JP3329546B2 - Continuum identification device and ultrasonic blood flow display device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a continuum identification method and apparatus and an ultrasonic blood flow display method and apparatus. More specifically, a continuum identification method and apparatus capable of three-dimensionally identifying a continuum specified by the operator, and a three-dimensionally extracted blood flow or blood vessel specified by the operator can be displayed. The present invention relates to an ultrasonic blood flow display method and apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG.
(For example, liver) is assumed. As shown in FIG. 15, this portion is sequentially scanned from the first frame F1 to the fifth frame F5 at predetermined positions while moving the ultrasonic probe in a direction substantially perpendicular to the scan plane. When low-luminance blood vessel portions are extracted from the B-mode data of each of the frames F1 to F5 obtained by this scan by threshold processing, the B-mode images become B1 to B5 shown in FIG. a1 to a5 are blood vessels A, and b1 to b5 are blood vessels B. When three-dimensional construction processing is performed based on these B-mode images B1 to B5 and three-dimensionally displayed, a three-dimensional blood vessel image as shown in FIG. 17 is obtained. 17A and FIG. 17B are different from each other in the line of sight by 180 °.

[0003]

In FIG. 17A, FIG.
It cannot be distinguished whether the blood vessel C branches off from the blood vessel A or is a continuation of the blood vessel B. In FIG. 17B, it is not possible to distinguish whether the blood vessel D is a continuation of the blood vessel A or a branch of the blood vessel B. As described above, conventionally, when a plurality of blood vessels appear to overlap, there is a problem that the connectivity of the blood vessels is not clearly understood. Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to provide a continuum identification method and apparatus for identifying a continuum such as a blood vessel. Further, a second object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic blood flow display method and apparatus capable of displaying blood vessels three-dimensionally so that the connectivity of blood vessels can be clearly understood even when a plurality of blood vessels appear to overlap. Is to provide.

[0004]

According to a first aspect, the present invention specifies a desired portion to be a part of a continuum with respect to three-dimensional data including a plurality of images, and specifies a desired portion adjacent to the specified image. A continuum identification method characterized by detecting a connected portion of a continuum in an image to be processed, and identifying the continuum by performing the detection processing on all the images. Second
In view of the above, the present invention provides an interested part designating unit for designating a desired part to be a part of a continuum with respect to three-dimensional data composed of a plurality of images; A continuum identification device comprising: a connection point detecting unit that detects a connected portion and performs the detection process on all images.

[0005] In a third aspect, the present invention specifies a desired part to be a part of a blood flow or a blood vessel in three-dimensional data composed of a plurality of images displaying a blood flow or a blood vessel, and specifies the specified part. A continuous part of the blood flow or blood vessel is identified by detecting the connected part of the blood flow or blood vessel in the image adjacent to the obtained image, and performing the detection processing on all the images to identify the continuous blood flow or blood vessel. And providing an ultrasonic blood flow display method characterized by displaying as In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides an interested part designating unit for designating a desired part to be a part of a blood flow or a blood vessel with respect to three-dimensional data composed of a plurality of images displaying a blood flow or a blood vessel, A connection point detecting means for detecting a connected portion of a blood flow or a blood vessel in an image adjacent to the specified image and performing the detection processing on all images to identify a continuous blood flow or a blood vessel; Display means for displaying an image of the blood flow or blood vessel as an image.

