JP2005177085A - Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To construct a three-dimensional picture at a spatially more correct position even when an ultrasonic vibrator does not swing and scan at a regular angular velocity perfectly. <P>SOLUTION: A swinging angle detection means 5 detects the swinging angle of the ultrasonic vibrator 1, and a three-dimensional picture processing means 11 forms the three-dimensional picture based on the swinging angle detected by the swinging angle detection means and picture data outputted by an ultrasonic reception means 9. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that three-dimensionally acquires echo data in a living body, converts it into image data from a virtual viewpoint, and displays it.

  In general, in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus intended for three-dimensional display of a tissue state in a living body, an ultrasonic transducer for scanning an ultrasonic beam as an ultrasonic probe for capturing three-dimensional echo data A configuration is known in which the body is mechanically swung and scanned in a direction crossing the beam scanning direction (see, for example, Patent Document 1 below). In such an ultrasonic probe, ultrasonic beam scanning (hereinafter referred to as main section scanning) and oscillation scanning are performed simultaneously, so that the ultrasonic probe can be detected from the in vivo tissue corresponding to the intersecting line of both scanning planes that move every moment. Echo data, that is, echo data in a three-dimensional space can be acquired. The acquired 3D echo data is subjected to a 3D image construction process to be converted into image data from a virtual viewpoint, and displayed with a display method as if there is a depth in the plane, or An arbitrary cross section is displayed.

  By the way, in constructing a three-dimensional image, the direction component in the three-dimensional space of each echo data needs to be known. In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using an ultrasonic probe that mechanically performs such oscillation scanning, an ideal oscillation angular velocity W with respect to time of the ultrasonic transducer body is as shown in FIG. The ultrasonic transducer body is controlled to swing so that the profile 21 is obtained, that is, the ideal swing angle θ with respect to time of the ultrasonic vibrator body is a profile 22 as shown in FIG. 9B. The echo data used for constructing the three-dimensional image is acquired during a period t1 to t2 in which the oscillation angular velocity W is relatively constant (W = w1). In addition to the above, three-dimensional image construction is performed with the expectation that the main cross-section scan plane is flat and each main cross-section is equiangular by performing main cross-section scans at regular time intervals.

In general, in order to improve the 3D echo data acquisition rate per unit time,
w2 = (− 1) × w1
The echo data is acquired in the reciprocating swing period of the forward period t1 to t2 of W = w1 and the return period t4 to t5 of W = w2. At this time, as shown in FIG. 10, if the main cross-section scanning surface 51 indicated by the solid line is formed in the swing scanning forward path 56 as the main cross-section scanning direction 53, In the return path, a main cross-section scanning plane 52 as shown by a broken line is generated, and the scanning plane angle is mismatched in the swing reciprocation. Therefore, in the swing return path, the direction opposite to the forward direction 53 is set as the main cross-section scanning direction 54. Thus, a method of alleviating the mismatch of the scanning surface angles in the swing reciprocation has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2 below).
JP-A-3-184532 (FIG. 2) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2001-70301 (FIG. 3)

  In recent years, three-dimensional images obtained by an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus have been used for observing the state of tissues in vivo, puncturing while monitoring three-dimensional images and guidelines, or distance, angle, area, volume, etc. of organs, tumors, fetuses, etc. It is also used for measurement, and its usefulness is increasing. In response to such medical demands, it is indispensable for the three-dimensional image provided by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus to be constructed with higher accuracy, that is, at a spatially correct position than ever before.

