Abstract: Image data of the interior of a sample (S) are sequentially created on the basis of reception signals at the time when ultrasonic waves are transmitted into the sample (S) so as to scan the interior thereof, movements of respective control points set on the image data are tracked so as to evaluate temporal changes of velocities of motions of the sample (S), and differences of timings of the motions in the sample (S) are color-displayed on the basis of the temporal changes of the velocities.

Abstract: Image data of the interior of a sample (S) are sequentially created on the basis of reception signals at the time when ultrasonic waves are transmitted into the sample (S) so as to scan the interior thereof, movements of respective control points set on the image data are tracked so as to evaluate temporal changes of velocities of motions of the sample (S), and differences of timings of the motions in the sample (S) are color-displayed on the basis of the temporal changes of the velocities.

Abstract: A heart function analysis apparatus adapted to analyze a motion of a heart by using time-series image data representing an image of the heart. The heart function analysis apparatus includes a strain-value acquisition unit configured to acquire time-series strain values in thickness of a heart muscle from the time-series image data, a normalized strain value calculation unit configured to normalize the time-series strain values, and an output unit configured to output the time-series normalized strain values.

Abstract: An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus and an ultrasound data generating method that can display a plurality of stress image data. The stress image data are generated under a plurality of different conditions of stress, and reference image data corresponding to each of the stress image data is obtained to perform a comparison display. The reference image data is acquired by suspending a stress image data collecting mode for the stress image data. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus and ultrasound data generating method store stress image data that are generated with a predetermined data collecting protocol, i.e., stress conditions and image cross-section. The generation of the stress image data is suspended by inputting a suspend command supplied through an input unit in order to generate reference image data in another image collecting mode.

Abstract: Two-dimensional distribution data of velocities on a moving object in an object to be examined is obtained. A motion field which defines the motion direction of a tissue is stored. A plurality of tracking points are obtained in a tissue range in the two-dimensional distribution data. The moving positions of the tracking points are estimated and the positions are sequentially tracked. Velocities toward the motion direction defined by the motion field are obtained on the basis of the two-dimensional distribution data. One intermediate output value is obtained by performing a predetermined computation by using velocities toward the motion direction at tracking positions of at least two tracking points in each time phase. The values of intermediate positions are obtained by performing weighted addition of intermediate outputs at different positions. A display image is generated and displayed by using the values of the intermediate positions.

Abstract: Two-dimensional distribution data of velocities on a moving object in an object to be examined is obtained. A motion field which defines the motion direction of a tissue is stored. A plurality of tracking points are obtained in a tissue range in the two-dimensional distribution data. The moving positions of the tracking points are estimated and the positions are sequentially tracked. Velocities toward the motion direction defined by the motion field are obtained on the basis of the two-dimensional distribution data. One intermediate output value is obtained by performing a predetermined computation by using velocities toward the motion direction at tracking positions of at least two tracking points in each time phase. The values of intermediate positions are obtained by performing weighted addition of intermediate outputs at different positions. A display image is generated and displayed by using the values of the intermediate positions.

Abstract: An ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus includes an ultrasonic probe. A transmitter supplies a transmission pulse to the ultrasonic probe to repeatedly transmit an ultrasonic wave to each of a plurality of scanning lines. A receiver receives echoes of the ultrasonic waves through the ultrasonic probe and obtaining a plurality of received signals for each of the plurality of scanning lines. A displacement estimating means estimates a relative change accompanying a tissue motion between received signals associated with each of scanning lines. A displacement correcting means corrects the received signals in accordance with the change detected by the displacement estimating means. A harmonic component extracting means extracts a harmonic component from the received signals corrected by the displacement correcting means. A display means generates an ultrasonic image on the basis of the harmonic component extracted by the harmonic component extracting means. A monitor displays the image generated by the display means.