According to a fifth aspect, the present invention provides an ultrasonic probe and a method of moving the ultrasonic probe in a direction substantially perpendicular to a scan plane or electronically moving the scan plane for each first position at a predetermined position. B-mode data acquisition means for sequentially acquiring N-mode {N ≧ 2} -th frame of B-mode data from the frame, and displaying a B-mode image based on the B-mode data of the k-th <1 ≦ k ≦ N-th frame to display the B-mode image A vessel-of-interest designating means for causing the operator to designate a vessel of interest on the mode image or displaying a three-dimensional image and allowing the operator to designate a vessel of interest on the three-dimensional image;
A start frame filling means for filling the mode data with a predetermined mark value, and a point of the (i + 1) th frame having the same coordinates as a point in the filling range of the i-th frame, the data of which point indicates the inside of the blood vessel region. An ascending connection point searching means for obtaining the coordinates of the connection point, which is the B-mode data; and (i + 1), when the connection point is detected, filling the B-mode data in the blood vessel region including the connection point with a predetermined mark value. Frame filling means, ascending paging means for repeating the ascending connection point searching means and the (i + 1) th frame filling means up to the Nth frame as long as a connection point is detected, and the same coordinates as points in the filling range of the jth frame. The point of the (j-1) th frame that is possessed, and the data of the point is a B-mode data indicating the inside of the blood vessel region. And (j-1) th frame filling means for filling the B-mode data in the blood vessel region including the connection point with a predetermined mark value when the connection point is detected, and the descending order as long as the connection point is detected. Descending paging means for repeating the connection point searching means and the (j-1) th frame filling means up to the first frame;
An iterative execution means for repeatedly executing the ascending paging means and the descending paging means by {≧ 1}; and a frame if the ascending paging means and the descending paging means are repeatedly executed by a predetermined number of round trips M ｛≧ 1｝. And a three-dimensional image display means for performing a three-dimensional display based on the filled area in the ultrasonic blood flow display device.

According to a sixth aspect, the present invention provides an ultrasonic probe and a method of moving the ultrasonic probe in a direction substantially perpendicular to the scan plane or electronically moving the scan plane for each first position. CFM data acquisition means for sequentially acquiring the CFM data of the Nth frame from the frame, and displaying the B mode image based on the CFM data of the kth frame and displaying the B mode image on the B mode image The operator specifies a blood vessel of interest, or displays a three-dimensional image, and specifies the blood vessel of interest on the three-dimensional image by the operator. CFM data in the specified blood vessel region of interest is stored in a predetermined area. The start frame filling means for filling with the mark value, and a point of the (i + 1) th frame having the same coordinates as a point in the filling range of the i-th frame, the data of the point being within the blood vessel region. An ascending connection point searching means for obtaining coordinates of connection points as CFM data, and (i + 1) th frame for filling CFM data in a blood vessel region including the connection points with a predetermined mark value when the connection points are detected A filling means, an ascending paging means for repeating the ascending connection point searching means and the (i + 1) th frame filling means up to the Nth frame as long as a connection point is detected, and having the same coordinates as a point in the filling range of the jth frame. The point of the (j-1) th frame, and the data of the point is C indicating the inside of the blood vessel region.
A descending connection point searching means for obtaining coordinates of the connection point which is FM data; and (j-1), when a connection point is detected, filling CFM data in a blood vessel region including the connection point with a predetermined mark value. Frame filling means; descending paging means for repeating the descending connection point searching means and the (j-1) th frame filling means up to the first frame as long as a connection point is detected; An iterative execution means for repeatedly executing the ascending paging means and the descending paging means; and a filled area in each frame if the ascending paging means and the descending paging means are repeatedly executed by a predetermined number of reciprocations M {≧ 1}. And a three-dimensional image display means for performing three-dimensional display according to the present invention.

[0008]

In the continuum identification method according to the first aspect and the continuum identification apparatus according to the second aspect, a desired part to be a part of the continuum is determined by the operator with respect to three-dimensional data including a plurality of images. Is specified, the connected portion of the continuum is detected for an image adjacent to the specified image, and the detection process is performed on all the images. As a result, the continuum specified by the operator can be identified three-dimensionally.

In the ultrasonic blood flow display method according to the third aspect and the ultrasonic blood flow display device according to the fourth aspect,
When the operator designates a desired part to be a part of the blood flow or the blood vessel with respect to the three-dimensional data including a plurality of images in which the blood flow or the blood vessel is displayed, the blood flow or the blood flow or the image adjacent to the specified image is designated. A connected portion of a blood vessel is detected, and the detection process is performed on all images. As a result, it is possible to extract a blood flow or a blood vessel that is continuous from a portion designated by the operator and display the extracted blood flow or blood vessel as an image.

