Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and elastic image display method

Abstract

An elastic image suitable for diagnosis is easily acquired without depending on the examiner's pressure technique. The displacement of tissue in a tomographic portion of an object is measured on the basis of a pair of RF signal frame data items regarding the tomographic portion, which are obtained at different times by transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic wave to and from the object (b). The average displacement of each beam line (d0 to dn) of an ultrasonic wave is calculated (c), and a displacement gradient (50) in the scanning direction of an ultrasonic probe is calculated on the basis of the displacement average (d). A correction coefficient (52) with respect to the displacement of each beam line is calculated on the basis of the calculated displacement gradient (e), and the displacement distribution measured on the basis of the calculated correction coefficient is corrected (f). In this manner, even if the object is pressed by an ultrasonic probe inclined along the scanning direction, an elastic image generated by pressing the object with the ultrasonic probe not inclined along the scanning direction can be generated in a pseudo manner by correcting the displacement distribution on the basis of the correction coefficient.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.