CN114145770A

CN114145770A - Wireless ultrasonic probe and positioning method and system thereof

Info

Publication number: CN114145770A
Application number: CN202111482036.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张懿轩; 杨佳丽; 王璐
Original assignee: Wuhan United Imaging Healthcare Co Ltd
Current assignee: Wuhan United Imaging Healthcare Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-12-06
Filing date: 2021-12-06
Publication date: 2022-03-08
Anticipated expiration: 2041-12-06
Also published as: CN114145770B

Abstract

The embodiment of the specification provides a positioning method of a wireless ultrasonic probe, which includes the steps of obtaining first position information of the wireless ultrasonic probe from a cloud end, wherein the wireless ultrasonic probe includes a positioning module, the wireless ultrasonic probe determines the first position information through the positioning module, and the wireless ultrasonic probe uploads the first position information to the cloud end. The method also includes locating the wireless ultrasound probe according to the first location information.

Description

Wireless ultrasonic probe and positioning method and system thereof

Technical Field

The present description relates to ultrasound systems, and more particularly, to a method, system, and wireless ultrasound probe for locating a wireless ultrasound probe.

Background

The ultrasonic equipment is usually connected with a plurality of probes, the probes are connected with the equipment through cables and probe connectors, the cables are usually as long as 2 meters or even longer, and the cables are very easy to intertwine, so that doctors need to arrange the cables firstly when using the probes, and the inspection efficiency is very influenced; meanwhile, the cable is easily infected with bacteria, so that the risk of infection is brought to doctors and patients. In order to solve the problems, various wireless probes are available on the market at present, but the wireless probes have the problems of forgetting, losing and the like. In order to solve the problems, the invention provides a wireless ultrasonic probe capable of accurately positioning.

Disclosure of Invention

One aspect of the present application provides a method of positioning a wireless ultrasound probe. The method comprises the steps of obtaining first position information of a wireless ultrasonic probe from a cloud end, wherein the wireless ultrasonic probe comprises a positioning module, the wireless ultrasonic probe determines the first position information through the positioning module, and the wireless ultrasonic probe uploads the first position information to the cloud end. The method also includes locating the wireless ultrasound probe according to the first location information.

Another aspect of the present application provides a positioning system for a wireless ultrasound probe. The system includes a computer-readable storage medium storing a set of instructions, at least one processor in communication with the computer-readable storage medium, the at least one processor being controlled to perform a method of enabling localization of a wireless ultrasound probe when executing the set of instructions.

Another aspect of the present application provides a wireless ultrasound probe including a localization module. The positioning module is used for determining first position information of the wireless ultrasonic probe. The positioning module 240 is further configured to upload the first position information to a cloud end, where the first position information is sent to the ultrasound device and/or the mobile terminal by the cloud end, so that the ultrasound device and/or the mobile terminal can position the wireless ultrasound probe.

Another aspect of the application provides an ultrasound system comprising a wireless ultrasound probe as described above and an ultrasound device in communication with the wireless ultrasound probe. The ultrasound system performs the following method. And acquiring the position information of the wireless ultrasonic probe relative to the examination bed. And acquiring an inspection object model on the inspection bed, wherein the inspection object model comprises three-dimensional space position information of each part of an inspection object. And when the wireless ultrasonic probe is resident at a certain position of an inspection object, the position information of the wireless ultrasonic probe corresponds to an inspection object model on the inspection bed, and the part of the inspection object where the wireless ultrasonic probe is located is identified according to the position information of the corresponding inspection object model. And generating a body mark corresponding to the identified part of the examination object.

