JP3379599B2 - Ultrasound diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to improvement of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and more particularly to improvement of a digital scan converter of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ultrasonic pulse is transmitted from an ultrasonic probe into a living body, and echoes of the ultrasonic pulse reflected from the living body are received by the same or a different ultrasonic probe.
Conventionally, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is capable of providing useful information for diagnosing various diseases by displaying an organ in a living body as a two-dimensional visible image by transmitting and receiving while shifting the direction of an ultrasonic pulse. More devised.

Among such ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, as shown in FIG. 9, there is a sector scan type which scans a fan-shaped area with respect to the ultrasonic probe 1a, or an ultrasonic probe 1b as shown in FIG. There is a device for ultrasonically scanning in polar coordinates, such as a radial sector scanning type which scans a circular area in the center.
Such an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus has an advantage that a wide field of view can be realized by a small probe as compared with a linear scanning type which linearly scans a rectangular area. In particular, in a body cavity scanning type ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus such as an ultrasonic endoscope, a radial sector scanning type is often used because it can scan the entire circumference of the lumen.

In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, as a display device for displaying an ultrasonic image, as shown in FIG. 11, horizontal (X) /
It is common to use a television monitor that displays an image by scanning in orthogonal coordinates in the vertical (Y) direction. Even in a device that scans ultrasonic waves in polar coordinates, such as the radial sector scanning type described above, the diagnostic device has means for converting polar coordinates ultrasonic scan into rectangular coordinates television scan, and ultrasonic images Is displayed on the television monitor. This means that if the scanning method is converted into television scanning, it is possible to display on the same display device even if a plurality of ultrasonic probes with different ultrasonic scanning methods are used by switching.
This is because various inexpensive and high-performance image storage devices and image capturing devices such as VTRs and video printers developed for television can be used.

In order to display a signal obtained by ultrasonically scanning in polar coordinates on a television monitor which performs scanning in rectangular coordinates, means for converting the scanning system of signals is required. The means for converting the scanning method such as the polar coordinate scanning to the rectangular coordinate scanning is called a scan converter. As such a scan converter, it is common today to apply the digital memory technology and use the following method.

That is, after converting an ultrasonic echo signal (analog signal) into a digital signal by an A / D converter, the ultrasonic wave is stored in an image memory which is a digital memory having a storage capacity equivalent to one screen of a television display. The writing is once performed according to the scanning method, the reading is performed according to the television scanning method, the analog signal is restored by the D / A converter, and the analog signal is displayed on the television monitor. The means for converting the scanning method by applying the digital memory technology is a digital scan converter (DSC).
And so on.

By the way, in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using a radial sector scanning type ultrasonic probe, its display image is changed from 360 ° all-round display as shown in FIG.
2 (b) and 2 (c), there is a display which can be switched to a 180-degree half-round display. Alternatively, FIG.
Some have a function of rotating the entire image as shown in FIGS.

By combining the functions of switching the display system of these images from all-round to half-round or rotating the entire image, the region of interest in the image can be moved to the center of the screen of the television monitor and displayed. Will be possible. Displaying the region of interest in the center of the screen in this way not only makes it easy to see where the region of interest is, but since a television monitor generally has the best resolution near the center of the screen, it displays the region of interest with the best image quality. There is also a reason why it can be done.

FIG. 14 is an example of a block diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus to which such a technique is applied. In FIG.
A reception echo signal obtained by a radial sector scanning ultrasonic probe (not shown) is input to the A / D converter 11, and the reception echo signal digitally converted here is temporarily stored in the line memory unit 12. To be done. The line memory 12 is for sequentially storing one line of in-subject information on the line with the emission axis direction of ultrasonic waves emitted in a predetermined angle direction as one line in a sector scan, for example.
The in-subject reception information on the line is stored for each predetermined angle.

Therefore, the line memory 12 is connected to the ultrasonic scanning control circuit 16 and the write address generating circuit A18, and the ultrasonic scanning control circuit 16 has a timing for taking in the reception signal corresponding to the sector scanning. A signal is output and the write address generation circuit A1
Reference numeral 8 outputs a write address signal to the line memory unit 12 based on the timing signal. The ultrasonic scanning control circuit 16 and the write address generating circuit A18 operate according to the clock synchronized with the ultrasonic scanning generated by the clock generating circuit A14.

