JP6545969B2 - Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and more particularly to a technique for determining an ultrasonic scan range.

  There is known an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for forming a three-dimensional ultrasonic image of tissue accompanied by motion such as the heart. For example, echo data is acquired from within the three-dimensional space by three-dimensionally scanning the ultrasonic beam in the three-dimensional space, and a three-dimensional ultrasound image is formed based on the acquired echo data and displayed in real time Technology is known. However, in real time display, there are fundamental limitations that the scan rate, the beam density, and the beam range are in a trade-off relationship with each other.

  Techniques have also been proposed to avoid the fundamental limitations in real time display of 3D ultrasound images. For example, in Patent Document 1, a plurality of tomographic image data are collected at a plurality of scanning positions while moving a scanning surface at a low speed in a three-dimensional space including a target tissue such as the heart of a fetus A technique (reconstruction processing) for forming three-dimensional image data of a target tissue by rearranging and reconstructing tomographic image data of

Patent No. 5525748 gazette

  When a three-dimensional image of, for example, a fetal heart is obtained by the above-described reconstruction processing, ultrasonic waves are generated over a relatively long period of, for example, several seconds to 20 seconds within a period including multiple heartbeats of the fetus. Is scanned at a low speed. As described above, since a relatively long period of time is required for the reconstruction process, it is desirable that no reworking of the process occurs.

  In order to avoid re-processing in the reconstruction process, for example, if the scan plane is scanned over a wide range so that the diagnostic object such as a fetal heart is surely included, the region other than the diagnostic object is also scanned. I will. In this case, it is necessary to reduce the density of the scanning surface in order to maintain the scanning time, and it is necessary to extend the scanning time in order to maintain the density of the scanning surface. In addition, although narrowing the scanning range makes it possible to simultaneously maintain the scanning time and increase the density of the scanning surface, if the scanning range is narrowed and the diagnosis object goes out of the scanning range, it is necessary to re-do the scanning. In some cases.

  Therefore, in the reconstruction process, it is desirable to determine an appropriate scanning range according to the diagnosis object, for example, according to the position and size of the diagnosis object.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to determine an appropriate scanning range according to an object to be diagnosed.

  According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: a scan processing unit for provisionally scanning ultrasonic waves in a direction of interest in a three-dimensional space including a diagnosis object; and data of ultrasonic waves obtained by the provisional scans. A projection processing unit for forming a projection image obtained by projecting the diagnosis object on a line corresponding to the attention direction or on a plane including the attention direction; a projection range of the diagnosis object in the attention direction in the projection image And a range determination unit that determines a scan range of the attention direction in the main scan.

  Although the preferred embodiment of the diagnostic target of the above device is the heart of a fetus, other living tissues, such as organs other than the heart of the fetus, may be diagnostic targets. Note that the entire target organ may be diagnosed, or a partial region of interest in the organ may be diagnosed. The above apparatus may three-dimensionally scan ultrasonic waves in a three-dimensional space in temporary scanning, or may two-dimensionally scan ultrasonic waves in a plane including a direction of interest. A preferred embodiment of the projection image is a two-dimensional projection image on a plane including the direction of interest, for example it is desirable that the entire volume of the object to be diagnosed be projected into the projection image. If the whole volume of the diagnosis object is projected, the range (projection range) occupied by the projection image of the diagnosis object in the attention direction is known, and the scanning range of the attention direction in the main scan is determined so as to cover that range, for example. be able to. For example, if the direction in which the scan plane is moved in the main scan is the direction of interest, the movement range of the scan plane can be determined. Note that a one-dimensional projected image on a line corresponding to the direction of interest may be used. The line corresponding to the direction of interest may be a straight line or a curved line.

  According to the above-described apparatus, a projection image obtained by projecting the diagnosis target is formed, and the scan range in the target direction in the main scan is determined based on the projection range of the diagnosis target projected in the projection image. Therefore, for example, a scan according to the size of the diagnosis target is determined according to the position of the diagnosis target by determining the scan range corresponding to the size (breadth) of the projection range so that the projection range of the diagnosis target is included. It becomes possible to set the range. For example, it is possible to set a scan range as small as possible including the diagnostic object.

