CN111513754A

CN111513754A - Ultrasonic imaging equipment and quality evaluation method of ultrasonic image

Info

Publication number: CN111513754A
Application number: CN201910871647.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 安兴; 丛龙飞; 朱磊
Original assignee: Shenzhen Mindray Bio Medical Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Mindray Bio Medical Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-09-16
Filing date: 2019-09-16
Publication date: 2020-08-11

Abstract

The ultrasonic imaging equipment and the quality evaluation method of the ultrasonic image control the ultrasonic probe to emit ultrasonic waves to the target tissue and perform ultrasonic scanning on the target tissue; controlling an ultrasonic probe to receive an echo of an ultrasonic wave returned from a target tissue to obtain a section of ultrasonic echo data; when the ultrasonic probe scans a target tissue, acquiring motion information of the ultrasonic probe, and correlating the motion information with ultrasonic echo data obtained by simultaneously performing ultrasonic scanning; and performing quality evaluation on the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information according to the motion information. By carrying out scanning quality evaluation on the motion information of the ultrasonic probe, the quality of ultrasonic echo data is improved, and the working efficiency of an ultrasonic doctor is improved.

Description

Ultrasonic imaging equipment and quality evaluation method of ultrasonic image

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of medical instruments, in particular to ultrasonic imaging equipment and a quality evaluation method of an ultrasonic image.

Background

The ultrasonic image examination has the advantages of no wound, low cost, strong real-time performance and the like, and becomes a preferred mode of imaging examination in clinical diagnosis of a plurality of diseases. However, the results of ultrasound imaging examinations are susceptible to the manipulation and experience of the physician's scans: if the doctor scans the section wrongly, the diagnosis result can be directly influenced; if the problem of missed scanning exists in the scanning process of a doctor, the problem of missed diagnosis also can occur.

In addition, there is a motion of confirming the scanned part in the ultrasound scanning, and the ultrasound data generated in this process is not an effective diagnostic image, and if the ultrasound data is also stored and intelligently analyzed, a large amount of storage space and computing resources are occupied. When the section position of the acquired ultrasonic image is not consistent, or the image is too bright, too dark, too much artifact and the like, the correctness of the diagnosis result may be affected, and the possibility of rescanning is increased.

When an ultrasonic doctor processes the ultrasonic images after scanning, the ultrasonic images with better quality can be screened out manually for processing, but the process is time-consuming and labor-consuming, and the work efficiency of the doctor is influenced due to high requirements on the knowledge and experience of the doctor.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention mainly provides an ultrasonic imaging device and a quality evaluation method of an ultrasonic image, so as to improve the working efficiency of an ultrasonic doctor.

An embodiment provides a quality evaluation method of an ultrasound image, including:

acquiring a section of ultrasonic echo data acquired by scanning a target tissue by an ultrasonic probe;

acquiring motion information of the ultrasonic probe when scanning the target tissue, wherein the motion information has relevance with ultrasonic echo data generated at the same time;

performing quality evaluation on the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information according to the motion information to obtain the ultrasonic echo data qualified in scanning;

extracting image information of each ultrasonic image frame from the ultrasonic echo data qualified in scanning; and

and performing secondary quality evaluation on the ultrasonic echo data qualified in scanning according to the image information of each ultrasonic image frame so as to comprehensively evaluate whether the ultrasonic echo data is qualified.

controlling an ultrasonic probe to emit ultrasonic waves to a target tissue, and carrying out ultrasonic scanning on the target tissue;

controlling the ultrasonic probe to receive the echo of the ultrasonic wave returned from the target tissue to obtain a section of ultrasonic echo data;

when the ultrasonic probe scans the target tissue, acquiring the motion information of the ultrasonic probe, and associating the motion information with ultrasonic echo data obtained by simultaneously performing ultrasonic scanning; and

and performing quality evaluation on the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information according to the motion information.

In the method, the quality evaluation of the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information according to the motion information comprises the following steps: and evaluating whether the motion information of the ultrasonic probe when scanning the target tissue conforms to a preset scanning rule for scanning the target tissue.

The method further comprises the following steps:

prompting a user to delete unqualified ultrasonic echo data on a display interface; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

and prompting the user to re-acquire the unqualified ultrasonic echo data on the display interface.

In the method, before controlling the ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves to the target tissue and receive echoes of the returned ultrasonic waves, the method further comprises the following steps:

and displaying one or more items to be scanned in the target organization and the scanning sequence of each scanning item so as to guide a user to scan according to a standardized flow.

In the method, the ultrasonic echo data qualified in scanning is as follows: when ultrasonic scanning is carried out, ultrasonic echo data are obtained according to the scanning rules of all target tissues; or, the ultrasound echo data qualified by scanning is as follows: when ultrasonic scanning is carried out, ultrasonic echo data are obtained according to the scanning rule of a specified target tissue; or, the ultrasound echo data qualified by scanning is as follows: when ultrasonic scanning is carried out, ultrasonic echo data are obtained according to the scanning rule of each scanning item of a specified target organization under a standardized flow; or, the ultrasound echo data qualified by scanning is as follows: when ultrasonic scanning is carried out, ultrasonic echo data are obtained according to a scanning rule of a scanning item of a specified target organization.

In the method, the ultrasonic echo data is data obtained by beam-forming echoes of ultrasonic waves obtained by using a target tissue as a scanning object.

An embodiment provides an ultrasound imaging apparatus comprising:

the ultrasonic probe is used for transmitting ultrasonic waves to target tissues, carrying out ultrasonic scanning on the target tissues and receiving echoes of the ultrasonic waves to obtain ultrasonic echo signals;

the positioning module is used for acquiring the motion information of the ultrasonic probe when the ultrasonic probe scans a target tissue;

a human-computer interaction device;

the processor is used for controlling the ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves to a target tissue and receive the echo of the ultrasonic waves returned from the target tissue to obtain a section of ultrasonic echo data; acquiring motion information of the ultrasonic probe when scanning the target tissue, and associating ultrasonic echo data obtained by ultrasonic scanning with the motion information at the same time; and performing quality evaluation on the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information according to the motion information, and feeding back a quality evaluation result through a human-computer interaction device.

According to the ultrasonic imaging device and the quality evaluation method of the ultrasonic image, the quality of the ultrasonic echo data stored in the device can be improved by performing scanning quality evaluation on the motion information of the ultrasonic probe, internal storage resources are well saved, the accuracy of subsequent image analysis based on high-quality image data is effectively improved, and the working efficiency of an ultrasonic doctor can be improved.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a processor in an embodiment of an ultrasound imaging apparatus provided in the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for evaluating quality of an ultrasound image according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for evaluating quality of an ultrasound image according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for evaluating quality of an ultrasound image according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a left-side and a right-side longitudinal cut of a thyroid gland in the method for evaluating the quality of an ultrasound image according to the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a right-side cut of a thyroid gland in the method for evaluating the quality of an ultrasound image according to the present invention.

Detailed Description

The present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. Wherein like elements in different embodiments are numbered with like associated elements. In the following description, numerous details are set forth in order to provide a better understanding of the present application. However, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that some of the features may be omitted or replaced with other elements, materials, methods in different instances. In some instances, certain operations related to the present application have not been shown or described in detail in order to avoid obscuring the core of the present application from excessive description, and it is not necessary for those skilled in the art to describe these operations in detail, so that they may be fully understood from the description in the specification and the general knowledge in the art.

Furthermore, the features, operations, or characteristics described in the specification may be combined in any suitable manner to form various embodiments. Also, the various steps or actions in the method descriptions may be transposed or transposed in order, as will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the various sequences in the specification and drawings are for the purpose of describing certain embodiments only and are not intended to imply a required sequence unless otherwise indicated where such sequence must be followed.

The numbering of the components as such, e.g., "first", "second", etc., is used herein only to distinguish the objects as described, and does not have any sequential or technical meaning. The term "connected" and "coupled" when used in this application, unless otherwise indicated, includes both direct and indirect connections (couplings).

