Patent ID: 9017261
Filing Date: 2015-04-28
Classification: A61B,G01S,G10K

Abstract:
1. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising a beamformer which generates beamformed signals, each corresponding to one of scan lines for generating an ultrasound image, from echo signals generated from ultrasound signals bounced off a subject and received by receiving elements, wherein the beamformer includes: a delay-and-sum (DAS) unit configured, for each of frames, to (i) determine one of the scan lines, in a sorting order determined in a given direction, as a target scan line for the frame and select 2k+1 scan lines included in the scan lines and aligned in a row with the target scan line positioned in a middle of the scan lines, and (ii) perform a DAS operation on each of the echo signals to calculate a first DAS signal which is a DAS signal for the target scan line and second DAS signals which are DAS signals each for one of the selected 2k+1 scan lines other than the target scan line, where k is a positive integer; a first reference beam generating unit configured to generate a first reference beam from the first DAS signal and the second DAS signals all of which are calculated in an N-th frame of the frames; a second reference beam generating unit configured to generate a second reference beam from (i) one of the second DAS signals which is calculated in an (N−1)-th frame of the frames immediately preceding the N-th frame and is generated for one of the scan lines which has an earliest number in the sorting order among the selected 2k+1 scan lines, (ii) the first DAS signal which is calculated in the N-th frame, and (iii) another one of the second DAS signals which is calculated in an (N+1)-th frame of the frames immediately succeeding the N-th frame and is generated for another one of the scan lines which has a latest number in the sorting order among the selected 2k+1 scan lines; an attenuation coefficient calculating unit configured to calculate, based on the first reference beam and the second reference beam, an attenuation coefficient for forming narrower a profile of the first DAS signal calculated in the N-th frame; and a beamforming unit configured to generate and provide a beamformed signal included in the beamformed signals and generated for the target scan line in the N-th frame, by multiplying the first DAS signal calculated in the N-th frame by the attenuation coefficient.