Spectral mirroring artifact is exaggerated by:

• A. Excessive receiver gain, excessive transmit power, and superficial Doppler imaging
• B. Inadequate gain and low transmit power
• C. Properly calibrated gain and gain
• D. Excessive power only without imaging depth

Answer: (A)

Spectral mirroring is a Doppler display artifact where a copy of the Doppler spectrum appears on the opposite side of the baseline. It happens when the system becomes overly sensitive to weak signals and clutter, so signals from strong near-field reflections bleed into the opposite side of the spectral display.

Excessive receiver gain amplifies not only true flow signals but also clutter and electronic leakage, making mirrored components more prominent. Excessive transmit power increases the overall strength of all returned signals, including clutter, which can bleed across the baseline into the mirrored spectrum. Imaging vessels that are very superficial means the ultrasound beam traverses only a short distance and experiences less attenuation, so near-field clutter and mirror signals are less damped and more likely to appear as a duplicated spectrum.

To reduce this artifact, lower the receiver gain, reduce transmit power to the minimum needed for diagnostic quality, and avoid shallow Doppler imaging when not clinically necessary. Proper wall-filtering and depth adjustment also help suppress nearby clutter that contributes to the mirroring.