CN110432926B

CN110432926B - Elasticity measurement detection method and system

Info

Publication number: CN110432926B
Application number: CN201910741683.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李双双
Original assignee: Shenzhen Mindray Bio Medical Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Mindray Bio Medical Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2014-09-03
Filing date: 2014-09-03
Publication date: 2022-06-07
Anticipated expiration: 2034-09-03
Also published as: CN106572838A; WO2016033752A1; CN106572838B; CN110432926A; CN110368031B; CN110368031A

Abstract

The invention provides an elasticity measurement and detection method, which comprises the following steps of generating shear waves in a target area; transmitting a tracking pulse to a target area and receiving echo data of the tracking pulse; performing data calculation according to the echo data to obtain a measurement calculation result; and displaying the measurement calculation result. The elasticity measurement and detection method can calculate and obtain the relevant parameters reflecting the elasticity of the tissue without controlling the force of pressing the probe by an operator, so that the repeatability and the stability of the measurement are ensured. The invention also discloses an elasticity measurement and detection system.

Description

Elastic measurement detection method and system

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of medical detection, in particular to an elasticity measurement detection method and system.

Background

Ultrasonic elastography is used for reflecting the elasticity or the hardness degree of tissues (Tissue), and is increasingly applied to the aspects of auxiliary detection of Tissue cancer lesions, benign and malignant discrimination, prognosis recovery evaluation and the like. The conventional ultrasonic elastography method mainly presses tissues through a probe to generate certain deformation, and then calculates and images parameters related to the elasticity of the tissues, such as strain quantity, strain rate and the like, so as to indirectly reflect the elasticity difference between different tissues in an interested region. However, since the corresponding relationship between the strain parameter and the elastic parameter is affected by the magnitude of the pressure, even if the same tissue or different tissues having the same elastic parameter have different applied pressures, the strain generated may be different, and the elastic difference may be misjudged. The pressure of each operation is kept consistent and maintained uniform and stable by manual control when the operator uses the device, so that the repeatability and stability of the image are challenged.

Disclosure of Invention

The method and system for detecting the elasticity measurement are not limited by operation requirements and have stable measurement results.

An elasticity measurement detection method comprising:

generating shear waves in a plurality of target areas;

respectively transmitting tracking pulses to the target areas and receiving echo data of the tracking pulses;

performing data calculation according to the echo data to obtain the average propagation distance of the shear wave in each target region; and

and comparing and displaying the average propagation distance of each target area.

Further, generating shear waves at the plurality of target regions includes:

and transmitting a plurality of groups of push pulses to each target area according to preset time intervals so as to generate shear waves.

Further, generating shear waves at the plurality of target regions includes:

transmitting a set of push pulses to one of the plurality of target regions, generating shear waves in the one of the target regions;

the shear wave generated in the one target region propagates through other target regions of the plurality of target regions, generating shear waves in the other target regions.

Further, the comparing and displaying the average propagation distance of each target region includes:

respectively displaying the average propagation distance of each target area by using gray scale or color coding;

or, the average propagation distance of each target area changing along with the time is displayed in a curve form;

or, displaying the ratio of the average propagation distances of the target areas;

alternatively, the square ratio of the average propagation distances of the respective target regions is displayed.

Further, performing data calculation according to the echo data to obtain an average propagation distance of the shear wave in each target region, including:

acquiring the propagation distance of the shear wave in a period of time near the moment when the shear wave passes through each position in any target area; and calculating the average propagation distance of the shear wave in the target region according to the shear wave propagation distances at the positions.

taking a plurality of moments, and respectively calculating the shear wave propagation distance of the shear wave in a period of time near the moments in any target area; averaging the shear wave propagation distances of a period of time near a plurality of moments to obtain an average propagation distance of the shear wave in the target region within a period of time in the propagation process;

taking a plurality of moments, and respectively calculating the shear wave propagation distance of the shear wave in a period of time near each moment in any target area; and accumulating the propagation distances of the shear wave in a period of time near a plurality of moments to obtain the total propagation distance of the shear wave in the target region, and obtaining the average propagation distance of the shear wave in the target region according to the total propagation distance.

