JP5156206B2 - Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and more specifically, an image obtained by indexing local elasticity information of an internal tissue of a subject can be provided to a user to improve tissue discrimination in diagnosis. The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

  A conventional general ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus uses ultrasonic transmission / reception means for transmitting ultrasonic waves to a subject and receiving reflected echo signals from within the subject, and reflected echo signals from the ultrasonic transmission / reception means. A scanning unit that repeatedly obtains ultrasonic tomographic data in a subject including a moving tissue in a predetermined cycle, and an image display unit that displays time-series data obtained by the scanning unit. The structure of the living tissue is displayed as, for example, a B-mode image.

  Recently, it is known that the elasticity information indicating the hardness or softness of the tissue sensitively reflects the tissue properties due to diseases such as the canceration of the tissue and the lack of flexibility due to aging. Displaying the hardness or softness of the tissue as an elastic image is performed.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, a displacement of a living tissue is obtained using a reflected echo signal in a process in which the pressure applied to the living tissue fluctuates, a strain and an elastic modulus are calculated based on the displacement and pressure, and an elastic image is obtained. A tissue elasticity imaging method to generate and display is described.

  According to Patent Document 1, for example, in blood vessel diagnosis, it can be diagnosed on an image display whether the blood vessel is normal or atherosclerosis occurs.

Japanese Patent No. 3268396

  However, there are cases in which the tissue elasticity image generated by the technique of Patent Document 1 cannot be properly utilized as diagnostic information.

  In other words, depending on the diagnosis target, it is particularly important to understand whether the local tissue of the diagnosis target tissue is hard or soft, while understanding whether the entire diagnosis target tissue is hard or soft. There is a case. For example, in the case of plaque deposited on the inner wall of the blood vessel, if the plaque surface film breaks down, there is a risk that the plaque will flow out and clog the peripheral blood vessel. Therefore, not only the elasticity information of the plaque itself but also the elasticity of the film part on the plaque surface Information is particularly needed.

  However, in the technique of Patent Document 1, although it is possible to obtain the elasticity information of the entire diagnosis target tissue, consideration is given to appropriately obtaining the elasticity information of a local portion such as a film on the plaque surface. Absent.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can appropriately obtain local elasticity information of an internal tissue of a subject.

In order to solve the above-described problems, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention includes a unit that generates an ultrasonic image at a tomographic site of a subject based on ultrasonic tomographic data of the subject, and a display that displays the ultrasonic image. Means for setting a plurality of tracking points on the surface of the tissue on the ultrasonic image displayed on the display means, means for tracking the positional change of the tracking points on the ultrasonic image, and between the tracking points Means for measuring a distance and obtaining a change in the distance, and the display means is an ultrasonic image, an elastic image given a hue according to the strain or elastic modulus of the tissue, and a change in the distance or a change in the distance. According to the elasticity information obtained on the basis, the elasticity information between the tracking points given different hues or different line types in the display mode between the tracking points is displayed superimposed on the same image .

  That is, referring to an ultrasonic image of the internal tissue of the subject, if a plurality of tracking points are set in a specific local region of interest such as a membrane portion on the surface of the plaque, the tracking points are The distance of changes. This change in distance is elastic information that correlates with the hardness or softness of the tissue between the tracking points. Therefore, according to this elasticity information, for example, color information is displayed by giving hue information, and so on. If the display mode is changed, the elasticity information between the tracking points can be relatively visualized. As a result, it is possible to appropriately recognize the elasticity information of the region of interest.

  In this case, it is desirable that the means for tracking the position change of the tracking point tracks the movement destinations of the plurality of tracking points in a one-dimensional or two-dimensional direction in the tomographic site.

  According to this, since the movement destination of the tracking point can be appropriately determined, for example, when the region of interest is a film portion on the plaque surface, a change in the distance between the tracking points along the surface direction of the film is appropriately determined. be able to.

  Further, the elasticity information obtained based on the change in the distance can be a change rate obtained by dividing the change in the distance by the distance between the tracking points before the change. According to this, since the distance between tracking points before the change is not necessarily equal between the tracking points, the elasticity of the region of interest can be changed by changing the display mode between the tracking points according to the rate of change. Information can be provided quantitatively.

