PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To measure a value related to the speed of a shear wave in a biological tissue with high accuracy.SOLUTION: An ultrasonic diagnostic device irradiates each of a plurality of excitation points Si defined in a subject 14 with a pressurization ultrasonic wave individually and excites a shear wave from each excitation point Si. As well as irradiation of the ultrasonic wave to each excitation point Si, the ultrasonic diagnostic device sequentially acquires tomographic frame data expressing a tomographic image with the lapse of time with transmission and reception of the ultrasonic wave for tomographic image measurement. The ultrasonic diagnostic device also measures displacement based on the shear wave on the basis of the plurality of sequentially-acquired pieces of tomographic frame data for each of the plurality of measurement points Mj defined in the subject 14. The ultrasonic diagnostic device obtains response characteristics expressing the relation between the shear wave excited at each excitation point Si and the displacement measured at each measurement point Mj, and obtains the distribution of elastic moduli in the biological tissue of the subject 14 by using the response characteristics.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2COPYRIGHT: (C)2016,JPO&INPIT【課題】生体組織における剪断波の速度に関する値を高精度で測定することを目的とする。【解決手段】超音波診断装置は、被検体14内に定められた複数の加振点Siのそれぞれに、加圧用超音波を個別に照射して、各加振点Siから剪断波を励振する。各加振点Siに対する超音波の照射と共に、超音波診断装置は、断層像測定用の超音波の送受信によって、断層像を表す断層フレームデータを時間経過と共に順次取得する。さらに、超音波診断装置は、被検体14内に定められた複数の測定点Mjのそれぞれについて、時系列順に取得された複数の断層フレームデータに基づいて、剪断波に基づく変位を測定する。超音波診断装置は、各加振点Siで励振された剪断波と、各測定点Mjで測定された変位との関係を表す応答特性を求め、この応答特性を用いて被検体14の生体組織における弾性率の分布を求める。【選択図】図2
