Diagnostic ultrasound apparatus and storage medium
A diagnostic ultrasound apparatus includes: a sound ray signal generator that generates a sound ray signal based on a reception signal obtained from an ultrasound probe that transmits and receives ultrasound to and from a subject; an imaging signal generator that performs filtering of passing different bands on the sound ray signal to generate multiple imaging signals from the sound ray signal; and a calculator that performs an arithmetic operation among the imaging signals.
1 . A diagnostic ultrasound apparatus comprising:
a sound ray signal generator that generates a sound ray signal based on a reception signal obtained from an ultrasound probe that transmits and receives ultrasound to and from a subject;
an imaging signal generator that performs filtering of passing different bands on the sound ray signal to generate multiple imaging signals from the sound ray signal; and
a calculator that performs a multiplication operation among the imaging signals, wherein the multiplication operation is a multiplication of brightness values of corresponding pixels at the same position in respective images that correspond to the imaging signals,
wherein the calculator performs a power root calculation process on an arithmetically-processed imaging signal that is obtained by the multiplication operation among the imaging signals, the power root calculation process corresponding to the number of the imaging signals.
2 . The diagnostic ultrasound apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the calculator performs a look up table conversion process on an arithmetically-processed imaging signal that is obtained by the multiplication operation among the imaging signals.
3 . The diagnostic ultrasound apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a fractional bandwidth of −20 dB of the ultrasound probe is 100% or more.
4 . The diagnostic ultrasound apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a transmitter that generates a drive signal containing fundamentals of different frequencies and that outputs the generated drive signal to the ultrasound probe,
wherein the sound ray generator generates the sound ray signal having harmonic components of the fundamentals.
5 . The diagnostic ultrasound apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the calculator converts a brightness value of the imaging signals equal to or less than a certain value to zero before performing the multiplication operation.
6 . The diagnostic ultrasound apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a first display controller that displays a normal image and an arithmetically-processed image side by side simultaneously on a display, the normal image being based on a normal imaging signal on which the multiplication operation is not performed, the arithmetically-processed image being based on an arithmetically-processed imaging signal that is generated by the multiplication operation among the imaging signals.
7 . The diagnostic ultrasound apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an analyzer that generates a difference image corresponding to a difference between a normal image and an arithmetically-processed image, the normal image being based on a normal imaging signal on which the multiplication operation is not performed, the arithmetically-processed image being based on an arithmetically-processed imaging signal that is generated by the multiplication operation among the imaging signals; and
a second display controller that displays the difference image on a display.
8 . The diagnostic ultrasound apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the second display controller colors the difference image and displays the colored difference image on the display.
9 . The diagnostic ultrasound apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein
the analyzer calculates an index value based on the difference image, and
the second display controller displays, on the display, the index value based on the difference image.
10 . The diagnostic ultrasound apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the imaging signals are image data.
11 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program that causes a computer to function as:
a sound ray signal generator that generates a sound ray signal based on a reception signal obtained from an ultrasound probe that transmits and receives ultrasound to and from a subject;
an imaging signal generator that performs filtering of passing different bands on the sound ray signal to generate multiple imaging signals from the sound ray signal; and
a calculator that performs a multiplication operation among the imaging signals, wherein the multiplication operation is a multiplication of brightness values of corresponding pixels at the same position in respective images that correspond to the imaging signals,
wherein the calculator performs a power root calculation process on an arithmetically-processed imaging signal that is obtained by the multiplication operation among the imaging signals, the power root calculation process corresponding to the number of the imaging signals.