Further, acquiring a propagation distance of the shear wave in a period of time near a time when the shear wave passes through each position in the any one target region includes:

performing data calculation according to the echo data to obtain displacement data of each target area;

taking displacement data of each moment corresponding to any position in each target area, and further obtaining the moment when the shear wave passes through the position;

acquiring the propagation distance of the shear wave in the target area within a period of time near the moment when the shear wave passes the position.

obtaining displacement data of each moment corresponding to any position in the target area, and solving a gradient along a time direction to obtain mass point velocity data of each moment at the position so as to obtain the moment when the shear wave passes through the position;

Further, the period of time near the time when any position is passed includes a period of time before, a period of time after, or a period of time before and after the time when any position is passed; the period of time near each time includes a period of time before each time, a period of time after each time, or a period of time before and after each time.

Furthermore, the elasticity measurement detection method for generating the shear wavefront in the target area further comprises the following steps,

transmitting a reference pulse to a target area, receiving echo information of the reference pulse in the target area, and acquiring echo data of the reference pulse.

Further, the method comprises the following steps: the step of performing data calculation according to the echo data to obtain displacement data of a target area comprises the following steps:

taking echo data at any time of any position in a target area as reference echo data;

dividing the reference echo data into a plurality of sections of reference echo nuclear data, and setting a reference echo nuclear data center of the reference echo nuclear data;

and acquiring the position with the maximum cross correlation between the echo data at each moment and the center of the reference echo nuclear data, and taking the difference between the position with the maximum cross correlation and the center of the reference echo nuclear data as the displacement data at each moment.

Further: when echo data at any time at any position in a target region is taken as reference echo data, the reference echo data adopts echo data of a tracking pulse at any time or echo data of a reference pulse at any time.

Further: acquiring the shear wave propagation distance comprises the steps of,

taking displacement data of each moment corresponding to any position in the target area to form a displacement-time curve, and finding out the moment corresponding to a peak value on the curve, namely the moment when the shear wave passes through the position;

and acquiring a displacement-transverse position curve or a particle velocity-transverse position curve in a time period before and after the moment corresponding to the peak value in the target area, performing cross-correlation judgment on the displacement-transverse position curve or the particle velocity-transverse position curve at each moment in the time period, and acquiring the propagation distance of the shear wave in the time period.

Further: when data calculation is performed according to the echo data to obtain a measurement calculation result, Young modulus ratios between different target areas are obtained, and when the Young modulus ratios are obtained, the following formula is satisfied,

E₁/E₂≈(c₁*T_long)²/(c₂*T_long)²≈d₁ ²/d₂ ²

in the formula (d)₁、d₁Indicating different target areas over a period of time T_longInner propagation distance of said shear wave, c₁And c₂Representing the propagation velocity of the shear wave for different target areas.

Further: when the average propagation distance is displayed by comparison, at least one of a propagation distance distribution graph, a propagation distance schematic diagram and a propagation distance square ratio schematic diagram is adopted.

Further: and when the measurement calculation result is displayed, a gray scale or color coding mode is adopted.

An elasticity measurement and detection system comprises an ultrasonic probe, a control module, a signal processing module, a calculation module and a display device, wherein the ultrasonic probe is provided with a transceiver module, the signal processing module, the calculation module and the display device of the ultrasonic probe are sequentially connected, the control module is connected with the transceiver module,

the receiving and transmitting module is used for transmitting a pushing pulse, a tracking pulse and a reference pulse and receiving echo data of the tracking pulse and the reference pulse;

the control module is used for controlling the transceiver module to transmit pushing pulses, tracking pulses and reference pulses;

the signal processing module is used for carrying out signal preprocessing on the echo data;

the calculation module is used for processing and calculating signals output by beam forming to obtain the average propagation distance of shear waves in a plurality of target areas;

the display device is used for comparing and displaying the average propagation distance of each target area.

The method can calculate and obtain the relevant parameters reflecting the tissue elasticity without controlling the force of pressing the probe by an operator, so that the repeatability and the stability of the measurement are ensured.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to the drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic flow chart of a method for elasticity measurement and detection according to a first preferred embodiment;

fig. 2 to 4 are schematic diagrams of the push wave emission for generating the shear wave propagation in the elasticity measurement and detection method according to the first preferred embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the displacement calculation in the elasticity measurement and detection method according to the first preferred embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating propagation distance-time curves in different target regions in the elasticity measurement detection method according to the first preferred embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for elasticity measurement detection according to a second preferred embodiment;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of the elasticity measurement and detection system provided by the present invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 1, a first preferred embodiment of the present invention provides an elasticity measurement and detection method, including the following steps:

in step S101, a shear wave is generated in a target region. In this embodiment, the target area may be determined according to the requirement of the elasticity measurement, and the target area transmits a push pulse (push pulse) to the target area to generate the shear wave. The target area can be selected and determined by any suitable mode, for example, the target area can be determined after various suitable imaging detection modes such as a conventional two-dimensional B mode imaging mode, a conventional elastic imaging E mode and the like are adopted for preliminary detection, and the target area can also be selected according to the detection requirement.

