DIAGNOSTIC ULTRASOUND APPARATUS
In the diagnostic ultrasound apparatus, moving average processing is successively performed on a frame series with frame sets obtained from three kinds of frames, A, B, and C, as units, thereby successively generating compound frames. Each compound frame has a central sub-region and multiple peripheral sub-regions. In order to match the gain between the multiple sub-regions when generating each compound frame, a special compounding condition is applied to individual peripheral sub-regions. Specifically, processing that redundantly substitutes the same data value for multiple elements in the compounding computation equation is performed. Using such a spatial compounding, differences in gain between multiple sub-regions can be eliminated or reduced.
1 .- 6 . (canceled)
7 . An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, comprising:
a transmitting and receiving unit that sequentially forms n beam scanning planes (where n is an integer greater than or equal to 2) while switching a beam deflection condition, to generate n sets of frame data; and
a compounding unit that generates compounded frame data through a compounding process of the n sets of frame data, wherein
a plurality of sub-regions are defined based on a difference in overlapping structures when the n sets of frame data are spatially overlapped,
the plurality of sub-regions include a central sub-region in which all of the n sets of frame data are compounded and a plurality of peripheral sub-regions in which a portion of the n sets of frame data are compounded,
in the compounding process in each of the peripheral sub-regions, a condition to compensate for insufficiency of a overlapping structure in the peripheral sub-region with respect to a overlapping structure in the central sub-region is applied, so that a gain after the compounding process in the central sub-region and again after the compounding process in each of the peripheral sub-regions are matched, and
in the compounding process in each of the peripheral sub-regions, the insufficiency of the overlapping structure in the peripheral sub-region with respect to the overlapping structure in the central sub-region is compensated for by a duplicated use of the same frame data which cover the peripheral sub-region.
8 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein
in the compounding process in each of the peripheral sub-regions, the same frame data which cover the peripheral sub-region are referred twice.
9 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein
the number n is an odd number greater than or equal to 3,
the n beam scanning planes include a beam scanning plane formed with a beam deflection angle of 0 degree, and at least one beam scanning plane pair formed with beam deflection angles symmetric about positive and negative signs, and
a frame data pair corresponding to the beam scanning plane pair has the same gain relationship.
10 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein
the compounding unit comprises:
a compounding function which is a common function among the plurality of sub-regions, and that has the value n in a denominator and n additive elements in a numerator; and
a correspondence table which is a table in which n frame data identifiers for giving n echo values to be substituted for the n additive elements are registered for each of the sub-regions, and in which the same frame data identifier is registered in a duplicated manner in order to compensate for the insufficiency of the overlapping structure for each of the peripheral sub-regions, and
the compounding unit substitutes n echo values to the compounding function while referring to the correspondence table for each of the sub-regions, and executes the compounding function.
11 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein
the compounding unit further comprises an interpolation unit that generates all or a portion of the n echo values to be substituted into the n additive elements by an interpolation process based on all or a portion of the n sets of frame data.
12 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein
the n sets of frame data are formed with harmonic echo components generated in a living body.