Drawings

The present description will be further explained by way of exemplary embodiments, which will be described in detail by way of the accompanying drawings. These embodiments are not intended to be limiting, and in these embodiments like numerals are used to indicate like structures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless ultrasound probe positioning system shown in accordance with some embodiments herein;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram of a wireless ultrasound probe shown in accordance with some embodiments of the present description;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary block diagram of an ultrasound device shown in accordance with some embodiments of the present description;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary block diagram of a mobile terminal shown in accordance with some embodiments of the present description;

figure 5 is an exemplary flow diagram of a flow of wireless ultrasound probe location and encryption shown in accordance with some embodiments of the present description;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary flow chart of a process of close range positioning of a wireless ultrasound probe by an ultrasound device, shown in accordance with some embodiments of the present description; and

fig. 7 is an exemplary flow diagram of a process for generating a volume target corresponding to a region of an examination subject for wireless ultrasound probe examination, according to some embodiments of the present description.

Detailed Description

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. It is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only examples or embodiments of the application, from which the application can also be applied to other similar scenarios without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art. Unless otherwise apparent from the context, or otherwise indicated, like reference numbers in the figures refer to the same structure or operation.

As used in this application and the appended claims, the terms "a," "an," "the," and/or "the" are not intended to be inclusive in the singular, but rather are intended to be inclusive in the plural unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In general, the terms "comprises" and "comprising" merely indicate that steps and elements are included which are explicitly identified, that the steps and elements do not form an exclusive list, and that a method or apparatus may include other steps or elements.

It should be understood that the terms "system," "device," "unit," "component," "module," and/or "block" as used herein are a way to distinguish different components, elements, components, sections, or assemblies at different levels. However, other words may be substituted by other expressions if they accomplish the same purpose.

Flow charts are used in this application to illustrate the operations performed by a system according to embodiments of the present description. It should be understood that the preceding or following operations are not necessarily performed in the exact order in which they are performed. Rather, the various steps may be processed in reverse order or simultaneously. Meanwhile, other operations may be added to the processes, or a certain step or several steps of operations may be removed from the processes.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless ultrasound probe positioning system 100 shown in accordance with some embodiments herein. As shown in fig. 1, the wireless ultrasound probe positioning system 100 may include a wireless ultrasound probe 110, an ultrasound device 120, a mobile end 130, a cloud end 140, and a short-range positioning device 150. The components of the wireless ultrasound probe positioning system 100 may be interconnected. By way of example only, as shown in fig. 1, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may be connected to the ultrasound device 120 through a network or cable. As another example, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may be connected to the short range positioning device 150 through a network. For another example, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may be connected to the mobile terminal 130 through a network. For another example, the mobile terminal 130 may be connected to the ultrasound device 140 through a network. As another example, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may be connected to the cloud 140 via a network.

The wireless ultrasound probe 110 may be used to transmit ultrasound signals and receive ultrasound echo information, which may be converted to electrical signals and used to generate ultrasound images. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may perform short-range wireless communication with the ultrasound device 120, and send the electrical signal to the ultrasound device 120 for processing. In some embodiments, when the short-range wireless communication between the wireless ultrasound probe 110 and the ultrasound device 120 is disconnected, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may turn on the encryption function, so that an unauthorized ultrasound device cannot connect with it to acquire the ultrasound signal. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may process the electrical signals converted from the ultrasound echo information itself to generate image data. The wireless ultrasound probe 110 can transmit the image data to the mobile terminal 130, so that the mobile terminal 130 displays the ultrasound image data. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may be provided with a cable interface, through which a connection is made with the ultrasound device 120. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may locate itself by the positioning module, acquiring the first position information. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may communicate with the close range positioning device 150 to locate the wireless ultrasound probe 110, acquiring the second location information. The wireless ultrasound probe 110 may upload the first location information and/or the second location information to the cloud 140. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may transmit the first location information and/or the second location information directly to the ultrasound device 120 and/or the mobile terminal 130. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may emit a sound signal and a light signal (e.g., a flashing light) so that the user may find the wireless ultrasound probe 110 when a relatively close distance therefrom.

The wireless ultrasound probe 110 may include, but is not limited to, a large convex probe, a small convex array probe, a micro convex probe, an intracavity biplane probe, a hockey intra-operative probe, a volume probe for three-dimensional images, an area array probe, a capacitive ultrasound probe using micro-nano structures.