  In addition, it is desirable that the ultrasonic image is an ultrasonic tomographic image or / and an elastic image at the tomographic site of the subject generated based on the ultrasonic tomographic data, and this elastic image is measured at different times. Based on the pair of ultrasonic tomographic data, the displacement of a plurality of measurement points in the tomographic region of the subject is obtained, and the displacement is generated based on the displacement. In this case, it is possible to set a tracking point with reference to an ultrasonic tomographic image such as a so-called B-mode image, and to display the elasticity information on the region of interest superimposed thereon. It is also possible to set a tracking point with reference to an elasticity image at a tomographic site of the subject, and display the elasticity information on the site of interest superimposed thereon. Furthermore, it is also possible to provide comprehensive diagnosis information by displaying an ultrasonic tomographic image, an elasticity image, and elasticity information at a region of interest in appropriate combination depending on the diagnosis target.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the ultrasonic diagnosing device which can obtain appropriately the local elasticity information of the internal tissue of a subject can be provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the same functional parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus to which the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, an ultrasonic probe 2 used in contact with a subject 1 is formed with a plurality of transducers that transmit and receive ultrasonic waves to and from the subject 1. It is driven by a transmission pulse supplied from the transmission means 3, and performs beam scanning mechanically or electronically. The transmission unit 3 has a function of generating a transmission pulse for driving the probe 2 to generate an ultrasonic wave and setting a convergence point of the transmitted ultrasonic wave to a certain depth. The transmission / reception separating means 4 constituted by a switching circuit transmits the transmission pulse generated by the transmission means 2 to the probe 2 at the time of ultrasonic transmission.

  On the other hand, at the time of receiving the ultrasonic wave, the transmission / reception separating means 4 transmits a reflected echo signal generated from the inside of the subject received by the probe 2 to the receiving means 5, and the receiving means 5 receives the received signal as a predetermined signal. To generate an ultrasonic wave reception signal. The phasing addition means 6 receives this ultrasonic wave reception signal, performs phase control to form an ultrasonic beam corresponding to the convergence point, and generates an RF signal which is ultrasonic tomographic data.

  Next, functions related to generation of an ultrasonic tomographic image will be described. The ultrasonic image calculation means 7 performs various signal processing such as gain correction, LOG compression, detection, contour enhancement, and filter processing on the RF signal from the phasing addition means 6 to construct ultrasonic tomographic image data. . The monochrome signal information exchanging means 8 is a so-called scan converter, and an A / D converter for converting the output data of the ultrasonic image calculating means 7 into a digital signal and a plurality of converted tomographic image data in time series. A frame memory for storing and a control controller are included. Then, the tomographic frame data in the subject stored in the frame memory of the monochrome signal information exchanging means 8 is acquired as one image, and the acquired tomographic frame data is read out in synchronism with the television to generate an ultrasonic tomographic image. Is done.

  Next, functions related to generation of an elastic image will be described. The displacement amount calculation means 11 calculates the tissue displacement amount due to the stress applied between a pair of frame data of the RF signal that is the output signal of the phasing addition means 6. That is, it is estimated to which coordinate in the frame (n, 1), which is the next time phase, the coordinate (X, Y) in the frame at a certain time phase n has been moved. It is executed in the ROI (Region of Interest) which is the set area. As an estimation method, for example, a block matching method or the like is used. This block matching method divides the frame in time phase n into blocks consisting of, for example, K × L pixels, pays attention to the information in this block, and selects the block closest to the target block at the next time. The movement destination is estimated by searching from n + 1 frames as phases, and the movement amount is calculated.