The number of the target regions may be one or more. When the number of target regions is plural, respective longitudinal depths or lateral positions of the plural target regions may be different. It is understood that when a plurality of target regions are measured simultaneously, the average distance ratio between the plurality of target regions may be obtained through a subsequent step, thereby reflecting the elasticity difference between the plurality of target regions.

After the target area is determined, a specific pulse, namely a pushing pulse, can be transmitted to the vicinity of the target area through the probe. The push pulse transmission time length is longer than that of the conventional ultrasonic transmission pulse, and is about tens to hundreds of microseconds. The push pulse may generate a shear wave source at the launch location from which shear waves are launched and propagate in a direction different from the direction in which the push pulse is launched.

As shown in fig. 2 to 4, in this embodiment, the push pulse may be transmitted by using a focused transmission or an unfocused transmission, the push pulse may also be transmitted once or multiple times continuously, and the focal depth and/or the lateral position of the multiple times of continuous transmission may also be adjusted to form a specific shear wave propagation direction and widen the propagation range of the shear wave.

When a plurality of target regions are confirmed and set, each target region may transmit a plurality of sets of push pulses having the same or different transmit focusing modes, consecutive transmit times, and focusing positions, each set of push pulses being transmitted for a respective target region and generating shear waves in the vicinity of the target region, so as to analyze and calculate echo data of the corresponding shear waves. Since the push pulses transmit with a large acoustic field energy to increase the shear wave strength, a certain time interval may be required between the transmission of multiple groups of push pulses to ensure energy safety, the strength of the transmission of each group of push pulses and the time interval of the transmission of each group of push pulses being predetermined by the system.

The multiple target regions may also share the same group of push pulses for transmission, that is, after a group of push pulses is transmitted, shear wave propagation is generated, the shear wave propagation may pass through the multiple target regions, and then echo data of the multiple passing target regions are obtained for analysis and calculation. The system can decide whether to need the common push pulse transmission according to the depth of the target area and the distance of the transverse position.

When multiple sets of pulses are transmitted into the target region, each set of transmissions may include multiple consecutive transmissions, and the pulses of each transmission may have different focal positions, longitudinal depths, and lateral positions. The propagation direction and the propagation width of the shear wave generated by each transmission can be controlled by adjusting the position and/or the transmission interval time of each transmission. The calculation results of the transmitted shear waves in different directions or different positions can be subjected to compounding, weighting and other processing so as to improve the accuracy of the results.

Step S102, transmitting a tracking pulse (tracking wave) to the target region, receiving echo information of the tracking pulse, and acquiring echo data.

In this step, the echo data refers to echo data of a tracking pulse of the tracking pulse. And after the push pulse is transmitted to the target area and the shearing wave is generated, the tracking pulse is transmitted and the echo information of the tracking pulse is received, so that the echo data of the tracking pulse in a period of propagation range in the target area is obtained. The time between the transmission of the tracking pulses may be predetermined. The echo data of the tracking pulse records tissue information at each location within the propagation range during the propagation of the shear wave.

And step S103, performing data calculation according to the echo data to obtain a measurement calculation result. In this embodiment, the displacement, the particle velocity, the propagation distance of the shear wave at each time within a period of time, the propagation time of the shear wave within a period of time, and the like can be calculated from the echo data of the tracking pulse, and the calculation results are obtained and displayed.

As shown in fig. 5, when the shear wave passes through the target region, the corresponding position of the tissue of the target region is longitudinally displaced, i.e., changed. The displacement calculation means calculating the tissue displacement of the target region and acquiring displacement data. The displacement calculation may further comprise the steps of:

in step S1031, echo data at any time at any position in the target region is taken as reference echo data.

Step S1032, the reference echo data is segmented, each segment is set as reference echo nuclear data (kernel), and a reference echo nuclear data center of the reference echo nuclear data is set. It is understood that the length of each piece of the reference echo nuclear data and the interval between the reference echo nuclear data centers may be predetermined by the system.

