Patent Document ID: 9649034
Application ID: 13871547
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A photoacoustic imaging device, comprising: an ultrasonic probe including: a light emitter that emits a measuring light beam into the body of a subject; and an electroacoustic convertor that detects photoacoustic waves, which are generated within the body of the subject by the measuring light beam being irradiated thereon, and converts the photoacoustic waves into electrical signals; and a processor which operates as: an image generator that generates a photoacoustic image based on the electrical signals; and an extractor that extracts position data regarding the positions of each of a plurality of peaks in the electrical signals that the photoacoustic waves have been converted into, and positive/negative data that indicates whether the peaks are positive or negative, and detects a signal region sandwiched between a pair of adjacent peaks based on the position data of the peaks in the case that the positive/negative data for the pair of adjacent peaks from among the plurality of peaks are in the order of positive then negative in temporal series; wherein the image generator administers chromatic adjustments to an image region corresponding to the signal region if (i) the signal region includes a flat zone in which signal intensity is constant; and (ii) the positive peak, the flat zone, and the negative peak are detected in this order in temporal series, as a correction process that facilitates discrimination of the pair of adjacent peaks and the signal region as being a single tissue system, and wherein the chromatic adjustments include generating mask data which are data for executing a mask process for administering the correction process and overlapping the photoacoustic image and the mask data.