The ultrasound device 120 may be used to process the electrical signals transmitted by the wireless ultrasound probe 110 that are converted from the ultrasound echo information. In some embodiments, the ultrasound device 120 may process the electrical signals to generate and display ultrasound images. In some embodiments, the ultrasound device 120 may receive user settings for the configuration of the wireless ultrasound probe 110, may receive user operations on the image interface, may receive user settings for the ultrasound device 120, and so on. In some embodiments, the ultrasound device 120 may locate the wireless ultrasound probe by the strength of its wireless communication signal with the wireless ultrasound probe 110. In some embodiments, the ultrasound device 120 may obtain the first location information and/or the second location information of the wireless ultrasound probe 110 from the cloud 140. In some embodiments, the ultrasound device 120 may acquire the first location information and/or the second location information directly from the wireless ultrasound probe 110. The ultrasound device 120 may also generate a navigation path to the wireless ultrasound probe 110 based on the first location information and/or the second location information. In some embodiments, the ultrasound device 120 may be in communication with the mobile terminal 130, such that a user may view ultrasound images through the mobile terminal 130. In some embodiments, the ultrasound device 120 may authorize other ultrasound devices to use the wireless ultrasound probe 110.

The mobile terminal 130 may acquire the first position information and/or the second position information of the wireless ultrasound probe 110 from the cloud terminal 140. In some embodiments, the mobile terminal 130 may acquire the first position information and/or the second position information directly from the wireless ultrasound probe 110. The mobile terminal 130 may include, but is not limited to, a mobile device, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, etc., or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the mobile device may include a smart home device, a wearable device, a smart mobile device, a virtual reality device, an augmented reality device, and the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the mobile terminal 130 may also generate a navigation path to the wireless ultrasound probe 110 according to the first position information and/or the second position information. In some embodiments, when the distance between the mobile terminal 130 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is greater than a first preset threshold, the mobile terminal 130 may navigate the user according to the first position information, when the distance between the mobile terminal 130 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is less than the first preset threshold, the mobile terminal 130 may navigate the user according to the second position information, and when the distance between the mobile terminal 130 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is equal to the first preset threshold, the mobile terminal 130 may navigate the user according to the first position information or the second position information. In some embodiments, the first preset threshold may be 20 meters, 30 meters, 40 meters, or 50 meters, etc. In some embodiments, the first preset threshold may be determined according to an indoor distance between the mobile terminal 130 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110. In some embodiments, when the distance between the mobile terminal 130 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is less than the second preset threshold, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may emit a sound signal and/or a light signal, so that the user can easily find the wireless ultrasound probe 110. The second preset threshold may be less than or equal to the first preset threshold. In some embodiments, the second preset threshold may be 2 meters, 3 meters, or 4 meters, etc., within which the user may hear the sound signal and/or see the light signal. In some embodiments, the mobile tip 130 may locate the wireless ultrasound probe 110 by the strength of its wireless communication signal with the wireless ultrasound probe 110. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may be a portable wireless ultrasound probe, and the mobile tip 130 may receive and process the electrical signal transmitted by the wireless ultrasound probe 110, generate an ultrasound image and display, or the mobile tip 130 may receive and display image data transmitted by the wireless ultrasound probe 110 (the wireless ultrasound probe 110 has generated image data based on the electrical signal). In this case, ultrasound images may be generated and displayed without the need for the ultrasound device 120. In some embodiments, the mobile tip 130 may authorize other ultrasound devices to use the wireless ultrasound probe 110.