Step S1033, obtaining a position with the maximum cross-correlation between the echo data at each time and the center of the reference echo kernel data, and taking a difference between the position with the maximum cross-correlation and the center of the reference echo kernel data as the displacement data at each time.

In this step, the difference between the position of the echo data at each time, where the cross-correlation with the center of the reference echo kernel data is the maximum, and the center position of the reference echo kernel data is the displacement corresponding to the position of the reference echo kernel data. In this step, the echo data of the tracking pulse at different times at a certain transverse position in the target region can be taken and respectively compared with the reference echo data in a cross-correlation manner, so that the displacement data of the tissue at different times at various depth positions can be obtained. This displacement reflects the relative longitudinal displacement of the particles in the tissue relative to the instant of propagation caused by the shear wave propagation.

In step S1033, the reference echo data and the echo data of the push pulse at different time instants may be cross-correlated and compared by block-matching (block-matching) to obtain a displacement value of the position change. It is understood that the algorithm selection of block matching and the matching criteria of block matching displacement can be set by itself. And because the displacement generated by shear wave propagation is very small, the phase shift calculation can be performed on the segmented data at the same position on the echo data, and the displacement value can be directly calculated through the phase shift, wherein the position value is the displacement data.

The displacement calculation process described above may be performed for one or more locations within the target region. For the obtained displacement data, certain filtering processing can be carried out in the space or time dimension to reduce noise.

In step S103, when data calculation is performed according to the echo data, the calculation may include mass point velocity calculation. The particle velocity meter comprises the steps of:

in step S1034, after the displacement data of the tissue in the target region is obtained, the displacement data at the same position and at different times are obtained, and the gradient is obtained along the time direction, so as to obtain the particle velocity curves at the position and at different times.

The particle velocity curve reflects the instantaneous velocity of the particle at different moments at various positions during the propagation of the shear wave. The particle velocity calculation process described above may be performed for one or more locations within the target region. The obtained prime point speed data can be subjected to certain filtering processing in a space or time dimension so as to reduce noise.

In step S103, when data calculation is performed according to the echo data, the data calculation may include propagation distance calculation. The propagation distance calculation includes the steps of:

in step S1035, displacement data of each time corresponding to any position in the target area is taken to form a displacement-time curve, and the time corresponding to the peak on the curve is found. The time corresponding to this peak reflects the time at which the shear wave passes through that location. It will be appreciated that the time at which the shear wave passes through the location is also the time corresponding to the peak of the particle velocity-time curve, and the particle velocity-time curve for the location may also be used to find the time at which the corresponding shear wave passes through the location. In this step, the propagation distance may be calculated by directly taking out the displacement or velocity data within a certain time Δ T around a plurality of specific times. The only difference is that it is difficult to accurately determine where within the target region the calculated distance is located, but it can be determined how long after the displacement shear wave has propagated.

Step S1036 is to obtain a displacement-lateral position curve or a particle velocity-lateral position curve in a time period Δ T before and after a time corresponding to the peak value in the target region, perform cross-correlation determination on the displacement-lateral position curve or the particle velocity-lateral position curve at each time in the time period Δ T, and obtain a difference in the lateral position of the shear wave in the time period, where the difference reflects a propagation distance of the shear wave in the time period Δ T. By performing the above calculation processing on all the positions in the target region, the propagation distance of the shear wave in a period of time Δ T when passing through the vicinity of each position in the target region can be obtained. In this step, the length Δ T of the time period may be determined by itself, and the time period may be before to after the time, before the time, or after the time.

It is to be understood that, in step S1035, the travel distance calculation may be performed by directly extracting displacement or velocity data within a period of time Δ T around a plurality of specific times. The average propagation distance may be obtained by averaging the propagation distances, and the average propagation distance in the target region over a period of time Δ T or the average propagation distance in the shear wave propagation process over a period of time Δ T may be obtained.

By taking out the propagation distances in Δ T corresponding to a plurality of successive times, as shown in fig. 6, a propagation distance-time curve can be obtained, or a longer period of time T can be obtained by accumulating_longTotal propagation distance of (d). And the displacement data of each moment corresponding to two different positions can be taken out, cross-correlation comparison is carried out, the time difference between the two positions is found out, and the propagation time of the shear wave between the two positions can be obtained.