As mentioned above, the work efficiency of the ultrasonic doctors in the field still needs to be improved, and the invention realizes the quality control of scanning and images in ultrasonic diagnosis by judging whether the scanning process is qualified or not and whether the ultrasonic images are qualified or not, so that the images processed by the subsequent ultrasonic doctors or ultrasonic equipment are qualified, thereby avoiding misdiagnosis and improving the work efficiency of the doctors. As will be described in detail below.

As shown in fig. 1, the ultrasound imaging apparatus provided by the present invention includes an ultrasound probe 30, a transmitting/receiving circuit 40 (i.e., a transmitting circuit 410 and a receiving circuit 420), a beam forming module 50, an IQ demodulation module 60, a processor 20, a human-computer interaction device 70, a memory 80, and a positioning module 90.

The ultrasonic probe 30 includes a transducer (not shown) composed of a plurality of array elements arranged in an array, the plurality of array elements are arranged in a row to form a linear array, or are arranged in a two-dimensional matrix to form an area array, and the plurality of array elements may also form a convex array. The array elements are used for emitting ultrasonic beams according to the excitation electric signals or converting the received ultrasonic beams into electric signals. Each array element can thus be used to perform a mutual transformation of the electrical impulse signal and the ultrasound beam, so as to perform a transmission of ultrasound waves to the target tissue (object to be imaged) and also to receive echoes of the ultrasound waves reflected back through the tissue. In performing ultrasonic testing, which array elements are used for transmitting ultrasonic beams and which array elements are used for receiving ultrasonic beams can be controlled by the transmitting circuit 410 and the receiving circuit 420, or the array elements are controlled to be time-slotted for transmitting ultrasonic beams or receiving echoes of ultrasonic beams. The array elements participating in ultrasonic wave transmission can be simultaneously excited by the electric signals, so that the ultrasonic waves are transmitted simultaneously; or the array elements participating in the ultrasonic wave transmission can be excited by a plurality of electric signals with certain time intervals, so that the ultrasonic waves with certain time intervals are continuously transmitted.

The array elements, for example, using piezoelectric crystals, convert the electrical signals into ultrasound signals according to the transmit sequence transmitted by transmit circuitry 410, which may include one or more scan pulses, one or more reference pulses, one or more push pulses, and/or one or more doppler pulses, depending on the application. The ultrasonic signal includes a focused wave, a plane wave, and a divergent wave according to the morphology of the wave.

The user selects a suitable position and angle by moving the ultrasonic probe 30 to transmit ultrasonic waves to the target tissue 10 and receive echoes of the ultrasonic waves returned by the target tissue 10, and outputs ultrasonic echo signals, wherein the ultrasonic echo signals are channel analog electric signals formed by taking the receiving array elements as channels and carry amplitude information, frequency information and time information.

The transmit circuit 410 is configured to generate a transmit sequence according to the control of the processor 20, the transmit sequence being configured to control some or all of the plurality of array elements to transmit ultrasonic waves to the biological tissue, and parameters of the transmit sequence including the position of the array element for transmission, the number of array elements, and ultrasonic beam transmission parameters (e.g., amplitude, frequency, number of transmissions, transmission interval, transmission angle, wave pattern, focusing position, etc.). In some cases, the transmit circuitry 410 is further configured to phase delay the transmitted beams to cause different transmit elements to transmit ultrasound at different times so that each transmitted ultrasound beam can be focused at a predetermined region of interest. In different operation modes, such as a B image mode, a C image mode, and a D image mode (doppler mode), the parameters of the transmit sequence may be different, and the echo signals received by the receiving circuit 420 and processed by the subsequent modules and corresponding algorithms may generate a B image reflecting the tissue anatomy, a C image reflecting the tissue anatomy and blood flow information, and a D image reflecting the doppler spectrum image.

The receiving circuit 420 is configured to receive the ultrasonic echo signal from the ultrasonic probe 30 and process the ultrasonic echo signal. The receive circuit 420 may include one or more amplifiers, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), and the like. The amplifier is used for amplifying the received echo signal after proper gain compensation, the amplifier is used for sampling the analog echo signal according to a preset time interval so as to convert the analog echo signal into a digitized signal, and the digitized echo signal still retains amplitude information, frequency information and phase information. The data output by the receiving circuit 420 may be output to the beamforming module 50 for processing or to the memory 80 for storage.

The beam forming module 50 is connected to the receiving circuit 420 for performing corresponding beam forming processing such as delay and weighted summation on the echo signal, because the distances from the ultrasonic receiving point in the tested tissue to the receiving array elements are different, the channel data of the same receiving point output by different receiving array elements have delay difference, delay processing is required, the phases are aligned, and weighted summation is performed on different channel data of the same receiving point to obtain the ultrasonic echo data after beam forming, and the ultrasonic echo data output by the beam forming module 50 is also referred to as radio frequency data (RF data). The beam synthesis module 50 outputs the radio frequency data to the IQ demodulation module 60. In some embodiments, the beam forming module 50 may also output the rf data to the memory 80 for buffering or saving, or directly output the rf data to the processor 20 for image processing.

Beamforming module 50 may perform the above functions in hardware, firmware, or software, for example, beamforming module 50 may include a central controller Circuit (CPU), one or more microprocessor chips, or any other electronic components capable of processing input data according to specific logic instructions, which when implemented in software, may execute instructions stored on a tangible and non-transitory computer readable medium (e.g., memory) to perform beamforming calculations using any suitable beamforming method.

The IQ demodulation module 60 removes the signal carrier by IQ demodulation, extracts the tissue structure information included in the signal, and performs filtering to remove noise, and the signal obtained at this time is referred to as a baseband signal (IQ data pair). The IQ demodulation module 60 outputs the IQ data pair to the processor 20 for image processing.

In some embodiments, the IQ demodulation module 60 further buffers or saves the IQ data pair output to the memory 80, so that the processor 20 reads the data from the memory 80 for subsequent image processing.

The IQ demodulation module 60 may also perform the above functions in hardware, firmware or software, and in some embodiments, the IQ demodulation module 60 may also be integrated with the beam synthesis module 50 in a single chip.

The processor 20 is used for a central controller Circuit (CPU), one or more microprocessors, a graphics controller circuit (GPU) or any other electronic components configured to process input data according to specific logic instructions, and may control peripheral electronic components according to the input instructions or predetermined instructions, or perform data reading and/or saving on the memory 80, or may process input data by executing programs in the memory 80, such as performing one or more processing operations on acquired ultrasound data according to one or more working modes, the processing operations including, but not limited to, adjusting or defining the form of ultrasound waves emitted by the ultrasound probe 30, generating various image frames for display by a display of the subsequent human-computer interaction device 70, or adjusting or defining the content and form of display on the display, or adjusting one or more image display settings (e.g., ultrasound images, graphics processing data, etc.) displayed on the display, Interface components, locating regions of interest).

The acquired ultrasound echo data may be processed by the processor 20 in real time during the scan as the echo signals are received, or may be temporarily stored on the memory 80 and processed in near real time in an online or offline operation.

Processor 20 controls the operation of transmit circuitry 410 and receive circuitry 420, for example, controls transmit circuitry 410 and receive circuitry 420 to operate alternately or simultaneously. The processor 20 may also determine an appropriate operation mode according to the selection of the user or the setting of the program, form a transmission sequence corresponding to the current operation mode, and send the transmission sequence to the transmitting circuit 410, so that the transmitting circuit 410 controls the ultrasound probe 30 to transmit the ultrasound wave using the appropriate transmission sequence.

The processor 20 is also configured to process the ultrasound echo data to generate a gray scale image of the signal intensity changes over the scan range that reflects the anatomical structure inside the tissue, referred to as a B-image. The processor 20 may output the B image to a display of the human-computer interaction device 70 for display.

The human-computer interaction device 70 is used for human-computer interaction, namely receiving input and output visual information of a user; the input of the user can be received by a keyboard, an operating button, a mouse, a track ball and the like, and a touch screen integrated with a display can also be adopted; the display can be used for outputting visual information.

