Patent ID: 8414491
Filing Date: 2013-04-09
Classification: A61B,G01S

Abstract:
1. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for use with an ultrasonic probe, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: a transmitting section for driving the ultrasonic probe that sends out an ultrasonic transmitted wave toward a tissue of an organism; a receiving section configured to receive an ultrasonic reflected wave through the ultrasonic probe to generate a received signal, the ultrasonic reflected wave being produced by getting the ultrasonic transmitted wave reflected by the tissue of the organism; a phase detecting section configured to detect the phase of the received signal to generate a phase detected signal; a positional displacement calculating section configured to calculate magnitudes of positional displacements at multiple measuring points within the tissue, which have been set within the tissue of the organism, based on the phase detected signal; a thickness variation calculating section configured to calculate thicknesses or thickness variations based on the magnitudes of positional displacements, each said thickness or each said thickness variation being measured between two arbitrary points within the tissue, which have been set with respect to the multiple measuring points; and a maximum/minimum value calculating section configured to find the maximum and minimum thicknesses or the maximum and minimum thickness variations during a maximum value finding period and a minimum value finding period, which are defined as different partial periods of one cardiac cycle of the organism, wherein a sum of the maximum and minimum value finding periods is less than one a cardiac cycle, wherein at least one of the greatest thickness difference, strain and elastic property during one cardiac cycle is calculated based on either a difference between the maximum and minimum thicknesses or a difference between the maximum and minimum thickness variations.