In step S103, when performing data calculation according to the echo data, the elasticity ratio calculation may be included, where the elasticity ratio mainly refers to that when the system has a plurality of target regions, the young modulus ratio of each target region may be calculated to reflect the hardness difference degree between each target region.

Under certain conditions, the propagation velocity of the shear wave has an approximately fixed relationship to the tissue stiffness:

E＝3ρc²

in the above equation, ρ represents the tissue density, E represents the value of the young's modulus of the tissue, and c represents the propagation velocity of the shear wave. Under certain conditions, a greater Young's modulus means greater tissue stiffness. Assuming that the Young's modulus is different between the two tissues, E is₁And E₂Then the ratio satisfies:

E₁/E₂＝3ρ₁c₁ ²/(3ρ₂c₂ ²)

assuming similar tissue densities, i.e. p₁≈ρ₂Then:

E₁/E₂≈c₁ ²/c₂ ²

can be used for a period of time T_longThe square ratio of the propagation distances of the internal shear waves is calculated as:

E₁/E₂≈(c₁*T_long)²/(c₂*T_long)²≈d₁ ²/d₂ ²

in the formula (d)₁、d₁Representing different target areas over a period of time T_longInternal shear wave propagation distance, c₁And c₂Representing the propagation velocity of the shear wave for different target areas.

Of course, it is also possible to directly calculate the propagation velocity in each target region and then calculate the ratio of the velocity squares to obtain the elastic ratio.

In the step S103, when data calculation is performed according to the echo data, propagation velocity calculation may be included.

And for any depth in each target region, extracting a particle velocity-time curve or a displacement-time curve of each transverse position of each target region, and finding out time shift between the curves by utilizing cross-correlation comparison, wherein the time shift represents the time difference of the shear wave passing through the two transverse positions participating in the cross-correlation comparison. The ratio of the lateral position difference to the time shift represents the propagation velocity at the corresponding position. An approximate calculation formula can also be derived directly, for example, using the wave propagation equation as follows:

wherein c represents a propagation velocity, u_zWhich may be considered longitudinal displacement data or longitudinal velocity data, x represents the lateral coordinate and z represents the longitudinal coordinate.

And step S104, displaying the measurement calculation result. After the above elasticity measurement calculation, there are various ways to display the result.

If a wave front electrogram is adopted, displacement data or particle velocity data at a certain moment is taken out to form a distribution map of the current moment at each position of the target area, and the distribution map can reflect the propagation position of the shear wave at the current moment. When the displacement data or the particle velocity data distribution map at a plurality of moments are continuously played, a shear wave wavefront propagation film map can be formed, and the shear wave propagation process can be visually represented.

For example, a propagation distance distribution map is adopted, i.e., the propagation distances in the Δ T time at various positions in the target region are displayed in an imaging manner.

For example, a propagation time distribution map is adopted, namely, the propagation time between certain fixed distances near each position in the target area is displayed in an imaging mode. Of course, the travel time may also be displayed in a graph.

If a propagation distance curve graph is adopted, namely propagation distance-time curves in a certain time period from a certain moment in a target area are drawn, a plurality of curves can be displayed in a plurality of target areas.

Such as directly showing the average propagation distance at each location within the target area, or directly showing the average propagation distance of the shear wave over a short period of time at each different time instant.

If there are multiple target areas, displaying the elastic ratio diagram, or the propagation velocity square ratio diagram, or the propagation distance square ratio diagram in the multiple target areas.

In the display process, gray scale or color coding can be used, or the display effect can be enhanced by means of image superposition, fusion and the like of other modes.

As shown in fig. 7, a second preferred embodiment of the present invention provides an elasticity measurement and detection method, which is substantially the same as the first preferred embodiment, and includes the following steps:

step S201, transmitting a reference pulse (reference wave) to a target region, receiving echo information of the reference pulse in the target region, acquiring echo data of the reference pulse, and taking the echo data of the reference pulse as reference echo data. In this embodiment, before each group of push pulses is transmitted, a reference pulse is transmitted and echo information of the reference pulse in a target region is received, and echo data of the reference pulse is acquired and set as reference echo data. The echo information of the reference pulse records tissue information of the target region before the shear wave is generated and starts to propagate.

In step S202, shear waves are generated in the target region.