The positioning module 90 is fixed on the ultrasound probe 30 and is used for acquiring motion information of the ultrasound probe 30 when the ultrasound probe 30 scans the target tissue 10. The traditional ultrasonic imaging equipment does not need a positioning function, but the invention introduces the positioning function to acquire the motion information of the ultrasonic probe, thereby facilitating the subsequent scanning quality control. The motion information includes: at least one of a motion path, velocity, and acceleration of the ultrasound probe 30 during the ultrasound scan. And when the motion information is recorded, recording time information corresponding to the motion information at the same time. The positioning module 90 is an inertial navigation module, a magnetic navigation module, or an optical navigation module.

The inertial navigation module is an autonomous navigation device, comprises an accelerometer, a gyroscope and the like, and can continuously provide information such as carrier (ultrasonic probe 30) characteristics, postures, speeds and the like in real time. The basic working principle is based on Newton's law of mechanics, acceleration and angular acceleration of a carrier in an inertial reference system are measured, the acceleration and the angular acceleration are integrated for the first time to obtain the speed and the angular velocity of the moving carrier, then the position information of the moving carrier is obtained by integration for the second time, and then the position information is converted into a navigation coordinate system to obtain the speed, the yaw angle, the position information and the like in the navigation coordinate system.

The magnetic navigation module comprises: a magnetic field generator, a sensor for sensing spatial position coordinates in a magnetic field, and a magnetic navigation device. Magnetic navigation devices are used to record the spatial position coordinates of the sensor. The sensor is fixed to the ultrasonic probe 30. Unlike the inertial navigation module, the sensor directly acquires the coordinate position of the object in space. That is, when the magnetic navigation module is used, the motion information is the motion path of the ultrasound probe 30 during the ultrasound scanning.

The optical navigation module comprises a processing device, a calibration plate and one, two or more cameras, wherein the cameras are used for acquiring images of the calibration plate, and the processing device identifies the position of the calibration plate according to the images. The commonly used camera is a near-infrared camera, and the corresponding calibration plate is a near-infrared calibration plate.

The inertial navigation module and the magnetic navigation module can be manufactured into plug-ins to be placed in the ultrasonic probe 30, and a sensor of the inertial navigation module, a sensor of the magnetic navigation module or a calibration plate with a proper volume can be directly fixed on the ultrasonic probe 30.

As shown in fig. 2, the processor 20 includes a scanning quality control module 210, an image quality control module 230, and a transmit/receive sequence control module 260. The scanning quality control module 210 and the image quality control module 230 are respectively used for quality control of scanning and quality control of images. The quality control is performed based on the ultrasonic echo data, so that there are three quality control processes, the first is to perform scanning quality control processing by the scanning quality control module 210 to obtain ultrasonic echo data qualified by scanning, and then perform image quality control processing on the ultrasonic echo data qualified by scanning by the image quality control module 230 to obtain final qualified ultrasonic echo data. The second method is that the image quality control module 230 performs image quality control processing to obtain qualified ultrasonic echo data of the image, and then the scanning quality control module 210 performs scanning quality control processing to the qualified ultrasonic echo data of the image to obtain the qualified ultrasonic echo data finally. The third method is that the scanning quality control module 210 and the image quality control module 230 respectively perform scanning quality control processing and image quality control processing on the same ultrasonic echo data, that is, if the image quality control processing is performed first, the scanning quality control processing is further performed on the ultrasonic echo data subjected to the image quality control processing, and if the scanning quality control processing is performed first, the image quality control processing is further performed on the ultrasonic echo data subjected to the scanning quality control processing, alternatively, after the ultrasonic echo data is selected, the scanning quality control module 210 and the image quality control module synchronously process the selected ultrasonic echo data to obtain the ultrasonic echo data qualified for scanning and the ultrasonic echo data qualified for image, and then the two qualified ultrasonic echo data are synthesized to obtain the final qualified ultrasonic echo data. The present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the first example.

In another embodiment, the processor 20 may also include a scanning & image quality control module, which may perform a quality evaluation on the ultrasound echo data based on the motion information associated with the ultrasound echo data and the included image information. For example, when the quality control processing is performed, the scanning & image quality control module comprehensively analyzes the motion information and the image information of the ultrasonic echo data, and obtains qualified ultrasonic echo data according to the comprehensive analysis result. When the scanning and image quality control module is used for quality control, the ultrasonic echo data which is comprehensively evaluated to be qualified can be directly obtained without specifically distinguishing the scanning qualification from the image qualification. A comprehensive classification model can be established based on the motion information and the image information, and comprehensive evaluation of the ultrasonic echo data is realized. The relationship between the ultrasonic echo data and the preset standard motion information and the relation between the ultrasonic echo data and the preset standard image information base can also be comprehensively analyzed, so that the comprehensive evaluation of the ultrasonic echo data is realized.

Fig. 3, 4 and 5 show a method for evaluating the quality of an ultrasound image of an ultrasound imaging apparatus, which in the embodiment shown in fig. 3 comprises the following steps:

step 1, a scanning quality control module 210 acquires a segment of ultrasonic echo data acquired by scanning a target tissue 10 by an ultrasonic probe 30, wherein the segment of ultrasonic echo data can be acquired from a memory 80, an external device or real-time based on scanning by the ultrasonic probe 30, in this embodiment, a transmitting/receiving sequence control module 260 controls the ultrasonic probe 30 to transmit ultrasonic waves to the target tissue 10 to perform ultrasonic scanning on the target tissue; the ultrasonic probe 30 is controlled to receive echoes of the ultrasonic waves returned from the target tissue 10 and obtain electric signals of the echoes. The scanning quality control module 210 obtains a section of ultrasonic echo data according to the echo of the ultrasonic wave.

The ultrasonic imaging device processes the electric signal obtained based on the echo of the ultrasonic wave, and the processing may specifically include data processing links such as analog signal gain compensation, beam synthesis, IQ demodulation, digital signal gain compensation, amplitude calculation, image enhancement, and the like. Specifically, the electrical signal is front-end filtered and amplified (i.e., gain compensated) by an analog circuit, then converted into a digital signal by an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and the channel data after analog-to-digital conversion is further beam-formed to form scan line data. The data obtained after this stage is completed, i.e., the ultrasound echo data output by the beamforming module 50, may be referred to as radio frequency signal data, i.e., RF data. After the RF data is acquired, the signal carrier is removed by IQ demodulation, the tissue structure information included in the signal is extracted, and filtering is performed to remove noise, and the signal acquired at this time is a baseband signal (IQ data). All processing required in the rf signal processing to the baseband signal may be collectively referred to as mid-end processing. Finally, the intensity of the baseband signal is obtained, and the intensity level of the baseband signal is subjected to logarithmic compression and gray scale conversion to obtain the ultrasonic image, wherein the completed processing can be collectively called back-end processing.

The ultrasonic echo data of the present invention is data obtained by processing the electric signal obtained based on the echo of the ultrasonic wave when the ultrasonic probe scans the target tissue, that is, the ultrasonic echo data may be data generated in any one of the data processing links. For example, the ultrasound echo data may be analog or digital ultrasound echo data before beam synthesis, data after beam synthesis, such as data output by the beam synthesis module 50, data after IQ demodulation, such as data output by the IQ demodulation module 60, or ultrasound image data obtained by further processing based on the data after beam synthesis or the data after IQ demodulation.

In addition, in the present invention, when describing data processed in at least one link, the description may include data of any processing link from the link to the acquisition of the ultrasound image data, as well as the ultrasound image data itself, instead of the data obtained by the processing in the link. For example, at least the data after beam synthesis may refer to the beam-synthesized ultrasound echo data output by the beam synthesis module 50, may refer to the ultrasound echo data output by the IQ demodulation module 60, and may refer to the finally obtained ultrasound image data. In some embodiments, at least the post-beamforming data may refer to data from any data processing stage after beamforming to prior to obtaining ultrasound image data.

