CN106535771A

CN106535771A - Ultrasound imaging method and system

Info

Publication number: CN106535771A
Application number: CN201480080775.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李勇; 刘硕
Original assignee: Shenzhen Mindray Bio Medical Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Mindray Bio Medical Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2014-07-24
Filing date: 2014-07-24
Publication date: 2017-03-22
Also published as: WO2016011645A1

Abstract

An ultrasound imaging method comprising the following steps: collecting a sleep-related signal; determining whether or not the sleep-related signal satisfies a preset criterion; and, if yes, activating ultrasound imaging for an area of interest. By making a determination with respect to the collected sleep-related signal and triggering ultrasound imaging, the ultrasound imaging method implements automatically triggered scanning of a human body while sleeping. In addition, also provided is an ultrasound imaging system.

Description

Ultrasound imaging method and system

[ technical field ] A method for producing a semiconductor device

The present invention relates to ultrasound technology, and in particular, to an ultrasound imaging method and system.

[ background of the invention ]

The traditional personal health information management system collects and arranges various physiological and pathological parameters (including electrocardio, electroencephalogram, magnetocardiogram, pulse blood oxygen saturation, impedance, signal parameters obtained by instruments and methods such as MRI, CT, ultrasound, fluoroscope, X-ray and the like) under various states (including sleep, rapid eye movement, waking, movement, eating, spiritual excitement, listlessness, different body postures and the like), analyzes and processes by using various mathematical methods, thereby obtaining the health information of a human body and managing the health condition of the human body.

In the human health management mode, monitoring various physiological and pathological parameters during sleeping is of special significance, particularly for sleeping medicine. However, the physiological and pathological parameters monitored by the conventional sleep monitoring apparatus and method are parameters suitable for long-term detection, such as respiration, heart rate, etc., resulting in limited physiological and pathological parameters available.

[ summary of the invention ]

Based on this, it is necessary to provide an ultrasound imaging method and system to address the problem that the physiological and pathological parameters monitored by the conventional sleep monitoring device and method are limited.

The invention provides an ultrasonic imaging method, which comprises the following steps: collecting sleep-related signals; judging whether the sleep-related signal meets a preset condition or not; initiating ultrasound imaging of a region of interest if the sleep-related signal satisfies a preset condition.

In one embodiment of the invention, the sleep-related signal is an ultrasonic doppler signal of tracheal movement.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises obtaining a velocity of the tracheal movement according to the ultrasonic doppler signal, and starting the ultrasonic imaging when the velocity of the tracheal movement is greater than a first threshold.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the sleep-related signal is a breath sound volume.

In one embodiment of the invention, the ultrasound imaging is initiated when the breath sound volume is greater than a second threshold.

In an embodiment of the invention, when the volume of the breath sound is smaller than or equal to the second threshold and the time less than or equal to the second threshold exceeds a preset value, the ultrasonic imaging is stopped.

In one embodiment of the invention, the sleep-related signal is a heart sound signal.

In an embodiment of the invention, the ultrasound imaging is initiated when a split-time of a first heart sound in the heart sound signal is larger than a third threshold and/or a temporal rate of variation of an amplitude of the first heart sound in the heart sound signal is larger than a fourth threshold and/or a temporal rate of variation of an amplitude of a second heart sound in the heart sound signal is larger than a fifth threshold.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes analyzing the ultrasonic signals and/or ultrasonic images obtained by the ultrasonic imaging, and displaying the analysis result.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides an ultrasound imaging system, including: the signal acquisition unit is used for acquiring signals related to sleep; the judging unit is used for judging whether the sleep-related signal meets a preset condition or not; and the ultrasonic imaging unit is used for starting ultrasonic imaging on the region of interest when the judgment result of the judgment unit shows that the sleep-related signal meets the preset condition.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the signal acquisition unit is a monitoring probe, and the monitoring probe is configured to transmit an ultrasonic wave to a trachea and receive an ultrasonic echo, so as to obtain an ultrasonic doppler signal of the movement of the trachea.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the determining unit obtains a speed of the trachea movement according to the ultrasonic doppler signal and determines whether the speed of the trachea movement is greater than a first threshold, and when the determining unit determines that the speed of the trachea movement is greater than the first threshold, the ultrasonic imaging unit starts ultrasonic imaging on the region of interest.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the signal collecting unit is a sound sensor, and the sound sensor is used for collecting volume of breath sound.

