JP2001087268A - Ultrasonograph - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To arithmetically operate the volume of internal organs in real time in an ultrasonograph. SOLUTION: Binarizing processing is performed on respective echo data in a data taking-in space. A continuity judging part 28 judges the continuity with respective echo data on the basis of a value of attention echo data and information in a flag storage part 24. A flag is set in a corresponding address on the flag storage part 24 on data by judging the continuity. A continuity judging mask striding over a present scanning surface and a scanning surface before by one is used in judging the continuity. A volume operation part 34 arithmetically operates the volume of internal organs on the basis of the number of flags on the flag storage part 24. An area is extracted with every scan of a three-dimensional probe, and since a past result can be utilized in the extraction, specific volume operation accuracy can be secured by performing plural- time scanning.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus for automatically calculating the volume and area of an organ.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Ultrasonic diagnosis is used to measure the volume (volume) of a heart and the size of a fetus. In the first conventional method, for example, a tomographic image of a heart to be measured is formed, a cross section of the heart is assumed to be an ellipse, the major axis and the minor axis of the approximate ellipse are measured, and an ellipsoid is determined based on the major and minor axes. Is calculated. In the first method, although the calculation is simple, since the organ is assumed to be a simple form, the reliability of the calculation result is low. In particular, it is difficult to measure a pulsating organ such as the heart in real time.

In the second conventional method, echo data is acquired in a three-dimensional region in a living body, all the data in the three-dimensional region is stored once, and techniques such as binarization and boundary detection are used. This is to extract the shape of the organ. However, according to this method, although the calculation accuracy is high, the amount of calculation is extremely large, and it takes a considerable time to obtain a result. As described above, real-time volume calculation is difficult.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-299341 discloses a volume computing device related to the above-mentioned second method. In the conventional apparatus, continuity is determined for each of the binarized echo data using a three-dimensional mask, and the volume is calculated based on the number of data for which continuity has been determined. Here, as the mask, for example,
The size is set to 3 data × 3 data × 3 data centering on the target data.

[0005]

However, even with the apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-299341, it was difficult to calculate the volume in real time following the scanning of the scanning surface. It should be noted that real-time measurement is also required for area calculations other than volume calculation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to enable a continuous area to be efficiently extracted.

Another object of the present invention is to enable the volume and area of a target organ to be calculated in real time.

[0008]

(1) In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention has a flag storage space corresponding to a data fetching space, and for data for which continuity has been determined, a corresponding address. Storage means in which a predetermined flag is set, and individual data acquired in the data acquisition space by transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves as attention data, and centering on a corresponding address of the attention data on the flag storage space. Continuity determining means for determining the continuity of the data of interest by referring to the neighborhood range obtained, and setting a flag for setting a predetermined flag at a corresponding address in the flag storage space when the continuity of the data of interest is determined Means, and arithmetic means for executing a predetermined operation using information in the flag storage space. Here, preferably, the predetermined operation is an area operation or a volume operation.

According to the above configuration, the result of the continuity determination is stored in the flag storage space on the storage means, and when new data is obtained, the new data is obtained based on the past determination result. Can be determined. Therefore, there is an advantage that a continuous region can be accurately and efficiently extracted by utilizing past results. For example, if the above-described continuity determination is performed for each data every time the data capturing area is formed, the extraction accuracy of the continuous area can be gradually increased according to the number of times of forming the data capturing area (the number of scans). Here, the past judgment result is
Since it is stored as a flag, a large storage area is not required for that.

(2) To achieve the above object,
The present invention is a scanning unit that repeatedly scans the scanning surface back and forth, and forms a data capture space for each forward scan and backward scan.
A flag storage space corresponding to the data acquisition space;
For the data for which continuity has been determined, a storage means in which a predetermined flag is set at the corresponding address, and each data on the scanning plane is set as attention data, and the corresponding address of the attention data in the flag storage space is centered. Determining means for determining the continuity of the data of interest based on the binarized value of the data of interest and the information in the mask, In this case, a flag setting means for setting a predetermined flag at a corresponding address in the flag space, and a calculation means for calculating a volume from the number of the predetermined flags in the storage space are provided. Here, preferably
Volume calculation is performed in real time for each forward scan and backward scan of the scanning surface.

