| 摘要 |
Provided is a device for continuously measuring the diameter of a blood vessel in a living body, which can measure the diameter of a blood vessel continuously even when a body motion occurs. The displacement of feature point regions (R), which are located respectively around the multiple feature points (P), among short axis images that are produced repeatedly on the basis of ultrasonic echo signals is determined sequentially by pattern matching, the amount of the change in diameter of a blood vessel (12) is calculated sequentially from the displacement of the multiple feature point regions (R), and the time-series change in diameter of the blood vessel is measured on the basis of the amount of the change in diameter of the blood vessel (12). Thus, the time-series change in diameter of a blood vessel in a living body can be determined from short axis images that are hardly affected by the displacement of an ultrasonic sensor upon the occurrence of a body motion or the like. |