The displacement amount between the frame data calculated by the displacement amount calculation means 11 is input to the elasticity calculation means 12 and converted into strain and elastic modulus. For example, a displacement Δε, which is a relative amount, is calculated by spatially differentiating the displacement calculated between certain frame data. Further, when the stress when the strain Δε is generated is ΔP, the Young's modulus, which is an absolute physical quantity, can be calculated by calculating ΔP / Δε (= Y).
The elasticity information analysis means 13 is a determination process for determining the quality of elasticity data such as strain and elastic modulus calculated by the elasticity calculation means 12, signal processing for stably displaying an elasticity image, and further, elasticity data For example, a gradation process for displaying the image as an image from which the user can discriminate elasticity information, such as a color image, is performed.

  The color signal information exchanging unit 14 converts, for example, the three primary colors of light, that is, red (R), green (G), and blue (B), according to the elasticity data subjected to gradation processing by the elasticity information analyzing unit 13. Is. For example, elastic data having a large strain is converted into a red code, and simultaneously elastic data having a small strain is converted into a blue code. Note that the gradation of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) is 256, 255 is displayed with high luminance, and conversely, 0 means that no display is performed. The number of gradations is not limited to this, and can be set as appropriate according to the processing capability of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. In this way, elasticity data is converted into color data, and an elasticity image is generated.

  The ultrasonic tomographic image output from the monochrome signal information exchanging means 7 and the elastic image output from the color signal information exchanging means 14 are displayed on the display means 16 via the switching addition means 15. That is, the switching addition means 15 switches between the two input ultrasonic images, displays them side by side, or displays them in a superimposed manner in response to the command. Further, when a save command is given by the console 17, the ultrasonic image is saved in the saving means 18.

  The display means 16 is a so-called monitor, and displays the output data of the switching addition means 15, information on the subject, the type of probe used in the examination, the frequency, and the like. The console 17 is an input means such as a keyboard in a so-called personal computer, and is used when inputting information on a subject, switching between various diagnostic modes, various settings for measurement, and the like. The input of such information is not limited to this, and various input devices such as a touch panel for directly touching and inputting the display means 16 can also be used.

  The storage means 18 is a so-called data storage medium, which stores image data (still images and moving images) determined to be stored by an examiner such as a doctor at the time of ultrasonic diagnosis. For example, when a diagnosis is performed by comparing with the above, reading is performed as necessary and displayed on the display means 16.

  Next, the configuration of the tracking processing means 20 that is a characteristic part of the present invention will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 2, the tracking processing unit 20 includes a tracking point position analyzing unit 20e, a tracking point calculating unit 20f, and a movement amount calculating unit 20g.

  The tracking point position analyzing means 20e measures the coordinates when setting the tracking point on the console 17 on the stored ultrasonic image. Further, the tracking point calculation unit 20f obtains, for one series of moving image data, for example, where the tracking point set on the ultrasound image at time phase n has moved to the ultrasound image at the next time phase n + 1. It is. As a method for obtaining the movement destination, various methods such as a block matching method can be used as in the displacement amount calculating unit 11. Here, when searching for information in a block, the destination is accurately estimated by searching in one-dimensional and two-dimensional directions.

  The movement amount calculation means 20g measures the distance between tracking points based on the result of estimation processing by the tracking point calculation means 20f, and calculates the change in the distance between tracking points in a series of moving image data. It is.

  The operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus configured as described above will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating a state in which a carotid artery that periodically expands and contracts by pulsation is imaged by an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. As shown in FIG. 3, imaging is performed by bringing the probe 2 into contact with the neck of the subject. Since the carotid artery repeatedly expands and contracts due to pulsation, the tissue of the imaging region is displaced with the passage of time, and the obtained ultrasonic image also changes with the passage of time as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the ultrasonic image is processed by ultrasonic image calculation means 7 and monochrome signal information exchange means 8 on the ultrasonic tomographic data which is the output data of the phasing addition means 6 on the right side of the display means 16. The obtained ultrasonic tomographic image is displayed, and the elasticity image processed by the displacement amount calculating means 11 to the color signal information exchanging means 14 is displayed on the left side. Note that, when the elastic image is drawn, the ROI 25 is set, and the elastic information included in the ROI 25 is imaged. Based on the elasticity image and the elasticity image color map 26, the hardness or softness of the tissue in the ROI 25 can be recognized. Furthermore, a biological signal 27 indicating the state of the heartbeat of the subject is also displayed. In the biological signal 27, the portion where the waveform protrudes indicates the end systole in the heartbeat, and the section R-R28 from the protrusion portion to the next protrusion portion is regarded as one heartbeat of the subject.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the time-series frame data 30-1 to 30-N constituting the ultrasonic tomographic image and the elasticity image are written when the save button 17a on the console 17 is pressed. And stored in the frame memory 18b by the control unit 18a that controls reading. However, not only the operation of the save button 17a, but also the frame data 30 of the section R-R28 in one heartbeat can be automatically saved by detecting the protruding portion of the biological signal 27. It is also possible to save frame data 30 for a plurality of heartbeats, not limited to one heartbeat.