On the other hand, an interpolation circuit 13 is connected to the output side of the line memory section 12, and a television scanning control circuit 26 and a read address generating circuit A22 are connected to the line memory section 12, and this television scanning control circuit is connected. Two
6 generates a timing signal for writing the signal read from the line memory into the image memory, and the read address generation circuit A22 outputs the read address signal to the line memory unit 12 based on this timing signal.
The line memory unit 12 and the interpolation circuit 18 are controlled by the television scanning control circuit 26. Based on this output, the interpolation circuit 18 performs interpolation processing for image display. When a tomographic image of the inside of the subject is displayed by sector scanning, interpolation processing such as filling a blank portion of the received signal is performed.

The output of the interpolation circuit 18 is, for example, 51
An image memory 15 having a number of pixels of 2 × 512 is connected. The image memory 15 is controlled by a write address generating circuit B28 and a read address generating circuit B34 which are controlled by the output of the television scanning control circuit 26. In addition, a threes control signal is input to the television scanning control circuit, and control such as applying freeze to the ultrasonic image or releasing the freeze is performed in the image memory according to the freeze control signal. A coordinate conversion circuit 23 is provided between the write address generation circuit B28 and the image memory 15, and performs coordinate conversion for displaying an ultrasonic signal obtained by polar coordinate scanning on a television monitor of rectangular coordinate scanning. . The image memory 15 is provided to correspond to the scanning line density and the scanning speed of the television monitor, and the in-subject information in the line memory unit 12 corresponds to the actual position under the control of the memory control circuit. The position conversion is performed and stored at a predetermined position (address) in the image memory 15.

A display control circuit is connected to the write address generation circuit B28, and it is possible to control the display position of the image such as half-circle display of the ultrasonic image and rotation of the image by operating a switch on the operation console connected to the display control circuit. Become.

The in-subject information stored in the image memory 15 in this manner is the read address generating circuit B21.
Is read out according to the scanning line of the television monitor and output to the D / A converter 19. A television monitor is connected to the D / A converter 19, and the image memory 1 is finally connected to the TV monitor.
The in-subject information in 5 is displayed as an image.

Read address generating circuit B21, television scanning control circuit 26, write address generating circuit B
28 and the read address generation circuit B21 operate in accordance with a clock generated by the clock generation circuit 20 in synchronization with the television scanning.

As described above, in the related art, half-circle display and image rotation are possible by relatively changing the write address and the read address of the image memory.

When the image is frozen, the television scanning control circuit 26 stops the write control signal for the image memory.

[0018]

However, in the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having such a structure, one image memory controls switching to half-round display and image rotation, and the image memory freezes. , It was possible to switch to half-circle display and rotate the image only when the freeze was released (moving image state).

In the actual diagnosis, in the state where the freeze is released, the operator is busy with the operation of the ultrasonic probe and the adjustment of the image quality such as gain, contrast and STC to the optimum state, and the half-round display is performed. I couldn't get around to switching and rotating the image. Especially in an ultrasonic endoscope, because the ultrasonic probe was attached to the tip of the endoscope, it was not possible to stabilize the probe inside the body cavity, so It was difficult to capture in the ultrasonic image for a long time. Therefore, there has been a demand for a technique capable of switching to a half-circle display and rotating an image while the image is frozen.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to the problems of the prior art as described above, and it is possible to switch the ultrasonic image to a half-circle display or rotate the image even when the ultrasonic image is frozen. An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with improved operability.

