KR101555264B1 - Ultrasound Diagnostic Apparatus and Method - Google Patents

Ultrasound Diagnostic Apparatus and Method Download PDF

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KR101555264B1
KR101555264B1 KR1020130146886A KR20130146886A KR101555264B1 KR 101555264 B1 KR101555264 B1 KR 101555264B1 KR 1020130146886 A KR1020130146886 A KR 1020130146886A KR 20130146886 A KR20130146886 A KR 20130146886A KR 101555264 B1 KR101555264 B1 KR 101555264B1
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data
phase
image
ultrasound
real
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KR20150062339A (en
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장선엽
손건호
구자운
강승범
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알피니언메디칼시스템 주식회사
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Priority to PCT/KR2013/010968 priority Critical patent/WO2015080315A1/en
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    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B8/00—Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves
    • A61B8/52—Devices using data or image processing specially adapted for diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves
    • A61B8/5207—Devices using data or image processing specially adapted for diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves involving processing of raw data to produce diagnostic data, e.g. for generating an image

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Abstract

A method for extracting a harmonic signal to form a harmonic image and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus therefor are disclosed.
To a harmonic imaging method and an ultrasonic imaging apparatus capable of extracting a harmonic component from a reflection signal of a transmission ultrasonic wave having the same phase but without using a band pass filter.

Figure R1020130146886

Description

[0001] Ultrasound Diagnostic Apparatus and Method [0002]

The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and method, and more particularly to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and method capable of extracting a harmonic component from a reflected signal without transmitting a transmission ultrasonic wave set of the same phase, ≪ / RTI >

The contents described in this section merely provide background information on the present embodiment and do not constitute the prior art.

The ultrasound imaging system receives an ultrasound wave reflected from a target object after transmitting the ultrasound wave to the target object, converts the received reflected signal into an electrical signal, and forms an ultrasound image.

In order to increase the resolution of the ultrasound image in the ultrasound imaging system, a harmonic imaging method has been proposed. When transmitting an ultrasonic pulse of a specific frequency and receiving a reflected signal, the reflected signal reflected from the object includes a fundamental frequency component and a harmonic component. As a technique for extracting harmonic components, a band pass filter or a pulse inversion technique has been used.

According to the pulse inversion technique, when a pair of ultrasonic pulses whose phases are inverted from each other is transmitted to a target object, and the respective reflection signals are combined, the fundamental wave components cancel each other out, and only the harmonic components are extracted. According to this pulse inversion technique, a transmission ultrasonic pulse for obtaining a fundamental wave image and a transmission ultrasonic pulse for obtaining a harmonic image are different from each other. As a result, when a harmonic image is to be obtained during diagnosis of a target object based on the fundamental wave image, or vice versa, it is cumbersome to re-scan the target object.

It is an object of the present embodiment to provide a harmonic imaging method and an ultrasonic imaging apparatus capable of extracting a harmonic component from the reflected signal without transmitting a transmission ultrasonic wave set of the same phase but using a band pass filter.

According to an aspect of the present invention, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus including a front end for transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic wave using a transducer and a host PC electrically connected to the front end generates an ultrasonic image in a live mode In operation, a real-time ultrasound image is generated based on RF data obtained by transmitting ultrasound pulses to the target in the same phase, and when operating in a cine reproduction mode or an image reconstruction mode, Real-time or non-real-time ultrasound image by using a harmonic component, and adjusting the phase between consecutive frame data and synthesizing consecutive frame data, Provides an image generation method.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ultrasonic imaging apparatus including a front end for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves using a transducer, and a host PC electrically connected to the front end, wherein when operating in a live mode, Phase ultrasound pulses are transmitted to a target object to generate a real-time ultrasound image based on the acquired RF data, and when operating in a cine reproduction mode or an image reconstruction mode, non-real-time ultrasound Wherein when the harmonic component is used for generating the real-time or non-real-time ultrasonic image, the harmonic component is extracted through a method of adjusting the phase between consecutive frame data and synthesizing consecutive frame data. Thereby providing an imaging device.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to use the same ultrasonic transmission pulse used for fundamental wave imaging, without needing to transmit an ultrasonic pulse set whose phases are inverted from each other, for harmonic imaging.

