JPH0249645A - Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform the gain control of a receiver with good reproducibility by comparing the output data of a gain controller selected by a selection means with the control data concerned in a data setting means to control the output data of the gain controller so as to match the values thereof with each other. CONSTITUTION:When a switch S-1 is set, the output data of each gain controller is successively selected by a selection means 4 to be stored in a data setting means 5 as control data. When a switch S-2 is preset, the output data of the gain controller selected by the selection means 4 is compared with the control data concerned stored in the data setting means 5 and the motor of the gain controller concerned is driven by the output of a control means 6 to match the output of a potentiometer with the control data. When a patient number is used in the address of the memory 10 relating to the selection means 4, the output data of each gain controller is automatically matched with the control data of the patient concerned and an ultrasonic image of good quality can be displayed.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is applicable to ultrasonic diagnosis in which, for example, ultrasonic waves are emitted into the inside of a subject and reflected signals from tissues and tissue boundaries of internal organs are received and displayed as images. The present invention relates to automatic setting of the gain of a receiving gain controller that is compatible with a device, particularly a subject.

[Conventional technology] Ultrasonic waves are emitted into the inside of a living body, and ultrasonic diagnostic images are displayed by receiving ultrasound reflection signals from the tissues and tissue boundaries of various organs within the living body, and the shape, size, and size of each organ are displayed. In medical diagnosis of tissue changes, attenuation and scattering of ultrasonic waves occur in in-vivo tissues, and in particular, attenuation during ultrasound propagation by in-vivo tissues depends on its frequency.
As the propagation distance increases, the attenuation of the high-frequency valve of the ultrasonic pulse becomes significant, and the center frequency of the received signal shifts to a lower frequency region. Furthermore, the attenuation coefficient α of ultrasound waves in living tissue is proportional to the frequency.

α=α0・F α0: Constant, F: Frequency When human beings are usually used as subjects, the basic structure of the in-vivo tissue is the same, but since the size and weight of the living body differs depending on the individual, organs and tissues The dimensions are also different. However, since the tissue in the living body is composed of various tissues, the speed of sound in the living body is not uniform.When passing through the tissue, waves with various phases are generated, and depending on the frequency, the received wave width becomes smaller and there is an apparent attenuation. growing.

Therefore, as the propagation distance increases, the reflected signal from deep inside the body will be attenuated significantly. Therefore, in order to make the receiver output signal level uniform, a logarithmic amplifier is used to compress the dynamic range of the input signal and the detected logarithm is For video signals, the effective range in which ultrasonic waves propagate is divided into short range and long range, and gain controllers for short range, long range, and total are provided for each division.

Figure 5 shows an example of reception gain control characteristics. For short-range echoes, the short-range gain controller suppresses the reception gain. For long-distance echoes, the gain increases as the distance increases.■ Correction function A waveform is added to the logarithmic video signal to provide receiver gain control to compensate for ultrasound attenuation.

Since the attenuation of ultrasonic waves in various parts of the body differs depending on the individual patient, when performing an in-vivo examination, each control unit is manually adjusted in advance based on patient-specific data.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The conventional ultrasound diagnostic apparatus is configured as described above, and the reception gain characteristics of the receiver are adjusted to the size and weight of the living body as the subject so that the ultrasound diagnostic image is clearly displayed. , and each gain controller is therefore individually adjusted for each patient.

That is, the ultrasound diagnostic device is used to diagnose multiple patients,
The near-range gain controller, the far-range gain controller, and the overall gain controller are each manually adjusted to a predetermined control position for each patient based on patient data.

However, since each gain controller is adjusted by interacting with each other, adjustment is complicated and time-consuming, and diagnostic efficiency deteriorates.Also, the control data is different each time manual adjustment is performed, and it is difficult to make adjustments for the same patient. There was a problem that it could not be done uniformly and reproducibility deteriorated.

This invention was made to solve this problem, and by specifying a patient number, each of the short-range, long-range, and general gain controllers can be set to a predetermined gain based on control data set in advance. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that is automatically set to a control position and can perform receiver gain control with good reproducibility.