[0021]

An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention includes an ultrasonic scanning means for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from a subject and ultrasonically scanning in polar coordinates, and an ultrasonic scanning means for receiving the ultrasonic waves. An A / D converter for converting the ultrasonic signal into a digital signal, an image generating unit for generating an ultrasonic image based on the digital signal from the A / D converter, and at least one of the ultrasonic images. Auxiliary image storage means for storing image data for the screen, and the auxiliary image storage means
The coordinates of the image data read from
Mark conversion means and the type of coordinate conversion performed by the coordinate conversion means
Is provided in a stage subsequent to the instruction means for operating the auxiliary image storage means and the coordinate conversion means.
Image conversion means for storing the image data that has undergone coordinate conversion, and the auxiliary image for generating a freeze image.
The ultrasonic image is stored in the image storage means, and the coordinate-converted image data is displayed according to the instruction of the instruction means.
Image storage control means for storing the converted and coordinate-converted image in the converted image storage means, and video signal generation means for generating a video signal based on the image data stored in the auxiliary image storage means or the converted image storage means. And a kind of coordinate transformation designated by the pointing means.
The class is an instruction for half-circle display of an image or rotation of an image based on image data read from the auxiliary image storage means , and the image storage control means,
It is characterized by further comprising address setting means for setting a write address of the coordinate-converted image data to the converted image storage means in accordance with an instruction from the instruction means . In this configuration, the image storage control means, frozen picture
To generate the image in the auxiliary image storage means
An image in which a wave image is stored and the coordinate-converted image data is coordinate-converted in accordance with an instruction from the instruction means.
The converted image storage means is stored as a video signal generating means generates a video signal by the image data to which the auxiliary image storing means or said converted image storing means has stored.
Thereby, even when the ultrasonic image is frozen, the ultrasonic image can be switched to a half-circle display or the image can be rotated.

[0022]

1 to 3 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a rotation detection circuit used in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of FIG. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of FIG. 3, and FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of a modification of the rotation detection circuit of FIG.

The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the first embodiment is almost the same as the conventional example shown in FIG. 14, except for the auxiliary image storage means which is constructed similarly to the image memory 15. The second image memory is the A / D converter 11 and the image memory 15
Between the first image and the second image memory so that all the ultrasonic signals for one screen are temporarily held, and the signal read from the second image memory is written again in the image memory 15 which is the converted image storage means. When writing 15, the image is displayed in a half circle or rotated to display the ultrasonic image on the television monitor, and the image is frozen in the second image memory. Therefore, only different configurations will be described, the same configurations will be assigned the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the output of the interpolation circuit 13 is connected to a second image memory 17 having a storage capacity for one screen of an ultrasonic image. ing. The image memory 15 is connected to the output side of the second image memory 17.

In the detection circuit for detecting the rotation of the rotary drive unit of the mechanical scanning radial sector scanning ultrasonic probe as an ultrasonic probe (not shown), the input terminal of the F / V converter 50 in FIG. A-phase signal is input to the F / V converter 50, and the F / V converter 50 generates a voltage according to the A-phase frequency. This voltage is input to one input terminal of the comparator 51. The reference voltage is input to the other input terminal of the comparator 51. The comparator 51 compares the reference voltage with the output voltage of the F / V converter 50,
The transistor 52 is turned on and the LED 53 is turned on.
The reference voltage is F / when the proper number of rotations is reached in advance.
Since the output voltage of the V converter 50 is set to be the same as the output voltage, the rotation speed at that time is adjusted to an appropriate rotation speed by adjusting the rotation speed so that the LED 53 is turned on or off.

Therefore, when the rotation speed of the rotary drive unit is changed at the customer or the like, it is possible to easily adjust the rotation speed to an appropriate speed without a special measuring instrument.

Further, the rotation detecting circuit can be constructed as shown in FIG. That is, in FIG. 3, the A-phase signal is input to the clock input terminal of the first counter 55,
The reference oscillator 54 is connected to the clock input terminal of the counter 56 of
The reference pulse signal generated by is input. The Z-phase signal is fed to the inverter 62 at the first and second counter clear terminals.
Since it contains the signal inverted by, it is initialized to zero each time the Z-phase signal goes high. The difference between the count values output from each of the first counter 55 and the second counter 56 is calculated by a subtracter 57 and the difference is input to a latch 59. The Z-phase signal is input to the clock terminal of the latch 59.
The value output by the subtractor 57 at the moment when the phase signal becomes high is held. As a result, the difference between the count values of the first counter 55 and the second counter 56 for one Z phase period is held in the latch 58.