  Then, by performing a main scan for reconstruction processing, for example, within the scanning range determined by the range determining unit, it is possible to suppress the diagnosis object from being out of the scanning range, desirably in a reliable manner within the scanning range. The subject is included, and for example, it is possible to suppress or avoid the re-execution of the main scan. Further, for example, at least one of the main scan time reduction and the scan density improvement is desirably set by setting the smallest possible scan range in which the diagnosis target is included and narrowing the main scan of the reconstruction processing into the scan range. Makes it possible to realize both.

  In a desirable specific example, the scanning processing unit provisionally scans the ultrasonic wave in the moving direction by setting the moving direction of the scanning surface in the main scan as the attention direction, and the projection processing unit corresponds to the moving direction. A projection image obtained by projecting the diagnosis object on a line or on a plane including the movement direction is formed, and the range determination unit determines the projection range of the diagnosis object in the movement direction in the projection image. The scanning range of the said moving direction of the scanning plane in a scan is determined.

  In a desirable embodiment, the scan processing unit scans an ultrasonic beam at least in the direction of interest in the temporary scan, thereby obtaining a plurality of line data corresponding to a plurality of beam addresses in the temporary scan. The projection processing unit is characterized in that a projection image is formed by projecting the diagnosis target based on a plurality of projection data corresponding to the plurality of line data by obtaining each projection data from the each line data. .

  In a desirable embodiment, the diagnosis target is a fetal heart, and the projection processing unit selects, as each projection data, minimum data corresponding to a minimum echo intensity from among a plurality of data constituting each of the line data And forming a projection image obtained by projecting the heart chamber of the fetal heart based on a plurality of minimum data obtained from the plurality of line data.

  In a desirable specific example, the projection processing unit forms a projection image obtained by projecting the diagnosis target two-dimensionally on a plane including the attention direction, and the range determination unit is configured to adjust the attention direction in the projection image. One side boundary and the other side boundary of the diagnosis object are searched on the corresponding search line, and a range from the one side boundary to the other side boundary is set as the projection range.

  In a desirable embodiment, the range determination unit determines the scanning range in accordance with the position of the projection range and the size of the projection range.

  In a preferable embodiment, the range determination unit sets a range obtained by adding a margin area to the projection range as the scanning range.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to determine an appropriate scanning range in accordance with an object to be diagnosed. For example, according to a preferred aspect of the present invention, it is possible to set a scanning range according to the size of the diagnosis target at the position of the diagnosis target.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a whole block diagram of the ultrasonic diagnosing device suitable in implementation of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the scanning of a three-dimensional ultrasonic wave. It is a figure for demonstrating a pre scan and a reconstruction scan. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the three-dimensional data obtained by prescanning. It is a figure which shows the projection image and the specific example of a scanning range.

  FIG. 1 is an overall block diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus suitable for practicing the present invention. The probe 10 is an ultrasonic probe that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves in a three-dimensional space including an object to be diagnosed. The probe 10 includes a plurality of transducer elements, and each transducer element transmits ultrasonic waves to a three-dimensional space in accordance with a transmission signal obtained from the transmitting and receiving circuit 12. Further, each transducer element which receives the reflected wave (echo) of the ultrasonic wave from the three-dimensional space outputs a reception signal according to the reflected wave to the transmitting and receiving circuit 12.

  The beam former 20 performs transmission control of the transmission / reception circuit 12 so as to output a transmission signal corresponding to each of the plurality of transducer elements included in the probe 10. By the transmission control, a transmission beam of ultrasonic waves is formed, and the transmission beam is scanned in a three-dimensional space.

  Further, the beam former 20 obtains a plurality of reception signals corresponding to a plurality of transducer elements included in the probe 10 from the transmission / reception circuit 12, and performs beam forming processing such as phasing addition processing on the plurality of reception signals. Thereby, a receiving beam of ultrasonic waves is formed and scanned in a three-dimensional space. That is, the receive beam is scanned in a three-dimensional space while making the beam address of the receive beam different, and the beam former 20 forms a plurality of line data corresponding to a plurality of beam addresses.

