the robe to the Kit-Fox, and
then Napioa, becoming angry, said: “That old rock has been there for
a long time and never had a robe. It has always been poor. I will go
back myself and take away my robe.”
He returned and took the robe by force, and then the rock became
very angry, and followed them, determined to punish them. Napioa
fled south toward High River, and the Kit-Fox, anxious for his own
safety, hid in a hole in the ground. Napioa saw an old buffalo bull,
and he called to him for help; but when the buffalo came to his
rescue the rock ran over him and crushed him to death. Then two
bears came to help Napioa, and they two were killed by the rock. Two
small birds with very large, strong bills came to help him, and they
attacked the rock, breaking off pieces from it as they suddenly
pounced upon it and then flew upward. In a short time they killed
the rock, and Napioa was saved. The Indians then named the stream
“Oqkotoqseetûqta” (the Rock Creek, or Stony Creek), but it is called
by the white people at the present day “Sheep Creek.”
 LEGEND OF TONGUE CREEK.
Tongue Creek is situated between Sheep Creek and High River,
about nine miles south of Sheep Creek. In the distant past, Napioa
was travelling in the vicinity of Tongue Creek, when he espied a band
of elk sporting themselves on its banks. They came to a place where
the bank was steep, and they all leaped down, seeking a sandy
resting-place in the bed of the stream. Napioa reached the creek, and
lighting a piece of wood, he threw the firebrand over the bank. The
elk heard him, and asked him what he wanted. “Oh,” said he, “I was
laughing when you spoke to me, and I could not answer: but that is a
very nice spot down there, and I want to go down, for there is an
abundance of beautiful clean sand.” When the elk saw the firebrand
they became frightened, and rushing headlong over each other,
broke their necks. A single young elk escaped; but Napioa said,
“Never mind, there are many more elk in the country; that one can
go.” Napioa pitched his lodge and erected a pole with a flag upon it.
He skinned the elk, filled his lodge with the meat, and made
preparations to camp there and have a feast. While thus engaged, a
coyote entered his lodge and asked him for something to eat, but he
would not give any. He noticed that the coyote had on a necklace of
shells, and said, “If you will give me that necklace, I will give you
something to eat.” The coyote replied, “I can’t do that, for this is my
medicine [amulet], and it is very strong.” “Well, I will run a race with
you, and if you beat me I will give you some of the meat.” But the
coyote refused, and as he did so he held out a bandaged foot, and the
two went on together, the coyote protesting that his foot was sore,
and he could not run. He managed to get Napioa a long distance
from the lodge, and then quickly unloosing the bandage from his
foot, he ran back to the lodge. Napioa followed a long distance
behind, shouting, “Save me some of the meat!” When the coyote
reached the lodge he called aloud for his fellow-coyotes, who speedily
came and devoured all the meat. Napioa had placed the tongues on
the top of the pole, but a mouse ran up the pole and ate them all.
When Napioa found that all the meat was gone, he said, “Then I shall
have the tongues, for the coyote could not get them.” But as he took
down the remaining portions he threw them away, saying, “They are
bad food.” The Indians call this creek “Matsinawûstam” (Tongue
Flag), but the white people call it “Tongue Creek.”
 LEGEND OF RED COULEE.
There lies in a “coulee” near the Marias River, on the road that
leads from Macleod to Benton, a large “medicine stone,” venerated
by the Indians belonging to the Blackfoot Confederacy. The “coulee”
is named by the Indians the “Red Coulee.” When the Blackfeet came
from the north, the Snake Indians, who at that time inhabited the
country, told the Blackfeet that there was a large medicine stone on
the top of a hill, close to a ravine.
Several years after they were told this, a Blackfoot chief with fifty
men went southward on the war-path. They all went to this stone,
and the chief, being sceptical about the mysterious powers possessed
by it, laughed at his men for exhibiting such childishness as to
believe in it. In derision he hurled the stone down the mountain-side
into the ravine and then departed. They engaged in a battle with
some Indians in the south, and all of them were killed, only one man
returning to tell the fate of his comrades. Ever since that time the
Indians have called the place the “Red Coulee,” and as they travel to
and fro they never forget to go there and present their offerings, to
insure safety in battle and protection by the way.
 LEGEND OF THE RED STONE.