The difference value held by the latch 58 is input to a look-up table (LUT) 59. LUT59
Is a ROM in which a table for determining whether the rotation speed of the rotation drive unit is fast, slow, or appropriate is written in accordance with the difference value held by the latch 58. According to the output of the LUT 59, one of the three transistors 63a, 63b, 63c is turned on, and the diodes 61a, 61b, 61c are selectively turned on. Buffers 60a, 60b,
Reference numeral 60c is a buffer amplifier for amplifying the output of the LUT 59 until the transistor can be turned on.

According to the rotation detection circuit of FIG. 3, as with the rotation detection circuit of FIG. 2, it is possible to detect a change in the number of revolutions with time and, if the number of revolutions is incorrect, to operate properly without a special measuring machine. Not only is the effect that the number of revolutions can be easily adjusted, but according to the present embodiment, many of the elements that make up the rotation detection circuit are digital elements, so the accuracy of rotation detection is accurate. The deviation of the rotation detection circuit due to changes over time is reduced.

The other structure is the same as that of the conventional example.

In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the first embodiment configured as described above, the ultrasonic signal interpolated by the interpolation circuit 13 is once written in the second image memory 17. Second
A control signal from the television scanning control circuit 26 is input to the image memory 17 of 1., and the ultrasonic image is frozen by this control signal. The signal read from the second image memory 17 is coordinate-converted and written in the image memory 15, is further read according to the television scanning, and is then D / A-converted by the D / A converter 19 and then the television. Displayed on the monitor.

The display control circuit 25 is provided in the write address generation circuit B21 for generating the write address of the image memory.
The control signal from the control console is input, and by changing the address for writing the image according to the control signal, the control means on the console 24 connected to the display control circuit 25 is an instruction means.
It is possible to control the display position of the image such as half-circle display of the ultrasonic image and rotation of the image by operating the switch.

According to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of this embodiment, the image memory for freezing the ultrasonic image and the image memory for controlling the display position are separately provided, and the ultrasonic image is frozen. Since the image memory is arranged in the previous stage of the image memory for controlling the display position, it is possible to control the display position such as half-circle display and image rotation even for a frozen ultrasonic image.

In other words, a second image memory having a storage capacity for at least one ultrasonic scan is provided between the A / D converter and the image memory to temporarily hold one screen of ultrasonic signals. By using this auxiliary memory to freeze the image, it is possible to display the region of interest near the center of the screen by moving and rotating the frozen image, which was previously impossible. A diagnostic device can be provided.

Next, a second embodiment will be described. Figure 4
5 and FIG. 5 relate to the second embodiment, FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a modified example of the image memory of FIG. Since the second embodiment is almost the same as the first embodiment, only different configurations will be described, the same reference numerals will be given to the same configurations, and description thereof will be omitted.

In the second embodiment, a FIFO memory having a storage capacity for one screen of ultrasonic scanning is provided between the A / D converter and the image memory, and all ultrasonic signals for one screen are temporarily stored. The signal read from it is written again to the image memory, and the ultrasonic image is displayed on the television monitor by controlling the half-circle display and rotation of the image by writing the image memory. is there.

In FIG. 4, the reception echo signal obtained by sector scanning or the like is input to the A / D converter 11, and the reception echo signal converted into a digital signal here is once for one ultrasonic scanning. It is written in the FIFO memory 40. The ultrasonic scanning control circuit 16 is connected to the FIFO memory 29, and writing to the FIFO memory is performed according to the timing signal output from the ultrasonic scanning control circuit 16. A clock generation circuit 14 is connected to the ultrasonic scanning control circuit 16, and the ultrasonic scanning control circuit 16 operates in accordance with a clock signal generated by the clock generation circuit 14 and synchronized with the ultrasonic scanning. A television scanning control circuit 26 is connected to the FIFO memory 29, and the reading of signals from the FIFO memory 29 is controlled by the television scanning control circuit 26. The signal read from the FIFO memory 29 is written in the image memory 15. Image memory 1
A write address generation circuit 30 and a read address generation circuit 31 are connected to 5, and writing in the image memory 15 is performed according to a write address generated by the write address generation circuit 30 controlled by the television scanning control circuit 26. The signal written in the image memory 15 is sequentially read according to the read address generated by the read address generation circuit 31, and the coordinate conversion circuit 23 is provided between the read address generation circuit 31 and the image memory 15, whereby polar coordinates are provided. The signal written in the image memory 15 is read out in rectangular coordinates.
The signal read out from the image memory is interpolated by the interpolation circuit 13, converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 19, and displayed on a television monitor (not shown). A clock signal generated by the clock generation circuit B20 is supplied to the television scan control circuit 26, the write address generation circuit 30, and the read address generation circuit 31, and these circuits perform the television scanning generated by the clock generation circuit B20. It operates according to the clock signal synchronized with.