In addition, since the same ultrasonic transmission pulse as that used in fundamental wave imaging is used, it is possible to extract both the fundamental wave component and the harmonic wave component from the same RF data.

In particular, by separately storing RF data in a system memory, a cine memory, or a hard disk, it is possible to acquire a harmonic image without performing another re-scan during the fundamental wave imaging, and vice versa.

In addition, since both the fundamental wave component and the harmonic wave component can be extracted from the same RF data, it becomes easier to apply the frequency compounding technique for generating an image by synthesizing the fundamental wave component and the harmonic wave component.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of extracting a harmonic signal to form a harmonic image according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is an exemplary diagram for explaining a process of extracting frame data composed of N-th order harmonic components according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a diagram illustrating an operation of extracting a plurality of harmonic components for each frequency according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a transducer 110, a front end 120, and a host PC 130. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 is according to one embodiment, and thus not all of the blocks shown in FIG. 1 are essential elements, and in some embodiments, some of the blocks may be added, changed or deleted. Here, the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 100 is preferably a device that performs software-based ultrasound diagnosis, but is not limited thereto and may be implemented on a hardware basis.

The front end 120 includes a transceiver 122 and an analog-to-digital converter 126. The host PC 130 includes a data storage unit 132, a beam former 134, a phase control unit 135, a harmonic extraction unit 136, a fundamental wave extraction unit 137, and a signal processing unit 138 . The components of the host PC 130 may be implemented in software. For example, the functions of the host PC 130 may be configured to be processed in parallel by software using a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a GPGPU (General Purpose Graphic Processing Unit) .

The front end 120 and the host PC 130 are connected to a standard interface such as PCI-Express for transmission of ultrasound data (RF data).

The transducer 110 converts an electrical analog signal into an ultrasonic wave, transmits the ultrasonic wave to a target object, and converts a signal reflected from the target object (hereinafter referred to as a reflected signal) into an electrical analog signal. Generally, the transducer 110 includes a plurality of transducer elements. The transducer 110 converts acoustic energy into an electrical signal and converts electrical energy into acoustic energy.

The transducer 110 suitably delays the input time of the pulses input to each transducer element under the control of the beam former 134 to transmit the focused ultrasonic wave along the transmission scan line to the object, And receives a reflection signal corresponding to the ultrasonic waves.

Hereinafter, the components included in the front end 120 will be described.

The transceiver 122 applies a voltage pulse to the transducer 110 to cause the transducer elements of the transducer 110 to output ultrasonic waves. In some embodiments, the transceiver 122 operates to output ultrasonic waves having the same phase in each of the transducers 110 by applying a voltage pulse having the same phase to the transducer 110. Also, in some other embodiments, the transceiver 122 may control the transducer to transmit M ultrasound waves having different frequencies to the object. For example, transceiver 122 has the same phase f 0, f 1 And f 2 To the transducer 110 in sequence. ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 > [0035] < / RTI >

The transceiver 122 performs a function of switching transmission and reception so that the transceiver 110 can perform transmission or reception alternately. The transceiver 122 also receives the reflected signals output from the respective transducer elements of the transducer 110 and performs amplification, aliasing, and removal of noise components on the received reflected signals, And transmits the processed signal to the analog-to-digital converter 126, such as correction of attenuation caused by passing through the inside.

The analog-to-digital converter 126 converts the analog reflection signal received from the transmission / reception unit 122 into RF data, which is a digital signal, and transmits the RF data to the host PC 120. Here, the analog-to-digital converter 126 transmits the RF data converted into the digital signal to the data storage unit 132 to be stored therein. Depending on the embodiment, the reflected signal may undergo a predetermined signal processing before or after being converted into a digital signal.

Hereinafter, the components included in the host PC 130 will be described.

