Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and ultrasonic diagnostic method

An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising:

• an inserting means having an optical observing portion at a distal end portion thereof, which is inserted in the celom;
• an ultrasonic vibrator which is connected to a flexible shaft and which can be arranged at the distal end portion;
• an ultrasonic tomogram generating means which forms an ultrasonic diagnostic image based on an ultrasonic echo signal outputted from the ultrasonic vibrator;
• an inserting shape detecting means which detects an inserting shape of the inserting portion;
• an auxiliary-image forming means which forms an auxiliary image correlating the ultrasonic diagnostic image with the inserting shape obtained by the inserting shape detecting means;
• and
• an output means which outputs the ultrasonic image and the auxiliary image to a display device so that they can be compared with each other.

An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for forming an ultrasonic tomogram based on an ultrasonic echo signal, comprising:

• an ultrasonic probe having an ultrasonic vibrator at a distal end portion thereof, which is inserted in the celom;
• an inserting shape detecting portion which detects an inserting shape of the ultrasonic probe;
• an auxiliary-image forming portion which forms an auxiliary image correlating the ultrasonic tomogram with the inserting shape obtained by the inserting shape detecting portion;
• and
• an output portion which outputs the ultrasonic tomogram and the auxiliary image to a display device so that they can be compared with each other.

An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising:

• an inserting portion having an optical observing portion at a distal end portion thereof, which is inserted in the celom;
• an ultrasonic vibrator which is connected to a flexible shaft and can be arranged at the distal end portion;
• an ultrasonic tomogram generating portion which forms an ultrasonic tomogram based on an ultrasonic echo signal outputted from the ultrasonic vibrator;
• an inserting shape detecting portion which detects an inserting shape of the inserting portion;
• an auxiliary-image forming portion which forms an auxiliary image which correlates the ultrasonic diagnostic image with the inserting shape obtained by the inserting shape detecting portion;
• and
• an output portion which outputs the ultrasonic diagnostic image and the auxiliary image to a display device so that they can be compared with each other.

An ultrasonic diagnostic method for forming an ultrasonic tomogram based on an ultrasonic echo signal outputted from an ultrasonic probe, the ultrasonic probe inserted in the celom and having an ultrasonic vibrator at a distal end thereof, the ultrasonic diagnostic method comprising:

• an inserting shape detecting step of detecting an inserting shape of the ultrasonic probe;
• an auxiliary-image forming step of forming an auxiliary image which correlates the ultrasonic tomogram with the inserting shape obtained in the inserting shape detecting step;
• and
• an output step of outputting the ultrasonic tomogram and the auxiliary image to a display device so that they can be compared with each other.

An ultrasonic diagnostic method for ultrasonic diagnostic by including an inserting portion having an optical observing portion at a distal end portion thereof, which is inserted in the celom, and an ultrasonic vibrator which is connected to a flexible shaft and can be arranged at the distal end portion, the ultrasonic diagnostic method comprising:

• an ultrasonic tomogram generating step of forming an ultrasonic tomogram based on an ultrasonic echo signal outputted from the ultrasonic vibrator;
• an inserting shape detecting step of detecting an inserting shape of the inserting portion;
• an auxiliary-image forming step of forming an auxiliary image which correlates the ultrasonic diagnostic image with the inserting shape obtained in the inserting shape detecting step;
• and
• an output step of outputting the ultrasonic diagnostic image and the auxiliary image to a display device so that they can be compared with each other.