Ultrasonic blood vessel inspecting apparatus

An ultrasonic blood vessel inspecting apparatus comprising:

• an ultrasonic probe configured to be placed on skin of a live body, irradiate an ultrasonic wave toward a blood vessel, and receive reflected wave signals of the ultrasonic wave;
• and
• a processor having a program stored therein for causing the processor to perform executable portions,
• wherein the executable portions comprise:
• a longitudinal cross sectional blood vessel image generating portion configured to generate a longitudinal cross sectional image of the blood vessel located below the skin of the live body, based on the reflected wave signals of the ultrasonic wave by using the ultrasonic probe,
• an index value calculating portion configured to calculate an intima-media complex image clarity index value indicative of a degree of clarity of an image which represents an intima-media complex of said blood vessel and which exists within said longitudinal cross sectional image of the blood vessel, wherein said index value calculating portion calculates a front wall portion image clarity index value indicative of the degree of clarity of an image of a front wall portion of said intima-media complex within said longitudinal cross sectional image of the blood vessel, and a back wall portion image clarity index value indicative of the degree of clarity of an image of a back wall portion of said intima-media complex within said longitudinal cross sectional image of the blood vessel, said front wall portion being one of opposite wall portions of the blood vessel on the side of said ultrasonic probe while said back wall portion being the other of the opposite wall portions which is remote from said ultrasonic probe, and
• a reflected wave recognition control portion configured to implement a reflected wave recognition control for each of a plurality of said reflected wave signals received by said ultrasonic probe at mutually different positions of reception in a longitudinal direction of said blood vessel, and for each of said front wall portion and said back wall portion, to detect according to a relationship between a magnitude of said each reflected wave signal and a position in a diametric direction of said blood vessel:
• (i) a first peak of said each reflected wave signal at which the magnitude is larger than a predetermined first peak determining threshold value;
• (ii) a bottom of said each reflected wave signal which is generated at a position of said blood vessel located outwardly of the position of generation of said first peak in the diametric direction of said blood vessel and at which the magnitude is smaller than a predetermined bottom determining threshold value;
• and (iii) a second peak of said each reflected wave signal which is generated at a position of said blood vessel located outwardly of the position of generation of said first peak in the diametric direction of said blood vessel but located within a spacing distance from the position of generation of the first peak less than a predetermined peak-to-peak distance threshold value, with said bottom being located therebetween, and at which the magnitude is larger than a predetermined second peak determining threshold value, and
• wherein said index value calculating portion calculates said front wall portion image clarity index value based on a number of the reflected wave signals all of said first peak, said bottom and said second peak of which have been detected by said reflected wave recognition control implemented by said reflected wave recognition control portion for said front wall portion, and said back wall portion image clarity index value on the based on a number of the reflected wave signals all of said first peak, said bottom and said second peak of which have been detected by said reflected wave recognition control implemented by said reflected wave recognition control portion for said back wall portion.