Patent ID: 8376949

Claim:
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, comprising: an ultrasonic probe configured to output a transmission pulse while scanning an ultrasonic beam in a main scanning direction and a sub scanning direction, and to detect a reflection signal from an inside of a body under examination; a scan controller configured to input a trigger signal output every heartbeat period from an outside of the apparatus, to scan the ultrasonic beam such that a particular diagnostic region of the body under examination is scanned with the ultrasonic beam a plurality of times for a period from one trigger signal to a next trigger signal, and to control a scan repetition period by controlling a pulse repetition period of the transmission pulse; and an image generation unit configured to generate an image corresponding to the scan repetition period, the scan controller being configured to determine the pulse repetition period such that an integer multiple of the scan repetition period is equal to a reference value determined based on a period of the trigger signal, and to control the pulse repetition period according to the determination.