  A list of the stored frame data 30 is displayed by pressing a read button 17b on the console 17, and an ultrasonic moving image can be reproduced and displayed by selecting arbitrary frame data with the selection button 17c.

  Next, the setting of the tracking point for the region of interest will be described. The tracking point is set on the arbitrary ultrasonic image selected from the frame memory 18b by the console 17. The upper part of FIG. 6 shows an example of setting the tracking point, and the tracking point A to the tracking along the boundary of the plaque 32 deposited on the inner wall of the carotid artery as a region of interest, in other words, along the film on the surface of the plaque 32. Six tracking points up to point F are set. The number of tracking points is not limited to this, and may be any number.

  Each set tracking point is tracked to which position in the next frame data by the tracking point calculation means 20f. The tracking point calculation means 20f has a search area 20b with respect to the search window 20a as shown in FIG. 7, and the tissue variation in the lateral direction of the tissue is also accurate by performing not only the one-dimensional search 20c but also the two-dimensional search 20d. It's a good track. In particular, plaque is effective because it moves not only in a one-dimensional direction but also in a two-dimensional direction due to blood flow. The tracking process uses the luminance value of the ultrasonic image, the amount of change in the luminance value, or the like.

When the movement destination of each tracking point is tracked and the coordinates of each tracking point are obtained, the movement amount calculation means 20g measures the distance between the tracking points and before and after the movement of each tracking point due to pressure fluctuation due to pulsation. The change in the distance between each tracking point is calculated. That is, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 6, the distance between the tracking points A to F that are adjacent to each other before the movement is d1 to d5, and the tracking point A ′ to the tracking after the movement as shown in the lower part of FIG. 6. When the distance between the tracking points adjacent to the point F ′ is d1 ′ to d5 ′, the change Δd1 to Δd5 in the distance between the tracking points is obtained by the following equation.
(Formula 1)
Δdt = | dt′−dt | (t = 1 to 5)
This Δdt is the amount of change in the plaque film with respect to the change in the pressure applied to the plaque 32 between the tracking points, and is elastic information correlated with the hardness or softness of the plaque film. Here, since the distance before the movement between the tracking points is not always uniform, the change rates D1 to D5 of the distance between the tracking points are obtained as in the following equation.
(Formula 2)
Dt = Δdt / dt (t = 1-5)
Thereby, even if the distance before the movement between the tracking points is not uniform, the elasticity information between the tracking points can be quantified.

  The elasticity information between the tracking points is subjected to gradation processing according to the change rates D1 to D5, and then guided to the color signal information exchanging means 14. Then, the color signal information exchanging means 14 gives the display mode between the tracking points, for example, the hue of red (R), green (G), blue (B), or the hard part is shown as a solid line and the soft part is shown as a broken line. For example, the elasticity information is processed into an image that can be discriminated by the user and displayed on the display unit 16.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of imaging elasticity information of a film that is a region of interest of the plaque 32. The left part of FIG. 8 shows a state in which a series of ultrasonic moving images for one heartbeat is being reproduced, and the right part of FIG. 8 is an extract of an arbitrary frame of continuous data. Here, as the elasticity information of the region of interest, an example is shown in which the display between each tracking point is displayed with a dotted line for a soft part and a solid line for a hard part.

