Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, image processing apparatus, and image processing method

摘要

An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment includes a transmitter/receiver (11), a signal processor (12), and an image generator (13). The transmitter/receiver (11) causes an ultrasonic probe to transmit on each scanning line at least three ultrasonic pulses, the three ultrasonic pulses being: a first ultrasonic pulse including at least one frequency component and being transmitted with a first phase; a second ultrasonic pulse including the frequency component and being transmitted with a second phase different from the first phase by 180 degrees; and a third ultrasonic pulse including the frequency component and being transmitted with a third phase different from the first phase and the second phase by 90 degrees. The transmitter/receiver (11) further generates a plurality of reception signals corresponding to the respective ultrasonic pulses. The signal processor (12) combines the plurality of the reception signals and generates a composite signal whereby a fundamental wave component and a low-frequency component generated by a second-order nonlinear phenomenon are removed from the plurality of the reception signals. The image generator (13) generates ultrasonic image data based on the composite signal.