Step 2, the scanning quality control module 210 acquires motion information of the ultrasonic probe 30 when scanning the target tissue, wherein the motion information has relevance to ultrasonic echo data generated at the same time; similarly, the motion information may be obtained from the memory 80 or from an external device. The motion information and the ultrasonic echo data can be directly related, or the motion information and the ultrasonic echo data can be respectively related with the time information, so that the indirect relevance of the motion information and the ultrasonic echo data is established. In this embodiment, when the ultrasound probe 30 scans a target tissue, the positioning module 90 acquires motion information of the ultrasound probe 30; the scanning quality control module 210 is obtained from the positioning module 90. The acquired motion information may be correlated by the scanning quality control module 210 or by other modules of the processor not shown with ultrasound echo data from a simultaneous ultrasound scan. Taking the motion information as the speed of the ultrasonic probe during the ultrasonic scanning as an example, the motion speed of the probe at a certain moment is associated or corresponds to the ultrasonic echo data obtained by scanning at the moment, and the speed at each moment is associated with the ultrasonic echo data obtained by scanning at each moment. Since the speed of a time point does not well indicate that the probe scans the correct track at the time point, the time covered by the motion information, or the time covered by the ultrasound echo data, in this embodiment may be generally set to a time period including a plurality of time points.

And 3, the scanning quality control module 210 performs quality evaluation on the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information according to the motion information to obtain the ultrasonic echo data qualified in scanning. For example, the scanning quality control module 210 evaluates whether the motion information of the ultrasound probe 30 when scanning the target tissue 10 conforms to a preset scanning rule for scanning the target tissue, if the motion information completely conforms to the preset scanning rule, it indicates that the ultrasound echo data associated with the motion information is qualified for scanning, if the motion information partially conforms to the preset scanning rule, it indicates that the ultrasound echo data associated with the motion information is qualified for scanning, and if the motion information completely does not conform to the preset scanning rule or most of the motion information does not conform to the preset scanning rule, it indicates that the ultrasound echo data associated with the motion information is unqualified for scanning.

The preset scanning rule may be a movement rule that the probe needs to follow when scanning all target tissues, for example, a shake-free scanning (the probe does not shake when moving the probe), for example, a scanning is completed by moving the probe at an approximately constant speed. The preset scanning rule may also be a specific movement rule that the probe needs to follow when scanning the target tissue, such as thyroid scanning: the probe moves in an approximately straight line and at a constant speed; scanning blood vessels of arms and legs: the motion is similar to straight line and oblique line and is uniform; scanning the abdomen and the liver: the motion path is irregular, but the moving speed of the probe is approximately uniform; scanning mammary glands: the motion path is irregular, and the probe moves at an approximately uniform speed; scanning three-dimensional ultrasound by a 4D probe: the probe is stationary, in which case the probe position is substantially constant, i.e. the path, velocity, acceleration, etc. are also constant. The preset scanning rule can also be a specific movement rule which needs to be followed by scanning items corresponding to one or more parts of the target tissue when the probe scans the target tissue; for example, for thyroid scanning, the scanning rule of the right longitudinal section (scanning item) is as follows: scanning by the uniform motion of an approximate straight line.

Therefore, the corresponding scan-qualified ultrasound echo data is: when ultrasonic scanning is carried out, ultrasonic echo data are obtained according to the scanning rules of all target tissues; or, the ultrasound echo data qualified by scanning is as follows: when ultrasonic scanning is carried out, ultrasonic echo data are obtained according to the scanning rule of a specified target tissue; or, the ultrasound echo data qualified by scanning is as follows: when ultrasonic scanning is carried out, ultrasonic echo data are obtained according to the scanning rule of each scanning item of a specified target organization under a standardized flow; or, the ultrasound echo data qualified by scanning is as follows: when ultrasonic scanning is carried out, ultrasonic echo data are obtained according to a scanning rule of a scanning item of a specified target organization.

In step 3, the scanning quality control module 210 performs quality evaluation on the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information according to the motion information in two ways, the first way is machine learning/deep learning, and the second way is data matching.

In the first mode, the scanning quality control module 210 inputs the motion information as a first characteristic index of the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information to a pre-established first model, so as to obtain a scanning quality evaluation result of the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information. Wherein, scanning the quality assessment result and including: whether the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information is scanned to obtain a qualified result; or whether the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information is partially scanned to obtain a qualified result; or evaluating the ultrasonic echo data as the ultrasonic echo data qualified for scanning; or, whether the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information is a result of scanning qualification or not and the ultrasonic echo data evaluated as scanning qualification in the ultrasonic echo data; or judging whether part of the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information is qualified by scanning, and judging whether the ultrasonic echo data is qualified by scanning; of course, the quality evaluation result may also include two or more of the above-described results. The scanning quality control module 210 may extract, from the ultrasonic echo data, the ultrasonic echo data segment associated with the motion information that is evaluated to be qualified, as the ultrasonic echo data qualified for scanning, according to the quality evaluation result output by the first model.

The first model is a model reflecting the corresponding relation between the first characteristic index and the scanning quality evaluation result. The first model is a machine learning model or a deep learning model, and in one embodiment, the first model is obtained by: the method comprises the steps of obtaining a plurality of ultrasonic echo data which are qualified in scanning and motion information of the ultrasonic echo data as training data, obtaining a plurality of ultrasonic echo data which are unqualified in scanning and motion information of the ultrasonic echo data as training data, and performing machine learning training or deep learning training on the training data to obtain a first model with the motion information as a first characteristic index. The first model may be, for example, a classification model, which obtains that the ultrasound echo data corresponding to the input motion information is of a type that is qualified for scanning, a type that is partially qualified for scanning, or a type that is not qualified for scanning, based on the calculation of the motion information of the training data and the input data.

In the second mode, the scanning quality control module 210 matches the motion information with preset standard motion information to obtain a motion information segment in the motion information, which is matched with the standard motion information; and obtaining the quality evaluation result of the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information according to the motion information segment. The standard motion information can be obtained by scanning by an experienced sonographer strictly according to a standardized operation process, and is generally a movement track formed when the probe moves, the speed of the probe moving, the acceleration of the probe moving and the like. The scanning quality control module 210 may use the ultrasound echo data segment with the motion information segment correlated in time as the ultrasound echo data qualified by scanning.

For example, the scanning quality control module 210 extracts motion information in the form of a movement track, and matches the movement track of the scanning with a preset movement track, so as to further determine a matching movement track segment in the movement track of the scanning. And the ultrasonic echo data corresponding to the moving track section is the ultrasonic echo data qualified in scanning. When the matching operation is performed on the moving track, the matching operation can be performed based on the complete moving track scanned at this time, or the moving track can be decomposed into a plurality of parts, and then the matching operation is performed on the moving track of each part.

Therefore, the ultrasonic probe is positioned and tracked, and whether the scanning process is qualified or not is judged according to the motion information such as the track, the speed, the acceleration and the like of the ultrasonic probe, so that the quality of the ultrasonic echo data obtained by scanning is controlled, an ultrasonic doctor does not need to process the judgment, and the working efficiency of the ultrasonic doctor is improved.

Step 4, the ultrasonic echo data can form a section of ultrasonic video, which includes a plurality of ultrasonic image frames, so in this step, the image quality control module 230 extracts image information of each ultrasonic image frame from the ultrasonic echo data qualified by scanning; wherein the image information includes: tissue structure features in the ultrasound image frames, brightness of the ultrasound image frames as a whole, and sharpness of the ultrasound image frames. The tissue structure feature may reflect whether the target tissue or the target section is scanned or not, for example, whether the target tissue or the target section is scanned or not may be known by determining the position relationship between the thyroid gland and the carotid artery. Whether the ultrasonic image frame is too bright or too dark can be judged through the brightness, for example, the gray value range of the normal ultrasonic image frame is 0-255, the average value in the effective area of the ultrasonic image frame can be calculated, and if the gray value range is lower than 40, the ultrasonic image frame can be considered to be too dark; if it exceeds 200, it is considered to be too bright. The definition of the ultrasound image frame includes the resolution of the ultrasound image frame, whether the ultrasound image frame is blurred or not, and the like, for example, whether the image is blurred or not is judged by adopting an image blurring detection method or a machine learning method, two types of data of the clear image and the blurred image of a target tissue are collected in advance, a model is trained, and the problem is abstracted into a two-classification problem.