  However, in the above-described conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, in order to construct a three-dimensional image on the assumption that the ultrasonic transducer body performs oscillating scanning at a constant angular velocity during the period in which the three-dimensional echo data is acquired. Three-dimensional image construction is performed on the assumption that the main cross-section scanning plane used is a plane. In general, mechanical swing scanning using a motor uses a so-called feedback control method that determines the motor applied voltage or current for the next time from the current swing scanning angle and / or swing scanning angular velocity. Even with high-precision feedback control, oscillating scanning cannot be performed at a perfect equiangular velocity. In other words, the main cross-section scanning plane of the echo data actually acquired cannot be said to form a complete plane, and each main cross-section has a certain degree of curvature. As a result, the three-dimensional image constructed on the assumption that each main cross-section scanning plane is a flat surface has a problem that the image is distorted or deviated depending on the degree of the curved surface, or the image is shaken according to the rocking reciprocation. As a result, there is a risk of puncturing in a direction deviating from the direction expected by the surgeon and a large measurement error such as distance, angle, area, and volume.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described conventional problems, and constructs a three-dimensional image at a more spatially correct position even if the ultrasonic transducer body is not completely oscillating and scanned at a uniform angular velocity. An object of the present invention is to provide an excellent ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of performing the above.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an ultrasonic transducer body in which ultrasonic transducers for scanning an ultrasonic beam are arranged in an array,
A vibrator body swinging motor that swings and scans the ultrasonic vibrator body in a direction intersecting the scanning direction of the ultrasonic beam;
A swing angle detecting means for detecting a swing angle of the ultrasonic transducer body;
Ultrasonic transmission means for exciting the ultrasonic transducer to form the ultrasonic beam;
Ultrasonic receiving means for forming an ultrasonic beam from an ultrasonic echo received by the ultrasonic transducer and converting it into visualized image data;
Three-dimensional image processing means for forming a three-dimensional image based on the rocking angle detected by the rocking angle detecting means and image data output from the ultrasonic wave receiving means;
Image display means for displaying the three-dimensional image;
It is set as the structure which has.
With this configuration, the actual oscillation scanning angle corresponding to each acquired ultrasonic echo can be given to the three-dimensional image processing means even if the ultrasonic transducer body is not completely oscillation-scanned at a constant angular velocity. 3D images can be constructed at spatially correct positions.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an ultrasonic transducer body in which ultrasonic transducers for scanning an ultrasonic beam are arranged in an array,
A vibrator body swinging motor that swings and scans the ultrasonic vibrator body in a direction intersecting the scanning direction of the ultrasonic beam;
A swing angle detecting means for detecting a swing angle of the ultrasonic transducer body;
Ultrasonic transmission means for exciting the ultrasonic transducer to form the ultrasonic beam;
Ultrasonic receiving means for forming an ultrasonic beam from an ultrasonic echo received by the ultrasonic transducer and converting it into visualized image data;
Rocking angle information adding means for adding the information of the rocking angle detected by the rocking angle detecting means to the image data output from the ultrasonic wave receiving means;
Three-dimensional image processing means for forming a three-dimensional image based on the image data output from the swing angle information adding means and the added swing angle information;
Image display means for displaying the three-dimensional image;
It is set as the structure which has.
With this configuration, the actual oscillation scanning angle corresponding to each acquired ultrasonic echo can be given to the three-dimensional image processing means even if the ultrasonic transducer body is not completely oscillation-scanned at a constant angular velocity. 3D images can be constructed at spatially correct positions.

In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, the three-dimensional image processing unit forms a three-dimensional image based on angle information obtained by smoothing information on the swing angle detected by the swing angle detecting unit. Features.
With this configuration, it is possible to perform three-dimensional image processing based on rocking angle information that is equal to or higher than the resolution of the minimum rocking angle obtained by the rocking angle detection means.

According to the present invention, an actual swing scanning angle corresponding to each acquired ultrasonic echo is given to the three-dimensional image processing means even if the ultrasonic transducer body is not completely swing-scanned at a constant angular velocity. And a three-dimensional image can be constructed at a spatially correct position.
Also, three-dimensional image processing can be performed based on rocking angle information that is equal to or greater than the minimum rocking angle resolution.

Hereinafter, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the configuration of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is an ultrasonic transducer body in which a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 2 that transmit ultrasonic waves into a living body and convert ultrasonic echoes from a tissue in the living body into an electrical signal are arranged in an array. 1 is provided. Each ultrasonic transducer 2 is excited by a transmission pulse supplied from the ultrasonic transmission means 3. At this time, the ultrasonic transmission means 3 is focused on a predetermined depth in the living body, that is, a transmission beam is formed. As described above, control is performed so that transmission pulses having different phases are applied to some or all of the ultrasonic transducers 2 arranged in the ultrasonic transducer body 1.