On the river flat at the mouth of one of the ravines at Lethbridge,
and not many yards distant from the coal mine, lies a stone, which
oftentimes I have seen painted and surrounded by numerous Indian
trinkets which had been given to it by the Indians. The Blood Indians
call it “Mikiotoûqse” (The Red Stone). Tradition states that a long
time ago a young man lay down beside this stone and fell asleep, and
as he lay there he dreamed that the stone spoke to him and said, “Am
I the Red Stone?” And the young man said, “Yes, you are the Red
Stone.” When he awoke he felt that this must be a mysterious stone
that could thus converse with him, and he made offerings to it. Until
the present day these offerings are made, the Indians believing that
by giving to it reverence they will be blessed in all things that concern
them in this life.

Among the Blackfeet there are several traditions which the writer
was unable to obtain, as only a few of the older men possessed the
knowledge sufficient to relate them accurately, and they seemed to
be unwilling at the time to impart the information. The following
were mentioned as myths of the people: the Myth of Asinakopi, or
the Great Snake; the Great Bear Myth; the Lesser Bear; the Morning
Star; the Man and Woman in the Moon.
There are also songs of historical importance, some relating to
love, war, and one of traditional significance. The writer learned
from Jerry Potts, a Piegan Indian, who is government interpreter,
and from some of the Blood Indians, that there was a historical song
which from the account given concerning it resembled the Song of
Hiawatha. An aged chief named Manistokos, the Father of Many
Children, was said to know it thoroughly, but never at any time was
the author able to obtain possession of it. Joe Healey, a Blood Indian,
who speaks English well, having lived when a boy with an Indian
trader, who sent him to school, informed the writer that there were
several secret societies among the Blackfoot tribes, the members of
which had traditions of interest relating to their people. Only those
who were initiated could obtain the revelation of these stories of
mythological import. In relation to their social organization, the
taboos of the gentes reveal facts of special significance to the
mythology of the Blackfeet. The stories relating to the origin of the
names of the gentes shed light upon the migrations and religious
ideas of the people, but this phase of their traditions comes properly
under the study of their social organization. Such names as
Netsepoye, the people who speak the same language, the name of the
Blackfoot Confederacy, Kaina, the name of the Blood Indians, the
origin and significance of which is unknown, and Apikûnĭ, the name
of the Piegans, are of traditional importance. The separation of the
tribes in late years has modified their mythology, but the basis of the
myths remains the same.
John Maclean.

Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada.

ONONDAGA TALES.
 GRANDMOTHER O-NE-HA-TAH, MOTHER
OO-KWA-E, AND THE LOST BOY.
I had this story of the Lost Boy from the Rev. Albert Cusick, a
native Onondaga, and the first part is very nearly as he wrote it out.
The latter part he told me, and I took it down.
A long time ago, among the Onondaga Indians, were several
families who went off to camp near the wildwood streams, where
fish, deer, bear, otter, beaver, and other like game could be caught
for winter use. These Onondagas, or People of the Hill, journeyed
several days, and finally came to the hunting-grounds. The hunting-
ground where they stopped was a very beautiful place, with its little
hills and the river with high banks. Not far from their camp was a
beautiful lake, with high rocky banks, and with little islands full of
cedar-trees. When they came there it was in the moon or month of
Chut-ho-wa-ah, or October. Some of these Indians made their camps
near the river, and some near the lake. As it was quite early in the
season for hunting, some of the Indians amused themselves by
making birch-bark canoes. With these they could go up and down the
river and on the lakes, fishing and trapping, or making deadfalls for
smaller game.
In the party were five little boys, who had their own bows and
arrows, and would go hunting, imitating their fathers and uncles.
Among them was one much smaller than the rest, who was greatly
teased by the older boys. Sometimes they would run away from him
and hide themselves in the woods, leaving him crying; then they
would come back and show themselves, and have a great laugh over
the little boy’s distress. Sometimes they would run for the camp, and
would tell him that a bear or a wolf was chasing them, leaving the
little boy far behind, crying with all his might. Many a time he sought
his father’s camp alone, when the other boys would leave him and
hide themselves in the woods.