Step S203, transmitting the tracking pulse to the target area, receiving the echo information of the tracking pulse, and acquiring echo data. In this step of this embodiment, the echo data refers to echo data of a tracking pulse of the tracking pulse.

And step S204, performing data calculation according to the echo data to obtain a measurement calculation result. In the present embodiment, the echo data of the reference pulse is taken as the reference echo data, and the calculation results of the displacement, the particle velocity, the propagation distance of the shear wave at each time within a period of time, the propagation time of the shear wave within a period of time, and the like are obtained by performing data calculation using the echo data of the tracking pulse and the echo data of the reference pulse as the reference echo data.

Echo data of tracking pulses at different moments at a certain transverse position in a target area are taken and are respectively subjected to cross-correlation comparison with reference echo data at the transverse position, so that displacement data of tissues at different moments at various depth positions can be obtained. The displacement primarily reflects the longitudinal displacement of particles in tissue caused by the propagation of the shear wave relative to particles in tissue prior to the propagation of the shear wave. The calculation processes of the calculation results of the particle velocity, the propagation distance of the shear wave at each moment in a period of time, the propagation time of the shear wave in a period of distance, and the like are substantially the same in the first preferred embodiment, and are not described herein again.

And step S205, displaying the measurement calculation result.

In this embodiment, a reference pulse is transmitted to a target region before a shear wave is generated in the target region, and echo data of the reference pulse is acquired as reference echo data, so that calculation results such as a longitudinal displacement of a particle in a tissue relative to a particle in the tissue before the shear wave is propagated due to shear wave propagation, a corresponding particle velocity, a propagation distance of the shear wave at each time in a period of time, and a propagation time of the shear wave in a period of time are acquired. The other steps in this embodiment are substantially the same as those in the first preferred embodiment, and are not described again here.

As shown in fig. 8, the present invention further provides an ultrasound elasticity measurement system, which includes an ultrasound probe 11, a control module 12, a signal processing module 13, a calculation module 15, and a display device 17, wherein the ultrasound probe 11 is provided with a transceiver module 110, the signal processing module 13, the calculation module 15, and the display device 17 of the ultrasound probe 11 are sequentially connected, and the control module 12 is connected to the transceiver module 110. Wherein:

the transceiver module 110 is used for transmitting a push pulse, a tracking pulse and a reference pulse, and receiving echo data of the tracking pulse and the reference pulse.

The control module 12 is used for controlling the transceiver module 110 to transmit a push pulse, a tracking pulse and a reference pulse. In practical use, the control module 12 transmits a specific ultrasonic sequence consisting of a push pulse, a reference pulse and a tracking pulse at preset time intervals, so as to generate shear waves in a target region and provide the transceiver module 110 of the ultrasonic probe 11 with receiving corresponding echo data.

The signal processing module 13 is used for performing signal preprocessing on the echo data, so as to facilitate the subsequent calculation by the calculating module 15, where the signal preprocessing may include beam forming processing, and may further include signal amplification, analog-to-digital conversion, quadrature decomposition, and the like.

The calculation module 15 is used for performing processing calculation on the signals output by the beam forming. The calculation module 15 may be configured to calculate various propagation parameters of the shear wave, and specifically, the calculation module 15 includes:

a mass point velocity calculation unit 151 for calculating a mass point velocity of the target tissue;

a propagation distance calculation unit 152 for calculating a propagation distance of the shear wave;

and a young modulus ratio calculation unit 153 for calculating the young modulus ratio of the target tissue.

The calculation module 15 reflects the physical characteristics of the target region by calculating the shear wave propagation distance at each moment when a certain position starts, or the average distance in a certain period of time, or the average distance ratio in a certain period of time when different positions start, or the average propagation velocity ratio in several target regions, and the like, and generates a corresponding elastic image.

The display device 17 is used for displaying the elastic image generated by the calculation module 15.

According to the elasticity measurement detection method and system, a series of specific pulses are transmitted into a target region in a tissue to be detected to generate shear wave propagation, then echo signals are continuously transmitted and received within a shear wave propagation path range, a shear wave propagation distance curve within a period of time is extracted from the echo signals, an average distance is calculated, and finally the average distance is displayed. If the shear wave propagates farther away in the same time under the same emission conditions, it indicates a higher stiffness of the tissue, otherwise it indicates a softer tissue.

