JP2010233896A - Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus operable while suppressing blurring of images caused by shaking by hand. <P>SOLUTION: The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes an ultrasonic probe 10 for transmitting/receiving ultrasonic waves, a display 8 for displaying an image by using receiving echo signals received by the ultrasonic probe, and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus body 11 in which the display is disposed for performing the diagnosis by using the image displayed in the display. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus body includes: an invisible infrared light source; a light receiving device 1 for detecting the reflection light reflected from the face of an operator irradiated with the light from the infrared light source; a detecting means for detecting the movement of eyes by using the image data with the reflection light detected by the light receiving device; and an output means for outputting operation signals for the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus based on the movement of eyes detected by the detecting means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and more particularly to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can be operated while suppressing blurring of an image due to camera shake.

  In the medical field, various imaging techniques have been developed in order to perform diagnosis by observing the inside of a subject. In particular, ultrasonic imaging that acquires internal information of a subject by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves enables real-time image observation, and other medical applications such as X-ray photographs and RI (radio isotope) scintillation cameras. Unlike imaging technology, there is no radiation exposure. Therefore, ultrasonic imaging is used as a highly safe imaging technique in a wide range of fields including gynecological, circulatory, and digestive systems as well as fetal diagnosis in the obstetrics field.

  In recent years, laptop-type ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses that are small and excellent in portability have become popular, and sales of portable ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses have started. In the case of the small laptop type or portable ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus shown in FIG. 5, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body 101 is held with one hand (left hand 104), and the other hand (right hand 105) is viewed while viewing the display. The patient 103 may be examined while performing the probe procedure 102. When button operations such as freeze, save, zoom, gain, STC, etc. are performed in such a posture, the other hand (right hand 105) is used at the moment when force is applied to one hand (left hand 104) for the operation. ) Moves and the image is blurred. In particular, when measuring the size (thickness) of a blood vessel after freezing, such image blurring is a fatal defect because accurate measurement values cannot be obtained.

  Some ultrasonic diagnostic devices use footswitches to prevent blurring of images during button operations. However, if you carry a footswitch, etc., you should be able to use a laptop or portable portability. Loss is not preferable.

  Fig. 6 shows the result of verifying how much an ultrasonic diagnostic device weighing approximately 2.6kg is shaken with one hand when the freeze button is pressed, using Fig. 6 (A). FIG. 6B is an M mode image thereof, and FIG. 6C is an enlarged M mode image of FIG. 6B.

  The rightmost line of the M-mode image shown in FIG. 6B corresponds to the amount of camera shake when the freeze button is pressed, and the amount of camera shake is 0.06 mm as shown in FIG. 6C. An experiment was conducted in which one eye was closed several times before the freeze button was pressed, but the amount of blur was not detected at all. The results of repeating this experiment three times are shown in Table 1.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 1 detects the open / closed state of an eye using a near-infrared light source and a general-purpose CCD, and outputs the open / closed state as a signal corresponding to a press signal with the left and right buttons of a mouse. The invention is disclosed. However, the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 is an invention related to the basic principle of a pupil mouse, and Patent Document 1 discloses or suggests that this basic principle of a pupil mouse is used in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. There is no disclosure or suggestion that a particular effect can be obtained.

JP 2005-352580 A (summary)

  In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can be operated while suppressing blurring of an image due to camera shake.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes an ultrasonic probe that transmits and receives an ultrasonic wave, and a display that displays an image using a reception echo signal received by the ultrasonic probe. And an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body for diagnosing using an image displayed on the display, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body comprising an invisible infrared light source and an infrared light source of an operator. A light receiving device that irradiates light on the face and detects the reflected light, a detection unit that detects eye movement using image data of the reflected light detected by the light receiving device, and a detection unit that detects the movement of the eyes Output means for outputting an operation signal of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus based on the movement of the eyes.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus which can be operated, suppressing the blurring of the image by camera shake by outputting the operation signal of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus based on a motion of eyes can be provided.

