Patent ID: 8485977

Claim:
An ultrasound diagnosis apparatus configured to generate image data based on reception signals acquired through ultrasound transmission/reception to and from an object, the ultrasound diagnosis apparatus comprising: an ultrasound probe including a plurality of transmitting transducer groups, each of the plurality of transmitting transducer groups including a respective plurality of adjacent transducers, and a receiving transducer group including a plurality of adjacent transducers; a transducer selection unit configured to select the plurality of transmitting transducer groups and the receiving transducer group so that a number of transducers in each transmitting transducer group is different than a number of transducers in the receiving transducer group; a transmission unit configured to drive each of the plurality of transmitting transducer groups in order to emit corresponding focusing wave-fronts or propagation wave-fronts so as to form a hypothetical point sound source for the object; a receiving phase compensation/summation unit configured to perform receiving phase compensation for focusing and summation of a plurality of channels of receiving signals acquired through the receiving transducer group based on reflected ultrasounds from observing points in the object; a transmission wave-front phase compensation/summation unit configured to perform wave-front phase compensation and summation for a plurality of channels of receiving signals that are acquired through ultrasound transmissions/receptions by the receiving transducer group and the plurality of transmitting transducer groups for successively renewing the point sound source; a scanning control unit configured to perform ultrasound scans of the object by controlling directions for the ultrasound transmissions/receptions; and an image processing unit configured to generate ultrasound image data based on the phase compensated and summed receiving signals acquired through the ultrasound scans.