Ultrasonic probe and ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus

1. An ultrasonic probe, comprising:

a first transducer set in which first transducers are arranged in a direction parallel to an axis of the ultrasonic probe;

a second transducer set in which second transducers are arranged on a plane orthogonal to the axis; and

a pivot shaft supporting the first transducer set and the second transducer set, and configured to pivot around the axis, wherein

the second transducer set is configured to be slidable on and along the pivot shaft,

the first transducers of the first transducer set are arranged in a linear array and perform a linear scanning, and

the second transducers of the second transducer set are arranged in a convex array and perform a convex scanning.

2. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1 , wherein

a center position of the first transducer set in the direction parallel to the axis and a center position of the second transducer set in the direction parallel to the axis are different from each other.

3. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1 , wherein

the first transducer set and the second transducer set perform different types of scanning from each other, and a center position of the first transducer set in the direction parallel to the axis and a center position of the second transducer set in the direction parallel to the axis are different from each other.

4. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1 , wherein

the first transducer set and the second transducer set are covered by a housing, and an interior of the housing is filled with liquid or fluid matter.

5. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 4 , wherein

a pivoting center of the pivot shaft corresponds to an axis of the housing.

6. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1 , wherein

the pivot shaft pivots using an electric motor or an electromagnet.

7. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1 , further comprising

a scale indicating a pivoting angle of the pivot shaft.

8. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1 , further comprising

a changing-over switch for instructing the pivot shaft to pivot.

9. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1 , wherein

the second transducer set includes the second transducers arranged on a circumference around the axis and arranged on a plane orthogonal to the axis, and the second transducer set is insertable into a body cavity to collect an ultrasonic image of an inside of the body cavity.

10. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, comprising:

the ultrasonic probe according to claim 1 ; and

processing circuitry configured to:

perform a first scanning by the first transducer set to generate a first ultrasonic image and a second scanning by the second transducer set to generate a second ultrasonic image through the ultrasonic probe;

display at least the second ultrasonic image on a display;

set, when a region of the displayed second ultrasonic image generated through the second scanning is specified as a target, a pivoting angle such that a scanning center which is a center of the region which is to be scanned by the first transducer set corresponds to a position of the target based on the position of the target; and

control a pivoting of the pivot shaft according to the pivoting angle.

11. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein

the processing circuitry is configured to superimpose a linear marker indicating a scanning plane of the first scanning on the second ultrasonic image generated through the second scanning.

12. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:

superimpose on the second ultrasonic image generated through the second scanning candidate targets to be set as the target; and

set a position of a candidate target selected from the candidate targets as the position of the target.

13. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the processing circuitry configured to superimpose the candidate targets on the second ultrasonic image generated through the second scanning comprises processing circuitry configured to superimpose the candidate targets at positions corresponding to positions of through holes for guiding a puncture needle in a puncture adaptor equipped in the ultrasonic probe.

14. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein

the target comprises a puncture target, and

the processing circuitry is configured to set the pivoting angle such that the scanning center which is the center of the region which is to be scanned by the first transducer set corresponds to a position of the puncture target based on the position of the puncture target.

15. An ultrasonic probe comprising:

a first transducer set in which first transducers are arranged in a direction parallel to an axis of the ultrasonic probe;

a second transducer set in which second transducers are arranged on a plane orthogonal to the axis; and

a pivot shaft supporting the first transducer set and the second transducer set, and configured to pivot around the axis, wherein

the second transducer set is configured to be slidable on and along the pivot shaft, and

a pivoting radius of the second transducer set corresponds to a radius of curvature at which the second transducers of the second transducer set are arranged.

16. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, comprising:

an ultrasonic probe including a first transducer set in which first transducers are arranged in a direction parallel to an axis of the ultrasonic probe, a second transducer set in which second transducers are arranged on a plane orthogonal to the axis, a sensor for detecting a position, and a pivot shaft supporting the first transducer set and the second transducer set and configured to pivot around the axis, the second transducer set being configured to be slidable on and along the pivot shaft; and

processing circuitry configured to:

perform a first scanning by the first transducer set to generate a first ultrasonic image and a second scanning by the second transducer set to generate a second ultrasonic image through the ultrasonic probe;

display at least the second ultrasonic image on a display;

calculate, when a region of the displayed second ultrasonic image generated through the second scanning is specified as a target, a target pivoting angle when a scanning plane of the first scanning includes the target based on the position of the target; and

perform notification when a pivoting angle of the ultrasonic probe based on the detected position corresponds to the calculated target pivoting angle,

wherein the second transducer set is configured to be movable along the direction parallel to the axis.