Fuji Photo Film Company, Limited

Fujifilm Corporation

Eiji Ogawa

Hideya Takeo

Satoshi Arakawa

Akira Yamaguchi

Kazuo Shimura

Masahiko Yamada

Nobuyoshi Nakajima

Shigeru Saotome

An ultrasonic transmitting and receiving apparatus capable of obtaining high quality ultrasonic images with reduced effect of side lobes. The apparatus includes: an ultrasonic transducer array including ultrasonic transducers; a drive signal generating unit for generating drive signals for driving the ultrasonic transducers; a transmission control unit for controlling the drive signal generating unit such that ultrasonic waves transmitted from the ultrasonic transducers form at least one ultrasonic beam; a reception control unit for performing reception focusing processing on detection signals obtained based on the ultrasonic echoes to form a reception focal point thereby obtaining plural pieces of measurement data; a storage unit for storing plural different acoustic pressure intensity profiles; and an essential data calculating unit for calculating image data based on the plural pieces of measurement data and the plural different acoustic pressure intensity profiles.

Ultrasonic transmitting and receiving apparatus and ultrasonic transmitting and receiving method

In a monochromatic image display system, the number of tone levels which can be expressed is multiplied. As a display device, a liquid crystal panelwhich can express each picture elementof a monochromatic image by three cellsandis employed. A tone number conversion processing meanscarries out a tone number conversion processing on an input original image signal Sorig according to the maximum number of tone levels which can be expressed by the liquid crystal panel, thereby obtaining a monochromatic image signal So. Luminance of the monochromatic image signal So is allotted to the cellsand. Time modulation is carried out on each cell by a time modulation meanswhich can express four tone levels (but tone level 0) so that each cell outputs allotted luminance. In this manner, the liquid crystal panelcan express thirteen tone levels (4&#xd7;3+1=13) in total (tone level 0 inclusive).

Monochromatic image display system

When image data comprising data at a plurality of levels, each having a different resolution, density resolution, and reproduced image quality, are transferred to a terminal, image data at a level appropriate for the terminal are easily transferred. At the time transfer of image data is requested by a terminal, if the name of the user of the terminal is input, transfer request information and name information is transferred to an image server via a network. In the image server, data at a level appropriate for the user are specified based on the name information and the data are transferred to the terminal which has requested the transfer. For example, when an image reading terminal requests image transfer, highest level data are transferred, while data at a level lower than the highest are transferred when a reference terminal requests the transfer.

Method, apparatus and recording medium for data transfer

To reduce the cost while maintaining the real time environment in receiving ultrasonic waves in an ultrasonic receiving apparatus which is capable of reducing changes in detection sensitivity due to environmental changes in the ultrasonic detecting element. The ultrasonic receiving apparatus comprises a light source for generating broadband light, an ultrasonic detecting element including an ultrasonic sensing portion that expands and contracts in response to a received ultrasonic wave and has optical reflectance that changes in accordance with expansion and contraction thereby performing intensity modulation on the light, spectrum-separating means for spectrum-separating the light, first photo-detecting means having a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements for detecting the light for plural wavelength components, and second photo-detecting means for detecting a selected wavelength component included in the light on the basis of a detection result of the first photo-detecting means.

Ultrasonic receiving apparatus and ultrasonic receiving method

An ultrasonic receiving apparatus is equipped with such a condition capable of obtaining superior sensitivities. This ultrasonic receiving apparatus includes: an ultrasonic detecting element for modulating light on the basis of ultrasonic waves applied thereto, the ultrasonic detecting element including an ultrasonic sensible portion having a length not larger than &#xbe; of a wavelength of ultrasonic waves propagated therethrough; and a photodetector for detecting light output from the ultrasonic detecting element.

Optical converting type ultrasonic receiving apparatus

Disclosed herein is an image display unit comprising a brightness circuit which has an output brightness characteristic in which the logarithmic value of the output density of an input image signal becomes smaller as the value of the image signal becomes larger. The output brightness characteristic is set so that a rate of change, which represents a change in the logarithmic value of the output brightness with respect to a change in the signal value, in the low signal value region of the image signal becomes smaller than that in the intermediate and high signal value region of the image signal.

Image display method and image display unit

The quality control system includes a network, a plurality of medical diagnostic apparatuses which exist on the network and have respective histories of evaluation results on specific items regarding quality of individual medical diagnostic apparatuses and a control device which exists on the network, stores all of the histories of the evaluation results that individual medical diagnostic apparatuses hold and controls them centrally. By this unified quality control system, quality control of a plurality of medical diagnostic apparatuses connected to each other on the network can efficiently be performed.

Quality control system for medical diagnostic apparatus

An ultrasonic transmitting and receiving apparatus capable of scanning an object to be inspected in high density and in a short time by using nondiffracting beams. The ultrasonic transmitting and receiving apparatus includes: an ultrasonic transducer array including ultrasonic transducers arranged in a matrix form; a waveform information setting unit for setting waveform information to be used for transmitting a plurality of ultrasonic beams, each of which is synthesized by ultrasonic signals having amplitude and phase characteristics represented by Bessel function, within a predetermined period; and a drive signal generating unit for respectively generating drive signals for driving the ultrasonic transducers included in the ultrasonic transducer array on the basis of the waveform information set by the waveform information setting unit.

