Patent ID: 8475376

Claim:
A medical imaging apparatus comprising: an imaging stage configured to mount an object to be inspected; a compression plate having a first surface configured to compress the object and a second surface opposed to the first surface, and configured to compress the object between said imaging stage and itself; an ultrasonic probe provided to maintain acoustic connection to the second surface of said compression plate, and configured to transmit ultrasonic waves according to drive signals and receive ultrasonic echoes to output reception signals; an ultrasonic imaging unit configured to supply the drive signals to said ultrasonic probe and generate image data representing an ultrasonic image based on the reception signals outputted from said ultrasonic probe; a probe movement mechanism configured to translate and rotate said ultrasonic probe to adjust a location and/or a posture of said ultrasonic probe relative to said compression plate; a detecting unit configured to detect the location and/or the posture of said ultrasonic probe relative to said compression plate; and a control unit configured to control said probe movement mechanism based on a detection result of said detecting unit to keep a leading end of said ultrasonic probe substantially in parallel with the second surface of said compression plate at a constant distance therebetween without said ultrasonic probe and said probe movement mechanism contacting said compression plate.