It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode that a patient's test | inspection is performed by the ultrasonic diagnosing device which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a diagram showing a Purkinje image reflected on the surface of the eyeball when facing the display, and (B) is a diagram obtained by converting the image data of the Purkinje image shown in (A) into a luminance profile. (C) is a diagram showing a Purkinje image reflected on the surface of the eyeball when the line of sight is removed from the display, and (D) is a diagram obtained by converting the image data of the Purkinje image shown in (C) into a luminance profile. E) is a diagram showing a luminance profile in which no Purkinje image is captured on the camera. It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode that a patient's test | inspection is performed by the ultrasonic diagnosing device which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. (A) is a wire phantom B-mode image for camera shake verification, (B) is the M-mode image, and (C) is an enlarged M-mode image of (B).

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same referential mark is attached | subjected to the same component and description is abbreviate | omitted.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a patient is examined by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes an ultrasonic probe 10 that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves, a display 8 that displays an image using a reception echo signal received by the ultrasonic probe 10, and eight displays 8. And an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body 11 that performs diagnosis using an image displayed on the screen. The main body 11 includes an invisible infrared light source, for example, a near-infrared LED 1 and a camera having a light-receiving device that detects the reflected light by irradiating the face of the operator with the near-infrared LED 1, for example, a CCD or CMOS sensor, and The opening 2a, detection means for detecting eye movement using image data of the reflected light detected by the light receiving device, and an operation signal of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus based on the eye movement detected by the detection means Output means for outputting.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body 11 includes activation means for activating an eye movement detection mode, and detects the eye movement by the detection means after the eye movement detection mode is activated by the activation means. is there.

  The detection means is a means for detecting an eye movement of the operator, for example, an eye open / closed state based on the presence / absence of a pupil image, and the output means outputs an operation signal of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus based on the eye open / closed state. It is means to do.

  The detecting means is means for detecting the direction of the line of sight of the operator, for example, means for detecting the direction of the line of sight from the positional relationship between the pupil image and the Purkinje image, and the output means is based on the direction of the line of sight. This is means for outputting an operation signal of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

  The infrared light source and the light receiving device are desirably attached to the display unit of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body 11. This is because laptop and portable ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses are often used to look into the display rather than having a small screen and being light and easy to move. Further, in the state of being used in such a manner, it is possible to improve the detection accuracy of the pupil because the light of the infrared light source can easily reach and the eyes are always reflected on the screen of the light receiving device.

  It should be noted that GaAs with a wavelength of about 850 nm to 1 μm, which is sensitive to silicon as an infrared light source and invisible and has no sensitivity to silicon, is used as a light receiving device using silicon and silicon sensors that can be obtained at low cost. It is desirable to combine the LEDs.

  A plurality of infrared light sources and light receiving devices may be arranged. For example, by arranging four infrared light sources on the top, bottom, left and right of the display and one light receiving device on the bottom, the amount of infrared light increases and the detection accuracy of the pupil can be increased. If four infrared light sources and four light receiving devices are arranged on the top, bottom, left, and right of the display, a signal based on the image data from the camera with the highest sensitivity among the plurality of light receiving devices is selected and the pupil is detected. In addition, the detection accuracy of the pupil can be increased by performing the averaging process of the signals based on the image data from the plurality of light receiving devices.

Next, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes an ultrasonic probe (ultrasonic probe) 10, a housing 20, a display unit 30, a near infrared LED 1, and a camera 2. The housing 20 includes a scanning control unit 21, a transmission delay pattern storage unit 22, a transmission control unit 23, a drive signal generation unit 24, a reception signal processing unit 25, a reception delay pattern storage unit 26, and a reception control unit. 27, a memory 28, a B-mode image signal generation unit 29, an operation unit 41, a control unit 42, and a storage unit 43 are stored. Here, the scanning control unit 21 to the B-mode image signal generation unit 29 constitute an image generation unit.

  The ultrasonic probe 10 may be an external probe such as a linear scan method, a convex scan method, or a sector scan method, or may be an ultrasonic endoscope probe such as an electronic radial scan method or a mechanical radial scan method. The ultrasonic probe 10 includes a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10a constituting a one-dimensional or two-dimensional transducer array. These ultrasonic transducers 10a transmit ultrasonic waves based on the applied drive signals, receive propagating ultrasonic echoes, and output reception signals.

