Patent ID: 8366616
Filing Date: 2013-02-05
Classification: G01S,G10K

Abstract:
1. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: an ultrasonic probe that transmits or receives ultrasonic waves to or from a subject, the ultrasonic probe comprising a plurality of oscillatory elements; a transmitting means configured to supply a driving signal to the ultrasonic probe; a receiving means configured to receive a signal sent from the ultrasonic probe; a means configured to reconstruct an ultrasonic image on the basis of a signal sent from the receiving means; a means configured to display the ultrasonic image; an element selecting means configured to select a plurality of driving oscillatory elements, which defines an aperture through which ultrasonic waves are transmitted or received, from among the plurality of oscillatory elements, and groups the plurality of driving oscillatory elements into a plurality of sets, each of which includes one driving oscillatory element or a plurality of adjoining driving oscillatory elements and transmits or receives ultrasonic waves, according to the depth of a focal point, wherein the element selecting means regards as a reference distance the distance of a set, which is located in the center in a short-axis direction of the probe, to the focal point, calculates a difference between a distance of any other set to the focal point and the reference distance, determines the number of sets, and groups all of the selected driving oscillatory elements into the plurality of sets more broadly for the case of a focal point of a large depth than those for the case of a focal point of a small depth so that the distance difference will fall within a permissible range designated based on a wavelength λ of ultrasonic waves.