JPH06125902A - Ultrasonic imaging device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Object] The present invention, when the BDF mode, the PWD mode, the SCW mode, or the like is designated, sets the initial position such as the region of interest or the designated direction as the position where the flow velocity of blood or the like is maximum. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic imaging apparatus that can improve the operability by doing so. According to another aspect of the invention, an ultrasonic imaging apparatus sets a setting unit that sets a specific region or position within the visual field range of the probe, and an observation image corresponding to the specific region or position set by the setting unit. It is configured to include a display unit for displaying on the display screen and a control unit for controlling the setting unit according to a value relating to the flow velocity of ultrasonic information obtained in advance.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic imaging device,
In particular, the present invention relates to an ultrasonic imaging apparatus that improves operability when acquiring data at a position where the flow velocity of blood or the like is maximum.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various ultrasonic imaging devices for nondestructively observing the inside of an object have been developed and put into practical use. As the ultrasonic imaging apparatus, for example, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that injects an ultrasonic wave having a frequency of several to several tens MHz into a subject and mainly forms and displays an image by using a reflected wave of the incident ultrasonic wave. There is. In addition, as a method of displaying a captured image in such an ultrasonic imaging apparatus, various forms are provided according to the purpose of use.

For example, when an ultrasonic beam is incident on a subject,
The line in the incident direction is used as an axis that is equivalent to the propagation time, and display is performed according to the echo intensity on this axis, and this axis is moved in correspondence with the scanning of the ultrasonic beam to display an image of the cross section of the subject. Mode (hereinafter simply referred to as B mode)
There is a mode (hereinafter abbreviated as BDF mode) to which a color flow mapping (hereinafter, also simply referred to as CFM) method that two-dimensionally displays the flow velocity of blood or the like in a blood vessel is applied.
In this BDF mode, a portion to which the color flow mapping method is applied is set as a region of interest (ROI) with a trackball or the like.

Further, among the one-point Doppler which captures the flow velocity at a specific point from the Doppler information at the specific point, a pulse Doppler (hereinafter referred to as a pulse Doppler) which repeatedly emits an ultrasonic pulse from a transducer and obtains the flow velocity from the phase difference between the reflected waves at the specific point. ,
There is a mode called PWD). In this PWD mode, the position of a specific point where the Doppler signal is taken is designated by a sampling volume or the like.

Further, the steering function is applied to the above-mentioned one-point Doppler to a continuous wave Doppler (hereinafter, referred to as CWD) for measuring the maximum on-axis velocity of an ultrasonic beam incident on a subject (hereinafter, also simply referred to as SCW). ) There is a mode. In this SCW mode, when obtaining the maximum flow velocity in a desired direction, the direction is designated by a sampling volume or the like.

Further, in the BDF mode, PWD mode, SCW mode, etc., these BDF modes,
Conventionally, when the PWD mode, the SCW mode, or the like is designated, the region of interest, the designated direction, or the like is initially set in the center of the screen as its initial setting.

[0007]

However, when the subject is, for example, a human body, the blood vessel is rarely always located at the center of the screen obtained by arbitrary imaging, and therefore the BDF is small.
When the mode, PWD mode, SCW mode, etc. are designated, the region of interest, the designated direction, etc. must be moved by the trackball or sample volume from the initial position to the target position, and quick measurement is required. Not only can it not be started, but these operations are cumbersome.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and when the BDF mode, the PWD mode, the SCW mode, or the like is designated, the initial position such as the region of interest or the designated direction is set such that the flow velocity of blood or the like is maximum. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic imaging apparatus capable of quickly starting measurement by setting the position to a certain position, thereby improving operability.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention emits ultrasonic waves from a probe toward a subject, and the subject image is obtained based on ultrasonic information obtained through the subject. In an ultrasonic imaging apparatus for displaying on a display screen, a setting means for setting a specific area or position from within the visual field range of the probe, and an observation image corresponding to the specific area or position set by this setting means. The gist is to have a display means for displaying on the display screen and a control means for controlling the setting means according to a value relating to the flow velocity of ultrasonic information obtained in advance.

[0010]

The ultrasonic imaging apparatus of the present invention emits ultrasonic waves from the probe toward the subject and displays the subject image on the display screen based on the ultrasonic information obtained through the subject. In addition, the specific area or position set within the visual field range of the probe by the setting means is controlled according to the value relating to the flow velocity of the ultrasonic information obtained in advance, and the display means corresponds to this specific area or position. Display the observed image on the display screen.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, a schematic configuration of an ultrasonic imaging apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

In FIG. 3, a probe 11 makes an ultrasonic beam incident on a subject in response to a signal from an electronic sector transmission / reception system 13, and at the same time, obtains ultrasonic information obtained through the subject, particularly the inside of the subject. It receives an ultrasonic echo reflected by, and is, for example, a convex type in which a body surface contact surface used in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus or the like is curved in a convex shape and has a wide visual field range.

The 1-point Doppler system 15 has two systems of pulse Doppler and continuous wave Doppler, and also includes a mixer, a low pass filter and an FFT section 17. The FFT unit 17 includes two systems of sample and hold circuits, a bandpass filter circuit, an A / D conversion unit, and an FFT (Fa).
st Fourier Transform
n; fast Fourier transform) circuit, A / D-converts the Doppler signal input from the electronic sector transmission / reception system through a low-pass filter, and performs real-time analysis by frequency analysis by the fast Fourier transform to obtain a spectrum signal. DSC1
Output to 9.

DSC (Digital Scan Co)
(nverter) 19 A / D converts an echo signal of an analog signal input from a log amplifier (not shown) into a digital signal, writes the digital echo signal in a digital memory in XY coordinates, and then writes in the digital memory. The data written in the XY coordinates is read by standard TV scanning. Further, the color processing unit 21 and D
The data read from the digital memory via the / A converter 23 is D / A converted into an analog signal, which is output to the color monitor 1 for display. In addition to the CRT, an appropriate display device is used for the color monitor 1. Further, the image data output from the D / A converter 23 is recorded in the VTR 25.

CFM (color flow mapping) system 31
Is composed of a low-pass filter and an MTI calculator 33.
The MTI calculation unit 33 includes an A / D conversion unit, an MTI filter, an autocorrelator, an average velocity calculation unit, a dispersion calculation unit, a power calculation unit, and the like, and a moving target indicator (hereinafter, simply referred to as a radar technology). The technique called MTI) is used to map the two-dimensional fluid spread in real time and perform calculations to grade the flow velocity or intensity of reflected power by color.

Further, a track ball (not shown) is used for designating a position on the display screen by moving the cursor or the like on the screen by manually rotating the ball provided so as to project on the upper surface of the device. It is a pointing device similar to a sampling volume.

Further, a position calculation unit is connected to the trackball and pointing device, and position information for moving a cursor or the like on the screen is calculated based on relative coordinates input from the connected trackball. Then
Alternatively, as will be described later, in order to set the observation range in the visual field range of the probe 11, position information at the time of rotational movement of the fan-shaped observation image about the scan marker as a center is calculated.

First, the case of the BDF mode in which the color flow mapping (CFM) method is applied to the B mode will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1A shows an initial screen when the BDF mode is set. In this case, the imaging area 3 is displayed on the color monitor 1, and the predetermined area in the imaging area 3 whose position can be arbitrarily set is the area of interest 5a.
Is displayed in color. Further, in this embodiment, the maximum flow velocity region 7 is displayed in the region of interest 5a as a region where the flow velocity of blood in the blood vessel is maximum.

That is, in the initial screen of the conventional apparatus, since the region of interest 5 is displayed as the region 5b at the center position of the color monitor 1 shown by the dotted line, the operator changes the region of interest 5 into It was necessary to move to the ROI 5a, which is the display area of the ROI of this embodiment, using a trackball or the like (not shown). Therefore, in the present embodiment, the region of interest 5a is set in the maximum flow velocity region 7 from the state of the initial screen.
Is set to improve the operability.

FIG. 1B shows an observed image in which the region of interest 5a in the imaged region 3 displayed in the BDF mode is enlarged and displayed. That is, in the case of this embodiment, the region of interest 5a constitutes a setting means for setting the region to be enlarged and displayed.

Next, the case of the pulse Doppler (PWD) mode will be described with reference to FIG. Figure 2 (a) shows
An initial screen when this PWD mode is set is shown. In this case, the image pickup area 3 is displayed on the color monitor 1, and a line segment in the image pickup area 3 whose position and direction can be arbitrarily set is displayed as the position designation line 9. Further, in the present embodiment, the position designation line 9 is displayed so as to cross the maximum flow velocity region 7 as a region where the blood flow velocity in the blood vessel is the maximum, and the position designation mark 9a on the position designation line 9 is also displayed. It is displayed in a superimposed manner on the maximum flow velocity area 7.

Conventionally, the position specifying line 9 is displayed at the position of the line 9b shown by the dotted line in the initial screen, so that the operator specifies the position specifying line 9 on a trackball or a sampling volume not shown. It was necessary to move to a position in the maximum flow velocity region 7 using the above. Therefore, in this embodiment, the operability is improved by setting the position designation line 9 and the position designation mark 9a in the maximum flow velocity region 7 from the state of the initial screen.

FIG. 1B is a pulse Doppler image of the imaging region 3 in the position designation mark 9b on the position designation line 9, that is, the maximum flow velocity region 7 among the imaging regions 3 in the initial screen display state in the PWD mode. The observation image is displayed. That is, in the case of the present embodiment, the position designation line 9 and the position designation mark 9a constitute setting means for setting the display position by pulse Doppler.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, it is assumed that the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of this embodiment is capable of all or at least one of CFM mode, pulse Doppler (PWD) mode, and steerable CW Doppler. In the setting of the region of interest 5a in the CFM mode and the initial setting of the position specifying line 9 and the position specifying mark 9a by the sample position in the PWD and SCW modes of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, any one of the three functions is set to ON. When you do, before the state transition,
A CFM mode scan (CFM scan) is performed for at least one frame, and based on the obtained two-dimensional Doppler information, a color display of the region of interest 5a, or a position designation line 9 and a position designation mark in the PWD and SCW modes. The initial setting position of 9a is determined and displayed. Thereafter, the position of the region of interest 5a, the position designation line 9, and the position designation mark 9a are corrected as necessary. As a result, it becomes possible to perform alignment only by fine adjustment.

Further, in order to remove the influence of noise of the two-dimensional Doppler signal, it is conceivable that the number of frames of CFM scan performed in advance is set to several frames and appropriate processing is performed, and even if it is one frame, It is also possible to perform smoothing processing on the frame to remove the influence of noise.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the CFM or PWD mode is set, scanning is performed in the CFM mode for one frame or several frames to find a point having the maximum flow velocity, and the ROI initial setting position of the CFM is set. Since the position of the sample volume position of the PWD and the PWD is automatically brought to that point, the usability regarding the position setting of the trackball, the sample volume, etc. is improved.

Further, the following secondary effects can be obtained from the above. First, since the labor for adjusting the ROI in the CFM mode and the sample volume in the PWD mode is reduced, the clinical examination time is shortened and the burden on the operator can be reduced.

[0028]

As described above, according to the ultrasonic imaging apparatus of the present invention, a specific area or position set within the visual field range of the probe by the setting means is a value related to the flow velocity of ultrasonic information obtained in advance. Since the observation image corresponding to this specific area or position is displayed on the display screen by the display means, for example, BDF mode, PWD
When the mode and SCW mode etc. are specified, the measurement can be started quickly by setting the initial position of the region of interest or the specified direction to the position where the flow velocity of blood etc. is the maximum, thereby improving the operability. Can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a display state according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a shape of an operation unit in the embodiment shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the display state which concerns on this invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Color Monitor 3 Imaging Area 5 Region of Interest 7 Maximum Velocity Area 9 Position Designation Line 11 Probe 13 Electronic Sector Transmission / Reception System 15 1 Point Doppler System 17 FFT Section 19 DSC 21 Color Processing Section 23 D / A Conversion Section 25 VTR 31 CFM System 33 MTI calculator

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ultrasonic imaging apparatus for emitting ultrasonic waves from a probe toward a subject and displaying a subject image on a display screen based on ultrasonic information obtained through the subject, wherein the probe Setting means for setting a specific area or position from within the visual field range, display means for displaying an observation image corresponding to the specific area or position set by the setting means on the display screen, and ultrasonic waves previously obtained An ultrasonic imaging apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls the setting unit according to a value related to a flow velocity of information.