[0010] In the ultrasonic blood flow display apparatus according to the fifth aspect, the B-mode data of the first frame to the N-th frame is sequentially acquired at predetermined positions while moving the ultrasonic probe in a direction substantially perpendicular to the scan plane. I do. Next, the operator is caused to specify a blood vessel of interest on a B-mode image or a three-dimensional image in any of the first to Nth frames. Next, under the condition that “the region of the same blood vessel overlaps in the adjacent frame and the region of the different blood vessel does not overlap in the adjacent frame”, the connectivity of the blood vessel is searched between the frames, and the operator specifies the connectivity. An area corresponding to a blood vessel of interest is detected in each frame. In addition, in order to avoid overlooking a blood vessel of interest even if there is branching, integration, or bending of a blood vessel, at least one reciprocation of each frame in ascending and descending order is performed to search for connectivity of the blood vessel between the frames. Finally, the connected blood vessels are identified three-dimensionally based on the region corresponding to the blood vessel of interest in each frame, and displayed three-dimensionally. As a result, a blood vessel specified by the operator can be extracted three-dimensionally and displayed so as to be distinguishable from others.

In the ultrasonic blood flow display apparatus according to the sixth aspect, CFM data is used instead of B-mode data, but the operation is the same, and three-dimensionally extracts a blood vessel specified by the operator. Can be displayed in a distinguishable manner.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited by this. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the ultrasonic blood flow display device according to the present invention. In the ultrasonic blood flow display device 100, while moving the ultrasonic probe 1 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the scan plane, as shown in FIG. 2, the beamformer is moved from the first frame F1 to the fifth frame F5 at predetermined positions. Scan by 2. The movement of the ultrasonic probe 1 may be manual, mechanical, or electronic. In FIG. 2, A and B are blood vessels.

The B-mode processing unit 3 acquires B-mode data and transmits the B-mode data to the blood flow information processing unit 5 and D
Send to SC7. The DSC 7 generates a B-mode image, and
A B-mode image is displayed at RT8. The color flow processing unit 4 acquires the CFM data and sends the CFM data to the blood flow information processing unit 5 and the DSC 7. DSC7 is CF
An M image is generated, and a CFM image is displayed on the CRT 8.

The blood flow information processing section 5 is provided for each of the frames F1 to F
The low-luminance blood vessel portion is extracted from the B-mode data No. 5 by threshold processing, and the B-mode data is sent to the DSC 7. This B
According to the mode data, the DSC 7 generates the B mode images B1 to B5 shown in FIG. In these B mode images B1 to B5, a1 to a5 are blood vessels A
And b1 to b5 are blood vessels B. While viewing these B-mode images B1 to B5, the operator designates a blood vessel of interest using the designation operation unit 6. Then, the blood flow information processing unit 5
Extracts three-dimensionally a blood vessel designated by an operator, colors the blood vessel, and generates three-dimensional structure data of the blood vessel. DSC7 is
Based on the three-dimensional structure data, the blood vessel designated by the operator is three-dimensionally displayed on the CRT 8 so as to be clearly identifiable.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show the blood flow information processing unit 5.
6 is a flowchart of an operation related to. Step S1
Then, the operator specifies the number of reciprocations M by using the specification operation unit 6. M is an arbitrary natural number. In step S2, the operator displays the B-mode image Bk of the k-th frame on the CRT 8 using the designation operation unit 6. k is 1 ≦
An arbitrary frame number satisfying k ≦ N, and a frame in which the operator is interested in a blood vessel (this is called a blood vessel of interest) that is most recognizable may be selected. In this embodiment, since frames F1 to F5 exist, N = 5
It is. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, on the displayed B-mode image Bk, the operator designates one point in the blood vessel region of interest as the start point P1 using the designation operation unit 6 (that is, the blood flow of interest). Or, a desired part to be a part of a blood vessel of interest is specified). In FIG. 6, k = 1, and the blood vessel of interest is the blood vessel A shown in FIG. In step S3, a reciprocation counter m = 0 is initialized.

