Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician (CBET) 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

In an ultrasound transducer, the crystal's primary function is to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy and vice versa. When ultrasound waves are transmitted into the tissue, they interact with various anatomical structures. Some of these waves are reflected back to the transducer after striking a boundary between different types of tissues, such as soft tissue and bone.

The reflected waves, which return to the transducer, are considered low energy pulsed signals due to the nature of tissue interaction. The energy that the ultrasound waves carry diminishes upon reflection because some energy is absorbed or scattered within the tissues. These low energy pulsed signals are then converted back into electrical signals by the crystal in the transducer, allowing the ultrasound machine to create an image based on the data received.

This process highlights the critical role of the ultrasound transducer in both sending and receiving sound waves, and the function of the crystal in sensing the reflected energy from tissue, which is fundamental to medical imaging techniques.