And 5, performing secondary quality evaluation on the ultrasonic echo data qualified in scanning by the image quality control module 230 according to the image information of each ultrasonic image frame to comprehensively evaluate whether the ultrasonic echo data is qualified. Similarly, the image quality control module 230 performs secondary quality evaluation on the ultrasound echo data according to the image information of each ultrasound image frame by two methods:

first, the image quality control module 230 inputs the image information of each ultrasound image frame as a second characteristic index of the ultrasound echo data to which the image information belongs to a pre-established second model, so as to obtain an image quality evaluation result of the ultrasound echo data. Wherein the image quality evaluation result comprises: whether the ultrasonic echo data to which all the image information belongs is scanned to obtain a qualified result; or whether the ultrasonic echo data to which all the image information belongs are partially scanned to obtain a qualified result; or evaluating all the ultrasonic echo data to be qualified ultrasonic echo data of the image; or whether part of the ultrasonic echo data to which all the image information belongs is scanned to obtain a qualified result and the ultrasonic echo data evaluated as qualified images in the ultrasonic echo data; of course, the image evaluation result may also include two or more of the above-described results.

The second model is a model reflecting a corresponding relationship between the second characteristic index and the image quality evaluation result, and in an embodiment, the second model can be obtained by the following method: acquiring qualified ultrasonic echo data of a plurality of images and image information thereof as training data, and acquiring unqualified ultrasonic echo data of the plurality of images and image information thereof as training data; and performing machine learning or deep learning on the training data, and training to obtain a second model taking the image information as a second characteristic index. The second model may also be, for example, a classification model that determines whether the ultrasound echo data corresponding to the input image information is image-qualified based on the calculation of the training data and the image information of the input data.

Secondly, the image quality control module 230 judges the image information of each ultrasound image frame based on a preset standard image information base to obtain image information conforming to the standard image in the standard image information base; and obtaining an image quality evaluation result of the ultrasonic echo data according to the corresponding image information, and taking each ultrasonic image frame matched with the image information as the qualified ultrasonic echo data of the image.

Whether the image information of each ultrasound image frame coincides with the standard image may be determined based on image features of a specific tissue structure, brightness features based on images, sharpness features based on images, and the like. The image quality control module 230 may extract one or more types of image information of the ultrasound image frames based on the ultrasound echo data, for example, tissue structure features in the ultrasound image frames, overall brightness of the ultrasound image frames, and/or definition of the ultrasound image frames, then compare the extracted different types of image information with a preset standard image information base, and determine whether the ultrasound echo data corresponding to the image information is qualified according to the comparison result.

For example, when the brightness characteristic of the image is determined, the image quality control module 230 may extract the overall brightness as the image information of each ultrasound image frame, and determine whether the overall brightness is within a preset brightness threshold interval, to obtain the ultrasound image frame with the brightness within the brightness threshold interval; and obtaining qualified ultrasonic echo data of the image according to the ultrasonic image frame with each brightness in the brightness threshold interval, namely. And taking each ultrasonic image frame with the brightness within the brightness threshold interval as qualified ultrasonic echo data of the image.

For example, when determining based on the sharpness characteristics of the image, the image quality control module 230 may analyze the ultrasound image frame to determine whether the image is blurred. For example, in the case of no reference image, the sharpness of the image may be calculated by a gradient function. Common gradient functions are for example Brenner gradient functions, Tenengrad gradient functions, Laplacian gradient functions, etc. In the case of no reference image, whether the image is blurred or not can be determined by a machine learning method. For example, the problem of determining whether an image is blurred is constructed as a binary model. When a reference image exists, the definition characteristic which meets the image quality requirement can be embodied through the reference image. The image quality control module 230 determines whether the ultrasound image frame corresponds to qualified ultrasound echo data based on the comparison between the definition of the reference image and the definition of each ultrasound image frame.

For example, when determining based on the sharpness characteristics of the image, it may also be determined whether the resolution of the ultrasound image frame conforms to a preset resolution range. The image quality control module 230 may determine whether the resolution of each ultrasound image frame is within a preset resolution range, and use the ultrasound image frame whose resolution meets a preset requirement as the qualified ultrasound echo data of the image.

For example, when determining based on the image feature of the specific tissue structure, the image quality control module 230 may perform module matching and other calculations on the ultrasound image frame to be evaluated based on the image feature of the specific tissue structure, determine whether the ultrasound image frame includes the required tissue structure information, and further determine whether the ultrasound echo data corresponding to the ultrasound image frame is image-qualified.

Because the image information may include two or three of the tissue structure characteristics in the ultrasound image frame, the brightness of the whole ultrasound image frame, and the definition of the ultrasound image frame, the image quality control module 230 may perform image quality evaluation by correspondingly combining the image information from a plurality of different angles, and the final image quality evaluation result may be an intersection, which is not repeated.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 3, only the ultrasonic echo data qualified in the scanning process and the image is calculated as the final qualified ultrasonic echo data, so that the accuracy of the subsequent ultrasonic echo data processing result is improved, and the efficiency of a doctor is also improved.

Of course, in the present invention, the processor 20 is further configured to display the scanning quality evaluation result and the image quality evaluation result on the display interface of the display; prompting a user to delete unqualified ultrasonic echo data; and prompting the user to re-acquire the unqualified ultrasonic echo data on the display interface. Facilitating further treatment by the sonographer.

In the present invention, the ultrasound imaging apparatus further includes a diagnosis module for analyzing the qualified ultrasound echo data (ultrasound echo data qualified for both scanning quality evaluation and image quality evaluation) output by the processor 20, and diagnosing benign and malignant properties, morphological characteristics, and the like of the lesion.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 4, before performing quality evaluation on the ultrasound echo data associated with the motion information according to the motion information, the processor 20 extracts image information of each ultrasound image frame from the ultrasound echo data, and performs quality evaluation on the ultrasound echo data according to the image information of each ultrasound image frame to obtain qualified ultrasound echo data of an image; and then, according to the motion information associated with the qualified ultrasonic echo data of the image, performing quality evaluation on the qualified ultrasonic echo data of the image. Compared with the embodiment shown in fig. 3, only the sequence of the image quality control and the scanning quality control is different, that is, the object processed by the image quality control module (fig. 4 is the ultrasonic echo data, fig. 3 is the ultrasonic echo data qualified for scanning) is slightly different from the object processed by the scanning quality control module (fig. 4 is the ultrasonic echo data qualified for image, fig. 3 is the ultrasonic echo data), and the rest is the same as the embodiment shown in fig. 3, so the description is omitted.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 5, the processor 20 performs quality evaluation on the ultrasound echo data according to the motion information associated with the ultrasound echo data; extracting image information of each ultrasonic image frame from the ultrasonic echo data; performing quality evaluation on the ultrasonic echo data according to the image information of each ultrasonic image frame; and comprehensively evaluating whether the ultrasonic echo data is qualified or not according to the result of the scanning quality evaluation and the result of the image quality evaluation. In other words, in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, both scanning quality control and image quality control process the acquired ultrasound echo data, which may be performed simultaneously, and finally, comprehensively evaluate whether the ultrasound echo data is qualified according to the quality evaluation results of both, and usually, the ultrasound echo data qualified by both scanning and image is used as the final ultrasound echo data. Compared with the embodiment shown in fig. 3, the sequence of image quality control is different, that is, the objects processed by the image quality control module (fig. 3 is ultrasound echo data qualified for scanning, and fig. 5 is ultrasound echo data) are slightly different, and the rest is the same as the embodiment shown in fig. 3, so that the detailed description is omitted.

The embodiments shown in fig. 3 to 5 all adopt two manners, namely scanning quality control and image quality control, in some embodiments, only one of the two manners may be adopted, and since the two manners are described in detail in the above-mentioned contents, the details are not described here.