  The probe 10 is a 3D probe that scans an ultrasonic beam (a transmission beam and a corresponding reception beam) in a three-dimensional space to collect echo data three-dimensionally. For example, an ultrasonic beam is scanned three-dimensionally by mechanically moving a scan plane formed electronically by a plurality of one-dimensionally arranged vibrating elements (1D array transducers). In addition, ultrasonic beams may be scanned three-dimensionally by electronically controlling a plurality of two-dimensionally arranged transducer elements (2D array transducers).

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a three-dimensional ultrasound scan. As shown in FIG. 2, for example, an ultrasonic beam having the beam direction (depth direction) in the r direction is formed, and the ultrasonic beam is electronically scanned in the θ direction to form a scanning surface S. That is, a plurality of line data corresponding to a plurality of beam addresses are formed in the scanning surface S while changing the beam address of the reception beam in the θ direction. The plurality of line data in the scanning surface S constitute frame data corresponding to the scanning surface S.

  Furthermore, the ultrasonic beam is scanned in the scanning surface S while moving the scanning surface S in the φ direction, that is, changing the position and angle of the scanning surface S (which may be either the position or the angle) in the φ direction. . As a result, the ultrasonic beam is three-dimensionally scanned in a three-dimensional space, and frame data of a plurality of frames aligned in the φ direction is formed as shown in the specific example shown in FIG. 2, for example.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of FIG. 1 reconstructs a plurality of frames of frame data obtained by three-dimensionally scanning an ultrasonic beam in a three-dimensional space including a diagnosis target, thereby forming a three-dimensional form of the diagnosis target. Form a three-dimensional image that Prior to the reconstruction process, that is, prior to the reconstruction scan for collecting frame data necessary for the reconstruction process, a pre-scan is performed.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining pre-scan and reconstruction scan. FIG. 3A shows a specific example of the pre-scan, and FIG. 3B shows a specific example of the reconstruction scan. In FIG. 3, a fetal heart Fh is shown as a preferred embodiment of the subject to be diagnosed.

  Both pre-scan and reconstruction scan are performed based on the scan control described using FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, in any of the pre-scan and the reconstruction scan, an ultrasonic beam having the r direction as the beam direction (depth direction) is formed, and the ultrasonic beam is electronically scanned. A scan plane S is formed. Furthermore, the ultrasonic beam is scanned in the scanning surface S while moving the scanning surface S in the φ direction electronically or mechanically. Thereby, frame data of a plurality of frames arranged in the φ direction are formed one after another. However, the prescan and the reconstruction scan have different scan ranges and scan densities in the φ direction.

  The purpose of pre-scanning is to confirm the position and size of a diagnostic object in a three-dimensional space, so the scanning range and scanning density are determined according to the purpose. For example, in the pre-scan, the scan surface S is scanned in a relatively wide range in the angle φ direction. In the specific example shown in FIG. 3A, the scanning surface S is scanned in the direction of the angle φ within the maximum scanning range in which the probe 10 can scan.

  When the position of the diagnosis target, for example, the position of the fetal heart Fh can be grasped or predicted, the limited range corresponding to the position may be set as the scan range of the pre-scan. In addition, as long as the position and size of the diagnosis target can be confirmed to a certain extent, the scan density in the pre-scan may be coarse. For example, the scanning interval of the scanning surface S in the φ direction may be increased to such an extent that the position and size of the fetal heart Fh can be confirmed.

  On the other hand, the reconstruction scan is performed within a limited scanning range set in accordance with the position and size of the diagnostic object confirmed in the pre-scan. For example, as in the example shown in FIG. 3B, the scan plane S is scanned in the direction of the angle φ within the smallest possible range including the fetal heart Fh. Since the reconstructed image is formed based on frame data of a plurality of frames obtained by the reconstruction scan, the scan density in the reconstruction scan is appropriately set according to, for example, the image quality required for the reconstructed image. Is desirable. For example, by increasing (densifying) the scan density in the reconstruction scan, improvement in the image quality of the reconstructed image, in particular, the image resolution is expected. In addition, since the scan density also affects the scan time, the scan density is adjusted so that the scan time is, for example, several seconds to several tens of seconds, according to the scan time and the like allowed for the reconstruction scan. May be