Ultrasonic transmitting and receiving apparatus

An ultrasonic transmitting and receiving apparatus capable of obtaining ultrasonic images with uniform image quality independently of sound ray directions. The apparatus includes: an ultrasonic transducer array including plural ultrasonic transducers; a drive signal generating unit for generating drive signals for the plural ultrasonic transducers; a transmission control unit for controlling the drive signal generating unit such that transmitted ultrasonic waves form a transmission beam in a sound ray direction; a reception control unit for performing reception focusing processing on plural detection signals obtained based on received ultrasonic waves to generate sound ray data representing ultrasonic information relating to the sound ray direction; a storage unit for storing plural kinds of filter coefficients related to plural sound ray directions, respectively; and a filter processing unit for performing filter processing on the sound ray data by using filter coefficients related to the sound ray direction.

An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in which the optimum transmission/reception conditions and image processing conditions can be easily set for each body part of an object to be inspected. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes an ultrasonic transmitting and receiving unit; an image processing unit for executing image processing of image data by using image processing condition parameters; an information input unit to be employed for inputting information of object concerned with the object to be inspected, a parameter memory unit for storing the image processing condition parameters in correspondence with the information of object; a control unit for reading out the image processing condition parameters corresponding to the information of object input by employing the information input unit to supply the read-out parameters to the image processing unit; and a display unit for displaying an image.

Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus

An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of quantitatively checking its performance. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes: an ultrasonic transmission unit; an ultrasonic reception unit; a signal processing unit for processing detection signals output from the ultrasonic reception unit to generate data; a first storage unit for storing data, which has been obtained by transmitting ultrasonic waves to a predetermined object and receiving ultrasonic echoes, as management data; a second storage unit for storing data, which has been obtained by transmitting ultrasonic waves to the predetermined object and receiving ultrasonic echoes when performance of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is checked, as check data; a comparison unit for generating comparison data on the basis of both the management data and the check data; and an image display unit for displaying an image on the basis of the comparison data.

Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and method of checking its performance

An ultrasonic receiving apparatus capable of reducing changes in detection sensitivity due to environmental changes such as temperature and the variations of detection sensitivity depending upon the positions in the ultrasonic detecting element. The ultrasonic receiving apparatus includes: a light source for generating broadband light; an ultrasonic detecting element including an ultrasonic sensing portion which is expanded and contracted by a received ultrasonic wave to change an optical reflectance thereof in accordance with expansion and contraction thereby performing intensity modulation of the light generated by the light source; a spectrum separating unit for spectrum-separating the light intensity-modulated by the ultrasonic detecting element; and photodetector having a plurality of photoelectric converting elements for detecting the light spectrum-separated by the spectrum separating unit for each of plural wavelength components.

A linear stimulating ray source produces stimulating rays and linearly irradiates them to a portion of a stimulable phosphor sheet, on which a radiation image has been stored. A photoelectric read-out system divides light, which is emitted from the portion of a front surface of the stimulable phosphor sheet exposed to the stimulating rays and/or the portion of a back surface of the stimulable phosphor sheet corresponding to the portion of the front surface exposed to the stimulating rays, into picture elements along a length direction of the portion exposed to the stimulating rays, and photoelectrically reads out the divided picture elements by arraying them in a two-dimensional form. A scanning system moves the stimulable phosphor sheet with respect to the linear stimulating ray source and the photoelectric read-out system and in a direction, which is approximately normal to the length direction of the portion exposed to the stimulating rays.

Radiation image read-out apparatus and image transmission apparatus

The method for evaluating a quality of an image on a display device displays a test pattern having different contrast intensities on a display screen of the display, then determines a contrast intensity at which the test pattern is visually discernible and uses the thus determined contrast intensity as a value for evaluation of granularity on the display device. The method is optimal for achieving quantitative and objective visual evaluation of image quality, particularly, its granularity.

Method for evaluating quality of image on display device

The method of gradation correction of input image data to be displayed on an image display apparatus converts to logarithmic data first characteristic values which represent the display characteristics inherent in the image display apparatus and second characteristic values which represent the desired gradation to be eventually realized with the image display apparatus, respectively, and optionally interpolating both the logarithmic data, constructs a gradation correction table based on both the logarithmic data of the first characteristic values and the logarithmic data of the second characteristic values and performs gradation correction on the input image data to the image display apparatus using the gradation correction table. The image display system displays on the image display apparatus the thus corrected image data on which the gradation correction is performed by implementing the method. The method and system are capable of producing a smooth enough correction LUT (look-up table) to allow gradation correction to be performed in such a way that the image display apparatus will eventually provide the intended display characteristics. Therefore, the system can display a high quality image that has no defects such as artifacts.

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Kaisei-machi, Japan

Eiji Ogawa