The invention not only provides two quality control modes, but also has the advantages that an ultrasonic standardized scanning process can be formed for a target tissue through scanning quality evaluation, a user only needs to scan according to the ultrasonic standardized scanning process, whether an ultrasonic image is qualified or not does not need to be judged by experience, the requirement on the user is greatly reduced, the work can be finished by a nurse instead of an ultrasonic doctor, and the ultrasonic scanning method has important significance. The nurse scans the ultrasonic images according to the standardized flow, and the doctors diagnose the ultrasonic images after the ultrasonic images are obtained, so that the labor of the ultrasonic doctors can be greatly saved, and the problem of insufficient ultrasonic doctors or ultrasonic imaging equipment in most regions is solved. And an intelligent diagnosis function is supplemented for preliminary analysis or prompt, so that the diagnosis work efficiency of doctors can be further improved. Therefore, standardized scanning in ultrasound image examination is important. The ultrasound standardized scanning procedure is explained below by means of a specific example. In this embodiment, the ultrasound echo data is an ultrasound image, and the ultrasound image may be a B image, a C image, a three-dimensional image, and the like. The target tissue is illustrated by thyroid gland as an example

After the user starts the ultrasound standardized scanning process about the thyroid, the processor 20 displays one or more items to be scanned in the target tissue and the scanning sequence of each scanned item on the display interface of the display to guide the user to scan according to the standardized process. In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 6 and 7, the processor 20 scans four items to be scanned of the thyroid gland on the display interface of the display in the order: right longitudinal cutting, right transverse cutting, left longitudinal cutting and left transverse cutting, and displaying each scanning action of each scanning item, wherein the scanning actions comprise the moving direction (transverse or longitudinal) of the ultrasonic probe, the moving times and the like. For example, the right longitudinal cutting needs to perform a series of scanning motions of longitudinally (vertically) moving the ultrasonic probe at a constant speed, and the moving tracks of the series of motions are parallel, so that a plurality of sagittal section images on the right side of the thyroid gland can be correspondingly obtained. Similarly, the right-side transection needs to execute a series of scanning actions of moving the ultrasonic probe transversely (horizontally) at a constant speed, and the moving tracks of the series of actions are parallel, so that a plurality of transection plane images on the right side of the thyroid gland can be correspondingly obtained. The left side and the right side are symmetrical, so the description is omitted. The user is reminded of how to move the probe in a schematic diagram form on the display interface, so that the operation difficulty is greatly reduced.

When the user scans with the ultrasonic probe 30 according to the guide, the processor 20 controls the ultrasonic probe 30 to emit ultrasonic waves, and the ultrasonic probe is matched with the scanning action of the user to perform ultrasonic scanning on the thyroid gland. The processor 20 controls the ultrasonic probe 30 to receive the echo of the ultrasonic wave returned by the thyroid to obtain a section of ultrasonic echo data. Meanwhile, the positioning module collects the motion information of the ultrasonic probe 30 when the ultrasonic probe 30 scans the thyroid. The processor 20 correlates the motion information with ultrasound echo data from a simultaneous ultrasound scan. In this embodiment, the motion information includes a motion path, a velocity, and an acceleration of the ultrasound probe 30 during the ultrasound scan. Taking a scanning movement of the right longitudinal cutting as an example, generally scanning time is 5-10 seconds, scanning distance (probe moving distance) is about 10cm, and scanning is carried out at a constant speed; therefore, the ideal motion information corresponding to the right-side longitudinal cutting scanning action (the motion information corresponding to the scanning qualified ultrasonic B image formed by the scanning action) is as follows: the acceleration of the ultrasound probe 30 when performing this scanning action is substantially 0cm/s²(ii) a When the scanning action is executed, the speed of the ultrasonic probe 30 is basically kept at 2cm/s, the speed direction is a vertical direction/the motion path is a vertical straight line, and the ultrasonic probe is movedThe path is substantially 10 cm. The scanning is based on scanning actions, so that the running information corresponding to the scanning items is formed by combining the motion information of each scanning action contained in the scanning items, and the running information corresponding to the scanning target organization is formed by combining the motion information of each scanning item contained in the target organization.

In the present invention, the scanning quality evaluation is performed according to the motion information and the ultrasound echo data associated with the motion information, and the motion information may be the motion information of the scanning action, or may be the motion information of the scanning item or the target tissue, and different operation flows may extend, which are illustrated in this embodiment.

In one mode, after a scanning action of an item to be scanned on the thyroid gland is completed, for example, after an ultrasound probe longitudinally moves on the right side of the thyroid gland, the scanning quality control module 210 performs quality evaluation on the ultrasound B image associated with the motion information according to the motion information obtained by the scanning action, for example, performs quality evaluation on the ultrasound B image corresponding to the scanning action according to the moving speed of the ultrasound probe. The specific process of quality evaluation is described in the foregoing, and details are not repeated in this embodiment. After the scanning quality evaluation result is obtained, the scanning quality control module 210 prompts the user to perform scanning again on the scanning action corresponding to the unqualified ultrasound B image on the display interface of the display. And then scanning and quality evaluation of the next scanning action are carried out until the scanning of the whole thyroid is completed. If the scanning quality evaluation result is partially qualified, it indicates that some ultrasonic B images are qualified, and the other ultrasonic B images are unqualified, and usually the ultrasonic B images obtained at the start and the end of the scanning action are easily unqualified. By the mode, the user executes scanning action once, the ultrasonic imaging equipment feeds back a scanning quality evaluation result once, the user with problems can timely process and even rescan, and the operation is simple and the efficiency is high. Certainly, after the scanning quality evaluation result is obtained, before the next scanning action to be scanned is started, the qualified ultrasonic B image and/or the unqualified ultrasonic B image can be prompted on the display interface for the user to save or delete.

In one mode, after scanning an item to be scanned in the thyroid, that is, after completing all scanning actions of the item to be scanned in the thyroid, for example, after completing a series of scanning actions of right longitudinal cutting, the scanning quality control module 210 performs quality evaluation on the ultrasound B image associated with the motion information according to the motion information acquired during scanning the series of scanning actions, and before starting scanning the next item to be scanned (for example, right transverse cutting), according to the result of the scanning quality evaluation, indicates on the display interface whether the user needs to perform rescanning on the scanning item. For example, the quality of the multi-frame ultrasound B image obtained when the scanning item is scanned is evaluated according to the motion trajectory of the ultrasound probe during scanning, or the quality of the multi-frame ultrasound B image may be evaluated according to a combination of multiple pieces of motion information. And then scanning of the next scanning item and scanning quality evaluation are carried out until the scanning of the whole thyroid is completed. The scanning operation of the user is more skillful, so that the method is suitable for being adopted, and the efficiency is higher than that of the method. The mode can further prompt a user whether to perform operations such as rescanning on any scanning link in the standard scanning process in time, is beneficial to pertinently correcting the link with inaccurate scanning, does not need to perform rescanning completely, wastes time and labor, and is beneficial to ensuring whether the ultrasonic echo data obtained according to the process guidance can meet the standard of subsequent further image analysis.

In one mode, after an item to be scanned in the thyroid is scanned, the scanning quality control module 210 performs quality evaluation on an ultrasound B image associated with motion information according to the motion information acquired when the item to be scanned is scanned, and prompts a qualified ultrasound B image and/or an unqualified ultrasound B image on a display interface before scanning of the next item to be scanned is started, so that a user can store or delete the qualified ultrasound B image and the qualified ultrasound B image can be processed conveniently in the subsequent scanning process, and a storage space is also saved.

In one mode, after the scanning of an item to be scanned of the thyroid is finished, a user can be prompted on a display interface whether to scan the item again, and a qualified ultrasonic B image and an unqualified ultrasonic B image can be displayed on the display interface respectively. The user can know the scanning quality evaluation result, and can perform secondary judgment on whether scanning needs to be performed again through the displayed image data.