In an embodiment of the present invention, when the judging unit judges that the volume of the breath sound is greater than a second threshold, the ultrasonic imaging unit starts ultrasonic imaging on the region of interest.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the signal collecting unit is a sound sensor, and the sound sensor is used for collecting a heart sound signal of a human body.

In an embodiment of the present invention, when the determining unit determines that the splitting time of the first heart sound in the heart sound signal is greater than a third threshold and/or the time variation rate of the amplitude of the first heart sound in the heart sound signal is greater than a fourth threshold and/or the time variation rate of the amplitude of the second heart sound in the heart sound signal is greater than a fifth threshold, the ultrasound imaging unit starts ultrasound imaging on the region of interest.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the ultrasound imaging apparatus further includes a signal processing unit and a display unit, which are configured to analyze the ultrasound signals and/or the ultrasound images obtained by the ultrasound imaging unit and display the analysis result.

According to the ultrasonic imaging method and system, the acquired sleep-related signals are judged, and ultrasonic imaging is triggered, so that automatic triggering ultrasonic imaging can be performed on a human body in sleep, and items which can be monitored in the sleep process are increased.

[ description of the drawings ]

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a method of ultrasound imaging in one embodiment;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an ultrasound imaging system in one embodiment.

[ detailed description ] embodiments

References in the specification to "one embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

Embodiments of the invention may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof. Embodiments of the invention may also be implemented as instructions stored on a machine-readable medium, which may be read and executed by one or more processors. A machine-readable medium may include any mechanism (e.g., a computing device) for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine. For example, a machine-readable medium may include Read Only Memory (ROM); random Access Memory (RAM); a magnetic disk storage medium; an optical storage medium; a flash memory device; electrical, optical, acoustical or other form of propagated signals (e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.), and others.

Sleep medicine is an emerging marginal interdisciplinary discipline, which has become an independent specialty in the field of clinical medicine. Great progress in diagnosis and treatment and research of Sleep Disordered Breathing (SDB) is the most important factor for promoting the formation and development of sleep medicine. The main reasons are: 1. SDB is a frequently encountered disease and a common disease, but is yet to be recognized; 2. SDB is a serious condition that can affect all systems throughout the body, significantly increasing the incidence and mortality of patient complications; 3. SDB can be treated.

The diagnosis and treatment of Sleep Disordered Breathing (SDB) mainly aims at comprehensively checking and treating various common sleep disorders, such as snoring, sleep apnea, hypoventilation, insomnia, snooze, circadian rhythm abnormality, sleep-related dyskinesia, behavioral abnormality in rapid eye movement sleep period, narcolepsy and the like. Overnight sleep breath monitoring has been classified as a routine examination of diseases like hypertension and diabetes by the american society of professional practitioners.

Sleep Apnea Syndrome (SAS) has been recognized as an independent common respiratory disorder, with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) being the most common. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) can lead to reduced total sleep time, changes in progressive hypoxemia and hypercapnia, all of which can cause changes in cardiovascular function.

In summary, the medical ultrasonic device for detecting the state and change of the body function of a patient with sleep disorder, such as performing echocardiography, blood flow doppler and other detection, has important clinical value. The detection needs to be performed after the human body enters a certain state, and if the human body does not enter the corresponding state, the detection is performed and continues until the human body enters the corresponding state, so that the obtained detection data are excessive and are not beneficial to subsequent analysis.

Therefore, an ultrasound imaging method is proposed, which uses a sensor to monitor physiological parameters of a human body, such as ultrasound doppler signals for monitoring the movement of the trachea or sounds (e.g. snore, heart sounds, etc.) emitted from a certain part, when the physiological parameters of the human body obtained by monitoring meet a certain condition, a medical ultrasound device automatically starts ultrasound imaging, acquires images and data of tissues and organs (e.g. heart) of a study object, and performs automatic analysis for clinical research.

