Patent ID: 9304193
Filing Date: 2016-04-05
CPC Classification: A61B,G01S

Claim Text:
1. An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus comprising: a transducer array that includes a plurality of ultrasound transducers and transmits ultrasonic beams to a subject and receiving ultrasonic echoes from the subject; a transmission driver that supplies driving signals to the plurality of ultrasound transducers to transmit ultrasonic beams to the subject from the transducer array; a multiplexer that includes a plurality of input terminals corresponding to the plurality of ultrasound transducers and sequentially selects one channel of reception signal at a predetermined sampling period Ts in every N number of channels of reception signals out of a plurality of channels of reception signals outputted from the transducer array which has received receiving ultrasonic echoes from the subject; a reception signal connecting section that comprises a plurality of switches connecting and disconnecting between the plurality of ultrasound transducers of the transducer array and the plurality of input terminals of the multiplexer; a controller that controls the transmission driver, the multiplexer and the reception signal connecting section so as to turn off the plurality of switches of the reception signal connecting section to transmit ultrasonic beams from the transducer array according to the driving signals supplied from the transmission driver and to thereafter turn on the plurality of switches of the reception signal connecting section to sequentially select one channel of reception signal in every N number of channels of reception signals by the multiplexer; a plurality of reception signal processors that sequentially sample an N number of channels of reception signals selected by the multiplexer at the predetermined sampling period Is to produce an N number of channels of reception data, reception data of each channel being sampled once every N sampling periods; a beam former that interpolates data for each channel, performs phasing delay addition of the data of each channel to form time adjusted data in which time differences between the plurality of channels are eliminated, and performs beam forming on the time adjusted data to produce sound ray signals, wherein the interpolation is done for each sampling period Ts where a channel was not directly sampled; and an image producing unit that produces an ultrasound image based on the sound ray signals produced by the beam former.