In one mode, after scanning all the items to be scanned in the thyroid, the scanning quality control module 210 performs quality evaluation on the ultrasound B image associated with the motion information according to the motion information when all the items to be scanned are scanned, and prompts one or more items to be scanned that need to be scanned again on the display interface according to the result of the scanning quality evaluation corresponding to each item to be scanned. In other words, after the scanning of the thyroid gland is completed, the display interface prompts the user which scanning items need to be scanned again, so that the user can conveniently and specifically scan again. Because whether the patient needs to be rescanned can be known just after scanning, the patient does not leave at the moment, and can be rescanned at once, so that the scanning is very convenient and fast.

In one mode, the scanning quality control module 210 graphically displays the thyroid on the display interface, and highlights a portion corresponding to the qualified ultrasound B image, a portion corresponding to the partially qualified ultrasound B image, or a portion corresponding to the unqualified ultrasound B image on the image of the thyroid. Therefore, the ultrasonic B images of which parts are not qualified can be seen at a glance.

In one mode, the scanning quality control module 210 displays the thyroid gland in a graphical manner on a display interface, and performs differential display on the portion corresponding to the qualified ultrasound B image, the portion corresponding to the partially qualified ultrasound B image, and the portion corresponding to the unqualified ultrasound B image on the graph of the thyroid gland; for example, different colors or icons are used for differentiated display to show the positions of the three results, so that the positions of the three results can be clearly obtained at a glance. In one mode, the scanning quality control module 210 displays, on the display interface, a tutorial for guiding the user to scan the scanning action, the part, or the target tissue corresponding to the unqualified ultrasound echo data for the ultrasound echo data with the unqualified quality evaluation result. The memory stores a tutorial for guiding the user to carry out standard scanning, and the corresponding tutorial is displayed for the user for the scanning action and the scanning item of the unqualified ultrasonic B image, so that the user can conveniently scan again.

Many or all of the above modes can be stored in the ultrasonic imaging device as optional operation modes, and the user can set the modes according to the self condition.

In summary, the scanning quality control of the present invention can realize the standardized scanning of the target tissue, that is, the whole scanning process of the target tissue is made into a standardized flow. Under the standardized scanning scene, a nurse, not a doctor, can scan and obtain images according to the standardized scanning flow and then make a diagnosis and treatment by the doctor, so that the labor of one doctor can be saved. Moreover, the standardized scanning is very suitable for the examination of common parts in physical examination, and the application range is wide. The quality-controlled ultrasonic image can be combined with AI intelligent diagnosis, so that the data processing amount of the intelligent diagnosis is reduced.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that all or part of the functions of the various methods in the above embodiments may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by computer programs. When all or part of the functions of the above embodiments are implemented by a computer program, the program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and the storage medium may include: a read only memory, a random access memory, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a hard disk, etc., and the program is executed by a computer to realize the above functions. For example, the program may be stored in a memory of the device, and when the program in the memory is executed by the processor, all or part of the functions described above may be implemented. In addition, when all or part of the functions in the above embodiments are implemented by a computer program, the program may be stored in a storage medium such as a server, another computer, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a flash disk, or a removable hard disk, and may be downloaded or copied to a memory of a local device, or may be version-updated in a system of the local device, and when the program in the memory is executed by a processor, all or part of the functions in the above embodiments may be implemented.

Reference is made herein to various exemplary embodiments. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that changes and modifications may be made to the exemplary embodiments without departing from the scope hereof. For example, the various operational steps, as well as the components used to perform the operational steps, may be implemented in differing ways depending upon the particular application or consideration of any number of cost functions associated with operation of the system (e.g., one or more steps may be deleted, modified or incorporated into other steps).

Additionally, as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the principles herein may be reflected in a computer program product on a computer readable storage medium, which is pre-loaded with computer readable program code. Any tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be used, including magnetic storage devices (hard disks, floppy disks, etc.), optical storage devices (CD-ROMs, DVDs, Blu Ray disks, etc.), flash memory, and/or the like. These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus create means for implementing the functions specified. These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including means for implementing the function specified. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified.

While the principles herein have been illustrated in various embodiments, many modifications of structure, arrangement, proportions, elements, materials, and components particularly adapted to specific environments and operative requirements may be employed without departing from the principles and scope of the present disclosure. The above modifications and other changes or modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this document.

The foregoing detailed description has been described with reference to various embodiments. However, one skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the disclosure is to be considered in an illustrative and not a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope thereof. Also, advantages, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to various embodiments. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause any element(s) to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or element of any or all the claims. As used herein, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, system, article, or apparatus. Furthermore, the term "coupled," and any other variation thereof, as used herein, refers to a physical connection, an electrical connection, a magnetic connection, an optical connection, a communicative connection, a functional connection, and/or any other connection.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that many changes may be made to the details of the above-described embodiments without departing from the underlying principles of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined from the following claims.

Claims

1. A method for evaluating the quality of an ultrasonic image, comprising:

2. A method for evaluating the quality of an ultrasonic image, comprising:

acquiring motion information of the ultrasonic probe when scanning the target tissue, wherein the motion information has relevance with ultrasonic echo data generated at the same time; and

and performing quality evaluation on the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information according to the motion information, and performing quality evaluation on the ultrasonic echo data corresponding to the image information according to the image information contained in the ultrasonic echo data to obtain qualified ultrasonic echo data.

3. A method for evaluating the quality of an ultrasonic image, comprising:

acquiring image information contained in the ultrasonic echo data;

and performing quality evaluation on the ultrasonic echo data according to the image information and the motion information to obtain qualified ultrasonic echo data.

4. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein performing a quality assessment of the ultrasound echo data associated with the motion information based on the motion information comprises: and evaluating whether the motion information of the ultrasonic probe when scanning the target tissue conforms to a preset scanning rule for scanning the target tissue.

5. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein performing a quality assessment of the ultrasound echo data associated with the motion information based on the motion information comprises:

inputting the motion information serving as a first characteristic index of the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information into a pre-established first model to obtain a scanning quality evaluation result of the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information; the first model is a model reflecting the corresponding relation between the first characteristic index and the scanning quality evaluation result.

6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein performing a quality assessment of the ultrasound echo data associated with the motion information based on the motion information comprises:

matching the motion information with preset standard motion information to obtain a motion information segment matched with the standard motion information in the motion information;

and obtaining a scanning quality evaluation result of the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information according to the motion information segment.

7. The method of claim 5 or 6, wherein the scanning quality assessment result comprises:

whether the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information is scanned to obtain a qualified result; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

whether the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information are partially scanned to obtain a qualified result; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

evaluating the ultrasonic echo data as qualified ultrasonic echo data for scanning; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

whether the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information is scanned and qualified is judged, and the ultrasonic echo data which is evaluated to be scanned and qualified is obtained; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

and judging whether the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information are partially scanned and qualified, and judging whether the ultrasonic echo data are scanned and qualified.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein an ultrasonic echo data segment associated with motion information evaluated to be qualified is extracted from the ultrasonic echo data as scanning qualified ultrasonic echo data according to a scanning quality evaluation result output by the first model;

or, the ultrasonic echo data segment of the motion information segment correlated in time is used as the ultrasonic echo data qualified in scanning.

9. The method of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the motion information comprises: at least one of a motion path, velocity and acceleration of the ultrasound probe while ultrasound scanning.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

extracting image information of each ultrasonic image frame from the ultrasonic echo data subjected to quality evaluation according to the motion information; performing quality evaluation on the ultrasonic echo data according to the image information of each ultrasonic image frame; and comprehensively evaluating whether the ultrasonic echo data is qualified or not according to a result of the quality evaluation based on the motion information and a result of the quality evaluation based on the image information;

or extracting image information of each ultrasonic image frame from the ultrasonic echo data qualified in scanning; performing secondary quality evaluation on the ultrasonic echo data qualified in the scanning according to the image information of each ultrasonic image frame so as to comprehensively evaluate whether the ultrasonic echo data is qualified or not;

or before quality evaluation is carried out on the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information according to the motion information, extracting image information of each ultrasonic image frame from the ultrasonic echo data, and carrying out quality evaluation on the ultrasonic echo data according to the image information of each ultrasonic image frame to obtain qualified ultrasonic echo data of the image; the quality evaluation of the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information according to the motion information comprises the following steps: and according to the motion information associated with the ultrasonic echo data qualified by the image, performing quality evaluation on the ultrasonic echo data qualified by the image.

