Abstract: A guide wire is provided with a core shaft, a coil portion, a sound source, and wiring. The coil portion is coupled to a distal end portion of the core shaft and is helically wound around a periphery of the core shaft to the rearward. The coil portion includes an open portion in which an interval of element wires constituting the coil portion itself is larger than that in another portion. The sound source is provided in an inner side of the open portion. The wiring extends along an extending direction of the core shaft, and a distal end of the wiring is positioned at an inner side of the coil portion. The wiring supplies energy to the sound source.

Abstract: To provide an ultrasonic transmission instrument that can uniformly transmit ultrasonic waves in each direction around the instrument, even when the instrument is made of a material through which the ultrasonic waves cannot be transmitted. In an ultrasonic transmission instrument according to the invention, a light transmission member is disposed at an emission end of an optical waveguide, and an outer peripheral member covers an outer periphery of the light transmission member and is made of a light absorbing material.

Abstract: A beacon device is housed within a recess portion. The beacon device has a tip end to be housed in a tip end portion. A photoacoustic wave source is disposed at the tip end of the beacon device. The tip end portion contains an ultrasonic propagation medium such as water. With the beacon device housed within the recess portion, a light generating device is connected with a rear end of the beacon device to irradiate the photoacoustic wave source with laser light. A photoacoustic signal emitted from the photoacoustic wave source is received by an ultrasonic probe. Whether the beacon device and the light generating device are connected is determined based on the received signal.

Abstract: The array of reception beam data sets obtained by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from a subject constitutes a two-dimensional data space. Based on the Doppler signals, a distribution data calculation unit calculates, for each of data elements in the two-dimensional data space, at least one of power of the Doppler signal, the velocity of tissue in the subject, and the velocity dispersion of tissue in the subject. A discrimination index map generation unit generates a discrimination index map indicating the likelihood of being a blood flow region A in the two-dimensional data space composed of the array of reception beam data sets, based on distribution data that are set for each of regions of interest in the two-dimensional data space. Based on the Doppler signal and the discrimination index map, a blood flow image forming unit forms a blood flow image with reduced blooming artifacts.

Abstract: A laser beam is applied to a photoacoustic wave generation source multiple times in a reception period of ultrasound waves during photoacoustic imaging. As a result, a plurality of photoacoustic waves are generated from the photoacoustic wave generation source in the reception period and received by a reception unit of an ultrasound imaging apparatus. The positions of the plurality of photoacoustic waves on a time axis is adjusted, and the plurality of photoacoustic waves are averaged. A photoacoustic image is generated based on a signal obtained through the averaging.

Abstract: To provide an ultrasonic transmission instrument that can uniformly transmit ultrasonic waves in each direction around the instrument, even when the instrument is made of a material through which the ultrasonic waves cannot be transmitted. In an ultrasonic transmission instrument according to the invention, a light transmission member is disposed at an emission end of an optical waveguide, and an outer peripheral member covers an outer periphery of the light transmission member and is made of a light absorbing material.

Abstract: A reception data array composed of a plurality of items of reception data corresponding to a plurality of transmission/reception conditions is generated. For each of the plurality of items of reception data, a plurality of units of data processing are applied to that item of reception data according to a plurality of data processing conditions. A blood flow data set is thereby generated from the reception data array. By evaluating the blood flow data set, an optimum transmission/reception condition and an optimum data processing condition are determined.

Abstract: A clutter signal mixed in a blood flow signal is reduced in a color Doppler, and blood flow visibility is improved. A combination of parameters that maximize a difference between a blood flow and a clutter (a signal other than the blood flow) is determined by analyzing a reception signal, a clutter estimated value (a value indicating a degree of being estimated as a clutter) is set based on the combination, and a reduction coefficient map (hereinafter, simply referred to as a reduction map) that reduces a clutter signal is generated based on the estimated value. The clutter signal is reduced by multiplying the reception signal (an IQ signal after quadrature detection) by the reduction map.

Abstract: To provide a degradation accelerator suitable for biodegradable resins and a method for producing the degradation accelerator. With the degradation accelerator, the biodegradation rate and biodegradability of biodegradable resins such as aliphatic polyester-based resins, aliphatic-aromatic polyester-based resins, and aliphatic oxycarboxylic acid-based resins can be increased and freely controlled. A degradation accelerator for biodegradable resins, the degradation accelerator comprising: cellulose; hemicellulose; and lignin, wherein the mass ratio of nitrogen to carbon in the degradation accelerator for biodegradable resins is 0.04 or more, and wherein the mass ratio of the content of the hemicellulose to the total content of the cellulose and the lignin is 0.2 or more.

Abstract: Provided is a guidewire connector that does not interfere with an introduction of another in-body insertion instrument and is capable of maintaining cleanliness of the guidewire when connecting a guidewire mounted with a photo-acoustic ultrasonic wave generator. The guidewire connector according to the present disclosure includes an adapter member detachably attached to an light emitting apparatus, and a wire fixing member attaching the guidewire to the adapter member, in which the wire fixing member has an outer diameter equal to or smaller than an outer diameter of the guidewire.