  Each ultrasonic transducer is, for example, a piezoelectric ceramic represented by PZT (Pb (lead) zirconate titanate) or a polymer piezoelectric element represented by PVDF (polyvinylidene difluoride). It is constituted by a vibrator in which electrodes are formed on both ends of a piezoelectric material (piezoelectric body). When a pulsed or continuous wave voltage is applied to the electrodes of such a vibrator, the piezoelectric body expands and contracts. By this expansion and contraction, pulsed or continuous wave ultrasonic waves are generated from the respective vibrators, and an ultrasonic beam is formed by synthesizing these ultrasonic waves. Each vibrator expands and contracts by receiving propagating ultrasonic waves and generates an electrical signal. These electrical signals are output as ultrasonic reception signals.

  The scanning control unit 21 sequentially sets the transmission direction of the ultrasonic beam and the reception direction of the ultrasonic echo. The scanning of the subject by the ultrasonic beam may be performed electronically or mechanically. The transmission delay pattern storage unit 22 stores a plurality of transmission delay patterns used when forming an ultrasonic beam. The transmission control unit 23 selects one pattern from a plurality of delay patterns stored in the transmission delay pattern storage unit 22 according to the transmission direction set in the scanning control unit 21, and based on the pattern The delay times given to the drive signals of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10a are set. Alternatively, the transmission control unit 23 may set the delay time so that ultrasonic waves transmitted at a time from the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10a reach the entire imaging region of the subject.

  For example, the drive signal generator 24 includes a plurality of pulsars corresponding to the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10a. The drive signal generation unit 24 transmits the plurality of drive signals to the ultrasonic probe so that the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10a form an ultrasonic beam according to the delay time set by the transmission control unit 23. 10 or a plurality of drive signals are supplied to the ultrasound probe 10 so that the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the plurality of ultrasound transducers 10a at a time reach the entire imaging region of the subject.

  The reception signal processing unit 25 includes a plurality of amplifiers (preamplifiers) 25a and a plurality of A / D converters 25b corresponding to the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10a. The reception signal output from the ultrasonic transducer 10a is amplified by the amplifier 25a, and the analog reception signal output from the amplifier 25a is converted into a digital reception signal by the A / D converter 25b. The A / D converter 25 b outputs a digital reception signal to the reception control unit 27.

  The reception delay pattern storage unit 26 stores a plurality of reception delay patterns used when receiving focus processing is performed on a plurality of reception signals output from the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10a. The reception control unit 27 selects one of a plurality of reception delay patterns stored in the reception delay pattern storage unit 26 based on the reception direction set in the scanning control unit 21, and sets the reception delay pattern as the reception delay pattern. Based on this, a reception focus process is performed by adding a delay to a plurality of reception signals. By this reception focus processing, a sound ray signal in which the focus of the ultrasonic echo is narrowed is generated. Furthermore, the reception control unit 27 performs envelope detection processing on the generated sound ray signal.

  The sound ray signal generated by the reception control unit 27 is supplied to the memory 28 and also to the B-mode image signal generation unit 29. The B-mode image signal generation unit 29 includes an STC (sensitivity time control) unit 29 a, a DSC (digital scan converter) 29 b, and a display drive circuit 29 c, and is supplied from the reception control unit 27. A B-mode image signal, which is tomographic image information related to the tissue in the subject, is generated based on the sound ray signal. In the freeze mode, a B-mode image signal is generated based on the sound ray signal stored in the memory 28.

  The STC unit 29a corrects the attenuation due to the distance for the sound ray signal supplied from the reception control unit 27 or the memory 28 according to the depth of the reflection position of the ultrasonic wave. The DSC 29b converts the sound ray signal corrected by the STC unit 29a into an image signal in accordance with a normal television signal scanning method (raster conversion), and performs necessary image processing such as gradation processing to obtain a B-mode image. Generate a signal. The display drive circuit 29c supplies the B mode image signal generated by the DSC 29b to the display unit 30 to drive the display.

  The display unit 30 includes a flexible display, and displays an ultrasound diagnostic image based on the B-mode image signal supplied from the display drive circuit 29c. As the flexible display, an organic EL (electroluminescence) display, an electrophoretic display, a liquid crystal display, or the like can be used.

