Abstract: A fatty tissue image display device includes a light source, an ultrasonic wave transmission/reception mechanism, an analysis unit which calculates a velocity change of ultrasonic waves after irradiation with a heating beam as compared to before irradiation with light, a display control unit which displays the distribution of the calculated velocity change of the ultrasonic waves, a designation unit which waits for the designation of a region of interest, a histogram calculation unit which, based on luminance information or color information within the designated region of interest, calculates the histograms of a fatty region showing a negative velocity change of the ultrasonic waves and a normal region showing a positive velocity change of the ultrasonic waves, and an index calculation unit which, from the calculated histograms of the fatty and normal regions, calculates a fatty change index that is an index of a proportion of fatty tissue.

Abstract: Provided is a fatty tissue image display device capable of displaying an index indicating the degree of progress of fatty change.

Abstract: A diagnostic ultrasound apparatus includes an ultrasound probe for transmitting and receiving ultrasound beams to and from an object to be observed; a frame memory for storing B-mode ultrasound image data of the object obtained from the ultrasound beams received by the ultrasound probe; a monitor for displaying at least a B-mode ultrasound image of the object formed on the basis of the B-mode ultrasound image data stored in the frame memory; a sampling line setting circuit for freely setting a desired course and range of at least one data sampling line for the B-mode image displayed on the monitor; and a read-out circuit for selectively reading out, from the ultrasound image data stored in the frame memory, ultrasound image data corresponding to the data sampling line. The ultrasound image data which has been read out by the read-out circuit is displayed on the monitor as an M-mode image.

Abstract: A diagnostic ultrasound apparatus includes a displacement image data frame memory for storing, frame by frame, two-dimensional ultrasound image data of a living body to be observed; displacement image data sampling section for sampling displacement image data which is obtained by comparing two-dimensional ultrasound image data of a newest frame with the two-dimensional ultrasound image data of any one of the previous frames stored in the displacement image data frame memory, the displacement image data representing displacement in the living body between the compared frames; displacement hysteresis image forming section for forming displacement hysteresis image data which represents changes between the thus-formed plural displacement image data by sequentially combining the plural displacement image data with the lapse of time; and a display monitor for displaying a displacement hysteresis image on the basis of thus-produced displacement hysteresis image data.

Abstract: An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprises an ultrasonic transducer for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from a body to be examined and a control section for automatically determining the optimum image conditions on the basis of the echo signals obtained by the ultrasonic transducer. The control section comprises circuits for controlling the amplification factor of the echo signals, the amplification factors of the echo signals for the respective visual field depths and the adjustment of image contrast, on the basis of the echo signals obtained by the ultrasonic transducer.