Patent ID: 8047992

Claim:
An ultrasonic imaging apparatus comprising: an ultrasonic probe configured to three-dimensionally transmit and receive ultrasonic waves on scanning lines with an arrangement of ultrasonic transducers, an image-processing part configured to generate three-dimensional volume data based on a first set of signals derived from a first set of ultrasonic waves transmitted and received by the ultrasonic probe, a display part configured to display a first ultrasonic image representing a plane intersecting the scanning lines and being based on the first set of signals, and a signal intensity-adjusting part configured to change a gain of a second set of signals that correspond to scanning lines, among the scanning lines on which the ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received, that pass through a range of the plane corresponding to a brightness adjustment range by changing a size of an amplitude, at a time of transmission, of a second set of ultrasonic waves transmitted by the ultrasonic probe, wherein the brightness adjustment range is a range of the first ultrasonic image designated for brightness adjustment corresponding to the range of the plane, and the image-processing part is configured to generate a second ultrasonic image by correcting the three-dimensional volume data generated by the image-processing part based on the gain changed by the signal intensity-adjusting part and projecting the corrected three-dimensional volume data on a two-dimensional surface, and the display part displays the second ultrasonic image.