In step S4, as shown in FIG. 7, the inside of the blood vessel region of interest in the k-th frame is filled with the mark value. The mark value is a special value that does not exist as B-mode data. For this filling, a known closed region filling algorithm can be used. It should be noted that an area having a mark value is skipped instead of being overpainted.

In step S5, it is checked whether k = N. If k = N is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S6, where k = N
If so, the process proceeds to step S12. In step S6, k = k
+1. In steps S7 to S9, the k-th frame is sequentially scanned in the coordinate range of the blood vessel region of interest in the (k-1) th frame to search for a point in the blood vessel region (referred to as a connection point). This means that vascular connectivity is searched between frames under the condition that regions of the same blood vessel overlap in adjacent frames and regions of different blood vessels do not overlap in adjacent frames. The above conditions can be satisfied by the thickness of the frame (slice), the frame interval, and the part to be scanned. It should be noted that a region having a mark value is regarded as a blood vessel region. Step S1
At 0, as shown in FIG. 8, the found connection point P2 is set as the start point. In step S11, as shown in FIG.
The inside of the blood vessel region of interest in the k-th frame is filled with the mark value.
Then, the process returns to step S7. Step S4 and above
In S11, the connectivity of the blood vessels of interest is checked in ascending order, and the blood vessel area of interest is filled with the mark value. This is performed up to the Nth frame.

In step S12, it is checked whether k = 1. If k is not 1, the process proceeds to step S13, and k
If = 1, the process proceeds to step S19. In step S13,
Let k = k-1. In steps S14 to S16, the k-th frame is scanned sequentially in the coordinate range of the blood vessel region of interest in the (k + 1) -th frame to search for a point in the blood vessel region, that is, a connection point. In step S17, the found connection point is set as a start point. In step S18, the inside of the blood vessel region of interest in the k-th frame is filled with the mark value. Then, the process returns to step S14. By the above steps S12 to S18, the connectivity of the blood vessels of interest is checked in descending order, and the blood vessel area of interest is filled with the mark value.
This is performed up to the first frame.

In step S19, a reciprocating number counter m
= M + 1. In step S20, it is checked whether m = M. If the reciprocating number counter m has not reached the reciprocating number M, steps S5 to S18 are repeatedly executed. For example, as shown in FIG. 10A, when the start point P1 is specified at one end of the branch of the blood vessel of interest that branches in the middle, the branch β may be filled in one reciprocation (M = 1). However, as shown in FIG. 10B, when the start point P1 is specified in the middle of one of the branches of the blood vessel of interest that branches in the middle, the branch β must be set to two reciprocations (M = 2). Can't fill.
Normally, it is safe to keep M = 3. If the reciprocating number counter m reaches the reciprocating number M, step S2
Proceed to 1.

In step S21, connected blood vessels are identified three-dimensionally based on the filled area in each frame, and the mark value is replaced with a predetermined display mode value. And
Through the three-dimensional construction processing, three-dimensional structure data of the blood vessel is generated. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 11, a three-dimensional blood vessel image in which the blood vessel A specified by the operator can be clearly identified is C
Displayed at RT8. Note that FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B differ in the line of sight by 180 °. (A) of FIG.
Thus, it can be clearly seen that the blood vessel C is not a branch from the blood vessel A but is a continuation of the blood vessel B. Also, in FIG. 11B, it can be clearly seen that the blood vessel D is a continuation of the blood vessel A and is not a branch from the blood vessel B. According to the ultrasonic blood flow display device 100 described above, a blood vessel of interest designated by the operator can be extracted and three-dimensionally displayed so as to be distinguishable from others.