  Next, a specific example of processing for determining a scan range of a reconstruction scan based on frame data of a plurality of frames obtained by prescan, that is, three-dimensional data obtained from within three-dimensional space by prescan Do. In addition, about the structure (each part which attached the code | symbol) shown in FIG. 1, the code | symbol of FIG. 1 is utilized in the following description.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of three-dimensional data obtained by pre-scanning. For example, if a prescan is performed in a three-dimensional space including the fetal heart Fh (see FIG. 3) and the ultrasonic beam is scanned stereoscopically while changing the beam address in the θ and φ directions (see FIG. 2) ), A plurality of line data corresponding to a plurality of beam addresses are formed in the beam former 20. A plurality of line data in the scanning plane consisting of the r direction and the θ direction constitute frame data corresponding to the scanning plane.

  Each line data is composed of a plurality of data arranged in the r direction, and each line data is arranged at a position corresponding to the beam address of the line data, that is, a plurality of line data is arranged in the rθφ coordinate system. Thus, three-dimensional data shown in FIG. 4 can be obtained. In the specific example shown in FIG. 4, each beam address is associated with coordinate values in a two-dimensional coordinate system in the θ and φ directions.

  For example, the three-dimensional data shown in FIG. 4 is stored in the three-dimensional data storage unit 30 as a scan result of the pre-scan. For example, frame data of a plurality of frames arranged in the φ direction is stored in the three-dimensional data storage unit 30 one after another for each frame. Based on three-dimensional data obtained by the pre-scan, the position and size of the fetal heart Fh are confirmed, and the scan range of the reconstruction scan is determined. That is, the projection data formation unit 40 forms a projection image based on the three-dimensional data obtained by the pre-scan, and the scan range determination unit 50 determines the scan range of the reconstruction scan based on the projection image.

  FIG. 5 is a view showing a specific example of a projection image and a scanning range. The projection data formation unit 40 forms a projection image based on the three-dimensional data stored in the three-dimensional data storage unit 30 as the scan result of the pre-scan. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a projection image in which the fetal heart Fh is projected on a plane including the φ direction and the θ direction is formed.

  The projection data formation unit 40 obtains projection data for each line data from the plurality of line data constituting the three-dimensional data obtained by pre-scanning, based on the plurality of projection data corresponding to the plurality of line data. Form a projected image. The projection data forming unit 40 selects, for example, the minimum data corresponding to the minimum echo intensity from among a plurality of data constituting each line data, and uses the selected data as projection data of the line data.

  When line data passes through the heart chamber in the fetal heart Fh in three-dimensional data, data corresponding to the heart chamber is included in the line data. Since blood flow is dominant in the heart cavity, the reflection of ultrasound from the heart cavity is weaker than in tissues such as the myocardium. That is, the echo intensity in the heart chamber is smaller than in other parts such as the myocardium.

  Therefore, when the minimum data corresponding to the minimum echo intensity is selected from the plurality of data constituting each line data, if the line data passes through the heart chamber in the fetal heart Fh, an echo corresponding to the heart chamber is selected. Very small intensity data is selected, and if the line data does not pass through the heart chamber, data of relatively strong echo intensity corresponding to tissue such as myocardium is selected.

  As a result, a portion of the heart cavity in the fetal heart Fh is composed of small echo intensity small data groups (pixel groups), and a portion other than the fetal heart Fh is composed of relatively strong echo intensity data groups (pixel groups) An image is formed.

  In the projection image, for example, an image portion having an area smaller than the reference value in an image portion (pixel group) having a small echo intensity is treated as noise other than the fetal heart Fh and removed. desirable. In removing noise, any of various known processes may be used.

  The scan range determination unit 50 determines the scan range of the reconstruction scan in the reconstruction process based on the projection image obtained from the projection data formation unit 40. The scan range determination unit 50 extracts the image area of the fetal heart Fh in the projection image, and determines the scan range based on the image area. For example, the image area of the fetal heart Fh is specified in the projection image by a binarization process using a threshold value for identifying the pixel corresponding to the heart chamber and the other pixels.

  When the image area of the fetal heart Fh is specified, the scan range determination unit 50 sets a search line L passing through the center (for example, the area gravity center point or in the vicinity thereof) of the image area of the fetal heart Fh. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a search line L parallel to the φ direction is set.

