Fujitsu Corporation

Tadahiko Yanashima

Hirohide Miwa

Takaki Shimura

Atsuo Iida

Shinichi Amemiya

Kenji Kawabe

Hajime Hayashi

Kazuhiro Matsumoto

Ikuo Watanabe

Keiichi Murakami

Kenichi Hayakawa

Etsuro Machida

Yoshitaka Abe

Nobushi Iwashita

Masahiro Hiruta

Junji Miyazaki

Takai Shimura

Norio Midorikawa

There is provided an ultrasonic diagnostic system in which an ultrasonic probe is detachably connected thereto, and ultrasonic waves are transmitted from the ultrasonic probe into the subject to obtain received signals through receiving the ultrasonic waves reflected within the subject, thereby displaying for a diagnosis an image carrying information based on the received signals, and is also provided an ultrasonic module including a processing circuit for the received signals, the ultrasonic module being used in the ultrasonic diagnostic system. The diagnotics system and the diagnostic module according to the present invention permit the more extensive patients to have an ultrasonic diagnosis, and also permit the operator to have a higher level of computer support. The ultrasonic module is connected through a general-purpose interface to a computer system. An ultrasonic module, which has, as a main element, an analog unit for performing an analog signal processing, is connected to another computer system.

Ultrasonic module and ultrasonic diagnostic system

A method and device to display in real time a stream line of an inhomogeneous flowing medium such as blood flow in a heart, is disclosed. The object is scanned several times by ultrasonic beam pulses. Echoes appearing within a predetermined time interval at each point of the object are combined to produce an image of speckles formed by the flow. The process is repeated several times, to obtain the motion of the speckles. Differences between the images of spatially correlated speckles obtained within the time interval, produce the segments of the stream lines. Differences between successive frames or successive lines can be used to produce the speckle and several methods of scanning are disclosed to produce the differences between the images to produce the stream lines.

Method of displaying stream lines of an inhomogeneous flowing medium and

A blood flow measuring apparatus provides a two-dimensional blood stream flow velocity distribution diagram which displays a two-dimensional blood stream flow velocity distribution in a region of a living body to be examined and a one-dimensional blood stream flow velocity distribution diagram which displays a one-dimensional blood stream flow velocity distribution in a linear region specified by a line on the examined region with a measuring condition different from the measurement of the two-dimensional blood stream flow velocity distribution. In the present invention, the two-dimensional blood stream flow velocity diagram and the one-dimensional blood stream flow velocity diagram are simultaneously displayed in such a manner that the corresponding portions can be clearly read, and thus the blood stream flow velocity in each portion can be correctly and easily determined.

Blood flow measuring apparatus

An ultrasonic sector-scan probe comprises at least an array having a plurality of ultrasonic transducer segments, a window for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves and an ultrasonic wave propagation medium filled in a front space between the array and the window. A group of the ultrasonic transducer segments are selectively driven as an aperture and ultrasonic waves emitted therefrom are converged into a beam for transmission and reception. By partly or entirely changing the segments in the group with the ones outside the group the scan line is shifted to a new angle, and a member under test contacted with the window on the outside thereof is sector-scanned by the ultrasonic beam. The array is arranged so that scanning lines of the groups intersect at one point in the window or in its vicinity for sector scan. An acoustic lens is provided in the window or in its vicinity so that the ultrasonic beam may be converged over the measuring depth range of the member under test with or without phase control of the segments in the group. Furthermore, the array is arranged multidimensionally or in plural linear arrays so that the scanning lines of the groups intersect substantially at one point in the window or in its vicinity for sector scan, thereby performing sector scan of at least two sections and/or three-dimensional sector scan.

Ultrasonic sector-scan probe

An ultrasonic sector-scan probe comprises at least an array having a plurality of ultrasonic transducer segments, a window for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves and an ultrasonic wave propagation medium filled in a front space between the array and the window. A group of the ultrasonic transducer segments are selectively driven as an aperture and ultrasonic waves emitted therefrom are converged into a beam for transmission and reception. By partly or entirely changing the segments in the group with the ones outside the group the scan line is shifted to a new angle, and a member under test contacted with the window on the outside thereof is sector-scanned by the ultrasonic beam. The array is arranged so that scanning lines of the groups intersect at one point in the window or in its vicinity for sector scan. And an acoustic lens is provided in the window or in its vicinity so that the ultrasonic beam may be converged almost over the measuring depth range of the member under test with/without phase control of the segments in the group. Furthermore, the array is arranged multidimensionally or in plural linear arrays so that the scanning lines of the groups intersect substantially at one point in the window or in its vicinity for sector scan, thereby performing sector scan of at least two sections and/or three-dimensional sector scan.

An ultrasonic imaging apparatus comprises transducers for transmitting ultrasonic waves and receiving acoustic. The apparatus also transmits ultrasonic waves of different frequencies simultaneously from a plurality of transducers. The frequency characteristics of the transducers are determined in a manner so as to produce the function of frequency filters. An electric filter is additionally provided for compensation. Thus, crosstalk is eliminated even when the frequency difference between the transmitting ultrasonic waves is kept small.

Ultrasonic imaging apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Fujisawa, Japan

Tadahiko Yanashima