Final answer:
To move the elevational focus to a more superficial level in the breast, the sonographer can adjust the ultrasound machine's focal zone closer to the transducer. This adjustment allows for clearer imaging of structures near the skin's surface.
Step-by-step explanation:
To move the elevational focus to a more superficial level in the breast during an ultrasound examination, an operator can adjust the focal zone of the ultrasound machine. The focal zone is the point at which the ultrasound beams converge and produce the clearest image. By moving the focal zone closer to the transducer, the elevational focus shifts to a shallower depth, which is useful when analyzing structures nearer to the surface of the skin.
This adjustment helps in obtaining higher-resolution images of superficial tissues. It is one of the key parameters that sonographers manipulate to optimize image quality, along with others such as gain, depth, and frequency.
Compression and adjustment of imaging depth settings are effective techniques to shift the elevational focus to a more superficial level in breast ultrasound, aiding in the detailed assessment of superficial breast tissue.