The image memory 15 in this embodiment is shown in FIG.
It may be configured as shown in. As shown in FIG. 5, the image memory 15 is divided into two blocks 15a and 15b, so that each image memory has an odd number in one block and an even number in the other block. It is possible to alternately write the ultrasonic sound rays, read the signals on the two ultrasonic sound rays closest to each other across the pixel to be displayed from each block at the same time, and input them to the interpolation circuit 13 to perform interpolation. .

The FIFO memory used in this embodiment must have a storage capacity capable of storing one ultrasonic scan. In this way, if all the ultrasonic scans for one scan are stored, writing and reading can be performed completely asynchronously. In addition to the effect of the first embodiment, the ultrasonic sound ray 1 required in the conventional example It is not necessary to control the line memory after writing the ultrasonic signal for the sound ray.

That is, according to the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, it is possible to switch to the half-circle display and rotate the image after freezing the ultrasonic image, and the ultrasonic wave which has been conventionally required. The control of switching the line memory after writing the ultrasonic signal for one sound ray and the address generation circuit for writing and reading for the line memory are unnecessary, and the increase in the circuit scale can be minimized. .

By the way, a drive circuit for driving the ultrasonic probe (not shown) used in the above embodiment can be constructed as shown in FIG. That is, the drive circuit of FIG. 6 generates two pulses with their phases shifted, outputs the pulse having a shape of one sine wave period (hereinafter referred to as a sine wave pulse) by inverting the polarity of one pulse and then synthesizing the two pulses. It is something that is done.

Specifically, the pulse setting circuit 101 outputs two pulses to the pulse amplifiers 111a and 111b, respectively. The pulse amplifiers 111a and 111b output to the gates of the FETs 112a and 112b, which are switching elements.

The coils 113a, 113b, 113c constitute a pulse transformer having the coils 113a, 113b as primary and 113c as secondary. Coils 113a and 113b
Has one end connected to a DC voltage source (voltage VH = about 150 V) and the other end connected to the FETs 112a and 112b, respectively. The coil 113c is connected to the vibrator 105.

Further, the variable voltage source 110 supplies a voltage VM (about 8 to 15 V) to each of the pulse amplifiers 111a and 111b.

In this drive circuit, the frequency f (period T
The operation until the sine wave pulse of (1 / f) is output will be described.

The pulse setting circuit 101 outputs two pulses s and s' (5V) when the transmission trigger pulse is input. The pulses s and s'have a phase relationship with the pulse width matched to the frequency f, as shown in FIG.

The pulses s and s'are the pulse amplifier 1 respectively.
It is amplified by 11a and 111b, and becomes pulses t and t'as shown in FIG. 7 (b). The voltage of the pulses t and t'is about the voltage VM of the variable voltage source 10.

The pulses t and t'are the FET 112, respectively.
FET 112a, 1 is input to the gates of a and 112b.
12b switches to the on state. As a result, a current flows through the coils 113a and 113b, and pulse voltages u and u '(voltage VH) as shown in FIG. 7C are generated.

The pulses u and u'are combined by the secondary coil 113c. At this time, by inverting the polarity of the pulse u ', the output pulse of the coil 113c becomes sinusoidal as shown in FIG. 7 (d).