  The ultrasonic wave transmitted to the living body in this manner returns as an echo from each tissue in the living body every moment. In response to the ultrasonic echoes converted into electrical signals by the ultrasonic transducers 2 of the ultrasonic transducer body 1, the ultrasonic receiving means 9 generates the received beam from the ultrasonic transducers 2 in a predetermined direction. Each of the received signals is added after giving different delay times. The transmission beam and the reception beam described above form one acoustic scanning line by transmission and reception. The ultrasonic receiving means 9 generates ultrasonic echo data along the acoustic scanning line, and further performs detection processing to visualize the ultrasonic echo data and outputs image data. In this way, transmission / reception is performed such that acoustic scanning lines in different directions are formed while switching the ultrasonic transducer group used for transmission / reception one after another or changing the direction of the transmission / reception beam. Two main section scan planes are formed.

  Furthermore, this ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is provided with a vibrator body swinging motor 4 that swings and scans the ultrasonic vibrator body 1 in a direction intersecting the aforementioned main section scanning plane, and the rotation transmitting means 6 is a vibrator body. The rotational motion of the swing motor 4 is transmitted to the ultrasonic vibrator body 1. The vibrator body swing motor 4 is subjected to swing control by the motor control means 7. Information necessary for motor control such as the swing angular velocity and swing angle range for the motor control means 7 is received from the main control means 10. By performing the main cross-section scanning and the swing scanning simultaneously, the ultrasonic receiving means 9 can generate ultrasonic echo data corresponding to the intersection of the main cross-section scanning surface and the swing scanning surface. Both scanning planes are not scanned independently, but are scanned so as to uniformly acquire ultrasonic echo data of a specific three-dimensional part in the living body. That is, the main cross-section scan and the swing scan are performed so that the angle between each main cross-section scan plane per swing scan is substantially equal.

  For this reason, the motor control means 7 constantly monitors which oscillation scanning angle or angular velocity the ultrasonic transducer body 1 connected to the transducer body oscillation motor 4 is within the three-dimensional echo data acquisition period. It is necessary to perform control so that the ultrasonic transducer body 1 oscillates at a substantially equal angular velocity. For this reason, in this ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, in order to obtain the swing scanning angle of the ultrasonic transducer body 1, rotation transmission means for transmitting the rotational motion of the vibrator body swing motor 4 to the ultrasonic transducer body 1. 6 includes a swing angle detecting means 5. As long as the information corresponding to the oscillation scanning angle of the ultrasonic transducer body 1 can be obtained, the installation location of the oscillation angle detection means 5 is the transducer body oscillation motor 4 side of the rotation transmission means 6, The ultrasonic transducer body 1 side or the middle of both may be sufficient.

  A preferred implementation method of the swing angle detecting means 5 is a method of attaching a rotary encoder to the rotation transmitting means 6, and an example thereof is shown in FIG. There are at least two types of rotary encoders. One Z rotary encoder 65 receives a single pulse (hereinafter referred to as a Z pulse) at a specific angle of the rotary shaft 60 of the vibrator swing motor 4 which is the rotation transmission means 6. A Z pulse rotor 61 is attached to the rotary shaft 60 so that it can be output. For example, in the case of a magnetic encoder, the Z pulse rotor 61 is magnetized so as to generate one Z pulse per revolution, and the Z pulse sensor 63 detects the magnetized portion 61a of the Z pulse rotor 61 to detect the Z pulse. Is output.

  Similarly, the other A rotary encoder 66 has an A pulse rotor 62 and A that are magnetized equiangularly (62a in the figure) so as to generate several hundred pulses (hereinafter referred to as A pulse: fixed value) per rotation of the rotary shaft 60. A pulse sensor 64 is provided. The above is an example of a magnetic rotary encoder, but an optical type or a mechanical type may be used in the configuration of the present invention. The A and Z pulses from the rotary encoders 65 and 66 are sent to the encoder pulse counter 67.