Abstract: An optical scanning device includes: an optical scanning unit configured to repeatedly scan an irradiation destination of irradiation light to a predetermined trajectory; a light emission control unit configured to control light emission of the irradiation light to irradiate irradiation points to the predetermined trajectory; and a driving signal generation unit configured to generate a driving signal for driving the optical scanning unit, wherein the light emission control unit irradiates the irradiation points to the predetermined trajectory so that the irradiation points are substantially uniformly dispersed in a region in which a density of the irradiation points is relatively low in a region in which the irradiation light is irradiated.

Abstract: Provided are an ultrasonic signal processing device that can evaluate reliability of a velocity vector calculated by sub-pixel tracking, an ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus, and an ultrasonic signal arithmetic processing method. The ultrasonic signal processing device includes an echo signal acquisition unit that acquires an echo signal reflected by an object to be inspected, a velocity vector calculation unit that calculates a velocity vector using the echo signal, a post-parallel-movement signal generation unit that generates a post-parallel-movement signal obtained by approximately parallelly moving the echo signal, an image deformation component extraction unit that extracts an image deformation component which is a change component of a signal value due to deformation of an image from a deviation between the post-parallel-movement signal and the echo signal, and an error energy calculation unit that calculates an error energy of the velocity vector from the image deformation component.

Abstract: In a transcatheter treatment support technique using a combination of a guide wire equipped with a photoacoustic technique and an ultrasonic imaging device, the ultrasonic imaging device estimates a front edge position of the guide wire using a difference between arrival times of photoacoustic waves arriving at an array of elements configuring an ultrasonic probe or a change of an image of the photoacoustic generation source, which depends on a distance of the photoacoustic generation source from an imaging region, and grasps a relationship between an imaging position and the front edge position of the guide wire using the estimation result. This enables visually grasping a relationship between a region (imaging region) from which an image is able to be obtained with reflective waves from a biological body with use of the ultrasonic probe and an insertion object present outside the region, particularly, the front edge of the guide wire.

Abstract: An ultrasonic wave imaging apparatus is disclosed, including: an ultrasonic probe for irradiating a subject with an ultrasonic wave and receive a reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave and receiving an ultrasonic wave from a beacon inserted into the subject; a probe position-acquiring unit for acquiring a 3D position and an orientation of the ultrasonic probe; a beacon location-acquiring unit for determining a 3D location of the beacon from relative location and speed of the beacon relative to the ultrasonic probe as calculated from an ultrasonic wave image received at the ultrasonic probe and the 3D position and the orientation of the ultrasonic probe as acquired by the probe position-acquiring unit; and a display image formation section for using the ultrasonic wave image of the ultrasonic waves from the ultrasonic probe to form a display image. A corresponding method is also disclosed.

Abstract: Provided are an ultrasound imaging apparatus and a surgical operation support system for obtaining position information of a device outside an imaging area and presenting the position information to a user together with an ultrasound image. The surgical operation support system includes the ultrasound imaging apparatus, an ultrasonic source fixed to a therapeutic tool to be inserted into a subject body, a display device for displaying the ultrasound image and the position of the ultrasonic source. The ultrasound imaging apparatus is provided with a position estimator for estimating the position information of the ultrasonic source, and the position estimator analyzes a grating lobe artifact (false image) that is generated by the ultrasonic wave emitted from the ultrasonic source outside the imaging area, to estimate the position information of the ultrasonic source with respect to the imaging area.

Abstract: Provided is a guidewire connector that does not interfere with an introduction of another in-body insertion instrument and is capable of maintaining cleanliness of the guidewire when connecting a guidewire mounted with a photo-acoustic ultrasonic wave generator. The guidewire connector according to the present disclosure includes an adapter member detachably attached to an light emitting apparatus, and a wire fixing member attaching the guidewire to the adapter member, in which the wire fixing member has an outer diameter equal to or smaller than an outer diameter of the guidewire.

Abstract: Provided are an ultrasonic signal processing device that can evaluate reliability of a velocity vector calculated by sub-pixel tracking, an ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus, and an ultrasonic signal arithmetic processing method. The ultrasonic signal processing device includes an echo signal acquisition unit that acquires an echo signal reflected by an object to be inspected, a velocity vector calculation unit that calculates a velocity vector using the echo signal, a post-parallel-movement signal generation unit that generates a post-parallel-movement signal obtained by approximately parallelly moving the echo signal, an image deformation component extraction unit that extracts an image deformation component which is a change component of a signal value due to deformation of an image from a deviation between the post-parallel-movement signal and the echo signal, and an error energy calculation unit that calculates an error energy of the velocity vector from the image deformation component.

Abstract: To provide an ultrasonic transmission instrument that can uniformly transmit ultrasonic waves in each direction around the instrument, even when the instrument is made of a material through which the ultrasonic waves cannot be transmitted. In an ultrasonic transmission instrument according to the invention, a light transmission member is disposed at an emission end of an optical waveguide, and an outer peripheral member covers an outer periphery of the light transmission member and is made of a light absorbing material.

Abstract: The present invention aims to provide a polycarbonate resin composition having impact resistance at high levels in good balance, a production method thereof, and a molded body of the polycarbonate resin composition.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a process for producing a transparent film, including the step of stretching a film in at least one direction under a condition(s) that satisfies an expression (5): 200%/min?[stretching speed(strain rate)]?1,200%/min??(5), wherein the film comprises a polycarbonate resin containing at least a constitutional unit derived from a dihydroxy compound (A) that has a bonded structure represented by a structural formula (1): in which no hydrogen atom is bonded to the oxygen atom contained in the structural formula (1).