Patent ID: 9693755
Date: 2017-07-04
CPC Classifications: A61B,G16H

Claim:
1. An ultrasound diagnostic device to which an ultrasound probe is connectable, the ultrasound probe having a transducer column comprising a plurality of transducers, the ultrasound diagnostic device comprising: a transmission-reception processor that performs transmission processing to supply a transmission signal to the ultrasound probe in order to drive the ultrasound probe to transmit ultrasound along a longitudinal direction of a carotid artery at each of a plurality of positions along a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the carotid artery in a state in which the transducer column of the ultrasound probe is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the carotid artery, and that performs reception processing to generate reception signals along the longitudinal direction of the carotid artery at each of the positions in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, based on ultrasound reflected from the carotid artery and received by the ultrasound probe; a transverse cross-sectional image generator that generates a plurality of transverse cross-sectional images based on the reception signals respectively generated at the positions, each of the transverse cross-sectional images depicting a carotid artery transverse cross-section that is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the carotid artery, wherein each transverse cross-sectional image is generated from the reception signals acquired by a respective one of the plurality of transducers at the plurality of positions along the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction; a transverse cross-sectional image selector that selects, as a specific image from among the transverse cross-sectional images which are generated, a transverse cross-sectional image that depicts an internal carotid artery cross-section and an external carotid artery cross-section; a relative angle calculator that calculates a relative angle of the ultrasound probe with respect to the carotid artery in a plane parallel to the carotid artery transverse cross-section, based on coordinates at which the internal carotid artery cross-section and the external carotid artery cross-section are depicted in the specific image, wherein the relative angle calculator calculates the relative angle of the ultrasound probe based on central coordinates of the internal carotid artery cross-section and central coordinates of the external carotid artery cross-section depicted in the specific image; a longitudinal cross-sectional image generator that generates a longitudinal cross-sectional image of the carotid artery based on the reception signals acquired by the plurality of transducers at at least one of the positions, the longitudinal cross-sectional image depicting a carotid artery longitudinal cross-section; and a vascular wall property measurer that, upon a judgement that the calculated relative angle is a suitable angle, measures a property of a vascular wall of the carotid artery, using the longitudinal cross-sectional image.