  Then, the scan range determination unit 50 searches the boundary of the fetal heart Fh on the search line L. For example, from the center of the image area of the fetal heart Fh (for example, the area gravity center point or its neighboring point), the boundary on one side and the other side in the φ direction on the search line L is searched. For example, a pixel position changing from a pixel corresponding to the fetal heart Fh (heart chamber) to a pixel corresponding to a myocardium etc. is searched. Thereby, on the search line L, two boundaries of the one side boundary and the other side boundary of the fetal heart Fh are specified. In the example of FIG. 5, the position of φs and the position of φe are two boundaries.

  The scan range determination unit 50 determines the scan range in the reconstruction scan according to the projection range of the fetal heart Fh specified by the two boundaries specified on the search line. For example, in the specific example of FIG. 5, the scan range in the φ direction in the reconstruction scan is determined according to the projection range of the fetal heart Fh from the position of φs to the position of φe. For example, the projection range from φs to φe shown in FIG. 5 is taken as the scan range in the φ direction as it is.

  In addition, since the fetal heart Fh repeats expansion and contraction movements periodically, a blank area in the projection range of the fetal heart Fh so that the fetal heart Fh is more surely included in the scanning range in the reconstruction scan over a plurality of cycles The range added with may be used as the scan range. For example, as in the specific example shown in FIG. 5, a range obtained by adding a margin Δφ to each of the φs side and the φe side with respect to the projection range from φs to φe is defined as a scanning range.

  In the specific example described above, the scanning range in the φ direction is determined based on the projection range in the φ direction of the fetal heart Fh obtained from the projection image of FIG. The projection range in the θ direction may be specified to determine the scan range in the θ direction. For example, a two-dimensional scanning range consisting of a scanning range in the φ direction and a scanning range in the θ direction may be determined.

  Further, in the specific example of FIG. 5, by obtaining projection data for each line data, a projection image is formed based on a plurality of projection data corresponding to a plurality of line data. That is, projection data is obtained from a plurality of data aligned in the r direction in the three-dimensional data (see FIG. 4), and a projection image on a plane including the φ direction and the θ direction is formed. Instead of this, projection data may be obtained from among a plurality of data aligned in the θ direction in the three-dimensional data, and a projection image on a plane including the φ direction and the r direction may be formed. Then, based on the projected image, the scan range in the φ direction may be determined.

  Referring back to FIG. 1, when the scan range of the reconstruction scan is determined by the scan range determination unit 50, the control unit 90 performs reconstruction scan based on the scan range (scan range data) obtained from the scan range determination unit 50. Control the beam former 20 and so on. As a result, the beam former 20 controls the probe 10 via the transmission / reception circuit 12, and a reconstruction scan (see FIG. 3B) is performed.

  Three-dimensional data obtained by the reconstruction scan is stored in the three-dimensional data storage unit 30. For example, as shown in FIG. 3B, frame data of a plurality of frames obtained by scanning the scanning surface S in the direction of angle φ within the smallest possible range including the fetal heart Fh as three-dimensional data It is stored in the three-dimensional data storage unit 30.

  Then, the reconstruction processing unit 60 of FIG. 1 executes the reconstruction processing based on three-dimensional data stored in the three-dimensional data storage unit 30, that is, frame data of a plurality of frames obtained by the reconstruction scan. As the reconstruction process, for example, a known process described in Patent Document 1 or the like is used. That is, frame data of a plurality of frames obtained by the reconstruction scan is rearranged to reconstruct three-dimensional data, and based on the reconstructed three-dimensional data, a three-dimensional representation of a diagnostic object such as a fetal heart A configuration image is formed.

  The display processing unit 70 forms a display image including the reconstructed image formed by the reconstruction processing unit 60, and the display image is displayed on the display unit 72. In addition, the display processing unit 70 may form a tomographic image (B-mode image) based on frame data obtained from the beam former 20 and cause the display unit 72 to display the tomographic image. When obtaining a tomographic image from frame data, the digital scan converter subjects the frame data to coordinate conversion processing from a scanning coordinate system to a display coordinate system. Three-dimensional data stored in the three-dimensional data storage unit 30, that is, frame data of a plurality of frames, may be frame data before coordinate conversion or frame data after coordinate conversion.