According to the above configuration, the volume of the target area (organ, etc.) can be calculated in real time while performing data measurement repeatedly. In particular, the volume calculation accuracy can be increased if the number of repetitions of data measurement increases. Even if the target area fluctuates, it is possible to sufficiently follow the fluctuation, and enjoy the advantage that the real-time volume calculation of the moving organ can be performed with constant accuracy, which cannot be obtained by the conventional apparatus.

Preferably, the mask is set over a current scan plane including the target data and a previous scan plane, and the direction of the mask is reversed in the forward scan and the backward scan. In order to process the acquired data in real time, an asymmetric mask as described above is used. In this case, the directionality of the extraction process at the time of the forward scan and the directionality of the extraction process at the time of the backward scan are opposite to each other, but by repeating the process alternately, the continuous area has a complicated form. Also, the continuous area can be efficiently extracted, and the same result as that obtained by using a symmetric mask can be obtained.

Preferably, when the binarized value of the target data is 1, and at least one predetermined flag exists in the mask, the continuity of the target data is determined. That is, if the value of the data of interest is 1 and there is a value of 1 around it, it is determined that the data of interest is in contact with other data, and thus the continuity of the data of interest is determined. If the value of the data of interest is 1 but there is no value of 1 around it, it is highly possible that the data of interest is data belonging to isolated noise or a separated island area. Does not judge continuity.

Preferably, the predetermined flag has a value of 1, and the flag setting means writes a value of 0 to a corresponding address of the data of interest whose continuity has not been determined. By such data updating, it is possible to follow the movement of the organization and the change of the form.

Preferably, a reference point setting means for setting a reference point on the data acquisition space, and an initial setting means for setting an initial flag at a corresponding address of the reference point on the flag storage space. Including. At least one reference point is set in the target area. The reference point is a starting point for determining continuity. Prior to that,
The flag storage space is reset. The reference point can always be fixedly set as the center of the image. In this case, the attitude and position of the probe may be adjusted so that the center of the target area is located at the center of the data acquisition space.

Preferably, the apparatus further comprises means for forming a three-dimensional image using a predetermined flag in the storage space. Since the inside and outside of the continuous area can be identified by the value of each flag, the surface of the three-dimensional object can be easily extracted and can be represented as a three-dimensional image.

Preferably, the apparatus further comprises means for determining convergence based on a change in the number of predetermined flags in the storage space. If the variation in the number of flags falls within a certain convergence range, it is determined that a certain measurement accuracy has been obtained, and this is determined. For example, the volume calculation result may be actually displayed from the stage where a certain convergence is obtained, or the volume calculation result is displayed in yellow or gray before the certain convergence is obtained, After the convergence is obtained, the volume calculation result may be displayed in green or white. By switching the display processing in this way, it is possible to make the user perceive that a certain measurement accuracy is secured. Normally, a certain degree of area extraction accuracy can be obtained by performing several scans.

(3) To achieve the above object,
The present invention provides a transmitting / receiving means for repeatedly scanning a two-dimensional or three-dimensional data acquisition space to acquire data for each scan, a binarization means for binarizing the data, and the data acquisition space. The flag storage space corresponding to the, the means for determining the presence or absence of continuity as individual data in the data capture space for each scan as the data of interest,
Determining means for determining the continuity of the data of interest if the value of the data of interest is 1 and if there is at least one 1 in the vicinity of the flag data space in the vicinity of the corresponding address in the flag storage space; A flag for setting the corresponding address in the flag storage space to 1 for the data for which the continuity is determined, and setting the corresponding address in the flag storage space to 0 for the data for which the continuity is not determined. Setting means.

Preferably, the memory includes a memory having an address space corresponding to the data fetch space, and n bits are allocated to each address of the memory, and m (where m <n) bits of the n bits are assigned. A flag indicating the continuity is stored using the remaining nm bits, which is used for storing the data.

According to the above configuration, the echo data and the flag indicating the presence or absence of continuity are stored in association with each address. For example, when 8 bits are assigned to each address and the echo data is 6 bits, Can store a flag indicating whether there is continuity using one bit of the remaining two free bits. In such a case, the free space of the memory can be used effectively, so that it is not necessary to provide a separate memory.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present embodiment has a function of calculating the volume of an organ such as a left ventricle in a living body. FIG. 1 shows a configuration related thereto.