[Means for Solving the Problem] The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to this invention includes a selection means for sequentially selecting gain controllers, and quantized output data of the gain controller output is stored in a memory as predetermined control data. and control means for comparing the gain controller output data selected by the selection means with the control data in the data setting means and controlling the gain controller output data so that the values match. It is something.

[Operation] In the present invention, the selection means for selecting a predetermined gain controller, the data setting means for storing control data, and the output data of the selected gain controller and the control data are compared to match the two data. Since a control means for performing this is provided, the control data for each patient is stored in the memory by the data setting means by the set operation.

When medically diagnosing a patient using an ultrasound diagnostic device, specifying the patient number, etc., and performing a preset operation will automatically set the short-range, long-range, and general gain controllers based on the patient's control data. Since the receiver gain is controlled by these gain controllers, it is possible to display high quality images with good reproducibility.

Therefore, medical diagnosis of each patient can be performed quickly, accurately, and efficiently with simple operations.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a short-range gain controller including a potentiometer that outputs a short-range gain control signal and a motor that drives the potentiometer; 2 is a long-range gain controller that has a potentiometer that outputs a long-range gain control signal and a motor that drives it; 3 is a total gain controller that has a potentiometer that outputs an overall gain control signal and a motor that drives it. controller; 4 is selection means for switching between various gain controllers; 5;
6 is a data setting means for storing reception gain control data for each patient, and 6 is an input of the control data from the data setting means 5 and the output data of the gain controller selected by the selection means 4, which are compared and controlled. Control means 15 indicates a receiver.

In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus configured as described above, when the switch S-1 is set, each gain controller output data is sequentially selected by the selection means 4 and stored in the data setting means 5 as control data. When the switch S-2 is set to preset, the gain controller output data selected by the selection means 4 is compared with the control data stored in the data setting means 5, and the motor of the gain controller is controlled by the output of the control means 6. The driven potentiometer output is aligned with control data.

Similarly, other gain controllers are sequentially matched with control data.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of essential parts showing an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1.2.3.15 and S-1 are the same as those in the above embodiment, and 7-1.7-2. 7-3 is an A/D circuit for quantizing the gain controller output, 8 is an input/output circuit, 9 is a central processing unit, 1o is a memory for storing gain controller output data as control data, and 11 is a calculation standard. 12 is a keyboard interface that outputs gain controller selection and various control commands; 13
is a set key, 14 is a preset key, S-2-1, S
-2-2, S-2-3 are switches that control rotation/stop of the motor attached to the gain controller, S-3-1, S-3-2,
S-3-3 indicates a switch for controlling the rotational direction of the motor attached to the gain controller.

Regarding the short-range gain controller 1, when the switch S-2-1 associated with the selection means 4 is closed and the set key 12 is operated, the potentiometer output of the short-range gain controller 1 is connected to the A/D circuit via the keyboard interface 12. The signal is quantized at 7-1 and applied to the central processing unit via the input/output circuit 8. On the other hand, a memory 10 for storing control data is connected to the central processing unit 9, and the output data of the short-range gain controller 1 is stored as control data in the memory 10 by the data setting means 5 of the central processing unit 9, and the reception gain is Treated as reference data for control.

Similarly, the switches S-2-2 and S-2- of the selection means 4
3 are sequentially selected, the output data of the long-range gain controller 2 and the comprehensive gain controller 3 are sequentially stored in the memory 10 by the data setting means 5, and all the control data of the object is stored in the data setting means 5. Ru.

Next, when the switch S-2-1 related to the selection means 4 is closed and the preset key 14 is operated, the potentiometer output of the short-range gain controller 1 is transmitted to the A/D circuit 7-1 via the keyboard interface 12. The signal is quantized and applied to the central processing unit 9 via the input/output circuit 8. On the other hand, a memory 10 is connected to the central processing unit 9, and the control data of the gain controller is added to the central processing unit 9, and the control means 6 in the central processing unit 9 switches the switch S-3 according to the polarity of the deviation value of both data.
-1 is switched to control the rotation of the motor and match the potentiometer output data with the control data.

