ARDMS (American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography) Practice Test

The carotid artery is being examined with color Doppler. which artifact is present if the color appears to be bleeding outside of the vessel when color Doppler is applied?

1. Clutter

2. Crosstalk

3. Ghosting

4. Aliasing

The correct answer is: Clutter

Clutter is the most likely artifact present if the color appears to be bleeding outside of the vessel when color Doppler is applied. Clutter is a type of artifact that results from the Doppler signal being too strong, causing it to manifest in areas outside of the vessel being examined. The other options, crosstalk, ghosting, and aliasing, are all possible artifacts that can occur during a color Doppler exam, but they would not typically result in the appearance of color bleeding outside of the vessel. Crosstalk is when the color signals from two different vessels intersect and appear to be originating from the same area, but this would not cause bleeding outside of the vessel. Ghosting is when a moving structure is imaged multiple times, creating a shadow or "ghost" of itself, but this would also not cause bleeding outside of the vessel. Aliasing is a type of Doppler artifact that occurs when the velocity of the blood flow is higher than the Doppler sample rate, resulting in a wraparound effect that can look like a "mosaic" of colors, but it would not cause the appearance of color bleeding outside of the vessel. Therefore, clutter is the most likely explanation for the color appearing to bleed outside of the vessel during