As shown in fig. 1, an ultrasound imaging method of an embodiment includes the steps of:

step S110, a sleep-related signal is collected.

In a particular embodiment, the sleep-related signal may be an ultrasonic doppler signal of tracheal movement.

The speed of the trachea movement can be obtained by processing the ultrasonic Doppler signals of the trachea movement. From the speed of the movement of the trachea, it can be judged whether the human body is in a state of sleep disorder (e.g., snoring, etc.). For example, when the speed of the trachea movement is greater than a first threshold, the human body may be considered to be in a treatment sleep disorder state. For example, in one embodiment, a person may be considered to be in a sleep disorder state when the velocity of movement in the trachea is measured to be 10-20cm/s (centimeters per second).

The method of obtaining the motion velocity from the ultrasonic doppler signal may be a method commonly used in the art and will not be described in detail herein.

In another embodiment, the sleep-related signal may be a heart sound signal.

The heart sounds are sounds produced during systole and diastole, which can be heard on the chest wall by ear or stethoscope, or recorded by electronic equipment (e.g., phonocardiograph). The heart sounds may be classified into a first heart sound (S1, which is normally heard), a second heart sound (S2, which is normally heard), a third heart sound (S3, which is normally heard only in children and adolescents), and a fourth heart sound (S4, which is rarely heard in normal cases). Heart sounds produced from the heart are transmitted to the surface of the chest wall through tissue mediation, with bone conduction being the best, blood and muscle being the next best, and lung and adipose tissue being the worst. Physiological noise can be generated by factors such as accelerated heart blood ejection speed. When the heart and the large blood vessel are diseased, the change of the myocardial contraction force, the stenosis or the insufficiency of the heart valve opening or the change of the blood flow speed in the heart can lead the vibration, the amplitude or the frequency to be obviously changed in the relaxing and contracting activities of the heart, change the intensity and the frequency of the normal heart sound and generate abnormal heart sound or heart pathological noise.

According to the collected heart sound signals, whether the human body is in the sleep disorder at present can be judged. For example, when the split time of the first heart sound in the heart sound signal is greater than a third threshold and/or the temporal variation rate of the amplitude of the first heart sound in the heart sound signal is greater than a fourth threshold and/or the temporal variation rate of the amplitude of the second heart sound in the heart sound signal is greater than a fifth threshold, it may be considered that the human body is in a state of treating the sleep disorder, at which time the ultrasonic imaging of the region of interest may be initiated.

Here, the split time of the first heart sound may refer to, for example, an interval time between two first heart sounds before and after. The temporal variation rate of the amplitude of the first heart sound may refer to, for example, a rate of change of the amplitude of the first heart sound over two preceding and following time periods (e.g., a mean or an extreme value of the amplitude of the first heart sound over the two preceding and following time periods, etc.) (e.g., a ratio of a difference between the amplitudes of the first heart sound over the two preceding and following time periods to the amplitude of the first heart sound over the preceding or following time period, etc.). Similarly, the time variation rate of the amplitude of the second heart sound may refer to, for example, a variation rate of the amplitude of the second heart sound over two preceding and succeeding time periods (e.g., a mean or an extreme value of the amplitudes of the second heart sound over the two preceding and succeeding time periods, etc.) (e.g., a ratio of a difference between the amplitudes of the second heart sound over the two preceding and succeeding time periods to the amplitude of the second heart sound over the preceding or succeeding time period, etc.).

In another embodiment of the present invention, the sleep-related signal may be a breath sound (e.g., snore, etc.). The respiratory sound is generated in the trachea and the lung, is transmitted to the body surface by taking tissues such as alveoli, trachea, thoracic cavity and the like as transmission media, and is a sound signal. The respiratory sound can not only reflect the characteristics of the sound source of the respiratory system, but also reflect the acoustic characteristics of the lung tissue, trachea, chest wall and other propagation media. The frequency components and signal characteristics contained in the signals contain pathological and physiological information of the human respiratory system, and the respiratory sound research is carried out by combining advanced sensor technology and computer technology, so that the analysis capability of the respiratory system diseases of the human body is greatly improved.

