To increase frame rate on ultrasound, what adjustment should be made?

• A. Increase the color box size
• B. Decrease the color box size
• C. Adjust the frequency
• D. Change the gain settings

Answer: (B)

To increase the frame rate on ultrasound, decreasing the color box size is the most effective adjustment. Frame rate in ultrasound is directly related to the area being scanned; a smaller color box will result in less data being processed. This allows the ultrasound machine to send and receive signals more rapidly, thereby increasing the number of frames captured per second.

When the color box is large, more information is being collected, which means the frame rate decreases as the machine takes longer to process all the data. Conversely, a smaller color box focuses on a narrower area, reducing the amount of information and allowing for a quicker refresh rate.

Adjusting the frequency and changing gain settings may influence image quality and depth of penetration or brightness but do not inherently affect the frame rate in the same way that the size of the color box does. Increasing the color box size would further reduce the frame rate, resulting in a slower capture of movement and dynamic changes in the tissue or blood flow being assessed.