The cloud 140 may receive information sent by components in the wireless ultrasound probe positioning system 100 and send information to components in the wireless ultrasound probe positioning system 100. Cloud 140 may include one or a combination of private cloud, public cloud, hybrid cloud, community cloud, distributed cloud, cross-cloud, multi-cloud, and the like. Cloud 140 may include all accessible devices of the network in which wireless ultrasound probe positioning system 100 is located and links therebetween. The accessible device has a storage function and/or a data processing function, such as a server, a desktop computer, a mobile terminal, an ultrasound device, a Computed Tomography (CT) image processing device, a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) device, other image processing devices, and the like. In some embodiments, cloud 140 may include a server located at a hospital. In some embodiments, cloud 140 may comprise a remote server. In some embodiments, the cloud 140 may also include an ultrasound device, a desktop computer, a mobile terminal, and the like. In some embodiments, the cloud 140 may receive the first location information transmitted by the wireless ultrasound probe 110. In some embodiments, the cloud 140 may receive second location information transmitted by the wireless ultrasound probe 110 or the close-range positioning device 150. In some embodiments, the cloud 140 may send the first location information and/or the second location information to the ultrasound device 120 and/or the mobile terminal 130. In some embodiments, the cloud 140 may receive the image sent by the ultrasound device 120 and send the image to the mobile terminal 130. In some embodiments, cloud 140 may receive authorization information sent by ultrasound device 120 and/or mobile terminal 130 (for authorizing other ultrasound devices to use wireless ultrasound probe 110), and send the authorization information to wireless ultrasound probe 110 and/or other ultrasound devices.

The close range positioning device 150 may be used to communicate with the wireless ultrasound probe 110 to locate it. The close range positioning device 150 may be a device having a wireless communication module including, but not limited to, an ultrasound device having a known fixed location, a CT, WiFi base station, bluetooth device, infrared device, near field communication device, medical device (e.g., CT, MRI, etc.), desktop computer, etc. In some embodiments, the close range positioning device 150 may also include a mobile end that may be mobile, other wireless ultrasound probes, and the like. For example, where the location of other wireless ultrasound probes is known, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may communicate in close proximity with the other wireless ultrasound probes to locate the wireless ultrasound probe 110. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may communicate with one or more close range positioning devices 150 to perform close range positioning to acquire second location information. The wireless ultrasound probe 110 may emit a wireless signal containing characteristic information unique to the wireless ultrasound probe 110. The characteristic information may include a unique identification or number of the wireless ultrasound probe 110. The short-range positioning device 150 can position the wireless ultrasound probe 110 according to the received strength of the wireless signal sent by the wireless ultrasound probe 110. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may be accurately located based on the strength of wireless signals received by three or more close-range locating devices 150. The wireless ultrasound probe 110 and/or the close-range localization device 150 may upload the second location information to the cloud 140.

It should be noted that the above description of the wireless ultrasound probe positioning system 100 is merely for convenience of description and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure to the illustrated embodiments. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that, given the teachings of the present system, any combination of devices or sub-systems may be configured to interface with other modules without departing from such teachings.

Fig. 2 is an exemplary block diagram of a wireless ultrasound probe 110 shown in accordance with some embodiments of the present description. As shown in fig. 2, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may include a wireless communication module 210, a transducer module 220, a power supply 230, a positioning module 240, an encryption module 250, a signal processing module 260, a storage module 270, and an input module 280.

The wireless communication module 210 may be used for wireless communication between the wireless ultrasound probe 110 and the ultrasound device 120, the mobile terminal 130, the cloud 140, and/or the short-range positioning device 150. The wireless communication module 210 may include, but is not limited to, one or more communication modules such as Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Wi-Fi, bluetooth, Zigbee, Wi-Fi direct (WFD), Ultra Wideband (UWB), infrared data association (IrDA), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Near Field Communication (NFC), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), and the like. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may send the ultrasound wave signal to the ultrasound device 120 for processing through the wireless communication module 210. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may transmit the ultrasonic wave signal or image data generated based on the ultrasonic wave signal to the mobile terminal 130 through the wireless communication module 210. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may receive an instruction from the ultrasound device 120 and/or the mobile terminal 130 via the wireless communication module 210, for example, start scanning, switch scanning modes, and/or end scanning. In some embodiments, the wireless communication module 210 may emit a wireless signal including a unique identification or number of the wireless ultrasound probe 110, which the ultrasound device 120, the mobile terminal 130, and/or the short-range positioning device 150 may receive and position the wireless ultrasound probe 110 according to the strength of the wireless signal. In some embodiments, one or more close range positioning devices 150 may transmit positioning information to the wireless ultrasound probe 110. The wireless ultrasound probe 110 may synthesize the location information from the one or more close-range locating devices 150 to obtain second location information and send the second location information to the cloud 140. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may transmit the second location information to the cloud 140 through the wireless communication module 210. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may send the second location information directly to the ultrasound device 120 and/or the mobile end 130.