When the volume of the breath sound is larger than the second threshold, the human body is considered to be in a sleep disorder state, and at this time, the corresponding interested region (for example, internal organs in the human body) is subjected to ultrasonic imaging so as to obtain an ultrasonic image of the interested region, so that the related sleep disorder can be deeply known.

Step S120, determining whether the sleep-related signal satisfies a predetermined condition.

As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the speed of the tracheal movement is greater than the first threshold, the human body may be considered to be in a sleep disorder state, and at this time, the ultrasonic imaging of the region of interest (for example, an internal organ in the human body) may be started.

Alternatively, when the volume of the breathing sound is greater than the second threshold, the human body may be considered to be in a sleep disorder state, and at this time, the ultrasound imaging of the region of interest (for example, an internal organ in the human body) may be started.

Alternatively, when the splitting time of the first heart sound in the heart sound signals is greater than the third threshold and/or the temporal variation rate of the amplitude of the first heart sound in the heart sound signals is greater than the fourth threshold and/or the temporal variation rate of the amplitude of the second heart sound in the heart sound signals is greater than the fifth threshold, it may be considered that the human body is in a state of currently treating the sleep disorder, and at this time, the ultrasonic imaging of the region of interest may be started.

In the embodiment of the present invention, specific values of the first threshold, the second threshold, the third threshold, the fourth threshold, and the fifth threshold may be set and selected according to actual situations. For example, in one embodiment, the first threshold corresponding to the speed of airway movement may be 10-20cm/s (e.g., 20 cm/s); the second threshold corresponding to the volume of the breath sound (e.g., snore) may be 30-60 decibels (e.g., 50 decibels); the third threshold corresponding to the splitting time of the first heart sound may be 0.04-0.07 seconds (e.g., 0.06 seconds); a fourth threshold corresponding to a time variation rate of the amplitude of the first heart sound may be 15% -25% (e.g., 20%); a fifth threshold corresponding to a time rate of change of the amplitude of the second heart sound may be 15% -25% (e.g., 20%); etc. of

Through researching ultrasonic Doppler signals, heart sound signals, breathing sound volume and the like of the tracheal movement, the change of the visceral organs when the human body has sleep disorder can be concretely and intuitively known. When the tracheal movement velocity, the heart sound signal or the volume of the breathing sound obtained by the ultrasonic Doppler signal satisfy the preset conditions, the human body can be considered to be in a sleep disorder state. The state of the internal organs in the sleep state and the corresponding reason can be found by carrying out ultrasonic imaging on the internal organs in the sleep state.

Step S130, if yes, starting ultrasonic imaging of the region of interest.

In the embodiment of the invention, when the sleep-related signal is judged to meet the preset condition, the human body can be considered to be in a sleep disorder state, and at the moment, the ultrasonic imaging of the region of interest can be started, so that the ultrasonic image of the region of interest is obtained for a doctor to check and analyze.

For example, in one embodiment, when the volume of the breathing sound (e.g., snoring) is greater than the second threshold, the human body is considered to be in a sleep disorder state, the ultrasonic imaging is started, and the state of the internal organs during snoring is studied, so that the change of the internal organs during sleep disorder can be deeply known. When the volume of the breath sound (e.g., snore) is less than or equal to the second threshold and the time less than or equal to the second threshold exceeds a preset value, the ultrasonic imaging is stopped.

In embodiments of the present invention, the "ultrasound imaging" of the region of interest referred to herein may be a conventional ultrasound imaging procedure performed on the region of interest, such as B-mode imaging, C-mode imaging, D-mode imaging, M-mode imaging, and the like. Specific such conventional ultrasound imaging procedures may be known in the art and will not be described in detail herein.

And step S140, analyzing the ultrasonic signals obtained by scanning.