The data storage unit 132 stores the RF data received from the front end 120. The data storage unit 132 according to the present embodiment provides RF data based on an input signal for executing a control command of the controller 139. [ More specifically, when the real-time processing input signal for the live mode is inputted from the control unit 139, the data storage unit 132 transmits the RF data received in real time to the fundamental wave extracting unit 137 So that a real-time ultrasonic image using the fundamental wave component is generated. When the input signal for the cine reproduction mode or the image reconstruction mode is inputted from the control unit 139, the data storage unit 132 stores the RF data pre-stored for a predetermined period of time to the beam former 134 and / And transmits it to the phase controller 135. The ultrasonic image is generated by extracting harmonic components through focusing and phase adjustment based on the previously stored RF data.

The data storage unit 132 may be implemented as a memory such as a system memory, a CINE memory, a VRAM, and an SRAM to store RF data for a predetermined time, or may be implemented as a hard disk for continuously storing RF data , A memory and a backup type hard disk, and can be implemented to generate an ultrasound image by real-time and image reconstruction. More specifically, the data storage unit 132 may be implemented as a memory (e.g., system memory, cine memory, etc.), a hard disk, a data storage medium such as a DVD, and a control module thereof. For example, when the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 operates in the real-time mode, the harmonic component is extracted using the RF data stored in the system memory. When the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 operates in the cine reproduction mode, When operating in the image reconstruction mode, the harmonic components can be extracted using RF data stored in a hard disk, a DVD, or the like. Here, the system memory and the cine memory are described as separate memories which are distinguished from each other. However, the system memory and the cine memory may be logically divided into a single memory. For example, according to some embodiments, the cine memory may be implemented in a form that operates by being allocated a predetermined region logically predetermined in the system memory.

The image reconstructing unit 133 performs an operation of reconstructing the image based on the RF data previously stored in the data storage unit 132 based on the input signal input from the control unit 139 so as to generate a non-real-time ultrasonic image .

The image reconstructing unit 133 according to this embodiment adjusts the phase based on the previously stored RF data when the input signal for the cine reproduction mode or the image reconstruction mode is inputted from the control unit 139, Real-time ultrasound images are reconstructed using harmonic components. Here, the non-real-time ultrasound image may be at least one of a frequency compounding image, a harmonic image, and a dual image that simultaneously outputs a harmonic image and a fundamental wave image. In other words, the non-real-time ultrasound image may be an image using a fundamental wave component, an N-th harmonic component, a frequency compounding component obtained by combining the fundamental wave component and the N-th harmonic component, Two images of the harmonic image and the frequency synthesized image may be simultaneously displayed.

In addition, when acquiring an input signal including information on a region of interest corresponding to all or a part of the real-time ultrasound images output from the controller 139 in real time, the non-real-time ultrasound image is generated so that only the region of interest is generated as a non- You may.

The beam former 134 delays an electrical signal suitable for the transducer 110 and converts it into an electrical signal corresponding to each transducer element. Further, the beam former 134 delays or sums the electric signal converted by each transducer element, and calculates the output value of the corresponding transducer element. Here, the beam former 132 may be implemented by including a transmission beamformer, a reception beamformer, and a beam forming unit.

The beam former 134 according to the present embodiment performs an operation of collecting RF data stored in the data storage unit 132. [ The beam former 134 applies different amounts of delay (determined according to the position to which receive beamforming is to be performed) to the RF data having the same phase stored in the data storage unit 132 and outputs a delayed signal And performs a dynamic focusing by generating a reception focusing signal. For example, the beam former 134 may extract RF data corresponding to the reflection signal received from each of the transducer elements from the data storage unit 132 and combine them into one frame data.

The beam former 134 can focus RF data received in real time in the data storage unit 132 and when an input signal for a cine reproduction mode or an image reconstruction mode exists from the control unit 139 , The RF data previously stored in the data storage unit 132 may be extracted and then focused into frame data. Here, the frame data is described as being focused data by extracting the RF data received and stored in the data storage unit 132. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the frame data may include ultrasound data before or after receiving receive focusing (Receive Beamforming) It may mean.