It is to be noted that a three-dimensional image may be displayed instead of the B-mode image, and the operator may designate a blood vessel of interest on the three-dimensional image. In this case, a point on the blood vessel may be detected by following the coordinates specified by the operator in the observation direction, and the processing in FIGS. 4 and 5 may be executed using the point as the specified start point.

Further, CFM data of each of the frames F1 to F5 is collected, and CFM images C1 to C5 as shown in FIG.
May be generated, the mark values may be replaced with the color values in the CFM images C1 to C5, and the colors may be colored by an interpolation process. The processing in this case is performed in step S20 in FIG.
1, S202 may be inserted between steps S20 and S21 in FIG. Thus, a three-dimensional CFM image capable of clearly identifying the blood flow of the blood vessel of interest specified by the operator can be obtained. In the three-dimensional CFM image, it is possible to reduce color discontinuity at a place where the blood flow direction is orthogonal to the ultrasonic beam.

Also, even if CFM data is used instead of B-mode data, a blood vessel of interest specified by the operator can be extracted and displayed in a three-dimensional manner so as to be distinguishable from the others, in the same manner as described above.

The processing shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 can be applied to a general continuum. That is, if the “continuum internal region” (that is, a desired portion that becomes a part of the continuum) is used instead of the “blood vessel region”, the continuum (eg, three-dimensionally) specified by the operator is identified. In this case, the three-dimensional data is not limited to an ultrasonic image but may be a CT image.

In the above embodiment, it is assumed that only blood vessels are displayed three-dimensionally. However, other tissue systems may be displayed simultaneously in different display modes (color, luminance). In this case, first, an area having common features is extracted from all images,
Next, a connection process is performed on the extracted region to identify a continuum. Finally, when each continuum is displayed three-dimensionally, a different display mode may be used.

[0026]

According to the continuum identification method and apparatus of the present invention, a continuum specified by the operator can be identified three-dimensionally. Further, according to the ultrasonic blood flow display method and apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to extract a continuous blood flow or blood vessel at a portion designated by the operator and display the image three-dimensionally so as to be distinguishable from the others.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an ultrasonic blood flow display device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a blood vessel and a frame group.

FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of a B-mode image.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a main part of the operation of the ultrasonic blood flow display device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a continuation of the flowchart in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of designation of a start point by an operator.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of filling of a blood vessel region including a designated start point.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of detection of a start point by inter-frame connectivity search;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of filling of a blood vessel region including a detected start point.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of reciprocation between ascending paging and descending paging.

FIG. 11 is a view showing an example of a three-dimensional blood vessel image according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an illustration of a CFM image.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of CFM data reflection and interpolation coloring processing.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of two adjacent blood vessels.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of two adjacent blood vessels and a frame group.

FIG. 16 is a view showing an example of a B-mode image.

FIG. 17 is a view showing an example of a conventional three-dimensional blood vessel image.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 ultrasonic blood flow display device 1 ultrasonic probe 3 B-mode processing unit 4 color flow processing unit 5 blood flow information processing unit 6 designation operation unit 7 DSC 8 CRT