One day these little Indians found a great hollow log lying on the
ground. One of them said, “Maybe there is a Ta-hone-tah-na-ken
[rabbit] or a Hi-sen [red squirrel] in this hollow log. Let us shoot into
it, and see if there is any Ta-hone-tah-na-ken in it.” All agreed to
this, and they began to take the little boy’s arrows from him and
shoot them into the hole; then the larger boys said to him, “Now go
into the hollow log, and get your arrows.” The little boy said, “No; I
am afraid something might catch me.” Then he began to cry, and was
not at all willing to go into the log. The others coaxed him to do so,
and one said he would get his uncle to make him a new bow and
arrows if he would go into the hollow log, and get the arrows they
had shot there. At last this tempted the little boy. He stopped crying,
got down on his hands and knees, and crawled into the log. When he
had gone in a little way, he found one of his arrows, and handed it
out. This gave him courage to go in a little farther. When he had
advanced some distance in the log, one of the larger boys said, “Let’s
stop up the log, and trap that boy in it, so that he can’t get out.” This
was soon agreed to, and the boys began to fetch old rotten wood and
old limbs, stopping up the hollow, and trapping the little boy in it.
When this mischief was done, the four boys ran to their camp, not
saying a word about the little boy who was trapped in the log.
It was two days before the mother[2] and father began to notice the
absence of their boy, for they thought he must have stayed over night
with one of the others, as very often he had done; but the second day
a search was begun, and the other four boys were asked whereabouts
they had left him. They all said that they did not know, and that the
last time they were out the little boy did not go with them. Then the
entire camp turned out to join in the search, as now they knew that
the boy must be lost. After they had hunted a long time he could not
be found, and they ceased to look for him; they thought he must have
been killed and eaten by a wolf or a bear.
When he was first shut up in the log the little boy tried to get out,
but could not do it, as the chunks of rotten wood were too large for
him to move. He could not kick or push them out. Then he cried for
help, but no one came. There he was for three days and three nights,
crying loudly for help, and now and then falling asleep. But on the
fourth night, while he was in the hollow log, he thought he heard
some one coming. He listened, and was sure he heard the crying of a
very old woman and the noise of the tramping of human feet. The
crying and the tramping came nearer and nearer to the log where he
was. At last the crying came very close to him, and then he heard a
noise, as though some one sat down on the log. Now he heard the old
woman cry in earnest, and now and then she would say: “Oh, how
tired I am! how tired I am! and yet I may have come too late, for I do
not hear my grandchild cry. He may be dead! he may be dead!” Then
the old woman would cry in earnest again. At last he heard a rap on
the log and his own name called: “Ha-yah-noo! Ha-yah-noo! are you
still alive?” Ha-yah-noo, or Footprints under the Water (for this was
the name of the little lost boy), answered the old woman, and said
that he still lived. The old woman said, “Oh, how glad I am to find my
grandchild still alive!” Then she asked Ha-yah-noo if he could not get
out; but he said he could not, for he had already tried. Then said the
old woman, “I will try to get you out of this log.” He heard her pull at
the chunks of old wood; but at last she said she could not get him
out, as she was too old and tired. She had heard him crying three
days before, and had journeyed three days and nights to come and
help her grandchild out of his trouble. Now this old woman was an
O-ne-ha-tah, or Porcupine. She lived in an old hemlock tree near the
spot where the boy was shut up in the log.[3]
When Grandmother O-ne-ha-tah had said that she had to journey
three days and nights, and now she could not help Ha-yah-noo out of
the log, she was very sorry, and began to cry again. Finally she said
that she had three children, who were very strong, and that she
would get them to help her; so she went after them. It was almost
daylight when they came, and then Ha-yah-noo heard them pull out
the chunks which stopped up the log. At last Grandmother O-ne-ha-
tah said to Ha-yah-noo: “Come out now. My children have got the
chunks out of the log. You can come out.”
When Ha-yah-noo came out, he saw four wild animals around
him. There was Grandmother O-ne-ha-tah and her three children, as
she called them. They were Oo-kwa-e, the Bear; Sken-no-doh, the
Deer; and Tah-you-ne, the Wolf. “Now,” said O-ne-ha-tah, “I want
one of you to take care of this boy, and love him as your own child.
You all know that I have got to be very, very old. If I were younger I
would take care of him myself.”