In FIG. 1, a three-dimensional probe 10 is an ultrasonic probe for acquiring three-dimensional data. The three-dimensional probe 10 includes an array vibrator composed of a plurality of vibrating elements and a scanning mechanism for mechanically scanning the vibrator. The ultrasonic beam is electronically scanned by electronically scanning the array transducer, thereby forming a scanning surface. If the scanning plane is translated or rocked in a direction perpendicular to the scanning plane, a three-dimensional data capturing space can be formed. The three-dimensional probe 10 is generally used in contact with the body surface,
For example, in three-dimensional measurement of the heart, it is used in contact with the surface of the thoracic body.

The mechanical scanning control section 12 is a means for controlling the mechanical scanning of the array transducer. The transmitting / receiving unit 14
This is a circuit that supplies a transmission signal to the three-dimensional probe 10 and performs predetermined processing such as amplification on a reception signal from the three-dimensional probe. The electronic scanning control unit 16
This is a means for controlling the electronic scanning of the ultrasonic beam by controlling the transmission / reception unit 14. The electronic scanning controller 16 and the mechanical scanning controller 12 are controlled by a main controller 18.

The binarizing circuit 26 shown in FIG.
4 is a circuit for performing a binarization process on the received signal output from the device 4, that is, the echo data. Specifically, it is a circuit that compares the echo data with a predetermined threshold value α and binarizes the echo data into a value of 1 or 0. For example, large echo data corresponding to a heart wall is reduced to 0 by binarization processing.
And the small echo data corresponding to the blood flow portion is converted to 1 by the binarization process.

The continuity judging section 28 is means for judging the continuity of each echo data by using a continuity judgment mask described later. In determining the continuity, the value of the target echo data after the binarization processing and the information stored in the flag storage unit 24 are used. This will be described later in detail.

The flag setting section 30 is a means for setting a flag for the echo data of interest based on the determination result of the continuity determining section 28. Specifically, 1 is set to the address corresponding to the echo data of interest in the flag storage unit 24 when continuity is determined, and 0 is set when continuity is not determined.

Therefore, the flag 1 is stored in the flag storage unit 24 as the continuity determination result for each echo data of interest.
Alternatively, 0 is set. The volume calculation unit 34 is a circuit that calculates the volume from the number of flags 1 in the flag storage unit 24, outputs the volume calculation result to the display unit 40, and the display unit 40 displays the volume of the target organ as a numerical value. .

The convergence judging section 38 is a circuit for judging whether or not the calculation result of the volume has converged within a certain range, as will be described later. At 40, the result is displayed in some form.

The reference point setting section 32 shown in FIG. 1 is a means for initially setting at least one starting point for starting continuity judgment. The reference point setting section 32 includes an input device such as a keyboard or a trackball. Composed of

The data storage section 22 constitutes a storage section for echo data, and each echo data in the data capture space captured by the three-dimensional probe 10 is stored in the data storage section 22. Incidentally, the binarization processing of the binarization circuit 26 may be performed on the echo data stored in the data storage unit 22, or the echo data directly output from the transmission / reception unit 14 as described above. , A binarization process may be performed in chronological order.

Flag storage unit 24 and data storage unit 22
Constitute the memory 20 in the present embodiment. The memory 20 is, for example, a RAM in which 8 bits are assigned to each address. here,
The echo data has a value of, for example, 6 bits. In the conventional device, two bits are used as an empty area for each address in the memory 20. In the present embodiment, in order to effectively utilize the free space, one of the two bits as the free space for each address is used as a flag setting bit. Such an area is the flag storage unit 24 shown in FIG.

In the apparatus of the present embodiment, since the volume calculation can be performed, there is an advantage that the storage capacity for the volume calculation can be reduced as much as possible by using the flags stored in the flag storage unit 24. For example, when only the volume calculation result is displayed, that is, when no image processing is performed, the data storage unit 22 itself can be eliminated. However, in the present embodiment, a three-dimensional image can be formed based on the echo data in the data storage unit 22, and a tomographic image corresponding to each scanning plane can be formed. Are formed by, for example, the three-dimensional image forming unit 36, and those images are displayed on the display unit 4.
Displayed as 0.

In the apparatus according to the present embodiment, the three-dimensional image forming unit 36 has a function of forming a three-dimensional image based on the information stored in the flag storage unit 24. That is, since flags indicating the inside and outside of the continuous area are set for each address in the flag storage unit 24, the three-dimensional shape of the organ can be extracted from such a flag distribution. By performing the shading process, it is possible to easily form a three-dimensional surface image of the object. Such an image is also displayed on the display unit 40.

