Patent ID: 8696573
Filing Date: 2014-04-15
Classification: A61B,G01S

Abstract:
1. An ultrasonic diagnostic system comprising: an ultrasonic probe having a group of ultrasonic transducer elements arranged in at least one direction; a beam forming unit for forming acoustic field sensitivity modulated in a direction substantially orthogonal to each scan line of a group of scan lines in a subject by focusing an ultrasonic wave on a sequence of sampling points existing along the group of scan lines, and applying delay and apodization to a transmission/reception signal of each of the ultrasonic transducer elements; and a detecting unit for detecting displacements in at least two directions at each of the sampling points by arithmetic between reception signals for the sampling point at different time points, wherein said detecting unit detects displacements at the sampling point in a first direction tangential to the scan line that passes through the sampling point, wherein the first direction is tangential to the scan line at the sampling point, and in a second direction tangential to a curve that passes through the sampling point, wherein the second direction is tangential to the curve at the sampling point, and wherein the curve belongs to a group of curves substantially orthogonal to the scan lines, wherein the group of curves is in the subject, each of the curves is defined by a sequence of points for which a total of times taken for ultrasonic pulses to reach the sequence of points from two fixed points on the ultrasonic probe is substantially the same, and wherein said group of scan lines are hyperbolas having, as common focal points, the two fixed points on said ultrasonic probe.