11. The method of claim 2 or 3, wherein the quality assessment of the ultrasound echo data based on the image information and the motion information comprises:

comprehensively evaluating the quality of the ultrasonic echo data according to the motion information and the image information so as to comprehensively evaluate whether the ultrasonic echo data is qualified or not;

or, performing quality evaluation on the same part of data of the section of ultrasonic echo data according to the motion information and the image information; and comprehensively evaluating whether the ultrasonic echo data is qualified or not based on a result of the quality evaluation according to the motion information and a result of the quality evaluation according to the image information;

or, performing quality evaluation on the ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information according to the motion information; extracting image information of each ultrasonic image frame from the ultrasonic echo data qualified in scanning; performing secondary quality evaluation on the ultrasonic echo data qualified in the scanning according to the image information of each ultrasonic image frame so as to comprehensively evaluate whether the ultrasonic echo data is qualified or not;

or extracting image information of each ultrasonic image frame from the ultrasonic echo data, and performing quality evaluation on the ultrasonic echo data according to the image information of each ultrasonic image frame to obtain qualified ultrasonic echo data of the image; and performing secondary quality evaluation on the qualified ultrasonic echo data of the image according to the motion information associated with the qualified ultrasonic echo data of the image so as to comprehensively evaluate whether the ultrasonic echo data is qualified or not.

12. The method of claim 2, 3, 10 or 11, wherein the image information comprises: at least one of tissue structure characteristics in the ultrasound image frames, brightness of the whole ultrasound image frames, and definition of the ultrasound image frames; the quality evaluation of the ultrasonic echo data according to the image information of each ultrasonic image frame comprises the following steps:

inputting the image information of each ultrasonic image frame as a second characteristic index of the ultrasonic echo data to a pre-established second model to obtain an image quality evaluation result of the ultrasonic echo data; the second model is a model reflecting the corresponding relation between the second characteristic index and the image quality evaluation result;

or judging the image information of each ultrasonic image frame based on a preset standard image information base to obtain image information which is consistent with the standard image in the standard image information base; and obtaining an image quality evaluation result of the ultrasonic echo data according to the corresponding image information.

13. The method of any of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to controlling the ultrasound probe to transmit ultrasound waves to the target tissue and receive echoes of the returned ultrasound waves:

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

after a scanning action of an item to be scanned of the target tissue is finished, performing quality evaluation on ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information according to the motion information obtained by the scanning action, and prompting a user to perform scanning again on a display interface for the scanning action corresponding to the unqualified ultrasonic echo data; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

after an item to be scanned in a target tissue is scanned, quality evaluation is carried out on ultrasonic echo data related to the motion information according to the motion information acquired when the item to be scanned is scanned, and before the next item to be scanned is scanned, whether a user needs to scan the item again or not is prompted on a display interface according to the result of the quality evaluation; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

after an item to be scanned in a target tissue is scanned, quality evaluation is carried out on ultrasonic echo data related to the motion information according to the motion information acquired when the item to be scanned is scanned, and before the next item to be scanned is scanned, qualified ultrasonic echo data and/or unqualified ultrasonic echo data are/is prompted on a display interface for a user to save or delete; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

after scanning all items to be scanned in a target tissue, performing quality evaluation on ultrasonic echo data associated with the motion information according to the motion information when all items to be scanned are scanned, and prompting one or more items to be scanned again on a display interface according to the quality evaluation result corresponding to each item to be scanned; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

displaying the target tissue on the display interface in a graphical mode, and highlighting a part corresponding to qualified ultrasonic echo data, a part corresponding to partially qualified ultrasonic echo data or a part corresponding to unqualified ultrasonic echo data on the graph of the target tissue; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

displaying the target tissue on the display interface in a graphical mode, and displaying the part corresponding to the qualified ultrasonic echo data, the part corresponding to the qualified ultrasonic echo data and the part corresponding to the unqualified ultrasonic echo data in a differentiated mode on the graph of the target tissue; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

and for the ultrasonic echo data with the quality evaluation result being unqualified, displaying a tutorial for guiding a user to scan the scanning action, the part or the target tissue corresponding to the unqualified ultrasonic echo data on a display interface.

16. The method of claim 7, wherein the scan-qualified ultrasound echo data is: when ultrasonic scanning is carried out, ultrasonic echo data are obtained according to the scanning rules of all target tissues; or, the ultrasound echo data qualified by scanning is as follows: when ultrasonic scanning is carried out, ultrasonic echo data are obtained according to the scanning rule of a specified target tissue; or, the ultrasound echo data qualified by scanning is as follows: when ultrasonic scanning is carried out, ultrasonic echo data are obtained according to the scanning rule of each scanning item of a specified target organization under a standardized flow; or, the ultrasound echo data qualified by scanning is as follows: when ultrasonic scanning is carried out, ultrasonic echo data are obtained according to a scanning rule of a scanning item of a specified target organization.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the ultrasonic echo data is data obtained by data processing an electric signal obtained based on an echo of an ultrasonic wave when the ultrasonic probe scans a target tissue; the data processing comprises gain compensation, analog-to-digital conversion, beam synthesis, quadrature demodulation, baseband signal intensity calculation and gray level logarithmic compression.

18. An ultrasonic imaging apparatus characterized by comprising:

a human-computer interaction device;

19. The ultrasound imaging device of claim 18, wherein the processor performing a quality assessment of the ultrasound echo data associated with the motion information based on the motion information comprises:

and evaluating whether the motion information of the ultrasonic probe when scanning the target tissue conforms to a preset scanning rule for scanning the target tissue.

20. The ultrasound imaging apparatus of claim 18, wherein the quality assessment results comprise:

21. The ultrasound imaging device of claim 18, wherein the motion information comprises: at least one of a motion path, velocity and acceleration of the ultrasound probe while ultrasound scanning.

22. The ultrasound imaging device of any of claims 18 to 21, wherein the processor is further configured to:

extracting image information of each ultrasonic image frame from the ultrasonic echo data subjected to quality evaluation according to the motion information; carrying out image quality evaluation on the ultrasonic echo data according to the image information of each ultrasonic image frame; and comprehensively evaluating whether the ultrasonic echo data is qualified or not according to a result of the quality evaluation based on the motion information and a result of the quality evaluation based on the image information;

23. The ultrasound imaging device of any of claims 18 to 21, wherein the processor is further configured to:

prompting a user to delete unqualified ultrasonic echo data on a display interface of the human-computer interaction device; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

and prompting the user to re-acquire the unqualified ultrasonic echo data on a display interface of the human-computer interaction device.

24. The ultrasound imaging apparatus of claim 20, wherein the scan-qualified ultrasound echo data is: when ultrasonic scanning is carried out, ultrasonic echo data are obtained according to the scanning rules of all target tissues; or, the ultrasound echo data qualified by scanning is as follows: when ultrasonic scanning is carried out, ultrasonic echo data are obtained according to the scanning rule of a specified target tissue; or, the ultrasound echo data qualified by scanning is as follows: when ultrasonic scanning is carried out, ultrasonic echo data are obtained according to the scanning rule of each scanning item of a specified target organization under a standardized flow; or, the ultrasound echo data qualified by scanning is as follows: when ultrasonic scanning is carried out, ultrasonic echo data are obtained according to a scanning rule of a scanning item of a specified target organization.

25. The ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 18 to 21, wherein the ultrasonic echo data is data processed from an electric signal obtained based on an echo of an ultrasonic wave when the ultrasonic probe scans a target tissue; the data processing comprises gain compensation, analog-to-digital conversion, beam synthesis, quadrature demodulation, baseband signal intensity calculation and gray level logarithmic compression.

26. The ultrasound imaging device of any of claims 18 to 21, wherein the positioning module is an inertial navigation module, a magnetic navigation module, or an optical navigation module.