The apparatus according to this embodiment is equipped with a Doppler measurement mode and various modes in addition to the above.
The corresponding configuration is not shown in FIG.

FIG. 2 shows the relationship between the data fetch space 100 and the flag storage space 102. Here, the data acquisition space 100 is a virtual space formed by the three-dimensional probe 10, and is a tertiary space formed by further mechanically scanning a scanning surface formed by electronically scanning the array transducer. This corresponds to the original area. Here, the X direction corresponds to the electronic scanning direction, and the Y direction
The direction corresponds to the ultrasonic beam direction, that is, the depth direction, and the Z direction corresponds to the mechanical scanning direction. Note that FIG.
(A) shows a data acquisition space 100 in a cubic region, but this form can be changed depending on the type of the three-dimensional probe 10. That is, the present invention can be applied to a case where electronic sector scanning or convex scanning is applied.

The flag storage space 102 shown in FIG.
Is a storage space constructed on the flag storage unit 24.
X direction, Y direction, Z in the flag storage space 102
Each of the directions corresponds to each direction of the data acquisition space 100. That is, each voxel 104 in the data capture space 100 has a one-to-one correspondence with one of the flag cells 106 in the flag storage space 102. Here, the echo data is stored in the voxel 104 at the time of transmission and reception of the ultrasonic pulse, a binarization process is performed on the echo data, and each voxel 1 of the data acquisition space 100 is determined at the time of continuity determination.
04 stores the binarized data.

On the other hand, each flag cell 106 in the flag storage space 102 stores the continuity determination result of the corresponding voxel of interest, that is, 1 is set as a flag for the data of interest (voxel of interest) for which continuity has been determined. Otherwise, 0 is set.

FIG. 3 shows a continuity determination mask included in the continuity determination unit 28. Here, (A) conceptually shows the entire mask, (B) shows a view from the front of the mask, and (C) shows a view from the side of the mask. The figure is shown.

In the present embodiment, the mask is a target data, that is, a neighborhood area having a certain spread centered on the target address 108. The currently scanned scanning plane and the immediately preceding scanning plane are two scanning planes. Is set over That is, the size of the mask in the scanning direction corresponds to two data (two voxels), and Y
The size in the direction corresponds to three data, and the size in the X direction also corresponds to three data. By using such a mask, it is possible to reverse the direction of the mask in the forward scan and the backward scan in the scan direction, and smoothly determine the continuity of each echo data on each scan plane.

The continuity judging section 28 shown in FIG. 1 determines that the value of the echo data of interest is 1 and that at least one When the flag 1 exists, the continuity of the target data is determined. Therefore, if the value of the data of interest is 0, or if the value of the data is 1 but the flag 1 does not exist in the mask, such data has isolated noise and the like, and the continuity determination is not performed. I can't. That is, 0 is set as the flag for the target data. The setting is executed by the flag setting unit 30 as described above.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG.

First, prior to the volume calculation, the flag storage unit 24 is reset, and 0 is stored in all addresses. In this state, the user sets at least one reference point in the target organ in S101.
This state is shown in FIG. This will be described later in detail.

In S102, 1 is set to the address in the flag storage space corresponding to the reference point. That is, the flag 1 is the starting point of the search for continuity extraction.

S103 to S105 correspond to the data acquisition space 10
This is a step for determining continuity for all voxels constituting 0. In S105, in a state where the Z coordinate and the X coordinate are fixed, the Y coordinate is incremented from the start coordinate to the end coordinate, and S104
In step S1, the X coordinate is incremented from the start coordinate to the end coordinate in a state where the Z coordinate is fixed.
At 03, the value of the Z axis is incremented in accordance with the switching of the scanning plane. Then, S11 described later.
At the stage where the continuity has been determined for all the scanning planes at 8, the processing shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is completed, and such processing is executed for each of the forward scan and the backward scan. . Then, as will be described later, these scans are repeatedly executed, so that the flag storage unit 2 is executed.
4, the contents of the flag storage space are sequentially improved,
That is, accurate information is obtained. In an actual apparatus, for example, by performing a plurality of reciprocating scans, it is possible to obtain a considerably good volume operation value. That is, the apparatus according to the present embodiment effectively utilizes the determination result for each scan as a result while effectively using the next volume calculation.
The operation accuracy is gradually increased by such cumulative operation. Of course, as will be described later, even when the organ moves, the scanning speed is sufficiently high compared to the movement of such movement, and therefore, according to the present embodiment, the real-time volume calculation for the moving organ can be realized. There is.