The phase control unit 135 performs a phase shift to adjust the phase of the receive focusing signal. The phase control unit 135 according to the present embodiment adjusts the phase so that the consecutive N (N is a natural number of 2 or more) pieces of RF data have a phase difference of 360 DEG / N with respect to the reception focusing signal having the same phase And performs an operation of generating one phase adjustment data. Here, the phase difference may be determined based on N consecutive RF data, but is not limited thereto, and may be determined based on a preset N to extract an N-th harmonic component in the high frequency extractor 136. [

The phase control unit 135 receives the order information N of the harmonics to be generated from the control unit 139 and receives N pieces of RF data for N frames from the data storage unit 132 based on the inputted order information, And the extracted N pieces of RF data can be adjusted to have a phase difference of 360 DEG / N from each other. Here, it is preferable that the phase control unit 135 adjusts the phase after the N RF data extracted from the data storage unit 132 is received and focused. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, It can also be adjusted.

For example, when the phase control unit 135 adjusts the phase, the phase control unit 135 adjusts the receive focusing signal including two consecutive data having the same phase to 0 °, The phase adjustment data can be generated by adjusting the phase by 180 ° (360 ° / 2). Here, the phase adjustment data whose phases are adjusted to 0 DEG and 180 DEG can be transmitted to the harmonic wave extraction unit 136 to extract a second harmonic component.

In addition, the phase control unit 135 outputs 0, 120, and 240 degrees (360 degrees / 3 + 360 degrees / 3 degrees) ) To generate phase adjustment data. Here, the phase adjustment data whose phases are adjusted to 0 deg., 120 deg., And 240 deg. Can be transmitted to the harmonic wave extracting unit 136 to extract the third harmonic component.

The harmonic extraction unit 136 synthesizes the N phase adjustment data generated by the phase control unit 135 to generate an Nth-order harmonic component for forming a real-time or non-real-time ultrasonic image. The harmonic wave extracting unit 136 synthesizes the phase adjustment data according to the transmission of the N ultrasonic waves when the initial frame is formed and then synthesizes the phase adjustment data generated for each new ultrasonic wave transmitted in the order of reception in order to generate a real- .

Hereinafter, it is assumed that the synthesis process of the harmonic extraction unit 136 is N = 3. When N is 3, the beam former 134 focuses RF data having the same phase stored in the data storage unit 132 to generate three consecutive receive focusing signals having the same phase (e.g., O). The phase control unit 135 adjusts the phase of the receive focusing signal having the same phase to 0 degree, 120 degree and 240 degree so as to have a phase difference of 120 degrees, and assumes that data phase-adjusted to 0 degree is 'A 1 ' , Assuming that the phase-adjusted data at 120 ° is 'A 2 ' and the data that is phase-adjusted at 240 ° is 'A 3 '. Then, the harmonic wave extracting unit 136 synthesizes the data for each reception focusing signal in the order of 'A 1 + A 2 + A 3 ' to extract the third harmonic components to form the first frame. Home after a new data-phase is adjusted to a 0˚ 'A 4' if (A 1 and A 4 are adjusted in the same phase to each other on the received time data), the synthesis unit 240 is' A 2 + A 3 + A 4 'order to extract a third harmonic component to form a second frame.

On the other hand, the harmonic wave extracting unit 136 may extract harmonic components by adjusting the phase of the RF data having a plurality of frequencies (M frequencies) in sequence. Here, the sequence is preferably a group unit having M frequencies, but may be interpreted as a group unit in which the same phase difference is adjusted. Hereinafter, the synthesis process of the RF data having the three frequencies of the harmonic extraction unit 136 will be described assuming that N is 2. For example, f 0, f 1 in the phase control 135 And the phase difference of 360 [deg.] / 2 is adjusted for each of a plurality of sequences including three RF data having a frequency of f 2 , the harmonic extraction unit 136 extracts and synthesizes RF data having the same frequency in each sequence , And a second harmonic component may be extracted.

The fundamental wave extracting unit 137 performs an operation of extracting a fundamental wave component so that the real-time ultrasound image can be generated in real time based on the previously stored RF data in real time in the data storage unit 132. [

The fundamental wave extraction unit 137 multiplies the RF data pre-stored in the data storage unit 132 by a predetermined function, downs the baseband signal (down conversion), passes through a low-pass filter, It is possible to extract the fundamental wave component based on the IQ data based on the phase component (Quadrature Phase). Although the basic wave extracting unit 137 is described as being a separate module from the signal processing unit 138, the basic wave extracting unit 137 is not necessarily limited to this, and may be combined with the signal processing unit 138 to generate a real-time ultrasound image through a fundamental wave component It is possible.

