Patent ID: 7338452
Filing Date: 2008-03-04
Classification: A61B,G01S

Abstract:
1. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: an insert to be inserted into a blood vessel; an ultrasonic transducer mounted on said insert for transmitting an ultrasonic wave in the blood vessel, receiving a reflection of the ultrasonic wave, and producing a received signal representative of the received reflection; a distortion value calculator which calculates an instantaneous distortion value at a location to be evaluated in the blood vessel based on said received signal; an analyzer which analyzes a state of the location to be evaluated using time-series data of instantaneous distortion values which are calculated at a plurality of times in a chronological sequence by said distortion value calculator; and a display which displays an analyzed result produced by said analyzer; wherein said ultrasonic transducer moves along the longitudinal direction of the blood vessel to scan the blood vessel in the longitudinal direction of the blood vessel, while also scanning the blood vessel in a circumferential direction of the blood vessel; and wherein said distortion value calculator tracks the position of the location to be evaluated along the longitudinal direction of the blood vessel.