Patent ID: 7090642

Claim:
An ultrasonic transmitting and receiving apparatus comprising: an ultrasonic probe including plural ultrasonic transducers arranged in a two-dimensional array; plural transmitting circuits for respectively generating plural drive signals to be supplied to said ultrasonic probe so as to transmit an ultrasonic beam; plural receiving circuits for respectively processing plural detection signals output from said ultrasonic probe which has received an ultrasonic echo; switching means for changing electrical connection between (i) a predetermined number of ultrasonic transducers included in said plural ultrasonic transducers and (ii) a predetermined number of transmitting circuits included in said plural transmitting circuits and/or a predetermined number of receiving circuits included in said plural receiving circuits; and control means for controlling said switching means to partially change a sparse pattern of the ultrasonic transducers, which transmit and/or receive ultrasonic waves, in accordance with a steering direction of the ultrasonic beam to be transmitted.