  In the configuration shown in FIG. 1 (each part denoted by a reference numeral), each part of the transmission / reception circuit 12, beam former 20, projection data forming part 40, scanning range determination part 50, reconstruction processing part 60, and display processing part 70 For example, it can be realized using hardware such as an electric / electronic circuit or a processor, and a device such as a memory may be used in its realization as needed. In addition, at least a part of the functions corresponding to the above-described units may be realized by a computer. That is, at least a part of the functions corresponding to the above-described units may be realized by cooperation of hardware such as a CPU, a processor, or a memory, and software (program) defining operations of the CPU or the processor.

  The control unit 90 generally controls the inside of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of FIG. In the overall control by the control unit 90, an instruction received from a user such as a doctor is also reflected via the operation device 80. The control unit 90 can be realized, for example, by cooperation of hardware such as a CPU, a processor, or a memory, and software (program) that defines the operation of the CPU or the processor.

  The three-dimensional data storage unit 30 can be realized by a storage device such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk drive (HDD). A preferable specific example of the display unit 72 is a liquid crystal display or the like, and the operation device 80 can be realized by, for example, at least one of a mouse, a keyboard, a trackball, a touch panel, and other switches.

  While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the above-described embodiments are merely illustrative in every respect, and do not limit the scope of the present invention. The present invention includes various modifications without departing from the essence thereof.

  Reference Signs List 10 probe 12 transmission / reception circuit 20 beam former 30 three-dimensional data storage unit 40 projection data formation unit 50 scanning range determination unit 60 reconstruction processing unit 70 display processing unit 72 display unit 80 operation device 90 Control unit.

Claims (7)

A scan processing unit for temporarily scanning ultrasonic waves in a direction of interest in a three-dimensional space including a diagnosis target;
A projection processing unit that forms a projection image obtained by projecting the diagnosis target on a line corresponding to the attention direction or on a plane including the attention direction based on data of ultrasonic waves obtained by the temporary scan;
A range determining unit that determines a scanning range of the attention direction in a main scan based on a projection range of the diagnosis target in the attention direction in the projection image;
Have
The range determination unit extracts an image area of the diagnosis target in the projection image, specifies the projection range based on the image area, and determines the scanning range .
The ultrasonic wave is main-scanned within the scanning range determined by the range determination unit, and the reconstruction process is performed based on the data of the ultrasonic wave obtained by the main scan to three-dimensionally express the diagnostic object Form a reconstructed image,
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1,
The range determination unit sets a search line corresponding to the attention direction so as to pass through the image area of the diagnosis target in the projection image, and the one side boundary and the other side boundary of the diagnosis target are set on the search line. The range from one side boundary to the other side boundary is set as the projection range by searching
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2,
The range determination unit performs the search parallel to the attention direction passing through the center of the image area of the diagnosis object in the projection image obtained by two-dimensionally projecting the diagnosis object on a plane including the attention direction. Set the line,
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The scan processing unit provisionally scans ultrasonic waves in the moving direction by setting the moving direction of the scanning surface in the main scan as the attention direction,
The projection processing unit forms a projection image obtained by projecting the diagnosis target on a line corresponding to the movement direction or on a plane including the movement direction.
The range determination unit determines a scan range of the moving direction of the scan plane in the main scan based on a projection range of the diagnosis target in the moving direction in the projection image.
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
The diagnosis target is a fetal heart,
The scan processing unit scans an ultrasonic beam at least in the direction of interest in the preliminary scan, thereby obtaining a plurality of line data corresponding to a plurality of beam addresses in the preliminary scan.
The projection processing unit selects the minimum data corresponding to the minimum echo intensity from among the plurality of data constituting each of the line data, and based on the plurality of minimum data obtained from the plurality of line data, Forming the projected image which projects the heart chamber of the heart,
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
The range determination unit determines the scanning range according to the position of the projection range and the size of the projection range.
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 6,
The range determining unit sets a range obtained by adding a blank area to the projection range as the scanning range.
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by