The associated ultrasound signals and/or ultrasound images may be obtained by ultrasound imaging of a region of interest (e.g., a particular organ, such as the heart). The obtained ultrasonic signals and/or ultrasonic images are the basis for analyzing the respiratory sleep disorder and the corresponding visceral organs. By analyzing the related data, the method can help to find out the reasons of the respiratory sleep disorder and find out a method for overcoming the respiratory sleep disorder.

And step S150, displaying the analysis result.

By displaying the analysis result, the state of the relevant organs can be more intuitively understood when the sleep disordered breathing is caused.

According to the ultrasonic imaging method, the acquired sleep-related signals are judged, and the ultrasonic imaging process is triggered, so that the human body can be automatically triggered to scan in sleep.

In some embodiments of the present invention, there is provided an ultrasound imaging system 100 comprising: a signal acquisition unit 110, a judgment unit 120, an ultrasound imaging unit 130, a signal processing unit 140, and a display unit 150.

The signal acquisition unit 110 is used for acquiring sleep-related signals.

In one embodiment, the signal acquisition unit 110 may be a monitoring probe. In the embodiment of the present invention, the monitoring probe may be an ultrasonic probe capable of transmitting an ultrasonic wave to a monitoring target and receiving an ultrasonic echo, and may be, for example, an ultrasonic probe attached to a human body or the like. The monitoring probe is used for transmitting ultrasonic waves to the trachea and receiving ultrasonic echoes so as to obtain an ultrasonic Doppler signal of the movement of the trachea.

The ultrasonic Doppler signals of the trachea movement are processed through the monitoring probe, and the speed of the trachea movement can be obtained. According to the speed of the trachea movement, whether the human body is in a sleep disorder state can be judged.

In one embodiment, the signal collection unit 110 may be a sound sensor (e.g., a microphone) for collecting the volume of breath sounds (e.g., snores).

The respiratory sound is generated in the trachea and the lung, is transmitted to the body surface by taking tissues such as alveoli, trachea, thoracic cavity and the like as transmission media, and is a sound signal. The respiratory sound can not only reflect the characteristics of the sound source of the respiratory system, but also reflect the acoustic characteristics of the lung tissue, trachea, chest wall and other propagation media. The frequency components and signal characteristics contained in the signals contain pathological and physiological information of the human respiratory system, and the respiratory sound research is carried out by combining advanced sensor technology and computer technology, so that the analysis capability of the respiratory system diseases of the human body is greatly improved.

When the volume of the breath sound exceeds the second threshold, the human body can be considered to be in a sleep disorder state, and ultrasonic imaging is performed on the corresponding interested region (for example, human organ) at the moment, so that the related sleep disorder can be deeply known. The sound signal includes a heart sound signal, a breathing sound signal, and the like.

In one embodiment, the signal collecting unit 110 may be a sound sensor (e.g., a phonocardiograph) for collecting a heart sound signal of a human body.

The heart sounds are the sounds produced during the systolic and diastolic phases of the heart, which can be heard on the chest wall by the ear or by a stethoscope or recorded by an electronic instrument. The heart sounds may be divided into first heart sounds (S1) and second heart sounds (S2). (audible under normal circumstances). A third heart sound (S3 is typically only audible to children and teenagers), and a fourth heart sound (S4 is rarely audible to normal). Heart sounds produced from the heart are transmitted to the surface of the chest wall through tissue mediation, with bone conduction being the best, blood and muscle being the next best, and lung and adipose tissue being the worst. In normal heart, physiological noise can be produced by factors such as increased blood ejection speed of the heart. When the heart and the large blood vessel are diseased, the change of the myocardial contraction force, the stenosis or the insufficiency of the heart valve opening or the change of the blood flow speed in the heart can lead the vibration, the amplitude or the frequency to be obviously changed in the relaxing and contracting activities of the heart, change the intensity and the frequency of the normal heart sound and generate abnormal heart sound or heart pathological noise.

The determining unit 120 is configured to determine whether the sleep-related signal satisfies a preset condition.

As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the speed of the trachea movement is greater than the first threshold, the human body may be considered to be in a sleep disorder state, and at this time, the ultrasound imaging unit 130 may be started to perform ultrasound imaging on the region of interest (for example, an internal organ in the human body).

