PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To determine a blood vessel position from a probe scanning range with less processing load.SOLUTION: In ultrasound measurement, since the blood vessels always move in accordance with the pulsation, changes in signal intensities of reflection signals on a scanning line including an anterior wall and a posterior wall of a blood vessel are larger than those of non-vascular living body tissue. Thus each time a reflection wave signal of adjacent two frames is obtained for each ultrasound transducer, a signal intensity difference is calculated for each depth, and the sum of signal intensity differences throughout the entire depth is integrated for a predetermined period of time for each ultrasound transducer. The peak value of a histogram representing the integrated values of signal intensity differences is searched for, and the ultrasound transducer corresponding to the peak value is determined as the "ultrasound transducer directly above the blood vessel."COPYRIGHT: (C)2015,JPO&INPIT【課題】より少ない処理負荷でプローブ走査範囲内から血管位置を判定する。【解決手段】超音波測定では、血管は拍動に伴って常に動くので血管の前壁と後壁を含む走査線上の反射信号の信号強度変化は、血管以外の生体組織のそれにくらべて大きくなる。よって、超音波振動子別に、隣接する2フレーム分の反射波信号が得られる都度、深さ別に信号強度差を算出し、全深さの信号強度差の合計を超音波振動子別に所定時間分積算する。信号強度差の積算値を現わすヒストグラムのピーク値を検索し、ピーク値に対応する超音波振動子を「血管直上にある超音波振動子」として判定する。【選択図】図4
