The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 29, 2012
Filed:
Aug. 08, 2007
Ryoichi Sakai, Mitaka, JP;
Ryoichi Sakai, Mitaka, JP;
Hitachi Aloka Medical, Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
The present invention provides an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus capable of appropriately evaluating dynamic characteristics of a bone. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus obtains an interpolated linerepresenting a bone surface shape based on echo signals obtained from ultrasonic beams transmitted to a surface of the bone on which a load is applied. A user inputs an outer diameter φ of the bone which can be stored in a memory. The ULTRASOUND DIAGNOSTIC APPARATUS calculates a distortion ε which represents an expansion/contraction rate in an axial direction on the bone surface to which the load is applied, based on the interpolated lineand the bone outer diameter φ. The distortion ε is equal to a ratio defined by x/(x+dx)=r/(r+dr)=r/(r+1/2φ), wherein x represents a length of the bone surface in a measurement range (i.e., length of the interpolated line) and x+dx represents a length of a neutral axisof the bone.