  In the right part of FIG. 8, it is shown that the area between the tracking points A to C of the plaque 32 is soft and the area between the tracking points C to F is hard. As a result, the inspector can recognize that the left side of the plaque is an area to be noted as an area including the risk of failure.

  Moreover, FIG. 9 is a figure which shows an example of the display mode of the ultrasonic diagnosing device of this invention. In this example, the entire elastic image of the plaque 32 in which the ROI 25 is set on the plaque 32 is displayed on the left part of the display unit 16, and the tracking point is set on the film on the surface of the plaque 32 as a region of interest on the right part. An image in which elasticity information between the tracking points is visualized is displayed. Further, the distances d1 to d5 between the tracking points are displayed as numerical values.

  In the elastic image on the left side of FIG. 9, the hue is displayed according to the strain or elastic modulus of the tissue in the ROI 25, and it can be determined that the left half of the plaque 32 is entirely soft. It becomes possible. Further, it can be recognized from the image on the right side of FIG. 9 that the left half film of the plaque 32 is soft as in the case of FIG. Based on both of these pieces of information, the left half of the plaque 32 can be judged to have a high risk of clogging the peripheral blood vessels by flowing out with blood because the membrane is soft and easily broken and the tissue properties of the plaque 32 are also soft. Become.

  This makes it possible to link to diagnosis / treatment such as administering a drug that positively suppresses the growth of plaque. It is also possible to confirm the effect of the drug by diagnosing the same plaque again after administering the drug and comparing it with the image at the previous diagnosis.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of the display mode of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention. The example shown in FIG. 10 shows a case where the film on the surface of the plaque 32 is entirely hard, but the elastic distribution inside the plaque is soft. In such cases, even if the internal elastic distribution is soft, the surface is covered with a hard fibrous cap, so the risk of failure is low, and if the stenosis rate is not high, follow-up etc. This includes the possibility of being linked to diagnosis.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a case where the present invention is applied to the aorta, which is a basic artery that is directly connected to the heart and sends blood to the whole body, and shows an ultrasonic image in which the artery is cut along a short axis. The aorta is also a blood vessel in which the occurrence of plaque 32 is often confirmed, but there are various ultrasonic imaging methods for the aorta depending on which part of the aorta is imaged. As one of them, an endoscopic approach may be required, and this example is a case where a person receiving diagnosis swallows the probe 2 and undergoes an ultrasonic examination.

  Thus, in order to apply the present invention, the measurement is not limited to the case where the probe 2 is brought into contact with the body surface of the subject 1, and for example, transrectal probe, transesophageal probe, intraoperative It is also possible to use any ultrasonic probe such as a probe and an intravascular probe.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram showing another example of the display mode of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention. In the example of the display mode described above, the elastic image of the entire plaque 32 in which the ROI 25 is set is displayed on the left part of the display means 16, the tracking point is set on the film on the surface of the plaque 32 as the region of interest on the right part, Although the image which visualized the elasticity information between each tracking point was displayed, as shown in FIG. 12, the display means 16 displays the ultrasonic tomographic image, the elasticity image, and the elasticity information between each tracking point on the same image. You can also.

  Specifically, the switching addition means 15 adds the respective output signals so that the ultrasonic tomographic image, the elasticity image, and the elasticity information between the tracking points are superimposed and displayed. The switching addition means 15 outputs the added ultrasonic tomographic image, elasticity image, and elasticity information between each tracking point to the display means 16 so that the display means 16 displays these information.

  In this way, by displaying the elasticity information and the elasticity information between each tracking point on the same image, the elasticity information inside the plaque and the plaque surface is unified. Therefore, the inspector can efficiently grasp the characteristics of the plaque.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to image the elasticity distribution of the entire plaque 32 deposited on the artery and the elasticity information of a local portion such as a film on the surface of the plaque 32. Can provide.

  In the present embodiment, an example has been described in which the diagnosis target is a plaque deposited on the inner wall portion of the blood vessel, and the film on the surface of the plaque is the region of interest. It can also be applied to tissues in body cavities such as the large intestine, small intestine, and esophagus. In this case, the same measurement is performed using not only pressure fluctuation due to pulsation but also pressure fluctuation due to external compression by the probe, pressure fluctuation due to breathing, pressure fluctuation caused by fluid flowing into the body cavity, etc. Just do it.