The signal processing unit 138 generates real-time or non-real-time ultrasound image data for one scan line or image frame using the fundamental wave component or Nth-order harmonic component generated based on the RF data. The signal processing unit 138 according to the present embodiment can process the envelope of the Nth order harmonic component by using data for detecting and displaying the envelope.

The signal processing unit 138 receives the extracted fundamental wave component, harmonic component, and the like based on the RF data stored in the data storage unit 132, performs post-processing such as frequency synthesis, Real-time image can be generated and operated to be displayed. Here, the frequency synthesis may be a combination of the fundamental wave component and the Nth-order harmonic component, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The frequency synthesis may be performed on at least two frequencies out of M different frequencies based on the RF data stored in the data storage unit 132 . ≪ / RTI >

The signal processing unit 138 includes a scan conversion unit (not shown) for matching the scanning direction of the data with the pixel direction of the display unit (e.g., a monitor) and mapping the data to pixel positions of the display unit . The scan conversion unit may convert the ultrasound image data into a data format used in a display unit of a predetermined scan line display format.

The control unit 139 receives an instruction by a user's operation and performs overall management of the front end 120 and the host PC 130. [ The control unit 139 controls the transceiver 122 of the front end 120 to transmit ultrasonic pulses having the same phase by the transducer 110. [ Here, the controller 139 may control the transceiver 122 such that the ultrasonic pulses having the same phase have the same frequency, but may control the transceiver 122 such that the ultrasonic pulses having the same phase have different frequencies .

The control unit 139 transmits an input signal for the cine playback mode or the image reconstruction mode to the image reconstructing unit 133 based on the user's input and adjusts the phase based on the RF data pre-stored in the data storage unit 132 Extracts a harmonic component, and generates an ultrasonic image based on the harmonic component. Here, the input signal may further include information on a region of interest set to all or a part of an ultrasound image output in real time, or may include priority information for performing focusing or phase adjustment of previously stored RF data have.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of extracting a harmonic signal according to an embodiment of the present invention to form a harmonic image.

The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 transmits the ultrasonic wave having the same phase and receives the reflected signal corresponding to the ultrasonic wave (S210). More specifically, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 transmits ultrasonic waves to the object using a voltage pulse train having the same phase, and receives the reflected signal from the object. The voltage pulse train having the same phase may in some embodiments have each pulse having the same frequency and in other embodiments the pulses having different frequencies may be in the repeated form.

The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 100 stores RF data based on the reflected signal (S220). The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 100 may store RF data based on the reflected signal in a memory such as a system memory, a CINE memory, a VRAM, and a SRAM.

The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 determines whether to process the stored RF data in real time (S230). If it is determined in step S230 that the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 100 is in a real-time processing mode for generating a real-time ultrasound image, the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 100 extracts basic wave components based on the RF data received in real- A real-time ultrasound image can be generated using the wave component (S232). The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 extracts IQ data based on an in-phase component and a quadrature component obtained by multiplying RF data by a predetermined function and then converting the RF data into a baseband signal and passing it through a low-pass filter as a fundamental wave component, Real-time ultrasound images using the components can be generated.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S230 that the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 100 is in a scene playback mode or an image reconstruction mode other than the real-time processing mode, the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 100 generates RF reception data by focusing RF data (S240), and adjusts the phase of the received focusing data (S250). The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 may generate a receive focusing signal by combining the delayed signals by applying different amounts of delay to the RF data having the same phase and depending on the position where the receiving focusing is to be performed. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 can generate the phase adjustment data in which the phase adjustment is performed so that the consecutive N (N is a natural number of 2 or more) pieces of RF data have a phase difference of 360 DEG / N with respect to the reception focusing signal having the same phase have. For example, the receive-focusing signal including two consecutive data having the same phase can generate phase adjustment data phase-adjusted to 0 占 and 180 占 (360 占).

The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 100 extracts harmonic components for each of the N phase adjustment data, which is phase-adjusted reception focusing data at step S250 (S260). The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 100 may extract an N-th order harmonic component for synthesizing N phase adjustment data to form one frame. For example, when N is 3, third-order harmonic components can be extracted by synthesizing data adjusted to 0 °, data adjusted to 120 °, and data adjusted to 240 °.