Returning to FIG. 4, in step S106, the binarizing circuit 26 performs a binarizing process on the echo data. As described above, when the left ventricular cavity is used as the target organ, the echo data of the blood part is binarized to 1.

In S107, it is determined whether the data binarized in S106, that is, the data of the voxel of interest is 1, and if the data is 0, 0 is stored in the corresponding address on the flag storage unit 24. Is set, and S10
At 9, the value of the parameter "variable" is decremented by one.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S107 that the data of the voxel of interest is 1, it is determined in step S110 whether the value of the corresponding address in the flag storage unit 24 is 1. Here, if the value is 1, the continuity has already been affirmed for that address, and since 1 has been obtained as a result of the binarization processing also in this scan, the continuity has been obtained for that data. The process shifts to S115 as being established.

On the other hand, when it is determined in S110 that the value of the corresponding address is 0, in S111, at least one 1 or 1 is set as the value of the flag in the target data, that is, the mask centered on the target address.
Is set or not. Here, S11
If at least one 1 exists in 2, it means that there is 1 in the address of interest and 1 around it, that is, because continuity is recognized,
In S113, 1 is stored in the corresponding address corresponding to the target data, and in S114, the parameter “variable” is incremented by one. However, in step S112, if 1 does not exist in the mask, it is highly likely that the data is, for example, isolated noise, and thus the continuity of the data is denied.

In S115, the parameter "variable"
Is multiplied by the volume of one voxel to calculate the volume value. In S116, the calculated volume value is displayed. Further, in S117, a three-dimensional image is constructed based on the flag information in the flag storage space and is displayed. In S118, it is determined whether or not the above processing has been completed for all combinations of X, Y, and Z. If the above processing has not been completed for all of the combinations, the steps from S105 are repeatedly executed. You.

Therefore, according to the above processing example, the volume value is updated for each scan, and the three-dimensional image is updated.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show an example of processing by the above method. In these figures, two-dimensional figures are shown for convenience. In FIG. 6, (a) to (f) conceptually show processing contents for each scan. Note that, as shown in FIG. 6, the scanning direction is reversed in order, and the mask direction is also reversed with such a reverse rotation, and the processing direction is reversed.

As shown in FIG. 6A, at least one reference point 200 is set in a target area 202.
After that, when the first scan is executed as shown in FIG. 7B, the extraction of the area, that is, the determination of the connectivity, is sequentially performed with the reference point 200 as a starting point. In this state, the entire area 202 has not yet been extracted. next,
The scanning direction is reversed, and as shown in (c), (B)
The determination of continuity is performed based on the continuous area determined by. As a result, the determination area is greatly expanded. By sequentially performing this, even if the figure is complicated finally as shown in (f), the area can be extracted by repeatedly executing the forward scan and the backward scan.

As shown in FIG. 7, even when the area (object) moves, the area extraction and area reduction are performed on the basis of the area extracted so far to prevent such object movement. It is possible to follow the extraction of the area. Therefore, it is possible to perform volume calculation on a moving object such as the heart.

Incidentally, in the above embodiment, the volume calculation has been described, but the above method can of course be applied to the area calculation. According to the above embodiment, there is an advantage that a three-dimensional area can be extracted in two directions of forward scan and backward scan, and the results can be integrated to accurately extract the three-dimensional area. Further, there is an advantage that a storage area for such extracted information is small, and a three-dimensional image can be formed using such information.

The convergence judging section 38 monitors the operation result for each scan as described above, and judges the convergence when the operation result converges within a certain range. As a result, for example, by changing the color of the calculation result of the volume displayed on the display unit 40 or changing the display mode, it is possible to indicate to the user that a certain convergence has occurred. Become. Thereby, the user can recognize that a certain degree of accuracy has been obtained. Incidentally, the convergence determination result may be expressed by a numerical value, and the accuracy of the volume calculation result may be expressed by the numerical value.