Tah-you-ne, the Wolf, was the first one to speak. She said she
could take care of the boy, as she lived on the same meat on which he
fed. “No,” said Grandmother O-ne-ha-tah, “you are too greedy. You
would eat up the boy as soon as he is left with you alone.” The Wolf
was very angry. She showed her teeth, and snapped them at the boy,
who was very much afraid, and wanted no such mother.
The next that spoke was Sken-no-doh, the Deer. She said that she
and her husband would take care of the boy, as they lived on corn
and other things which they knew the boy liked. Her husband would
carry him on his back wherever they went. But Grandmother O-ne-
ha-tah said: “No; you can’t take care of the boy, for you are always
travelling, and never stay in one place. The boy cannot do the
travelling that you do, for you run very fast and make very long
journeys. The boy cannot stand it, and you have no home for him for
the winter. Boys like this have homes.” Then the Deer ran away, very
happy, as though she were glad to be rid of the boy.
Then Oo-kwa-e, the Bear, said that she knew she could take care of
the boy, as she lived in a large stone house and had plenty to eat. She
lived on meats and fishes, and all kinds of nuts and berries, and even
wild honey, all of which the boy would like. She had a good warm bed
for him to sleep on through the winter, and she was a loving mother
to her children. She would rather die than see them abused. Then O-
ne-ha-tah, or Porcupine (meaning “Full of quills”), said: “You are just
the right one to take care of this boy. Take him and carry him home.”
So the Bear, like a loving mother, took the boy and brought him to
her home. When they got there, Oo-kwa-e said to her two children,
the Oo-tutch-ha, or Young Bears, “Don’t play with him roughly, and
he will be your kind little brother.” Then she gave him some berries
to eat, and they were all happy together.
The stone house was a cave in the rocks, but to the little boy it
seemed to have rooms like any other house, and the little bears
seemed to him like human children. They did not tease him, but lived
in the most friendly way, and the old Oo-kwa-e was a very kind
mother to the boy. It was now quite late in the fall, and the days
became short and dark. Then Mother Oo-kwa-e said: “It is late and
dark now. We had better go to bed.” The nights were cold, but the
bed was warm, and they slept until the spring.
One evening it thundered; for the bears do not wake up until the
thunder is heard. It made such a noise that they thought the walls
were coming down. Then the old Oo-kwa-e said: “Why, it’s getting
light. We had better get up.” So they lived happily together for a very
long time. She went out in the woods, going to and fro for food, and
the children amused themselves at home.
Every now and then, through the summer, the Bear people would
come in and say, “In such a place are plenty of berries.” These would
be strawberries, raspberries, or others, according to the season. Later
they told of chestnuts and other kinds of nuts, of which they were
fond. Then they would say, “Let us go and gather them.” So the
Mother Bear and the little Bears went, taking the little boy along with
them; for they always expected a good time. The other bears knew
nothing about the little boy. When they came near the spot, and he
was seen, these would be frightened, and say: “There is a human
being! Let us run! let us run!” So they would scamper off as fast as
bears can, leaving their heaps of nuts or berries behind them. Then
the old Oo-kwa-e would gather these up, she and her children, and
take them home, which was a very easy way of getting plenty of food.
Thus the boy became very useful to Mother Bear.
The boy lived with them thus for about three years, and the same
things happened every year. In the third year Mother Bear said,
“Some one is coming to kill us.” Then all looked out, and saw a man
coming through the woods, with his bow and arrows in his hand, and
his dog running all around looking for game. Then Mother Bear said,
“I must see what I can do.” So she took a forked stick, and pointed
the open fork towards the man. It seemed to come near him, and
appeared to him like a line of thick brush that he did not wish to
break through. So he turned aside, and went another way, and they
were safe that time.
Another day she again said, “Some one is coming towards us again,
and we shall be killed.” She put forth the forked stick again; but the
man did not mind it, and came straight towards her stone house. The
stick itself split, and there was nothing in the way. Then she took a
bag of feathers and threw these outside. They flew up and down, and
around and around, and seemed like a flock of partridges. The dog
ran after them, through the bushes and trees, supposing them to be
birds, and so the second man went away.
The days went by, and the third time Mother Bear saw a man
coming. This time she said, “Now we certainly are all going to die.”