  The encoder pulse counter 67 is reset by the Z pulse from the Z rotary encoder 65, and counts up or down by the A pulse from the A rotary encoder 66. The count value as a result of the counting is the vibrator body swing motor 4 The rotation axis angle of the ultrasonic transducer body 1, that is, the swing scanning angle of the ultrasonic transducer body 1. In this way, since the motor control means 7 can know the current swing scanning angle of the ultrasonic transducer body 1 from the count value of the swing angle detecting means 5, the ultrasonic control is performed at a predetermined next swing scanning angle. In order to move the vibrator body 1, the vibrator body swing motor 4 is controlled. When the current swing scanning angular velocity is added to the swing control, the swing scanning angular velocity can be obtained with the time difference of the swing scanning angle.

  Image data of ultrasonic echoes of a specific three-dimensional part in the living body obtained by simultaneously scanning the main cross-sectional scan and the swinging scan in this way are sent to the three-dimensional image processing means 11. In the three-dimensional image processing means 11, the image display means 12 is displayed from the obtained image data as if there is a depth while observing a structure of a specific three-dimensional part in the living body from a virtual viewpoint. Alternatively, three-dimensional image processing such as cross-sectional display of a three-dimensional structure cut out at an arbitrary plane is performed. In performing this three-dimensional image processing, it is necessary to know which direction component in the three-dimensional space is the acquired ultrasonic echo data of each acoustic scanning line. In the image processing means 11, the scanning direction angle on the main cross section scanning plane is determined from the arrangement of the ultrasonic transducer 2 constituting the ultrasonic transducer body 1 and the direction of the transmission / reception beam. Obtained from the swing angle information from the moving angle detection means 5.

  By the way, in general, in a three-dimensional display ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using a mechanical scanning method as swing scanning, no matter how high the vibrator swing motor 4 is controlled by the motor control means 7, a complete swing equiangular velocity is obtained. The actual vibrator swing angular velocity W and the resulting swing angle θ at a certain time T cannot be controlled, and profiles 31 and 32 as shown in FIGS. It becomes. That is, in the forward path periods T1 to T2 and the return path periods T4 to T5 in which the equiangular speed is likely to be performed relatively stably, the swing angular speed profile 31 with respect to time moves with fluctuations in the vicinity of the angular speeds W1 and W2. The rocking angle profile 32 with respect to time does not become a straight line during the synchronization. Therefore, for example, each actual main section scanning plane obtained in the period T1 to T2 42 (see FIG. 4) is a set of curved main section scanning planes 41 as shown in FIG.

  Therefore, in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention having the configuration as shown in FIG. 1, even if the oscillation scanning of the ultrasonic transducer body 1 is not performed at a uniform angular velocity, that is, each main cross section scan. Even if the surface is not a plane, it is possible to notify the three-dimensional image processing means 11 of the actual swing angle θ of the ultrasonic transducer body 1 when each ultrasonic echo is acquired by the swing angle detecting means 5. Therefore, it is possible to construct a three-dimensional image based on the actual swing angle, and as a result, it is possible to construct a three-dimensional image at a spatially correct position.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 shows an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment described above, the image data from the ultrasonic wave receiving means 9 and the rocking angle information from the rocking angle detection means 5 are input to the three-dimensional image processing means 11. Therefore, for the construction of a three-dimensional image, it is sufficient that one swing angle information exists for image data of one acoustic scanning line. That is, the data amount per unit time of the swing angle information is overwhelmingly smaller than the data amount per unit time of the image data. On the other hand, normally, the image data from the ultrasonic wave receiving means 9 is not always valid, and a blanking time for securing a parameter setting time for each circuit block occurs before the acquisition of the ultrasonic echo. That is, the image data string is intermittently input to the three-dimensional image processing means 11.

  In the second embodiment of the present invention, the swing angle for selecting the image data from the ultrasonic wave receiving means 9 and the swing angle information from the swing angle detecting means 5 is provided before the three-dimensional image processing means 11. Information adding means 8 is provided, and the information obtained by adding the swing angle information to the blanking time of the image data is used as the input to the three-dimensional image processing means 11.

