Terumo Kabushiki Kaisha

Terumo Corporation

Yoshinori Hayakawa

Tadashi Fujii

An ultrasonic transducer is adapted to transmit spherical ultrasonic waves which have a plurality of frequencies into an object under examination while being scanned in a direction at right angles to the direction of transmission. By repeating this operation, echo signals are obtained, on the basis of which a B-scan distribution image of the echo signals is obtained through use of a synthetic aperture method. Using the distribution image, there is determined position information relating to positions of interest in the object as indicated in the distribution image, as well as scanning positions of the ultrasonic transducer situated on extensions of straight lines connecting the positions of interest. The attenuation coefficient of the object is measured based on echo signals at the scanning positions.

Ultrasonic measurement method and apparatus therefor

A method and apparatus for ultrasonic measurement in which ultrasonic pulses having a plurality of different frequencies are transmitted into in order to object under investigation and derive a mean value of attenuation coefficients indicative of attenuation within the object, as well as the frequency dependence of the attenuation coefficient. If the frequency dependence of the reflection intensity from the object under investigation is constant or proportional to frequency within a range of measured frequencies, it is possible to obtain the attenuation coefficient and the coefficient indicative of its frequency dependence within a small area of the object by measuring the echo intensity of emitted ultrasonic pulses having three different frequencies. Furthermore, extending the above-mentioned processing over all small areas of the entire object enables obtaining a two-dimensional distribution image indicative of the attenuation coefficient and its frequency dependence.

Growing community of inventors

Sakura, Japan

Yoshinori Hayakawa