Abstract: An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment includes image processing circuitry. The image processing circuitry acquires, based on a result of ultrasound scanning performed on a subject, blood flow information including a value that indicates a blood flow at each position within the subject and tissue property information including a value that indicates tissue properties at each position within the subject. The image processing circuitry generates a first image in which a difference in value in the blood flow information is represented by at least a difference in hue and a second image in which a difference in value in the tissue property information is represented by a difference other than the difference in hue. The image processing circuitry generates a combined image by combining the first image and the second image.

Abstract: An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment includes transmission circuitry, receiving circuitry and extracting circuitry. The transmission circuitry cause an ultrasonic probe to perform three or more times of ultrasonic wave transmissions, an ultrasonic wave to be transmitted including a center frequency component, a phase of the center frequency component being different in each transmission. The receiving circuitry generates three or more reception signals corresponding to a common reception scanning line based on a plurality of reflected wave signals, the plurality of reflected wave signals being obtained through the three or more times of ultrasonic wave transmissions. The extracting circuitry extracts a nonlinear component included in the three or more reception signals by adding up the three or more reception signals after performing a processing including phase rotation processing on two or more reception signals among the three or more reception signals.

Abstract: An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment includes a candidate-position extracting circuitry and a position setting circuitry. The candidate-position extracting circuitry extracts a first position through comparison of a fundamental wave component between a plurality pieces of image data collected by performing ultrasonic scanning on a subject injected with a contrast agent. The candidate-position extracting circuitry also extracts a second position through comparison of a harmonic component between the pieces of image data. The position setting circuitry sets the first position or the second position as a position of a region of interest where predetermined analysis is performed in at least one image data of the pieces of image data.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus which comprises an ultrasonic transmission/reception unit configured to transmit ultrasonic waves to a scan area including a predetermined region throughout an analysis period, receive reflected waves from the scan area, and acquire ultrasonic data associated with the scan area for each phase in the analysis period, an analysis unit configured to generate a luminance time curve associated with at least one analysis area included in the scan area by using the ultrasonic data in each phase in the analysis period and analyze a stagnant time of the contrast medium associated with at least one analysis area based on the generated luminance time curve, an image generation unit configured to generate a stagnant time image for each phase in the analysis period, with different hues being assigned to at least one analysis area in accordance with the stagnant times.

Abstract: An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment includes processing circuitry and controlling circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to generate brightness transition information indicating a temporal transition of a brightness level in an analysis region that is set in an ultrasound scan region, from time-series data acquired by performing an ultrasound scan on a subject to whom a contrast agent has been administered and to obtain a parameter by normalizing reflux dynamics of the contrast agent in the analysis region with respect to time, based on the brightness transition information. The controlling circuitry is configured to cause a display to display the parameter in a format using one or both of an image and text.

Abstract: An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to obtain the position of the boundary of a region of interest that is set in first ultrasound image data of a subject. The processing circuitry is configured to generate second ultrasound image data by assigning a pixel value to each of pixels of which a change of the brightness value between before and after a contrast enhancement is equal to or larger than a threshold value with regard to pre-contrast-enhanced image data and post-contrast-enhanced image data of the subject both of which were acquired after a treatment using a puncture needle has been performed, the assigned pixel value corresponding to the distance between the pixel and the boundary of the region of interest. The processing circuitry is configured to cause a display unit to display the second ultrasound image data.

Abstract: A medical image processing apparatus according to an embodiment includes a detection unit, a generating unit, and an associating unit. The detection unit analyzes a first piece and a second piece of image data of a breast, and detects the positions of a chest wall and a nipple in each of the pieces of image data, wherein the first piece of image data is three-dimensional medical image data and the second piece of image data is medical image data of a different type from the first piece of image data. The generating unit generates a first sectional image and a second sectional image based on the first piece and second piece of image data, respectively. The associating unit associates the positional relation of the breast in the pieces of image data so that the positions of the chest wall and the nipple match between the pieces of image data.

Abstract: An ultrasound diagnosis apparatus includes a transmission and reception unit, an addition unit, an image generation unit, and a control unit. The transmission and reception unit performs a set of ultrasound transmission and reception in a first mode or a plurality of sets of ultrasound transmission and reception in a second mode along the same scan line. Each set of ultrasound transmission and reception is constituted of repeated ultrasound transmission and reception sequentially performed in reversed phase polarity along the same scan line. The addition unit adds reflected wave data in the second mode. The image generation unit generates an image by using reflected wave data in the first mode or in the second mode. The control unit switches the first mode and the second mode. The transmission and reception unit performs a set or a plurality of sets of ultrasound transmission and reception according to a switching operation.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes a transceiver part, a signal processing part and an image generation part. The transceiver part controls an ultrasonic probe to perform a first and second scans. The first scan transmits a first ultrasonic wave and an ultrasonic wave, obtained by modulating an amplitude of the first ultrasonic wave, to scanning lines distributed three dimensionally, and receives first reflected waves. The second scan transmits a second ultrasonic wave to scanning lines distributed two dimensionally during the first scan, and receives second reflective waves. The transceiver part obtains first and second reception signals based on the first and second reflected waves. The signal processing part generates composite signals by combining the first reception signals. The image generation part generates three dimensional ultrasonic image data based on the composite signals, and two dimensional ultrasonic image data based on the second reception signals.

Abstract: An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment includes a transmitter/receiver, an adder/subtractor and an image generating unit. The transmitter/receiver performs a first set of ultrasound transmission/reception and a second set of ultrasound transmission/reception, on a same scanning line of an imaging region of a subject administered with a contrast agent, for a plurality of sets, to output reflected wave data for the plurality of the sets, the first set of the ultrasound transmission/reception performing amplitude-modulated or amplitude- and phase-modulated ultrasound transmission transmitted a plurality of times and receiving reflected waves, and the second set of the ultrasound transmission/reception being transmission/reception whose phase modulation being different from phase modulation of the first set of the ultrasound transmission/reception. The adder/subtractor adds or subtracts the reflected wave data for the plurality of the sets.