  The control unit 42 controls the scanning control unit 21, the memory 28, the B-mode image signal generation unit 29, and the like according to the operation of the operator using the operation unit 41. In the present embodiment, the scanning control unit 21, the transmission control unit 23, the reception control unit 27, the B-mode image signal generation unit 29, and the control unit 42 are configured by a CPU and software (program). You may comprise with a digital circuit or an analog circuit. The software (program) is stored in the storage unit 43. As a recording medium in the storage unit 43, a flexible disk, MO, MT, RAM, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or the like can be used in addition to the built-in hard disk.

  The input button 13 is a button for switching between “eye movement detection operation mode” and “button operation mode (normal mode)”. When the input button 13 is pressed by the left hand 4 of the operator, the signal is input to the control unit 42, and the “eye movement detection operation mode” is activated in the control unit 42.

  When the eye movement detection operation mode is activated by the input button 13, the near-infrared LED 1 is turned on, the near-infrared light 1a is irradiated to the operator's face, and shooting by the camera 2 is started. The reflected light is photographed by the camera 2 and a near-infrared image of the operator's face is acquired.

  Data of a near-infrared image photographed by the camera 2 is sent to the control unit 2, and the presence or absence of a pupil is detected from the data in the control unit 2. In the near-infrared image, the pupil has the lowest luminance value compared to the surroundings. For this reason, the presence or absence of the pupil can be detected from the data of the near-infrared image. If it is detected that there is a pupil, it is detected that the operator's eyes are open. If it is detected that there is no pupil, it is detected that the operator's eyes are closed. In this way, the open / closed state of the operator's eyes can be detected, and based on the open / closed state, an operation signal of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, for example, a signal such as freeze, storage, and freeze release can be output from the control unit 42.

Next, an operation method of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using pupil detection will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, when a probe (ultrasound probe) 10 is applied to a patient 3 and the position is roughly aligned, the operator presses the input button 13 with the left hand 4 to enter an eye movement detection operation mode. . After entering the eye movement detection operation mode, measurements that require high accuracy (IMT thickness, etc.) are continuously performed, and freeze detection is performed for pupil detection, which enables high-precision measurement without the effects of camera shake. It can be carried out.

  As an operation method in the eye movement detection operation mode, for example, when one eye is quickly closed once, it freezes, and when one eye is closed twice quickly, it is saved and frozen, `` Close the left eye and close the right eye ”,“ Close both eyes two times in succession ”, and freeze operation can be considered. At the time of releasing the freeze, it is desirable to assign to the operation of closing both eyes, which is difficult to detect erroneously, because there is no need to look at the screen and there is a risk that it will be taken again if it is wrong. You can assign it to the action of closing one eye quickly three times, but the important thing is to make it difficult to detect false positives.

  Further, instead of pupil detection as described above, the direction of the line of sight may be detected to perform operations such as freezing. For example, the direction of the line of sight can be detected from the positional relationship between the pupil image and the Purkinje image in the near-infrared image detected by the light receiving device.

The detection of the direction of the line of sight will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
The input button 13 is pressed by the left hand 4 of the operator, the signal is input to the control unit 42, and the “eye movement detection operation mode” is activated in the control unit 42. Then, the near-infrared LED 1 is turned on, and as shown in FIG. 3A, near-infrared light 1a is irradiated on the operator's face, and shooting by the camera 2 is started. 2 is taken. The reflection from the pupil 6 is received by the opening 2a of the camera adjacent to the near-infrared LED 1 shown in FIG. 1 because the light incident through the pupil 6 of the eyeball 7 is reflected by the retina and returns almost to the original light source. can do. The point light source image (Purkinje image) 1 b reflected on the surface of the eyeball 7 always appears on a linear axis connecting the center of the eyeball 7 and the point light source 1 regardless of the movement and rotation of the eyeball 7.

  The data of the near-infrared image photographed by the camera 2 is sent to the control unit 2, and the brightness profiling process shown in FIG. Is detected. As shown in FIG. 3B, when the Purkinje image 1b is located at the center of the image of the pupil 6, it is detected that the operator's line of sight is facing the front and facing the display 8. The

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3C, near infrared light 1 a is irradiated onto the operator's face, and photographing by the camera 2 is started, and reflected light from the operator's face is photographed by the camera 2. The captured near-infrared image data is sent to the control unit 2, which performs the brightness profiling process shown in FIG. 3D and detects the position of the Purkinje image 1 b relative to the image of the pupil 6. Is done. As shown in FIG. 3D, when the Purkinje image 1b is shifted to the right or left with respect to the image of the pupil 6, it is detected that the operator has removed the line of sight to the right or left. In this way, the direction of the line of sight of the operator can be detected, and an operation signal of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, for example, a signal such as freeze, storage, and release of freeze can be output from the control unit 42 based on the direction of the line of sight.