Further, the switches S-2-2 and S-2- of the selection means 4
3 in sequence, and the control means 6 can similarly match the other gain controllers with the control data in sequence.

As mentioned above, each gain controller is set to a predetermined value and
If the control data related to the short-range gain controller 1, the long-range gain controller 2, and the comprehensive gain controller 3 are patient-individual data, and the patient number is used as the address of the memory 10 related to the giant selection means 4, then the patient number The memory 10 is addressed, and by operating the throat key 14, the selection means 4 and control means 6 automatically match the output data of each gain controller to the control data of the patient concerned.

By simply operating the probe, ultrasound diagnostic equipment can obtain reflected echoes that compensate for propagation loss from deep within the body using a predetermined receiver gain from short to long distances, and can display high-quality ultrasound images. .

FIG. 3 is an example of a flowchart showing a set operation, and ■ is a potentiometer output of a gain controller selected by the selection means 4 by operating the set key 13, and is quantized and stored in the memory 10 as control data by the data setting means 5. is stored in

FIG. 4 is an example of a flowchart showing the preset operation.
(2) is controlled by six control means by comparing the quantized output data of the potentiometer of the gain controller selected by the selection means 4 by operating the preset key 14 and the control data by the data setting means 5. . (2) compares the output data of the gain controller with the control data; (2) stops the motor when the output data of the gain controller becomes equal to the control data;

As described above, by operating the set key 13, control data for each gain controller is sequentially selected via the selection means 4, and stored in the memory 10 by the data setting means 5. Also, by operating the preset key 14, each gain controller is selected by the selection means 4.
and are automatically matched to the control data in the memory 10 by the control means 6.

Therefore, by selecting a patient number applied to an address in memory 10, the receiver gain control of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus is automatically set to a predetermined value in designation of the patient number.

The present invention is not limited to the short-range, long-range, and overall gain controllers, but the near-field gain controller and the long-range gain controller can each be further divided into multiple stages to perform fine gain correction. It can also be easily implemented.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention has a simple structure that includes a gain controller selection means, a data setting means, and a control means for automatically controlling the gain of the gain controller. The short-range, long-range, and total gain controller output data as reception gain control data are sequentially stored in the memory using the patient number as an address by the data setting means. When a patient number is designated and a preset key is operated, the control data for the patient stored in the memory is selected sequentially by the selection means and automatically matched with the output data of each gain controller by the control means. Near field, far field and total gain controllers are automatically set to gain control data. Therefore, high-quality image display with excellent reproducibility can be obtained using a patient-specific reception gain.

Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment has the advantage of being able to quickly, accurately, and efficiently perform medical diagnosis for each patient through simple operation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the overall configuration showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of main parts showing an embodiment of the present invention,
Figure 3 is an example of a flowchart showing the set operation;
The figure is an example of a flowchart showing the reset operation, and FIG. 5 is an example of reception gain control characteristics. In the figure, 1 is a neighbor separation 1q controller, 2 is a long-range gain controller, 3 is a comprehensive gain controller, 4 is a selection means, 5 is a data setting means, 6 is a control means, 7-1.7-2. 7-3 is an A/D circuit, 8 is an input/output circuit, 9 is a central processing unit, 10
is a memory, 11 is an oscillator, 12 is a keyboard interface, 13 is a set key, 14 is a preset key S-1
, S-2-1, S-2-2, S-2-3 are switches, S
-3-1, S-3-2, and S-3-3 are switched by switch. Note that the same reference numerals in each figure indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (1)

[Claims of Claims] Ultrasonic diagnosis that emits ultrasonic waves into a subject and displays an image of the in-vivo reflection signal whose reception gain is controlled by the outputs of short-range, long-range, and overall gain controllers. In the apparatus, a selection means for sequentially selecting the gain controller; a data setting means for storing quantized output data of the output of the gain controller in a memory as predetermined control data; An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: control means for comparing the output data of the gain controller with the control data obtained by the data setting means and controlling the output data of the gain controller so that both data match. .