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] An interest part designating means for designating a desired part that is a part of a continuum and is a part existing in one image in three-dimensional data based on a plurality of arranged images; A continuum identification device comprising: a continuum identification unit that detects a connected portion of a continuum in an image adjacent to the image and performs the detection processing so as to reciprocate at least once for all images. 2. A part existing in one image in three-dimensional data based on a plurality of arranged images in which a blood flow or a blood vessel is displayed, and a desired part to be a part of the blood flow or the blood vessel is defined as a part. A part of interest specifying means for specifying, and detecting a blood flow or a connected portion of blood vessels in an image adjacent to the specified image, and performing the detection processing so as to reciprocate at least once for all images. An ultrasonic blood flow display device comprising: a connection point detecting means for identifying a blood flow or a blood vessel; and a display means for displaying the continuous blood flow or blood vessel as an image. 3. An ultrasonic probe, and moving the ultrasonic probe in a direction substantially perpendicular to the scan plane or electronically moving the scan plane, at every predetermined position from the first frame to N ｛N ≧ 2 B-mode data acquisition means for sequentially acquiring B-mode data of a frame, and displaying a B-mode image based on the B-mode data of the k ｛1 ≦ k ≦ N｝ frame and operating a blood vessel of interest on the B-mode image Or specify a 3D image and
A vessel-of-interest specifying means for allowing an operator to specify a blood vessel of interest on the three-dimensional image; a start frame filling means for filling B-mode data in the specified blood vessel area of interest with a predetermined mark value; A point in the (i + 1) th frame having the same coordinates as the point (a), and the data of the point is ascending connection point searching means for obtaining the coordinates of the connection point which is B-mode data indicating the inside of the blood vessel region; In this case, the B-mode data in the blood vessel region including the connection point is filled with a predetermined mark value.
1) frame filling means, ascending paging means for repeating the ascending connection point searching means and the (i + 1) th frame filling means up to the Nth frame as long as a connection point is detected, and the same as a point in the filling range of the jth frame. A descending connection point searching means for obtaining the coordinates of the connection point which is a point of the (j-1) th frame having coordinates and whose data is B-mode data indicating the inside of the blood vessel region; Is the (j−j) that fills the B-mode data in the blood vessel region including the connection point with a predetermined mark value.
1) a frame filling means, a descending paging means for repeating the descending connection point searching means and the (j-1) th frame filling means up to the first frame as long as a connection point is detected, a predetermined number of reciprocations M {≧ 1} An iterative execution means for repeatedly executing the ascending paging means and the descending paging means; and a filled area in each frame if the ascending paging means and the descending paging means are repeatedly executed by a predetermined number of round trips M ｛≧ 1｝. And a three-dimensional image display means for performing a three-dimensional display based on the information. 4. An ultrasonic probe, and moving the ultrasonic probe in a direction substantially perpendicular to the scan plane or electronically moving the scan plane, at every predetermined position from the first frame to N ｛N ≧ 2 {CFM data acquisition means for sequentially acquiring the CFM data of the frame; and displaying a B-mode image based on the CFM data of the k ｛1 ≦ k ≦ N} frame and designating a blood vessel of interest to the operator on the B-mode image Or an interest vessel designating means for displaying a three-dimensional image and allowing an operator to designate a vessel of interest on the three-dimensional image, and filling a start frame for filling CFM data in the designated vessel area of interest with a predetermined mark value Means, a point in the (i + 1) th frame having the same coordinates as a point in the filling range of the i-th frame, and the data of the point is CFM data indicating the inside of the blood vessel region. And ascending connection point searching means for obtaining the coordinates of the point, if the connecting point is detected first fill CFM data in the blood vessel region containing the connecting points with a predetermined mark value (i +
1) frame filling means, ascending paging means for repeating the ascending connection point searching means and the (i + 1) th frame filling means up to the Nth frame as long as a connection point is detected, and the same as a point in the filling range of the jth frame. A descending connection point searching means for obtaining coordinates of a connection point which is a point of the (j-1) th frame having coordinates and whose data is CFM data indicating the inside of a blood vessel region; The CFM data in the blood vessel region including the connection point is filled with a predetermined mark value.
1) a frame filling means, a descending paging means for repeating the descending connection point searching means and the (j-1) th frame filling means up to the first frame as long as a connection point is detected, a predetermined number of reciprocations M {≧ 1} An iterative execution means for repeatedly executing the ascending paging means and the descending paging means; and a filled area in each frame if the ascending paging means and the descending paging means are repeatedly executed by a predetermined number of round trips M ｛≧ 1｝. And a three-dimensional image display means for performing a three-dimensional display based on the information.