The method can calculate and obtain the relevant parameters reflecting the tissue elasticity without controlling the force of pressing the probe by an operator, so that the repeatability and the stability of the measurement are ensured. On the other hand, the invention can obtain quantitative parameter values, and is particularly suitable for elastic measurement of uniform tissues. Meanwhile, the invention can also provide the elasticity difference parameter between different tissues so as to reflect the elasticity difference degree between different tissues.

While the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An elasticity measurement detection method, comprising:

generating shear waves in a plurality of target areas;

comparing and displaying the average propagation distance of each target area;

wherein, the data calculation is performed according to the echo data to obtain the average propagation distance of the shear wave in each target region, and the method comprises the following steps:

acquiring the propagation distance of shear waves in a period of time near the moment when the shear waves pass through each position in any target area; calculating to obtain the average propagation distance of the shear wave in the target region according to the propagation distance of the shear wave at each position;

or,

2. The elasticity measurement test method of claim 1, wherein generating shear waves at a plurality of target regions comprises:

3. The elasticity measurement test method of claim 1, wherein generating shear waves at a plurality of target regions comprises:

4. The elasticity measurement detecting method according to claim 1, wherein the comparing and displaying the average propagation distance of each target region comprises:

or respectively displaying the average propagation distance of each target area changing along with the moment in a curve form;

5. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining a shear wave propagation distance over a period of time around a time at which the shear wave passes each location within any target region comprises:

6. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining a shear wave propagation distance over a period of time around a time at which the shear wave passes each location within any target region comprises:

the shear wave propagation distance is obtained over a period of time in the vicinity of the time at which the shear wave in the target region passes the location.

7. The elasticity measurement detecting method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the period of time in the vicinity of the time at which any one of the positions is passed includes a period of time forward, a period of time backward, or a period of time before and after the time at which any one of the positions is passed; the period of time near each time includes a period of time before each time, a period of time after each time, or a period of time before and after each time.

8. The elasticity measurement detection method according to claim 1, characterized in that:

the elasticity measurement inspection method for generating a shear wavefront in a target region further comprises the following steps,

9. The elasticity measurement detecting method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that: the step of performing data calculation according to the echo data to obtain displacement data of a target area comprises the following steps:

10. The elasticity measurement detection method according to claim 9, characterized in that: when echo data at any time at any position in a target region is taken as reference echo data, the reference echo data adopts echo data of a tracking pulse at any time or echo data of a reference pulse at any time.

11. The elasticity measurement detection method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that: acquiring the shear wave propagation distance comprises the steps of,

12. The elasticity measurement detecting method according to claim 11, characterized in that: when data calculation is performed according to the echo data to obtain a measurement calculation result, Young modulus ratios between different target regions are obtained, and when the Young modulus ratios are obtained, the following formula is satisfied,

E₁/E₂≈(c₁*T_long)²/(c₂*T_long)²≈d₁ ²/d₂ ²

in the formula, d₁、d₁Indicating different target areas over a period of time T_longInner propagation distance of said shear wave, c₁And c₂Representing the propagation velocity of the shear wave for different target areas.

13. The elasticity measurement detection method according to claim 1, characterized in that: when the average propagation distance is displayed by comparison, at least one of a propagation distance distribution graph, a propagation distance schematic diagram and a propagation distance square ratio schematic diagram is adopted.

14. The elasticity measurement detection method according to claim 13, characterized in that: when the measurement calculation result is displayed, a gray scale or color coding mode is adopted.

15. An elasticity measurement detecting system, characterized in that: comprises an ultrasonic probe, a control module, a signal processing module, a calculation module and a display device, wherein the ultrasonic probe is provided with a transceiver module, the signal processing module, the calculation module and the display device of the ultrasonic probe are sequentially connected, the control module is connected with the transceiver module,

the control module is used for controlling the transceiver module to transmit a pushing pulse, a tracking pulse and a reference pulse;

the display device is used for comparing and displaying the average propagation distance of each target area;

the processing and calculation of the signals output by the beam forming to obtain the average propagation distance of the shear wave in a plurality of target areas comprises the following steps: performing data calculation according to the echo data to obtain the average propagation distance of the shear wave in each target region;

the data calculation is performed according to the echo data to obtain an average propagation distance of the shear wave in each target region, and the method further includes: acquiring the propagation distance of the shear wave in a period of time near the moment when the shear wave passes through each position in any target area; calculating the average propagation distance of the shear wave in the target region according to the shear wave propagation distance at each position;

or,