Clarius products were designed with simplicity in mind. There is little for the user to adjust while scanning, and the 3 basic functions: depth, brightness, and zoom should suffice for the majority of users - see Basic Controls. However, some users may want more control over the look of their image and how it defines the anatomy; for these cases, Clarius has additional tools available.
Enabling Advanced Controls
Some controls must be enabled from the Settings Section of the Main Menu.
To enable Advanced Imaging Controls such as some of the options below, please do the following:
- Navigate to the Main Menu , select Settings, and search for "Advanced" in the search box.
There should appear a setting called Advanced Imaging Controls. Ensure this is toggled to Enabled (orange), as shown in the picture below.
Image Orientation
Some users may want to invert the image on the screen, rather than change the physical orientation of the scan. It is important to remember that the Clarius logo displayed on the corner of the image aligns with the LED on the physical scanner.
To invert or flip the image, press the logo and drag in any direction, allowing for a new horizontal or vertical orientation.
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TGC
TGC or Time-Gain-Compensation is a gain that operates as a function of depth. Traditional ultrasound systems have up to 8 separate physical sliders to control the gain levels for each depth zone, however Clarius has simplified the TGC into 3 on-screen sliders.
- The sliders correspond to the top, middle, and bottom areas of the image.
- The middle slider controls all sliders at once so that the entire image can be adjusted
- The top and bottom sliders control gain independent of each other.
To enable TGC, ensure that the auto-gain function is turned off by tapping the icon and ensuring it is no longer highlighted.
Full-Screen Mode
Full-Screen Mode allows hiding interface buttons and menus to optimize the visible imaging area.
How it works
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Enter Full screen Mode by tapping “Imaging Mode & Tools Menu”
while on the Scan page.
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In the Tools column select the Full-Screen icon
to access Full Screen mode.
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Exit Full Screen by pressing the Full Screen icon
located at the bottom left corner.
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Note: Menu options and tools will automatically hide it to provide a minimal UI.
Split Screen Mode
Note: Split Screen Mode requires either a valid Clarius Membership, or the purchase of any Advanced Package.
Note: Split Screen Mode requires Advanced Imaging Mode to have been enabled via the Settings menu
Clarius' Split Screen Mode enhances your imaging experience by allowing you to compare up to four ultrasound high-definition acquisitions on the same screen. Perform measurements, document findings, and compare anatomy differing in laterality.
Using Split Screen Mode
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Enable Split Screen Mode by tapping “Imaging Mode & Tools Menu”
while on the Scan page. Select the number of Split Screens
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Tap the link icon
to select the active screen.
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Exit Split Screen by pressing “Imaging Mode & Tools Menu”
and selecting one screen.
Note: To engage, open the Modes Menu, and choose the number of split views.
Dynamic Range
Dynamic range allows for contrast adjustments when there are tissue or vessel subtleties that need to be highlighted.
How it works
- Enable Advanced Imaging controls in the Settings Page
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In the Scan page, tap the Imaging Mode & Tools Menu
and tap the left or right arrow to expose the advanced features.
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Access through the
icon on the imaging screen, and slide up and down to cycle between levels of 0 to 100%.
Trapezoidal Imaging
Trapezoidal imaging is on Linear Probes (L7, L15 and L20). The Trapezoidal imaging extends the field of view by creating an image base wider than the footprint of the transducer, which allows to include more posterior and lateral tissue.
How it works
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Enable Advanced Imaging controls in the Settings Page
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In the Scan page, tap the Imaging Mode & Tools Menu
and tap the left or right arrow to expose the advanced features.
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Tap the Trapezoidal imaging icon
to enable
Note: The imaging field of view will be changed while in Trapezoidal imaging.
Chroma Imaging
The Chroma mode option enables a color contrast overlay to the image to help differentiate small contrast differences in tissue textures. Here's a quick video from our Clarius Classroom.
How it works
- Enable Advanced Imaging controls in the Settings Page
- In the Scan page, tap the Imaging Mode & Tools Menu
and tap the left or right arrow to expose the advanced features.
- Enable B-Mode
- Tap the Chroma icon
Penetration Mode
Penetration mode gives an extra punch for imaging at any depth. Since patients can vary so greatly, the baseline frequencies tuned may need to be altered to better penetrate through certain types of tissue.
How it works
- Enable Advanced Imaging controls in the Settings Page
- In the Scan page, tap the Imaging Mode & Tools Menu
and tap the left or right arrow to expose the advanced features.
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Enable B-Mode
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Tap the Penetration Mode icon
Note: The scanner will automatically optimize for deeper structure visualization
Smoothing
Smoothing allows for clinical applications such as lung imaging to tune the smoothness level, where some users prefer a smoother image over a more grainy one.
How it works
- Enable Advanced Imaging controls in the Settings Page
- In the Scan page, tap the Imaging Mode & Tools Menu
and tap the left or right arrow to expose the advanced features.
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Enable B-Mode
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Tap the Smooth Imaging icon
Note: The acquired image will now be brighter and smoother with less noticeable speckles
Focal Zone Control or Manual Focus
The Focal Zone advanced control (available in all probes) allows you to improve lateral resolution in a region of interest by adjusting the focal spot. As a result, the area of interest will have higher lateral resolution and contrast to make it easier to identify structures lying side-by-side as separate structures.
How it works
- Enable Advanced Imaging controls in the Settings Page
- In the Scan page, tap the Imaging Mode & Tools Menu
and tap the left or right arrow to expose the advanced features.
- Enable B-Mode or any other imaging mode
- Tap the Chroma icon
Note: Once you tap on the area of interest, the focal zone will be denoted by an orange arrow.
Automated vessel depth AI
The Automated Vessel Depth AI (available in all linear probes) now operates in Color Flow Imaging in addition to Power Doppler, allowing clinicians to automatically determine the depth of key blood vessels so safer injections can be performed.
How it works
- Enable Advanced Imaging controls in the Settings Page
- In the Scan page, tap the Imaging Mode & Tools Menu
and tap the left or right arrow to expose the advanced features.
- Enable Power Doppler or CFI
- Tap the Vessel depth icon
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A target circle will appear on screen
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Tap the area of interest
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Note: Once you tap on the area of interest, an automatic measurement of the vessel’s depth will be displayed on screen.
Speed of Sound
Speed of sound allows for optimization of the physics calculations. Multiple studies have shown that the structural difference between dense breast and normal breast tissue can be quite large and should be accounted for when imaging using ultrasound. Though most ultrasound systems tune tissue speed of sound to 1540 m/s, normal breast tissues have been measured lower at around 1450 m/s. In the Hologic breast workflows, 1450 m/s is the default value used. If dense breast is being imaged, it is recommended to turn on the speed of sound parameter from the modes menu, which will compensate and revert speed of sound to 1540 m/s. If no adjustment is made when dense breasts are scanned, the system will perform as required, however the adjustment lead to higher resolution images axially.