Ultrasound Dosage for Nontherapeutic Use on Human Beings - Extrapolations from a Literature Survey

A practical method for analyzing the biological effects of nontherapeutic ultrasound was applied to the data of 21 different principal investigators. The data were compiled so that individual investigators could develop tentative guidelines of their own regarding the hazards of diagnostic ultrasound in human beings. One set of guidelines developed suggested that exposures of minimal hazard lie below a log/log line connecting 100 μs of 100 W/cm 2 ultrasound with 200 s of 100 mW/cm 2 ultrasound. An ultrasonic intensity of 100 mW/cm 2 or less was of little or no hazard for at least 10 000 s. These guidelines applied to both continuous- and pulsed-wave ultrasound doses that were described by average intensity multiplied by total exposure time. The proposed schedule was valid for 0.5-15 MHz and for all anatomic sites except the eyes.