  A configuration example and data of the swing angle information adding means 8 will be described with reference to FIG. In the swing angle information adding means 8 of the present embodiment, as a method of adding the swing angle information to the image data, the image data from the ultrasonic receiving means 9 and the swing angle information from the swing angle detecting means 5 are used. A switch 71 for switching is provided. Each image data sequence corresponding to one acoustic scanning line is supplied from the ultrasonic wave receiving means 9 with a swing angle information adding means intermittently with a blanking time 72 such as Vn, Vn + 1, Vn + 2,. 8 is input. The switch 71 detects the blanking time 72 from either the image data string or inputs it from the outside, and captures a part of the blanking time 72 (from a certain condition from the front side, the rear side or the front side) or Control is performed so that the rocking angle information θj, θj + 1... Is selected at all times, and the image data Vn, Vn + 1, Vn + 2. Therefore, the output of the switch 71 includes image data with angle information obtained by adding the swing angle information θj, θj + 1... To the blanking time 72 of the acoustic scanning line image data sequence Vn, Vn + 1, Vn + 2. A column appears.

  In this way, since the image data string with angle information is input to the three-dimensional image processing means 11, in the three-dimensional image processing, the oscillation of each acoustic scanning line with respect to the image data Vn, Vn + 1, Vn + 2,. Angle information θj, θj + 1... Can be acquired from the image data sequence with angle information. As a result, it is possible to construct a three-dimensional image based on the actual rocking scanning angle θ, and it is possible to construct a three-dimensional image at a more spatially correct position and simplify the interface to the three-dimensional image processing means 11. This makes it possible to reduce the amount of circuitry and cost.

<Third Embodiment>
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. As described above, the swing angle information corresponding to the actual swing scanning angle θ of the ultrasonic transducer body 1 is obtained by the swing angle detecting means 5. The actual swing scanning angle of the ultrasonic transducer body 1 corresponding to the A pulse generation unit is the minimum resolution for swing angle detection. An example in which a certain main cross-section scan is performed from time T (N) to T (N + 17) is shown by a solid line in FIG. The actual rocking angle of the acoustic scanning line acquired from time T (N) to T (N + 2) is θ1, the actual rocking angle of the acoustic scanning line acquired from T (N + 3) to T (N + 7) is θ2, and so on. Continue to T (N + 17). Here, Δθ = θ2−θ1 is the minimum resolution of the swing angle detection.

  As shown by the solid line in FIG. 8, the main cross-section scanning plane 91 constructed using the image data of the acoustic scanning line acquired at each time and the actual swing angles θ1 to θ4 as they are corresponds to the magnitude of Δθ. Therefore, it is desirable to make Δθ as small as possible. For this purpose, a method of increasing the number of pulses generated per rotation of the A pulse rotor 62 or adding a separate rotary encoder to the rotating shaft 60 can be mentioned, but the cost for realization increases. This causes a problem that the quantity increases.

  The three-dimensional image processing means 11 constituting the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention has the actual oscillation angles θ1, θ2, θ3 of the ultrasonic transducer body 1 added to each acoustic scanning line. Are smoothed, and a three-dimensional image is constructed using a swing angle smoothing result 81 as indicated by a broken line in FIG. As a smoothing method, a linear interpolation method, a spline interpolation method, a Newton interpolation method, or the like can be used as appropriate. As described above, the three-dimensional image processing means 11 can construct a three-dimensional image after referring again to the obtained swing angle smoothing result 81 as the swing angle of each ultrasonic echo. The main cross-section scanning plane 92 after smoothing can be configured, and a more natural three-dimensional image can be constructed.

  As described above, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention has an actual oscillation scanning angle corresponding to each acquired ultrasonic echo even when the ultrasonic transducer body is not completely oscillation-oscillated at an equal angular velocity. It can be given to a three-dimensional image processing means, a three-dimensional image can be constructed at a spatially correct position, and three-dimensional image processing can be performed based on rocking angle information having a minimum rocking angle resolution or more. This is useful for an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that three-dimensionally acquires in-vivo echo data, converts it into image data from a virtual viewpoint, and displays it.