Abstract: A three-dimensional ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus transmits ultrasonic beams to an object; receives ultrasonic echo signals; stores and generates three-dimensional region volume data in an object OB based on ultrasonic echo signals; detects direction data concerning an orientation of an operator's head part; and generates and displays the two-dimensional display image from volume data in real time based on the detected direction data. This apparatus provides the three-dimensional anatomical information on the field of interest seen from the operator's viewpoint automatically; assists smooth operation; and reduces a burden of an inspector or an operator that is also an inspector during operation upon ultrasonic beams scanning.

Abstract: A parenchymatous tissue image and a blood vessel image are synthesized as follows. First, a tomographic image of a specific cross section of the parenchymatous tissue image is synthesized with the blood vessel image closer to the viewpoint along the Z-axis than the tomographic image. Then, the resulting image is displayed. Thereafter, the operator inputs specific data from operation unit including a mouse and a keyboard, thereby changing the position of a displayed tomographic image along the Z-axis. This enables the operator to sequentially display two-dimensional tomographic images (B-mode images) constituting a three-dimensional parenchymatous tissue image as if to turn over the pages of a book.

Abstract: An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus including an ultrasonic probe, and a transmitter/receiver section for scanning a three dimensional region of a detected object with ultrasonic beams by driving the ultrasonic probe and receiving echo signals reflected from an object within the three dimensional region. An organ of the object is detected and three dimensional figure image data depicting a figure of the detected organ in the three dimensional region are formed based on the received echo signals. Also determined from the received echo signals is a function of the detected organ, for example by obtaining and thresholding tissue Doppler image data or harmonic image data, and based on the determined function, three dimensional functional image data depicting the function of the detected organ in the three dimensional region are formed. The three dimensional figure image data are displayed by a wire frame method, a bull's eye map method and/or a semi-transparent surface model method.

Abstract: A three-dimensional imaging method using an ultrasound wave enables a region of interest to be extracted through threshold processing. The method above has its image readily adversely affected and the technique has not yet been too much advanced from the practical viewpoint. By creating an image based on the harmonics components contained in an echo signal it is possible to acquire a high image quality and to advance a practical application of the three-dimensional imaging by the ultrasound wave. The harmonics wave is produced in proportion to sound pressure. That is, the higher the sound pressure, more harmonics components are produced. As a result, the ultrasound beam is effectively narrowed and the spatial resolution is improved. Since the harmonics components are not too much produced from a grating lobe lower in sound pressure than a main lobe, the production of the grating lobe is effectively suppressed, so that an image quality is prominently improved.

Abstract: A technique is disclosed for accurately tracing a maximum or minimum frequency in each of Doppler-shifted frequency spectra arranged in a sequential order of time on the time axis as an M-mode Doppler image. The maximum or minimum frequency is picked up by thresholding and hence the trace accuracy depends on a threshold. The threshold is determined based on the average brightness of a sample region in which noise is dominant. Therefore, the capability of discriminating between signal and noise components improves, allowing the trace accuracy to be improved.

Abstract: An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus including transmitting and receiving devices, and MTI filter units to eliminate clutter components from Doppler data sequences detected trough the transmitting and receiving devices. The diagnostic apparatus further includes A/D converters to convert the Doppler data sequences in analog to those in digital and transient response processing devices provided between the MTI filter units and the A/D converters to suppress influences of transient responses consisted in output signals of the MTI filter units due to at least either one of data discontinuity of the Doppler data sequences at the time starting point or abrupt changes thereof.

Abstract: An ultrasound imaging apparatus and method in which an ultrasound signal is transmitted a plurality of times in each scanning direction and its echo is received. A Doppler signal detected from a group of echo signals consisting of a train of sequential Doppler data for each spatial sample position in each scanning direction. The amount of instantaneous changes in a phase of a clutter component included in the Doppler signal is estimated, the clutter component occurring due to reflection of the ultrasound signal from an organ. A phase of the Doppler signal is corrected using the estimated amount of instantaneous changes in the phase. A constant value corresponding to the clutter component is subtracted from the Doppler signal of which phase is corrected, information representing a blood flow is extracted based on the Doppler signal of which clutter component is removed and the extracted information is displayed in color.

Abstract: An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus having an ultrasound probe, a device for transmitting ultrasound to an subject through the ultrasound probe to receive echoes from the subject, a spectrum processor for approximating a spectrum of each of the echoes to a predetermined shape, and a unit for reconstructing an ultrasound image based on an output of the spectrum processor. The spectrums of the echoes are distorted by various reasons. There is a method for correcting a spectrum by enhancing only a high-frequency component of the echoes. Since this method is no more than to consider one reason, i.e., only frequency dependence of attenuation, a suitable correction cannot be made. According to the present invention, the spectrum is approximated to the predetermined shape, therefore the distortion of the spectrum caused by various reasons can be suitably corrected.

Abstract: A region of interest of a subject is scanned with ultrasound to acquire echo signals. The echo signals are processed to obtain doppler signals. The doppler signals are processed to obtain color angio signals reflecting an amplitude of the doppler signals. The maximum value of levels of the color angio signals is increased from a first value to a second value by a contrast-enhancement effect. The level change within the first value is expressed by the brightness gradation. The level change the first value is expressed by the hue gradation. Therefore, the range less than the first value can be associated with the whole width of the usable brightness gradation of a color display, so that the level change less than the first value can be expressed with high contrast.

Abstract: A reception signal containing phase information and amplitude information is obtained by scanning a cross section of a subject with an ultrasonic wave. An ultrasonic image is formed on the basis of the reception signal and displayed. A noise component is filtered from reception signals at respective points in the cross section. The reception signals, which have not been non-linear processed, i.e., have not been subjected to an image forming process, are filtered. Therefore, the suppression effect of suppressing an image of a portion which moves at a relatively low speed and the emphasis effect of emphasizing an image a portion which moves at a relatively high speed can be improved as compared to the conventional art in which an ultrasonic image after non-linear process is filtered.

Abstract: In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, ultrasonic propagation time differences contained in echo signals reflected from a biological body under medical examination are corrected by comprising: a quadrature phase detecting unit for quadrature-phase-detecting the echo signals derived from an ultrasonic transducer probe to obtain as phase data a quadrature signal component and an in-phase signal component; a delay-time correcting value calculating unit for calculating at least one of delay-time correcting values used for the energizing signals and the echo signals based upon both of the quadrature signal component and in-phase signal component; and, a delay controlling unit for controlling at least one of delay time data previously given to the energizing signals anti echo signals based upon one of calculated delay-time correcting values.

Abstract: An image signal processing circuit for an ultrasonic imaging apparatus includes a frame correlation circuit for performing, in accordance with a predetermined correlation coefficient, a frame correlation process for an ultrasonic frame image signal output from an ultrasonic transmitter/receiver circuit, and a correlation coefficient output circuit for outputting a frame correlation coefficient corresponding to a difference between a current input frame image signal and an immediately preceding frame image signal, i.e., a coefficient which decreases as the difference increases to the frame correlation circuit.

Abstract: An ultrasonic imaging apparatus comprises an ultrasonic transducer for emitting ultrasonic pulses at a rate frequency fr and converting an echo wave of the ultrasonic pulses into an echo signal, an orthogonal detector circuit for orthogonally detecting an echo signal provided from the ultrasonic transducer and a calculator circuit for obtaining Doppler data from the orthogonal detection signal and providing color Doppler data. The output of the calculator circuit is coupled to an interpolator circuit. When the interpolator circuit receives color Doppler data at a frequency above +fr/2 or -fr/2 from the calculator circuit, it interpolates the Doppler data according to a predetermined argorithm for excluding interpolation data corresponding to a zero region between +fr/2 and -fr/2. The color Doppler data including interpolation data is displayed as color image on the monitor.