Patent ID: 8617075

Claim:
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: an ultrasonic probe for configured to transmit/receive ultrasonic waves to/from an object to be examined at a first display position and a second display position, including a position sensor configured to detect the first display position and the second display position of the ultrasonic probe; an ultrasonic image construction unit configured to construct a 3-dimensional ultrasonic image from 3-dimensional ultrasonic image data, which is obtained from the ultrasonic signals received from the ultrasonic probe; a display unit configured to display the 3-dimensional ultrasonic image constructed by the ultrasonic image construction unit; and a positional information analysis unit configured to store a first display position of the ultrasonic probe acquired from the position sensor and to analyze a positional relationship between the stored first display position and the second display position of the ultrasonic probe, wherein the first display position and the second display position are different from each other, and the ultrasonic image construction unit configured to convert 3-dimensional ultrasonic image data acquired at the second display position into the view point of the three-dimensional ultrasonic data acquired at the first position based on the positional relationship, wherein the ultrasonic image construction unit comprises memory configured to store the 3-dimensional ultrasonic images acquired at the first position and to cause the stored 3-dimensional ultrasonic images and a 3-dimensional ultrasonic image at the second position to be synthesized, and wherein the ultrasonic image construction unit is configured to cause a 3-dimensional ultrasonic image having the higher luminance, out of the stored 3-dimensional ultrasonic image at the first display position and the 3-dimensional ultrasonic image at the second display position, to be displayed.