1 is a block diagram showing an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the rocking angle detection means in FIG. (A) An explanatory view showing an actual oscillation angular velocity profile of a mechanical scanning ultrasonic transducer (b) An explanatory diagram showing an actual oscillation angular profile of a mechanical scanning ultrasonic transducer Explanatory drawing which shows the shape of the main cross section scanning surface before correction | amendment in this invention The block diagram which shows the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of the swing angle information adding means and image data with angle information in FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the smoothing process of the angle information in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows the smoothing process of the image in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention (A) An explanatory view showing an ideal swing angular velocity profile with respect to time of the ultrasonic vibrator body (b) An explanatory view showing an ideal swing angle profile with respect to time of the ultrasonic vibrator body Explanatory drawing showing the shape of a conventional main cross section scanning plane

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ultrasonic vibrator 2 Ultrasonic vibrator 3 Ultrasonic transmission means 4 Vibrator body rocking motor 5 Swing angle detection means 6 Rotation transmission means 7 Motor control means 8 Swing angle information addition means 9 Ultrasonic reception means 10 Main control means 11 Three-dimensional image processing means 12 Image display means 21 Ideal swing angular velocity profile with respect to time of ultrasonic vibrator body 22 Ideal swing angle profile with respect to time of ultrasonic vibrator body 31 Ultrasonic vibrator Actual swing angular velocity profile with respect to time of body 32 Actual swing angle profile with respect to time of ultrasonic transducer body 41 Shape of main cross section scanning plane actually acquired 51 Main acquired by ideal swing angular velocity motion Cross-sectional shape 52 Main cross section in which there is a mismatch in the rocking return path with respect to the rocking forward path 53 Main cross section scanning direction in the rocking forward path 54 Main section in the rocking return path Scanning direction 60 Rotating shaft 61 Z pulse rotor 61a Magnetized portion of Z pulse rotor 62 A pulse rotor 62a Magnetized portion of A pulse rotor 63 Z pulse sensor 64 A pulse sensor 65 Z rotary encoder 66 A rotary encoder 67 Encoder pulse counter 71 Switch 72 Blanking time 81 Oscillating angle smoothing result 91 Shape of main section scanning surface before smoothing 92 Shape of main section scanning surface after smoothing

Claims (3)

An ultrasonic transducer body in which ultrasonic transducers for scanning an ultrasonic beam are arranged in an array; and
A vibrator body swinging motor that swings and scans the ultrasonic vibrator body in a direction intersecting the scanning direction of the ultrasonic beam;
A swing angle detecting means for detecting a swing angle of the ultrasonic transducer body;
Ultrasonic transmission means for exciting the ultrasonic transducer to form the ultrasonic beam;
Ultrasonic receiving means for forming an ultrasonic beam from an ultrasonic echo received by the ultrasonic transducer and converting it into visualized image data;
Three-dimensional image processing means for forming a three-dimensional image based on the rocking angle detected by the rocking angle detecting means and image data output from the ultrasonic wave receiving means;
Image display means for displaying the three-dimensional image;
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. An ultrasonic transducer body in which ultrasonic transducers for scanning an ultrasonic beam are arranged in an array; and
A vibrator body swinging motor that swings and scans the ultrasonic vibrator body in a direction intersecting the scanning direction of the ultrasonic beam;
A swing angle detecting means for detecting a swing angle of the ultrasonic transducer body;
Ultrasonic transmission means for exciting the ultrasonic transducer to form the ultrasonic beam;
Ultrasonic receiving means for forming an ultrasonic beam from an ultrasonic echo received by the ultrasonic transducer and converting it into visualized image data;
Rocking angle information adding means for adding the information of the rocking angle detected by the rocking angle detecting means to the image data output from the ultrasonic wave receiving means;
Three-dimensional image processing means for forming a three-dimensional image based on the image data output from the swing angle information adding means and the added swing angle information;
Image display means for displaying the three-dimensional image;
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. The three-dimensional image processing unit forms a three-dimensional image based on angle information obtained by smoothing the information on the swing angle detected by the swing angle detection unit. Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment.