KR20200042228A - System for measuring properties of soft tissue quantitatively - Google Patents

Abstract

A system for quantitatively measuring the properties of soft tissue according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: an ultrasonic probe that generates ultrasonic waves and receives ultrasonic waves reflected by soft tissue; A coupler located between the main body and the ultrasonic probe and the soft tissue and consisting of a reference material having a known quantitative property value, a coupler detachable at a front end of the ultrasonic probe; A processing unit for comparing and measuring the properties of the soft tissue and the reference material using a modified elastic technique, and calculating the quantitative properties of the soft tissue based on the quantitative properties of the reference material; And an output unit which outputs the quantitative physical property value of the soft tissue in real time. According to the present system, it is possible to quantitatively measure a physical property value of a reference material and display it in real time by comparing a physical property of a reference material having a known quantitative property value and a soft tissue. Since the components of this system are easily compatible with existing ultrasonic measuring equipment, it is possible to quantitatively measure the properties of soft tissues without using expensive equipment, thereby reducing costs.

Description

System for quantitatively measuring the properties of soft tissues {SYSTEM FOR MEASURING PROPERTIES OF SOFT TISSUE QUANTITATIVELY}

The present invention relates to a system for measuring the properties of soft tissues, and more specifically, when measuring the properties of soft tissues using an ultrasonic probe, the soft tissues are compared with a quantitative physical property value of a reference substance attached to the front end of the ultrasonic probe. It relates to a system for quantitatively calculating a property value and outputting it in real time.

[Explanation on national support R & D]

This study was conducted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy under the supervision of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, and supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's Global Midsize Business Development Project (development of a navigation fused head and neck surgical robot system with a matching accuracy of 1 mm or less, task number: 1425117773).

Due to recent developments in medical technology, computed tomography (hereinafter referred to as 'CT' devices), magnetic resonance imaging (hereinafter referred to as 'MRI devices'), fluoroscopy or X-ray Image-guided surgery, which is performed using images of a patient who has already been photographed through imaging, has been widely used. Such a surgical method is used when it is difficult for the operator to directly see the patient's affected area, such as cranial nerve surgery or implant surgery, and surgery must be performed while avoiding major nerves and organs in the patient's body.

When the surgery is performed using a scanned image, the operator undergoes a registration process that accurately matches the coordinates of the patient's actual body part and the scanned image coordinates of the patient, which is previously photographed, so that the operator is as if the patient's body is As seen in real time, surgery can be performed while viewing the pre-imaged scanning image on a monitor.

Excessive incision or a large amount of X-ray exposure that occurs during image-guided surgery can cause serious side effects to the patient. In order to perform surgery with a non-invasive or small amount of incision, or to reduce X-ray exposure, improved imaging Image registration technology is required.

In order to develop image matching technology, a 'Dynamic Biomechanics Model' is needed to explain the mechanical principles of body organs and tissues, as well as soft tissue as well as hard tissue that can be imaged by CT. The anatomical shape and physical properties of the information are essential.

Among the properties of soft tissues, the technology for measuring hardness, that is, the degree of hardness, has high medical utility. Typical ultrasonic detection equipment can detect lesions by measuring the relative hardness of internal tissues of the body using strain elastography. For example, the hardness of the measurement site is represented in RGB color, so that the medical operator can intuitively find the patient's abnormal area.

However, in the conventional technique, the relative hardness of the soft tissue region can be expressed in RGB color, and the hardness of the target material is numerically displayed or quantitative physical property information such as Young's modulus is not known. There were limits.

Recently, shear wave elastography ultrasound imaging technology has been introduced to quantitatively quantify the degree of stiffness of soft tissues.However, for this, expensive equipment is required separately, and it is not economical because it is not compatible with existing ultrasonic detection equipment. There was a problem.

 Reliability and Validity of Quantifying Absolute Muscle Hardness Using Ultrasound Elastography

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a physical property measurement system capable of calculating a quantitative physical property value of a soft tissue in real time through comparative measurement with a reference material having a quantitative physical property value in a general ultrasonic detection system. .

A system for quantitatively measuring the properties of soft tissue according to an embodiment for solving the problems of the present invention includes: an ultrasonic probe that generates ultrasonic waves and receives ultrasonic waves reflected by soft tissue; A coupler located between the main body and the ultrasonic probe and the soft tissue and consisting of a reference material having a known quantitative property value, a coupler detachable at a front end of the ultrasonic probe; A processing unit for comparing and measuring the physical properties of the soft tissue and the reference material using a modified elastic technique, and calculating the quantitative physical property values of the soft tissue based on the quantitative physical property values of the reference material; And an output unit which outputs the quantitative physical property value of the soft tissue in real time.

In one embodiment, the coupler, further comprising a pressure sensor for measuring the pressure applied to the front end of the ultrasonic probe, the processing unit, based on the pressure measured by the pressure sensor, the quantitative property value of the soft tissue By adjusting, the influence of irregular pressure can be reduced.

In one embodiment, the system further includes a control unit for controlling the operation of the ultrasonic probe, the control unit, based on the pressure measured by the pressure sensor to control the ultrasonic probe to operate while maintaining a constant pressure You can.

In one embodiment, the reference material may include a stacked structure of a first material having a known physical property value, and a second material having a different physical property value from the first material.

In one embodiment, the first material may have a lower hardness than the soft tissue, and the second material may have a higher hardness than the first material.

In one embodiment, the physical property values of the reference material and the soft tissue may include shape parameters or Young's modulus of the reference material and the soft tissue.

A method for quantitatively measuring the properties of soft tissue according to an embodiment is performed by a processor, and analyzing the ultrasonic waves reflected by the soft tissue to measure the properties of the soft tissue; Measuring the physical properties of the reference material by analyzing ultrasonic waves reflected by the reference material; Comparing the physical properties of the soft tissue and the reference material; Calculating a quantitative property value of the soft tissue based on the comparison result and a known quantitative property value of the reference material; And transmitting a quantitative physical property value of the soft tissue to an output unit.

In one embodiment, based on the pressure applied to the front end of the ultrasonic probe received from the pressure sensor, may further include the step of adjusting the quantitative property value of the soft tissue.

A computer program stored in a computer-readable recording medium for performing a property measurement method according to an embodiment may be provided.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a physical property value of a reference material is quantitatively measured and displayed in real time by comparing a physical property of a reference material having a known quantitative property value and a soft tissue measured using strain elastography. have.

Since the components of the system according to the embodiment are easily compatible with existing ultrasonic measuring equipment, it is possible to quantitatively measure the properties of soft tissue without using expensive equipment, thereby reducing costs.

1 shows outputting a quantitative physical property value of a soft tissue using a soft tissue physical property measurement system according to an embodiment.
2 is a view showing a soft tissue property measurement system according to an embodiment.
3 is a view showing an ultrasonic probe and a coupler according to an embodiment.
4 is a view showing a soft tissue property measurement system further comprising a robot-arm according to an embodiment.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for measuring soft tissue properties according to an embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and the contents described in the accompanying drawings, but the scope to be claimed is not limited or limited by the embodiments.

The terminology used in the present specification has been selected as a general terminology that is currently widely used while considering functions, but this may be changed according to intentions or customs of a person skilled in the art or the appearance of new technologies. Also, in certain cases, some terms are arbitrarily selected by the applicant, and in this case, their meanings will be described in the description of the corresponding specification. Therefore, the terms used in the present specification are intended to clarify that the terms should be interpreted based on the actual meaning of the terms and the contents of the present specification, not simply the names of the terms.

In addition, the embodiments described herein can have aspects that are entirely hardware, partly hardware and partly software, or entirely software. In this specification, "unit (unit)", "module (module)", "device (device)", "server (server)" or "system (system)", such as hardware, a combination of hardware and software, or software Refers to a computer related entity. For example, a part, module, device, server, or system may refer to software, such as hardware constituting part or all of a platform and / or applications for driving the hardware.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

1 shows a screen for outputting a quantitative physical property value of a soft tissue measured according to an embodiment.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the relative hardness of the soft tissue is expressed in RGB colors using strain elastography. Deformation elasticity technique is a technique that measures the difference in length between when the biological tissue is pressed and when it is not pressed, by correlating it with the RF echo signal, and shows the hardness of the soft tissue as an elastic image expressed in RGB color. In other words, the hardness of the soft tissue is measured by analyzing changes in the waveform of the ultrasound waves output from the ultrasound probe and the ultrasound waves reflected by the soft tissue. The measured hardness is displayed in RGB color on the display according to the degree of rigidity, and the color changes from red to blue as it goes from soft to hard. That is, since the color is differently displayed on the output part according to the hardness of the measurement object, the medical practitioner can recognize that a lesion exists in a region where colors are different from other tissues.

The conventional ultrasonic detection device measures the hardness of the soft tissue in the above manner, but can only know the relative hardness of the tissue site, and it is not possible to figure out the hardness or quantify the physical properties such as shape parameters or Young's modulus. . Recently, with the introduction of shear wave elastography ultrasound imaging technology, it has been possible to quantitatively quantify the degree of stiffness of soft tissues.However, for this, an expensive separate equipment is required, and the general ultrasonic probe device quantitatively measures the physical properties. It could not be measured.

Accordingly, an embodiment of the present invention is compatible with a conventional ultrasonic detection system, and intends to provide a property measurement system capable of real-time calculating a quantitative property value of soft tissue through comparative measurement with a reference material having a quantitative property value. .

2 shows a physical property measurement system according to an embodiment. The system 10 for quantitatively measuring the properties of soft tissue includes an ultrasonic probe 100, a coupler 200 detachably attached to the front end of the ultrasonic probe, a processing unit 300 for calculating quantitative properties of soft tissue, and measured It includes an output unit 400 for outputting the property value in real time.

The ultrasonic probe 100 includes a transducer that generates ultrasonic waves and a sensor that receives reflected ultrasonic waves, and may include other components for converting the received reflected wave into an electrical signal and transmitting it to the processing unit 300.

The coupler 200 is a member detachable from the front end of the ultrasonic probe 100. Referring to FIG. 3, the coupler 200 may include a main body 210, a reference material 220, and a pressure sensor 230. The body 210 may be custom-made to be coupled to the front end (the portion where the ultrasonic waves are output) of the ultrasonic probe 100, and the pressure sensor 230 and the measured pressure may be converted into electrical signals according to an embodiment. Other components for transmission to the processing unit 300 may be included.

The coupler 200 includes a reference material 220 that is in close contact with the front end of the ultrasonic probe and the body. The reference material 220 has a known quantitative property value, and the property value information is stored in advance in the processing unit 300 and is used to estimate the property value of the soft tissue. The reference material 220 is a soft material having ultrasonic permeability, and may be formed of a tissue-like material composed of, for example, agar, talc, sticky material, gel, etc., but is not limited thereto.

The reference material 220 may be composed of a single material or a multi-layered structure in which a plurality of material layers are stacked. For example, the reference material 220 may be configured as a multi-layer structure in which the first material 220a and the second material 220b, or more materials are stacked, as illustrated in FIG. 3. In this case, it is possible to obtain an accurate reference value compared to the case of using a single material, and to improve stability so that the system can operate even if any one material is damaged in the measurement process. In one embodiment, the first material (220a) has a hardness lower than the soft tissue to be measured, the second material (220b) may have a higher hardness than the first material. For example, the hardness of the GS muscle is about 28-34 kPa, in which case the first material may be selected from materials having a hardness of 7 kPa and the second material 30 kPa.

Hereinafter, a process of calculating a quantitative physical property value of the soft tissue by comparing the physical properties of the reference material 220 and the soft tissue will be described.

The processing unit 300 compares and measures the physical properties of the soft tissue and the reference material, and calculates the quantitative physical property values of the soft tissue based on the quantitative physical property values of the reference material. The processing unit may be a computer device in which hardware and software are combined. The processing unit 300 analyzes information received from the ultrasonic probe 100 (ultrasonic information output from the transducer, reference material, and ultrasonic information reflected by soft tissue, etc.), thereby analyzing the physical properties of the reference material and the soft tissue (eg, material Of hardness). Strain elastography, which is well known in the general ultrasonic measurement field, can be used.

Using this, as shown in FIG. 1, the hardness of the soft tissue to be measured is output in RGB color as in the region A and the hardness of the reference material as in the region B. As described above, the softer the object reflecting the ultrasound, the closer it is to red and the harder it is to blue.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to estimate a quantitative physical property value of the soft tissue by analyzing the color contrast of the output reference material and the soft tissue to be measured. The target range can be designated as a region of interest (ROI) region as shown in FIG. 1, and the user can command to calculate and output soft tissue property information of the region by directly selecting the ROI from the ultrasound analysis image output to the output unit. have.

An example of quantitative property value calculation through color contrast is as follows. When the hardness of the soft tissue to be measured is quantified and expressed as a value of 1 kPa to 10 kPa, the hardness of the known reference material is “2 kPa” and the output color is R: 80, G: 15, B: 5, and the soft tissue is output. From the colors R: 5, G: 15, and B: 80, a numerical comparison of RGB colors may lead to the result that the hardness of the soft tissue is "8 kPa". In the present embodiment, the physical properties were compared and measured through RGB color contrast, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and physical properties may be compared and measured using differences in parameters known by reflected ultrasound of each material.

In addition, the calculated quantitative physical property values may include quantitative parameters indicating physical properties of soft tissues, such as hardness and softness of soft tissues, or shape parameters related to anatomical shape of soft tissues.

In a similar manner, the physical property value of the soft tissue can be estimated by comparing the reference material and the RGB color representing the hardness of the soft tissue. The estimated physical property value is output in real time by the output unit 400.

The output unit 400 outputs the relative hardness of the soft tissue and the reference material in RGB color, and receives quantitative physical property values such as shape parameters or Young's modulus of the soft tissue corresponding to the ROI area from the processing unit 300 and outputs them in real time. The output unit 400 includes a general output device such as an LCD or LED display device.

In one embodiment, the coupler 200 may further include a pressure sensor 230 for measuring the pressure applied to the front end of the ultrasonic probe 100, as shown in FIG. In this case, the processing unit 300 may reduce the influence of the irregular pressure by adjusting the quantitative physical property value of the soft tissue based on the pressure measured by the pressure sensor 230.

For example, when searching using a conventional ultrasonic measuring device, it is important to maintain a constant intensity while keeping the ultrasonic probe in close contact with the patient's body. The measurement result may fluctuate by not sticking.

Pressure sensor according to the embodiment is intended to solve this problem, the pressure sensor 230 inside the coupler 200 measures the pressure applied to the body by the ultrasonic probe 100 and transmits it to the processing unit 300 , The processing unit 300 adjusts the physical property value of the soft tissue output based on the measured pressure. For example, if the pressure increases and the hardness of the soft tissue is measured more firmly, the influence of the irregular pressure exerted by the user can be reduced by adjusting the hardness in proportion to the pressure. As a result, the RGB color is stably output, and accordingly, the physical property value of the soft tissue can also be stably measured.

In one embodiment, the system may further include a control unit 500 that controls the operation of the ultrasonic probe 100. The control unit 500 may control the ultrasonic probe 100 to operate while maintaining a constant pressure based on the pressure measured by the pressure sensor 230. Here, the control unit 500 may include a driving device such as a multi-joint robot arm as shown in FIG. 4.

The conventional ultrasonic measuring device is a method in which a user detects a lesion by directly moving the ultrasonic probe in close contact with the patient's body, but according to this embodiment, the control unit drives the ultrasonic probe while maintaining a constant pressure, so that the physical property value is more stably. Can be measured. The ultrasonic probe and the multi-joint robot arm can be combined as separate devices or can be formed integrally.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for measuring soft tissue properties according to an embodiment. The method according to the embodiment may be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium by being implemented in the form of program instructions that can be implemented as an application or executed through various computer components. The computer-readable recording medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, or the like alone or in combination.

First, a step of measuring the properties of the soft tissue by analyzing the ultrasound waves reflected by the soft tissue (S100), and a step of measuring the properties of the reference material by analyzing the ultrasonic waves reflected by the reference material (S200) are performed. The ultrasonic probe generates ultrasonic waves, receives the ultrasonic waves reflected by the soft tissue and the reference material, and analyzes changes in the waveform to measure each hardness. As described above, strain elastography can be used.

Subsequently, comparing the properties of the soft tissue and the reference material (S300), and calculating the quantitative properties of the soft tissue based on a known quantitative property value of the reference material (S400). The measured physical properties (hardness) are displayed in RGB colors on the display according to the degree of rigidity. Since the system receives and stores quantitative parameter values such as hardness, shape parameter, or Young's modulus of the reference material in advance, it uses this to compare and analyze the RGB output values of the reference material and the soft tissue to be measured to quantitatively evaluate the physical property values of the soft tissue. Can be represented as

In one embodiment, based on the pressure applied to the front end of the ultrasonic probe received from the pressure sensor, the step of adjusting the quantitative property value of the soft tissue (S500) may be further performed. For example, if the pressure increases and the hardness of the soft tissue is measured more firmly, the influence of the irregular pressure exerted by the user can be reduced by adjusting the hardness in proportion to the pressure. As a result, the RGB color is stably output, and accordingly, the physical property value of the soft tissue can also be stably measured.

Subsequently, a step of transmitting the quantitative property value of the soft tissue to the output unit is performed (S600). The user can know in real time the physical property value of the soft tissue of the region of interest (ROI) displayed on the output unit (display). The user can arbitrarily set the region of interest, and if the set region is different from the currently designated region, the steps S300 to S600 are repeated for the region of interest.

The method for measuring physical properties including the steps (S100 to S600) may be stored in the form of program instructions in a computer-readable recording medium. The program instructions are specially designed and configured for the present invention, and may be known and available to those skilled in the computer software field. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes, optical recording media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, and magneto-optical media such as floptical disks. media), and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like.

According to the system for quantitatively measuring the properties of the soft tissue described above, the physical properties of the reference material are compared by comparing the physical properties of the reference material having a known quantitative property value and the soft tissue measured using strain elastography. It can be quantitatively measured and displayed in real time. Since the components of this system are easily compatible with existing ultrasonic measuring equipment, it is possible to quantitatively measure the properties of soft tissues without using expensive equipment, thereby reducing costs.

Although described above with reference to embodiments, those skilled in the art can variously modify and change the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims below. You will understand.

10: physical property measurement system
100: ultrasonic probe
200: coupler
210: coupler body
220: reference substance
220a: first reference substance
220b: second reference substance
230: pressure sensor
300: processing unit
400: output
500: control unit

Claims (9)

A system for quantitatively measuring the properties of soft tissue,
An ultrasonic probe that generates ultrasonic waves and receives ultrasonic waves reflected by soft tissue;
A coupler located between the main body and the ultrasonic probe and the soft tissue and consisting of a reference material having a known quantitative property value, a coupler detachable at a front end of the ultrasonic probe;
A processing unit for comparing and measuring the physical properties of the soft tissue and the reference material using a modified elastic technique, and calculating the quantitative physical property values of the soft tissue based on the quantitative physical property values of the reference material; And
A system for quantitatively measuring the physical properties of the soft tissue, characterized in that it comprises an output for outputting the quantitative physical property values of the soft tissue in real time.
According to claim 1,
The coupler, further comprising a pressure sensor for measuring the pressure applied to the front end of the ultrasonic probe,
The processing unit, by adjusting the quantitative physical property value of the soft tissue based on the pressure measured by the pressure sensor, characterized in that to reduce the influence of the irregular pressure, a system for quantitatively measuring the physical properties of the soft tissue.
According to claim 2,
The system further includes a control unit for controlling the operation of the ultrasonic probe,
The control unit, based on the pressure measured by the pressure sensor, characterized in that to control the ultrasonic probe to operate while maintaining a constant pressure, a system for quantitatively measuring the properties of soft tissue.
According to claim 1,
The reference material is a system for quantitatively measuring physical properties of soft tissues, characterized in that it consists of a stacked structure of a first material having a known physical property value, and a second material having a different physical property value from the first material.
According to claim 4,
The first material has a lower hardness (상기 度) than the soft tissue,
The second material is characterized in that it has a higher hardness than the first material, a system for quantitatively measuring the properties of soft tissue.
According to claim 1,
A system for quantitatively measuring physical properties of soft tissue, characterized in that the reference material and the soft tissue physical property values include shape parameters related to hardness, Young's modulus, or the shape of the soft tissue.
As a method for quantitatively measuring the properties of soft tissue, the method is performed by a processor,
Analyzing the ultrasound waves reflected by the soft tissue to measure the properties of the soft tissue;
Measuring the physical properties of the reference material by analyzing ultrasonic waves reflected by the reference material;
Comparing the physical properties of the soft tissue and the reference material;
Calculating a quantitative property value of the soft tissue based on the comparison result and a known quantitative property value of the reference material; And
Method for quantitatively measuring the physical properties of the soft tissue, characterized in that it comprises the step of transmitting a quantitative physical property value of the soft tissue.
The method of claim 7,
Method for quantitatively measuring the physical properties of the soft tissue, characterized in that it further comprises the step of adjusting the quantitative physical property value of the soft tissue, based on the pressure applied to the front end of the ultrasonic probe received from the pressure sensor.
A computer program stored in a computer-readable recording medium for performing a method for quantitatively measuring the properties of soft tissue according to claim 7.

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