Alternatively, when the volume of the breath sound is greater than the second threshold, the human body may be considered to be in a sleep disorder state, and at this time, the ultrasound imaging unit 130 may be started to perform ultrasound imaging on the region of interest (for example, an internal organ in the human body).

Alternatively, when the splitting time of the first heart sound in the heart sound signals is greater than the third threshold and/or the time variation rate of the amplitude of the first heart sound in the heart sound signals is greater than the fourth threshold and/or the time variation rate of the amplitude of the second heart sound in the heart sound signals is greater than the fifth threshold, it may be considered that the human body is in a state of currently treating the sleep disorder, and at this time, the ultrasound imaging unit 130 may be started to perform ultrasound imaging on the region of interest.

In the embodiment of the present invention, specific values of the first threshold, the second threshold, the third threshold, the fourth threshold, and the fifth threshold may be set and selected according to actual situations. For example, in one embodiment, the first threshold corresponding to the speed of airway movement may be 10-20cm/s (e.g., 20 cm/s); the second threshold corresponding to the volume of the breath sound (e.g., snore) may be 30-60 decibels (e.g., 50 decibels); the third threshold corresponding to the splitting time of the first heart sound may be 0.04-0.07 seconds (e.g., 0.06 seconds); a fourth threshold corresponding to a time variation rate of the amplitude of the first heart sound may be 15% -25% (e.g., 20%); a fifth threshold corresponding to a time rate of change of the amplitude of the second heart sound may be 15% -25% (e.g., 20%); and so on.

Through studying ultrasonic Doppler signals, heart sounds or breath sound volume of tracheal movement, the change of visceral organs when a human body has sleep disorder can be specifically and intuitively understood. When the speed of the tracheal movement, the volume of the heart sound or the volume of the breathing sound obtained by the ultrasonic doppler signal satisfy the preset conditions, the human body can be considered to be in a state of sleep disorder. In this case, the ultrasound imaging of the organ in the sleep disorder can assist in finding the state of the organ in the sleep disorder and finding the cause of the disease.

The ultrasound imaging unit 130 is configured to initiate ultrasound imaging of the region of interest when the determination result of the determination unit is yes.

The ultrasound imaging unit 130 may comprise an ultrasound probe and a corresponding signal processing module and/or image processing module. The ultrasonic probe can transmit ultrasonic waves to the region of interest and receive corresponding ultrasonic echoes, and the signal processing module and/or the image processing module correspondingly processes the ultrasonic echoes to obtain an ultrasonic image of the region of interest.

In the embodiment of the invention, the ultrasonic probe can be a handheld ultrasonic probe and/or an ultrasonic probe fixed on the surface of a human body. The ultrasonic probe can be used for scanning the internal organs of the human body in a more targeted manner.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a signal processing unit 140 may be further included, where the signal processing unit 140 is configured to analyze an ultrasound signal and/or an ultrasound image obtained by ultrasound imaging.

The related ultrasonic signals and/or ultrasonic images can be obtained by performing ultrasonic imaging on a specific organ, such as the heart. The obtained ultrasonic signals and/or ultrasonic images are the basis for analyzing the respiratory sleep disorder and the corresponding visceral organs. The signal processing unit 140 can assist in finding out the cause of the sleep disordered breathing by analyzing the related data, and find out a method for overcoming the sleep disordered breathing.

The display unit 150 is used for displaying the analysis result.

The display unit 150 displays the analysis result, so that the state of the relevant organs can be understood more intuitively when the sleep disordered breathing is caused.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the aforementioned determining unit 120 and/or the signal processing unit 140 may be integrated in the signal processing module and/or the image processing module of the ultrasound imaging unit 130, or may be a component separate from the signal processing module and/or the image processing module of the ultrasound imaging unit 130.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the aforementioned display unit 150 may be integrated in the ultrasound imaging unit 130, or may be a separate display unit.