  In the present embodiment, the ultrasonic tomographic image and the elastic image are acquired and stored in the storage unit, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the ultrasonic tomographic image or the elastic image is not limited to this. It is also possible to store only one of them, set a tracking point for this, and image local elasticity information of the region of interest.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the description has been made centering on searching for the moving destination accompanying the pressure fluctuation of the set tracking point continuously from the next frame data along the time series. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the movement destination of the tracking point is searched between frame data when the pressure is highest (blood pressure is high) and when the pressure is lowest (blood pressure is low) among the frame data of one heartbeat. For example, the speed of movement with respect to the pressure fluctuation of the diagnosis target, the acquisition rate of the frame data, and the like can be set as appropriate.

  Further, the ultrasonic image stored in the storage unit is not limited to one heartbeat, and ultrasonic images for a plurality of heartbeats may be stored continuously. In this case, it is possible to provide highly reliable diagnostic information by averaging the coordinates of each tracking point at the same pressure in each heartbeat and performing tracking processing, and imaging elasticity information between each tracking point it can.

1 is a block diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus to which the present invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the structure of a tracking process means. It is a figure which shows typically a mode that the carotid artery which expands and contracts periodically by a pulsation is imaged with an ultrasonic diagnosing device. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the ultrasonic image of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of a preservation | save means and a console. It is a figure which shows the example of the tracking point set with respect to a region of interest. It is a figure explaining the tracking of the movement destination of the tracking point of a tracking point calculating means. It is a figure which shows an example which images the elasticity information of the film | membrane which is a region of interest of a plaque. It is a figure which shows an example of the display mode of the ultrasonic diagnosing device of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other example of the display mode of the ultrasonic diagnosing device of this invention. It is a figure which shows the case where this invention is applied in the aorta which is a root trunk artery directly connected to the heart. It is a figure which shows the other example of the display mode of the ultrasonic diagnosing device of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Subject 2 Probe 3 Transmission means 4 Transmission / reception separation means 5 Reception means 6 Phased addition means 7 Ultrasonic image calculation means 8 Black and white signal information exchange means 11 Displacement amount calculation means 12 Elasticity calculation means 13 Elasticity information analysis means 14 Color Signal information exchange means 15 Switching addition means 16 Display means 17 Console 18 Storage means 20 Tracking processing means 32 Plaque

Claims (5)

Based on the ultrasonic tomographic data of the subject, means for generating an ultrasonic image at the tomographic site of the subject, display means for displaying the ultrasonic image, and on the ultrasonic image displayed on the display means Means for setting a plurality of tracking points on the surface of the tissue, means for tracking a change in position of the tracking points on the ultrasonic image, and measuring a distance between the plurality of tracking points. Means for obtaining, the display means, the elasticity image obtained based on the ultrasonic image, the elastic image given a hue according to the strain or elastic modulus of the tissue, the change of the distance or the change of the distance An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus , wherein elasticity information between tracking points given different hues or different line types in a display mode between tracking points is displayed on the same image in accordance with information .   2. The ultrasonic diagnosis according to claim 1, wherein the tracking point position change unit tracks a movement destination of the plurality of tracking points in a one-dimensional or two-dimensional direction in the tomographic site, respectively. apparatus.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elasticity information is a change rate of the change in the distance.   The ultrasonic image is an ultrasonic tomographic image or / and an elastic image at a tomographic site of the subject generated based on the ultrasonic tomographic data, and the elastic image is a pair of measured images at different times. 2. The ultrasonic diagnosis according to claim 1, wherein displacements of a plurality of measurement points in a tomographic region of the subject are obtained based on the ultrasonic tomographic data, and are generated based on the displacements. apparatus.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a blood vessel is displayed as the ultrasonic image, and a plurality of tracking points are set on a film portion of a plaque formed on the inner wall of the displayed blood vessel. .

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