Ultrasound diagnostic apparatus and ultrasound image producing method

An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus comprising:

• a convex type ultrasound probe including a transducer array with a curvature;
• a transmission circuit for transmitting ultrasonic beams from the transducer array toward a subject;
• a reception circuit for processing reception signals outputted from the transducer array having received ultrasonic echoes from the subject to obtain reception data;
• an image producer for producing a B mode image based on the reception data obtained by the reception circuit;
• an abdominal wall detector for detecting an abdominal wall of the subject on the B mode image produced by the image producer;
• a controller for controlling the transmission circuit and the reception circuit to transmit and receive the ultrasonic beams for a sound speed map through the transducer array by convex scan to obtain reception data for a sound speed map when a shape of the abdominal wall detected by the abdominal wall detector substantially corresponds to the curvature of the transducer array, and controlling the transmission circuit and the reception circuit to transmit and receive the ultrasonic beams for a sound speed map through the transducer array by linear scan to obtain reception data for a sound speed map when the shape of the abdominal wall detected by the abdominal wall detector is substantially linear;
• and
• a sound speed map producer for producing a sound speed map based on the obtained reception data for a sound speed map.