Abstract: An ultrasound diagnosis apparatus includes a transmitter/receiver, a signal processor, and an image generator. The transmitter/receiver transmits, at least once in each scanning line, a first ultrasound pulse and a second ultrasound pulse whose amplitude corresponds to amplitude of the first ultrasound pulse modulated at a given ratio and acquires a received-signal group consisting of multiple received signals. The signal processor acquires, on the basis of a coefficient that reduces the energy of a first composite signal that is obtained by combining, in accordance with the given ratio, multiple received signals contained in the first received signal group acquired by the transmitter/receiver, a second composite signal by combining multiple received signals contained in a second received signal group that is acquired by the transmitter/receiver and that is different from the first received signal group. The image generator generates an ultrasound image based on the second composite signal.

Abstract: An image generating unit generates a medical image. A deciding unit detects a reaching time at which a contrast agent has reached a predetermined region of the medical image. The deciding unit sets a color map in which the reaching time is associated with a hue based on a first inflow time corresponding to a first designation region set to the medical image and a second inflow time corresponding to a second designation region. A generating unit generates a hue conversion image in which a hue is allocated to each region of the medical image based on the color map and the reaching time in each region of the medical image. A control unit displays the hue conversion image through a monitor.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a scanning unit scans the inside of an object administered with a contrast agent with ultrasonic waves. A signal generation unit outputs a packet signal based on the reception signal output from the scanning unit. A first wall filter has a passband corresponding to a blood flow component. A second wall filter has a passband corresponding to a tissue perfusion component and blood flow component. A maximum value holding computation processing unit applies maximum value holding computation processing to a first image corresponding to an output from the first wall filter. A display unit displays the first image having undergone maximum value holding computation processing and a second image corresponding to an output from the second wall filter.

Abstract: An imaging part scans a predetermined site of a subject to which a contrast agent has been administered, with ultrasound waves, and thereby acquires plural frames of ultrasound image data. A contrast agent inflow detector detects the inflow of the contrast agent into each region based on the signal intensity in each region represented in the plural frames of ultrasound image data. A reference time determining part determines, as a reference time, a time point when the contrast agent inflow detector detects the inflow of the contrast agent into a first region of interest. A color coding part obtains a relative time of the inflow of the contrast agent into each region with reference to the reference time, and generates image data representing the color of each region with a hue corresponding to the relative time. An image based on the image data representing the hue is displayed.

Abstract: An ultrasound diagnosis apparatus for generation of image data based on harmonic wave components of ultrasound reception signals. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus includes a transmission/reception control unit configured to set a plurality of ultrasound transmission/reception directions to an object, an ultrasound probe, a transmission/reception unit, a harmonic wave component extracting unit configured to extract harmonic wave components in the reception signals, a reception signals processing unit, a subtraction unit configured to perform a subtraction between different ultrasound data sets, and an image data generating unit configured to generate the image data based on the subtracted ultrasound data acquired along each of the transmission/reception directions.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a detector detects a position at a leading end of a puncture needle. A determination unit determines a first scanning region in a subject and a second scanning region based on the position at the detected leading end, the second scanning region being narrower than the first scanning region. A transmission/reception controller controls a transmitter and a receiver to switches between first ultrasonic scanning for the first scanning region and second ultrasonic scanning for the second scanning region according to an instruction from an operator.

Abstract: An ultrasound apparatus according to the present embodiments includes a receiving unit and a probe controlling unit. The receiving unit receives settings in relation to the aperture of the ultrasound probe and the region of interest of the subject with a contrast agent injected. The probe controlling unit controls the ultrasound probe based on the settings received by the receiving unit in such a manner as to transmit an ultrasound wave from the vibrator arranged in the aperture to the region of interest.

Abstract: According to an embodiment, an image generating unit generates a medical image. A deciding unit detects a reaching time at which a contrast agent has reached a predetermined region of the medical image. The deciding unit sets a color map in which the reaching time is associated with a hue based on a first inflow time corresponding to a first designation region set to the medical image and a second inflow time corresponding to a second designation region. A generating unit generates a hue conversion image in which a hue is allocated to each region of the medical image based on the color map and the reaching time in each region of the medical image. A control unit displays the hue conversion image through a monitor.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus which comprises an ultrasonic transmission/reception unit configured to transmit ultrasonic waves to a scan area including a predetermined region throughout an analysis period, receive reflected waves from the scan area, and acquire ultrasonic data associated with the scan area for each phase in the analysis period, an analysis unit configured to generate a luminance time curve associated with at least one analysis area included in the scan area by using the ultrasonic data in each phase in the analysis period and analyze a stagnant time of the contrast medium associated with at least one analysis area based on the generated luminance time curve, an image generation unit configured to generate a stagnant time image for each phase in the analysis period, with different hues being assigned to at least one analysis area in accordance with the stagnant times.

Abstract: An imaging part scans a predetermined site of a subject to which a contrast agent has been administered, with ultrasound waves, and thereby acquires plural frames of ultrasound image data. A contrast agent inflow detector detects the inflow of the contrast agent into each region based on the signal intensity in each region represented in the plural frames of ultrasound image data. A reference time determining part determines, as a reference time, a time point when the contrast agent inflow detector detects the inflow of the contrast agent into a first region of interest. A color coding part obtains a relative time of the inflow of the contrast agent into each region with reference to the reference time, and generates image data representing the color of each region with a hue corresponding to the relative time. An image based on the image data representing the hue is displayed.