Patent ID: 7666139

Claim:
An ultrasonic imaging apparatus, comprising: an ultrasonic probe including an ultrasonic vibration element configured to transmit and receive an ultrasonic wave in a scanning direction in an object; a transmission unit configured to make the probe transmit ultrasonic waves; a reception unit configured to receive reflected ultrasonic signals; a control unit configured to control the transmission unit such that there are three adjacent rate sections for each scan line, wherein a first transmit wave is transmitted in a first rate section, a second transmit wave is transmitted in a second rate section, and a third transmit wave is transmitted in a third rate section, the first rate section, the second rate section, and the third rate section having substantially a same length of time, wherein the length of each rate section is shorter than a time required to receive all reflected ultrasonic signals from a transmit wave transmitted in the rate section; an extraction unit configured to extract a signal by performing at least one of addition and subtraction of the reflected ultrasonic signals received in the second rate section and the third rate section; and a signal processor configured to produce image data using the signal output from the extraction unit based on the reflected ultrasonic signals received in the second and third rate sections, excluding the reflected ultrasonic signal received in the first rate section.