The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 generates a harmonic image based on the extracted harmonic components (S270). Here, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 processes the harmonic image using data for displaying the harmonic image using the N-th harmonic component extracted in step S260.

Although it is described in Fig. 2 that steps S210 to S270 are sequentially executed, the present invention is not limited thereto. 2 is not limited to the time-series order, as it would be applicable to changing or executing the steps described in FIG. 2 or executing one or more steps in parallel.

As described above, the image forming method using the harmonic component according to the present embodiment described in FIG. 2 can be implemented by a program and recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. A program for implementing an image forming method using a harmonic component according to the present embodiment is recorded, and a computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording devices for storing data that can be read by a computer system.

3 is an exemplary diagram for explaining an operation of extracting an N-th harmonic signal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the frame data used for extracting harmonic components may be ultrasound data used to generate one frame data, and may be ultrasound data before or after receiving receive focusing (Receive Beamforming).

Fig. 3A shows one piece of frame data composed of second harmonic components from two consecutive frame data 310 and 320. Fig. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 adjusts the phase so that two consecutive frame data have a phase difference of 180 degrees (360 degrees / 2) (340), and synthesizes two phase-adjusted frame data (350). As a result, the fundamental wave component is removed, and one frame data composed of the second harmonic component is generated.

FIG. 3 (b) shows a method of extracting one piece of frame data composed of third harmonic components from three consecutive frame data 310, 320, and 330.

The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 adjusts the phase so that three consecutive frame data 310, 320 and 330 have a phase difference of 120 degrees (360 degrees / 3) from each other (342) (352). As a result, the fundamental wave component and the second harmonic component are removed, and one frame data composed of the third harmonic component is generated.

In some embodiments, the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 100 may be configured to transmit ultrasound pulses comprised of pulses having different frequencies to a target object and acquire RF data based on the reflected signals. In this case, in order to extract harmonic components for each frequency, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 performs signal processing (phase adjustment and data synthesis) for each frame data having the same frequency.

Hereinafter, the frequencies f 0 and f 1 And f 2 are successively output to a target object, and a method of extracting a harmonic component will be described. As described above, the frame data used for extracting harmonic components may be ultrasound data used to generate one frame, and may be ultrasound data before or after receive beamforming is performed.

4 is a diagram for explaining a method of extracting a second harmonic signal for each frequency when ultrasonic pulses composed of pulses having different frequencies are used in the ultrasonic transmission.

4, the six frames of data to a row, the third frame having the first frame data 410, a second frame data 420 and the f 2 frequency of the f 1 frequency of the f 0 frequency It consists of a first sequence (sequence) and f the fourth frame data having a zero frequency, and the sixth frame data having a fifth frame data and the f 2 frequency of the f 1 frequency containing the data 430 in the second sequence .

The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 adjusts the phase so that the two sequences have a phase difference of 180 degrees (440), and synthesizes the frame data for each frequency. As a result, the fundamental wave component is removed for each frequency, and frame data including the second harmonic component is generated.

In FIG. 4, a method of generating frame data including a second harmonic component has been exemplarily described, but it is possible to extract harmonic components of other orders by a similar method. In particular, in FIG. 4, frame data including a harmonic component is generated for each frequency. However, in some embodiments, the frame data may be configured to be performed only for a specific frequency (for example, the lowest frequency) Do.

The foregoing description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present embodiment, and various modifications and changes may be made to those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the embodiments. Therefore, the present embodiments are to be construed as illustrative rather than restrictive, and the scope of the technical idea of the present embodiment is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present embodiment should be construed according to the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope of equivalents thereof should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

100: Ultrasonic diagnostic device
110: transducer 120: front end
122: Transmitting / receiving unit 126: Analog-to-digital converter
130: Host PC
132: Data storage unit 134: Beamformer
135: Phase control unit 136: Harmonic extraction unit
137: basic wave extracting unit 138: signal processing unit

Claims (15)

