Since a thrombus induced in a blood vessel in a living body causes to lose fluidity of blood, disturbs blood stream and plugs the blood vessel, the thrombus is one cause for diseases such as vasculopathy. It is said that brain infarction, which is one brain vasculopathy, is primarily caused through embolization of a blood vessel in a brain by a thrombus.
Accordingly, it is understood that an onset of diseases can be suppressed by detecting the thrombus in the blood vessel and by removing the same. For this purpose, JP-A-2001-327495 proposes an ultrasonic wave device, which is constituted so as to specify a thrombus (embolization) portion in a brain blood vessel by making use of an image taking ultrasonic wave device and to perform treatment by irradiating treatment use ultrasonic wave to the thrombus (embolization) portion to dissolve the same. In the ultrasonic wave device disclosed in the document, such as position and size of the thrombus (embolization) portion induced in the brain blood vessel are grasped by making use of the image taking use ultrasonic waves, and the dissolve treatment use ultrasonic waves are accurately irradiated to the thrombus (embolization) portion.
Now, the brain infarction includes such as lacuna infarction, atheroma thrombus infarction and cardiogenic cerebral embolism. The lacuna infarction is one, in which a fine artery in a brain is damaged due to high blood pressure and plugged thereby to form a small infarction nest at a deep portion in the brain. The atheroma thrombus infarction is one, which is caused by narrowing such as an artery at the neck and a comparatively large artery in the skull due to hardening (atheroma hardening) the artery where a thrombus is induced to plug the same completely or the thrombus thus induced peels off and flows out to plug the downstream thereof. The cardiogenic cerebral embolism is one, which is caused when a thrombus induced in a heart is peeled off and flows into an artery in the brain. Further, a cause for vasculopathy can be induced after when an operation such as in obstetrics and gynecology field and in hypogastrium and pelvic, a thrombus is induced and a part of the thrombus is peeled off and flows into an artery.
In the ultrasonic wave device as disclosed in the above referred to JP-A-2001-327495, although it is possible to observe the embolization portion already formed in a blood vessel and to treat the same, it is impossible to find out in advance a thrombus flowing through a blood vessel, which will be a cause for disease and to dissolve and remove the same.
An object of the present invention is to provide a thrombus detecting apparatus, which permits to detect a thrombus, a possible cause of disease, flowing through a blood vessel and a method therefor.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a thrombus treating apparatus, which permits to detect a thrombus, a possible cause of disease, flowing through a blood vessel and to dissolve and remove the same and a method therefor.