The ultrasonic imaging system 100 judges the sleep-related signal acquired by the signal acquisition unit 110 through the judgment unit 120, and triggers the ultrasonic imaging unit 130 to perform ultrasonic imaging, so that the automatic triggering scanning of the human body during sleep can be realized.

The above-mentioned embodiments only express several embodiments of the present invention, and the description thereof is more specific and detailed, but not construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. It should be noted that, for a person skilled in the art, several variations and modifications can be made without departing from the inventive concept, which falls within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present patent shall be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

An ultrasound imaging method, comprising the steps of:

collecting sleep-related signals;

judging whether the sleep-related signal meets a preset condition or not;

initiating ultrasound imaging of a region of interest if the sleep-related signal satisfies a preset condition.
An ultrasound imaging method according to claim 1, wherein the sleep-related signal is an ultrasound doppler signal of tracheal motion.
The ultrasonic imaging method of claim 2, further comprising obtaining a velocity of the airway movement from the ultrasonic doppler signal, and

when the speed of the trachea movement is greater than a first threshold, the ultrasonic imaging is started.
The ultrasound imaging method of claim 1, wherein the sleep-related signal is breath sound volume.
The ultrasound imaging method of claim 4, wherein the ultrasound imaging is initiated when the breath sound volume is greater than a second threshold.
The ultrasonic imaging method of claim 5, wherein the ultrasonic imaging is stopped when the breath sound volume is less than or equal to the second threshold and the time less than or equal to the second threshold exceeds a preset value.
The ultrasound imaging method of claim 1, wherein the sleep-related signal is a heart sound signal.
Ultrasound imaging method as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that the ultrasound imaging is initiated when a splitting time of a first heart sound in the heart sound signal is larger than a third threshold and/or a temporal rate of variation of an amplitude of the first heart sound in the heart sound signal is larger than a fourth threshold and/or a temporal rate of variation of an amplitude of a second heart sound in the heart sound signal is larger than a fifth threshold.
The ultrasound imaging method according to claim 1, further comprising analyzing the ultrasound signals and/or ultrasound images obtained by the ultrasound imaging and displaying the analysis results.
An ultrasound imaging system, comprising:

the signal acquisition unit is used for acquiring signals related to sleep;

the judging unit is used for judging whether the sleep-related signal meets a preset condition or not; and

and the ultrasonic imaging unit is used for starting ultrasonic imaging on the region of interest when the judgment result of the judgment unit is that the sleep-related signal meets the preset condition.
The ultrasonic imaging system of claim 10, wherein the signal acquisition unit is a monitoring probe for transmitting ultrasonic waves to the trachea and receiving ultrasonic echoes to obtain ultrasonic doppler signals of the tracheal movement.
The ultrasonic imaging system of claim 11, wherein the judging unit obtains the velocity of the trachea movement from the ultrasonic doppler signal and judges whether the velocity of the trachea movement is greater than a first threshold, and when the judging unit judges that the velocity of the trachea movement is greater than the first threshold, the ultrasonic imaging unit starts ultrasonic imaging of the region of interest.
The ultrasound imaging system of claim 10, wherein the signal acquisition unit is an acoustic sensor for acquiring breath sound volume.
The ultrasound imaging system of claim 13, wherein the ultrasound imaging unit initiates ultrasound imaging of the region of interest when the determination unit determines that the breath sound volume is greater than a second threshold.
The ultrasound imaging system of claim 10, wherein the signal acquisition unit is a sound sensor for acquiring a heart sound signal of a human body.
The ultrasound imaging system according to claim 15, wherein the ultrasound imaging unit starts ultrasound imaging of the region of interest when the judging unit judges that a splitting time of a first heart sound in the heart sound signal is larger than a third threshold and/or a temporal variation rate of an amplitude of the first heart sound in the heart sound signal is larger than a fourth threshold and/or a temporal variation rate of an amplitude of a second heart sound in the heart sound signal is larger than a fifth threshold.
The ultrasound imaging system according to claim 10, further comprising a signal processing unit and a display unit for analyzing the ultrasound signals and/or ultrasound images obtained by the ultrasound imaging unit and displaying the analysis results.