[0057]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The two-dimensional or three-dimensional region can be extracted rationally, and in particular, there is an advantage that the calculation can be performed in real time by effectively utilizing the past calculation results.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a relationship between a data fetch space and a flag storage space.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a continuity determination mask.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a processing example of a volume calculation method according to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a processing example of a volume calculation method according to the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an area extraction method according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an area extraction method according to the embodiment;

[Explanation of symbols]

10 three-dimensional probe, 12 mechanical scanning control unit, 14
Transmitter / receiver, 16 electronic scanning controller, 20 memories, 22
Data storage unit, 24 flag storage unit, 26 binarization circuit, 28 continuity determination unit, 30 flag setting unit, 32
Reference point setting unit, 34 volume calculation unit, 36 three-dimensional image forming unit, 38 convergence determination unit, 40 display unit.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page F term (reference) 2F068 AA39 AA40 AA41 CC07 FF12 FF16 GG01 JJ02 JJ11 KK12 LL04 PP31 QQ05 4C301 AA01 BB13 BB28 BB34 BB35 DD01 DD07 DD21 DD25 EE10 EE11 EE13 EE17 KK23 KKB LL05 5B057 AA07 BA05 BA29 CA02 CA08 CA12 CA16 CA19 CB02 CB06 CB12 CB13 CB16 CE12 CH11 DA20 DB02 DB05 DB08 DC04

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A data storage space having a flag storage space corresponding to a data acquisition space, a storage means for setting a predetermined flag at a corresponding address for data for which continuity is determined, and said data being transmitted and received by ultrasonic waves. Continuity determining means for determining individual data acquired in the capture space as data of interest, referring to a neighboring range of the data of interest centered on a corresponding address on the flag storage space, and determining continuity of the data of interest; A flag setting means for setting a predetermined flag at a corresponding address in the flag storage space when continuity is determined for the data of interest; and performing a predetermined calculation using information in the flag storage space An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: arithmetic means; 2. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined calculation is an area calculation or a volume calculation. 3. A scanning means for reciprocatingly scanning a scanning surface to form a data capture space for each of a forward scan and a return scan, and a flag storage space corresponding to the data capture space.
For the data for which continuity has been determined, a storage means in which a predetermined flag is set at the corresponding address, and assuming that each data on the scanning plane is data of interest, and the center of which is the corresponding address of the data of interest on the flag storage space Determining means for determining the continuity of the data of interest based on the binarized value of the data of interest and the information in the mask, An ultrasonic wave, comprising: flag setting means for setting a predetermined flag at a corresponding address in the flag space when the flag is set; and calculating means for calculating a volume from the number of the predetermined flags in the storage space. Diagnostic device. 4. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a volume calculation is performed in real time for each forward scan and backward scan of the scanning surface. 5. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the mask is set over a current scan plane including the target data and a previous scan plane, and the mask is set in the forward scan and the backward scan. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus wherein the direction is reversed. 6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the binarized value of the target data is 1, and at least one predetermined flag exists in the mask.
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that determines continuity of the target data. 7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined flag has a value of 1, and the flag setting means assigns a value of 0 to a corresponding address of the data of interest whose continuity has not been determined. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by writing. 8. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein: a reference point setting means for setting a reference point on the data acquisition space; and an initial flag at a corresponding address of the reference point on the flag storage space. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, comprising: 9. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising means for forming a three-dimensional image using a predetermined flag in the storage space. 10. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising: means for determining convergence based on a change in the number of predetermined flags in the storage space. 11. A transmitting / receiving means for repeatedly scanning a two-dimensional or three-dimensional data acquisition space to acquire data for each scan, a binarization means for binarizing the data, and the data acquisition. A flag storage space corresponding to the space, and means for determining the presence or absence of continuity using individual data in the data acquisition space as data of interest for each scan, wherein a value of the data of interest is 1; Determining means for determining continuity of the data of interest if there is at least one 1 in a neighborhood range around the corresponding address on the flag storage space of the data of interest; Sets the corresponding address in the flag storage space to 1, and sets the corresponding address in the flag storage space to 0 for the data whose continuity has not been determined. Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by comprising a grayed setting means. 12. The apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a memory having an address space corresponding to the data fetch space, wherein n bits are allocated to each address of the memory, and m (wherein , M <n) bits are used for storing the data, and a flag indicating the presence or absence of the continuity is stored using the remaining nm bits.