An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus including a front end for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves using a transducer and a host PC electrically connected to the front end,
Transmitting ultrasound pulses to the object in the same phase in the front end;
Storing RF data obtained based on a reflection signal having the same phase from the front end;
Generating a real-time ultrasound image based on the fundamental wave component, extracting a fundamental wave component of the RF data without a separate phase adjustment when operating in a live mode (Live Mode);
Generating a non-real-time ultrasound image based on data extracted from RF data accumulated for a predetermined period of time without performing another re-scan when the apparatus is operated in the Cine Reproduction Mode or the image reconstruction mode,
When a harmonic component is used in the real-time or non-real-time ultrasonic image generation, the phases are adjusted to have different phase differences between consecutive frame data among previously stored RF data, and the harmonic components Of the ultrasound image. The method according to claim 1,
The phase adjustment includes:
And adjusting phase so that the N consecutive frame data have a phase difference of 360 DEG / N based on the harmonic order (N) to be extracted. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the synthesizing of the continuous frame data comprises:
And combining the N consecutive frame data having a phase difference of 360 deg. / N with each other. The method according to claim 1,
The frame data includes:
Wherein the ultrasound image is ultrasound data before or after receive beamforming based on the RF data. The method according to claim 1,
The extraction of the above-
Receiving and aggregating N pieces of the frame data;
Adjusting the phase of the received frame data to have a phase difference of 360 DEG / N to generate N phase adjustment data; And
A process of synthesizing the N phase adjustment data and extracting an Nth order harmonic component
Wherein the ultrasound image comprises a plurality of ultrasound images. The method according to claim 1,
The extraction of the above-
Adjusting a phase of the frame data to have a phase difference of 360 DEG / N;
Receiving and framing the phase-adjusted frame data; And
A step of synthesizing the phase-adjusted frame data and extracting N-th order harmonic components
Wherein the ultrasound image comprises a plurality of ultrasound images. The method according to claim 1,
The real-time ultrasound image and the non-real-
An N-th harmonic component, and a frequency compounding component, and the frequency synthesized component is a component obtained by synthesizing the fundamental wave component and the N-th harmonic component, A method of generating an ultrasound image. 8. The method of claim 7,
The Cine Reproduction Mode or the image reconstruction mode is a mode in which,
And simultaneously displays at least two images of an image using the fundamental wave component, an image using the Nth order harmonic component, and an image using the frequency synthesized component at the same time. The method according to claim 1,
The extraction of the above-
Wherein only the data corresponding to a region of interest of the frame data is performed. The method according to claim 1,
The ultrasound image generating method includes:
If the region of interest is set based on the input signal among the real-time ultrasound images generated based on the fundamental wave component in the live mode, using the extracted harmonic components based on the pre-stored RF data corresponding to the region of interest And generating a non-real-time ultrasound image for the region of interest. The method according to claim 1,
The ultrasound pulses are,
And M ultrasound pulses having the same phase and having different frequencies. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the phase adjustment and the frame data synthesis are performed such that,
Wherein the ultrasonic image is generated for each frame data of the same frequency. 13. The method of claim 12,
The non-real-
And an image using any one of a fundamental wave component, an Nth-order harmonic component, and a frequency compounding component according to any one of the M frequencies. 14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the frequency synthesized component comprises:
Wherein at least two frequency components of the M frequencies are synthesized. An ultrasound imaging apparatus comprising a front end for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves using a transducer and a host PC electrically connected to the front end,
The front end transmitting ultrasound pulses to the object in the same phase;
A data storage unit for storing RF data acquired based on a reflection signal having the same phase from the front end;
A fundamental wave extracting unit for extracting a fundamental wave component of the RF data and generating a real-time ultrasound image based on the fundamental wave component, when operating in a live mode (Live Mode);
An image reconstructing unit for generating a non-real-time ultrasound image based on data extracted from RF data accumulated for a predetermined period of time without re-scanning in a cine reproduction mode or an image reconstruction mode; And
In the case of using the harmonic component in the generation of the real-time or non-real-time ultrasonic image, the harmonic component is adjusted by adjusting the phase to have different phase difference between consecutive frame data among the previously stored RF data, The harmonic wave extracting unit
And an ultrasound imaging device.
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