Patent ID: 8366623

Claim:
An ultrasonic observing apparatus comprising: a scanning identifying unit for identifying an echo signal obtained by a first ultrasonic sending/receiving unit for transmitting ultrasonic pulses toward a target and receiving ultrasonic pulses reflected from the target by mechanical scanning, identifying an echo signal obtained by a second ultrasonic sending/receiving unit for transmitting ultrasonic pulses toward the target and receiving ultrasonic pulses reflected from the target by electronic scanning, and adding predetermined identification information to the echo signal from the second ultrasonic sending/receiving unit based on setting indication information of an observation mode of B mode or D mode; a B mode arithmetic unit for generating a B mode signal of the B mode from an echo signal obtained from the first ultrasonic sending/receiving unit and the second ultrasonic sending/receiving unit; an arithmetic processor for performing arithmetic processing for the D mode; and a signal processing unit for performing signal processing on the echo signal obtained by the first ultrasonic sending/receiving unit and on the echo signal obtained by the second ultrasonic sending/receiving unit, wherein: the signal processing unit determines whether the observation mode is the B mode or D mode based on the setting indication information and on the predetermined identification information which the scanning identifying unit added to the echo signal from the second ultrasonic sending/receiving unit, and when the echo signal from the first ultrasonic sending/receiving unit and the second ultrasonic sending/receiving unit is an echo signal in the B mode, generates a B mode signal in the B mode by the B mode arithmetic unit, when the echo signal from the second ultrasonic sending/receiving unit is an echo signal in the D mode, performs arithmetic processing on the echo signal from the second ultrasonic sending/receiving unit using the arithmetic processor, and when the echo signal from the second ultrasonic sending/receiving unit is an echo signal in the B mode, passes the B mode signal generated by the B mode arithmetic unit through the arithmetic processor without performing arithmetic processing on the B mode signal in the arithmetic processor.