By the way, the shapes of the pulses u and u'are shown in FIG.
The sine wave half-wave as shown in (a) is a prerequisite for the sine wave pulse output. However, if the slew rate of the FET is large with respect to the pulse width determined by the frequency, u,
The shape of u'is trapezoidal as shown in FIG. 8 (b), and if it is small, the voltage does not rise sufficiently as shown in FIG. 8 (c) and the power supply voltage cannot be effectively utilized. Therefore, it can be seen that there is an appropriate slew rate for the frequency f.

The slew rate of the FETs 112a and 112b can be controlled by the voltage of the input pulse t, t'to the gate (generally, the higher the input voltage to the gate, the higher the slew rate).

Here, the voltages of the input pulses t and t'are the variable voltage source 1 which is the power source of the pulse amplifiers 111a and 111b.
As described above, the voltage is about zero VM.

Therefore, by controlling the voltage MV according to the frequency f, even if the frequency of the output pulse is changed, a sine wave pulse whose peak value is the constant voltage value VH can be obtained.

The FETs 112a and 112b may be replaced with transistors. The variable voltage source may supply voltage to each of the two pulse amplifiers independently.

According to this drive circuit, conventionally, the output of the sine function generating circuit using ROM data or the like was used to generate a sine wave pulse, but in this case, the circuit was complicated, A sinusoidal pulse can be generated with a relatively simple circuit.

[0056]

According to the present onset Akira As described above, according to the present invention, ultra
Image storage control means in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the serial by outputting the憶image data to the video signal generating means to generate a freeze image data, even when subjected to freeze ultrasound image to half display of an ultrasound image Can be switched or the image can be rotated, and the operability can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a rotation detection circuit used in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of FIG.

3 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a modified example of the rotation detection circuit of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a second embodiment.

5 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a modified example of the image memory of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a drive circuit that drives an ultrasonic probe.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation of the drive circuit of FIG.

8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the output pulse of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a conventional sector-scanning ultrasonic probe that scans a fan-shaped area.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a conventional radial sector scanning ultrasonic probe that scans a circular area.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of a display device that displays an ultrasonic image in a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic device.

12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a first action of the ultrasonic probe of the radial sector scanning ultrasonic probe of FIG.

13 is an explanatory view illustrating a second action of the ultrasonic probe of the radial sector scanning ultrasonic probe of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... A / D converter 12 ... Line memory 13 ... Interpolation circuit 14 ... Clock generation circuit A 15 ... Image memory 16 ... Ultrasonic scanning control circuit 17 ... Second image memory 18 ... Write address generation circuit A 19 ... D / A converter 20 ... Clock generation circuit B 21 ... Read address generation circuit B 22 ... Read address generating circuit A 23 ... Coordinate conversion circuit 24 ... Console 25 ... Display control circuit 26. Television scanning control circuit 28 ... Write address generation circuit B

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ultrasonic scanning means for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from a subject to perform ultrasonic ultrasonic scanning in polar coordinates, and an A / D converter for converting an ultrasonic signal received by the ultrasonic scanning means into a digital signal. If, on the basis of the digital signal from the a / D converter, an image generating means for generating an ultrasound image, an auxiliary image storage means for storing image data of at least one screen of the ultrasound image, wherein The image data read from the auxiliary image storage means
The coordinate conversion means capable of performing coordinate conversion and the type of coordinate conversion performed by the coordinate conversion means can be operated.
And an instruction means for instructing by means of, and the coordinate transformation provided in the latter stage of the auxiliary image storage means.
Variable for storing the image data coordinate transformation by means
Replacement image storage means and the auxiliary image storage means for generating a freeze image
The ultrasonic image is stored in, and the coordinate-converted image data is coordinate-converted in accordance with an instruction from the instruction means.
An image storage control means for storing in said converted image storage means as an image which is, that and a video signal generating means for generating a video signal by the image data to which the auxiliary image storage unit or the converted image storage means for storing An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by: 2. The type of coordinate transformation instructed by the instructing means is an instruction for half-circle display of an image or rotation of an image based on image data read from the auxiliary image storage means. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1. Wherein the image storage control means, the variable image data converted the coordinates in accordance with an instruction of the instruction means <br/>
Address for setting the write address for the conversion image storage means
3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a space setting means.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus described.