  Note that the direction of the line of sight can be detected even when the line of sight is removed in the vertical direction instead of the horizontal direction. Further, when the operator's face is away from the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body 11, the luminance profile as shown in FIG. 3E is obtained, and the Purkinje image cannot be detected by the camera 2. Therefore, the present invention is most suitable for an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of a hand carry type.

Next, an operation method of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using gaze detection will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, when a probe (ultrasound probe) 10 is applied to a patient 3 and the position is roughly aligned, the operator presses the input button 13 with the left hand 4 to enter an eye movement detection operation mode. . After entering the eye movement detection operation mode, measurements that require high accuracy (IMT thickness, etc.) are continuously performed, and freeze detection is performed for pupil detection, which enables high-precision measurement without the effects of camera shake. It can be carried out.

  As an operation method in the eye movement detection operation mode, for example, if the line of sight is removed from the screen in the left direction, it is frozen, if it is removed twice in the left direction continuously, it is saved, and if the line of sight is removed in the right direction, it is assigned to freeze It is possible.

  When the measurement that requires accuracy is completed and the input button 13 is pressed by the left hand 4 of the operator, the signal is input to the control unit 42, and the “button operation mode (normal mode)” is activated in the control unit 42.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a patient is examined by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the second embodiment is a wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that wirelessly transmits a reception echo signal from the ultrasonic probe 10b to the apparatus main body 11, and the other configurations are the same. It is.

  In the case of a wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, since there is no cable connecting the probe 10b and the apparatus main body 11, the movement of the apparatus main body 11 having the display unit is further facilitated. Therefore, the display unit is used in front of the operator's eyes. Such an operation method is an optimal condition for pupil detection or line-of-sight detection, and a very large effect can be expected.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It is possible to implement in various changes within the range which does not deviate from the main point of this invention.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that performs imaging of an organ or the like in a living body by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves and generates an ultrasonic diagnostic image used for diagnosis.

1 Near-infrared LED (point light source)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1a Near-infrared light 1b Purkinje image 2 Camera 2a Camera opening 3 Patient 4 Left hand 5 Right hand 6 Pupil 7 Eyeball 8 Display 10, 10b Ultrasonic probe 10a Ultrasonic transducer 11 Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body 13 Input button 20 Case 21 Scan control unit 22 Transmission delay pattern storage unit 23 Transmission control unit 24 Drive signal generation unit 25 Reception signal processing unit 25a Amplifier 25b A / D converter 26 Reception delay pattern storage unit 27 Reception control unit 28 Memory 29 B mode image signal generation unit 29a STC section 29b DSC
29c Display drive circuit 30 Display unit 41 Operation unit 42 Control unit 43 Storage unit

Claims (6)

An ultrasound probe that transmits and receives ultrasound; and
A display for displaying an image using a reception echo signal received by the ultrasonic probe;
The display is disposed, and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body that performs diagnosis using an image displayed on the display,
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body is:
An invisible infrared light source,
A light receiving device that irradiates the operator's face with the infrared light source and detects the reflected light; and
Detecting means for detecting eye movement using image data of the reflected light detected by the light receiving device;
An output means for outputting an operation signal of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus based on the eye movement detected by the detection means;
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising:   2. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body according to claim 1, further comprising an activation unit for activating an eye movement detection mode, and the eye movement is detected by the detection unit after the eye movement detection mode is activated by the activation unit. Ultrasonic diagnostic device to detect.   3. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit is a unit that detects an open / closed state of an eye.    4. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the means for detecting the open / closed state of the eye is a means for detecting the open / closed state of the eye based on the presence or absence of an image of a pupil.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit is a unit that detects a direction of a line of sight.   6. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the means for detecting the direction of the line of sight is a means for detecting the direction of the line of sight from a positional relationship between a pupil image and a Purkinje image.