Then she said to the boy: “Your father is coming now, and he is too
good a hunter to be fooled. There is his dog, with his four eyes, and
he, too, is one of the best of hunters.” Now when a dog has light spots
over each eye, the Indians say that he has four eyes. So the man came
nearer, and she tried the forked stick, but it split; and still the man
and dog came on. Then she scattered the feathers, and they flew
around as before; but the hunter and dog paid no attention to them,
and still they both came on. At last the dog reached the door and
barked, and the man drew his bow to shoot at anything that came
out.
When the Mother Oo-kwa-e saw the man standing there, she said,
“Now, children, we must all take our bundles and go.” So each of the
Bears took a small bundle and laid it on its back, but there was no
bundle at all for the boy. When all were ready, Mother Oo-kwa-e
said, “I will go first, whatever may happen.” So she opened the door,
and as she went out the man shot, and she was killed. Then the
oldest of the Oo-tutch-ha said, “I will go next;” and as he went he
also was killed.
The last little Bear was afraid, and said to the boy, “You go first.”
But the little boy was afraid, too, and said: “No; you go first. I have
no bundle.” For all the Bears tried to get their bundles between them
and the man. So the little Bear and the boy at last went out together;
but though the Bear tried to keep behind, the man shot at him first,
and he was killed. As the hunter was about to shoot again, the boy
called out: “Don’t shoot me! don’t shoot me! I am not a bear!” His
father dropped his arrow, for he knew his voice at once, and said:
“Why did you not call out before? Then I would not have killed the
Oo-kwa-e and Oo-tutch-ha. I am very sorry for what I have done, for
the Bears have been good to you.” But the boy said: “You did not kill
the Bears, though you thought so. You only shot the bundles. I saw
them thrown down, and the spirits of the Bears run off from behind
them.” Still, the man was sorry he had shot at the Bears, for he
wished to be kind to them, as they had been to his boy.
Then the father began to look at his boy more closely, to see how
he had grown and how he had changed. Then he saw that long hairs
were growing between his fingers, for, living so long with them, he
had already begun to turn into a Bear. He was very glad when he
took the boy back to his home, and his friends and relatives, and the
whole town, rejoiced with him. All day they had a great feast, and all
night they danced, and they were still dancing when I came away.
 Bear stories of this kind seem to have been favorites among the
Iroquois, and Mrs. Erminnie A. Smith relates three of them in her
collection. Of such tales in general, she remarks that, “In nearly all of
these, wherever the bear is introduced he serves as a pattern of
benevolence, while many other animals, such as the porcupine, are
always presented as noxious.” Yet in the one most resembling the
one just given, “The Hare and his Step-son,” the man shuts the child
in a porcupine’s hole, and the porcupine rescues him, calling on the
animals to feed him. The fox and the wolf, however, do not bear a
good character, and snakes are invariably agents of evil.
The old story of “Valentine and Orson” has so delighted white
children that it is no matter of surprise that Indians have enjoyed
their own stories of lost boys nursed by bears. Perhaps the tendency
of these animals to assume an erect position may have suggested to
them a near kinship to the human race. To complete the present
paper, a sketch may be given of the three tales related by Mrs. Smith.
It may be premised that several incidents of the present story are
found in all three of these, but not in each other.
The first she had from the Senecas of the Cattaraugus reservation.
In this a young boy is missed from the hunting-camp, and all search
proves vain. His friends think him dead, and go home. A bear takes
pity on him, but changes herself into the appearance of a woman,
and takes him home to live with her cubs, in her hollow tree. When
the time for the return of the hunters arrives, she tells him of her
device, and he is restored to his friends. He never kills a bear.
The next is quite different. A hunter is angry with his wife for
secreting food, and makes her eat until she dies from its effects. Her
new-born child he throws into a hollow tree, but takes good care of
his older boy. For him he makes a bow and arrows, and after a long
time saw little footprints around his lodge. He made a second small
bow and arrows, and soon found they were being used. He now saw a
little child come from the hollow tree to play with his boy, and knew
it was the infant he had thrown away. He had been cared for by a
bear, whom the hunter treated kindly. The two boys afterwards went
far westward to slay the great and hurtful beasts.
The third was told in Canada, and is a variant of the one I have
related. A man hated his step-son, and persuaded him to enter a
porcupine’s hole. This he stopped up, leaving the boy a prisoner. He
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