In some embodiments, the wireless communication module 210 may include a bluetooth ibeacon positioning device. Ibeacon is based on Bluetooth LE technology, and is called Bluetooth Low Energy, which may be abbreviated as BLE. The three common methods for ibeacon indoor wireless positioning are as follows: a received signal strength location method, a time of arrival location method, a received signal angle location method, a reference point location method. In some embodiments, the Received Signal Strength location method may be mainly used, and the Signal Strength of ibeacon is represented by RSSl (Received Signal Strength indication) value, which changes with distance as other wireless signals. The distance between the user and the ibeacon device can be judged through the change of the RSSl value, the positioning accuracy can be from one meter to dozens of meters, and the positioning accuracy is superior to a global positioning system, a Glonass satellite navigation system and a Beidou satellite navigation system.

The transducer module 220 may be used to transmit and receive ultrasonic signals. The transducer module 220 may convert the electrical signals into ultrasonic waves and convert the ultrasonic waves reflected from the interior of the examination object back into electrical signals. The higher the working frequency of the transducer is, the smaller the wavelength is, and the higher the longitudinal and transverse resolution of the image is; the larger the transducer acoustic window, the larger the imaging aperture, the stronger the signal, the higher the image lateral resolution, and the stronger the penetration. The transducer module 220 may be various types of transducer array structures such as phased, convex, and linear arrays. The working frequency of the linear array probe can be varied from 6MHz to 20MHz, and the higher the frequency is, the stronger the penetrability is, and the faster the attenuation is. In the examination of the deep blood vessels of the lower limbs, the low-frequency linear array is required because of the large penetration force required. When superficial musculoskeletal bones, superficial small organs, breasts and the like are examined, the scanning depth is small, and a high-frequency linear array can be adopted.

The power supply 230 may be used to power the various modules of the wireless ultrasound probe 110. The power supply 230 may be a rechargeable battery or a non-rechargeable battery. The power supply 230 may be a lithium battery.

The positioning module 240 may have a positioning function. The positioning module 240 may include a global positioning system, a glonass satellite navigation system, a beidou satellite navigation system, a galileo positioning system, etc. In some embodiments, the location module 240 may have a cloud interconnection function. After the distance between the wireless ultrasound probe 110 and the ultrasound device 120 exceeds the short-range communication range of the wireless communication module 210, the positioning module 240 may be automatically turned on to perform positioning to obtain the first position information, and at the same time, upload the first position information to the cloud 140. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may transmit the first location information directly to the ultrasound device 120 and/or the mobile terminal 130 through the wireless communication module 210.

The encryption module 250 may be used to encrypt the wireless ultrasound probe 110 so that other unauthorized devices may not use the probe. In some embodiments, the encryption module 250 may implement the cryptographic operation through a dedicated encryption chip or other processing chip, or the like. In some embodiments, standard network management protocols, such as SNMP, CMIP, etc., may be used for management, or a unified network management protocol may be used for management of communications between the wireless ultrasound probe 110 and the ultrasound device.

The signal processing module 260 may be used to perform preliminary processing on the electrical signal converted from the ultrasonic echo signal. In some embodiments, the processing may include signal amplification, filtering, and detection. Detection may include envelope detection, frequency offset detection, and phase shift detection. The method comprises a vibration signal processing method based on filtering detection, and particularly has strong capacity of identifying initial faults and fault signals with low signal-to-noise ratio.

The memory module 270 may be used to store information related to ultrasound signals, electrical signals, device parameters of the wireless ultrasound probe 110, and the like. In some embodiments, the memory module 270 may also store ultrasound image data.

The input module 280 is used for receiving a power switch, an operation mode switch and other commands of a user.

In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may further include an image processing module that may generate ultrasound image data from the electrical signals converted from the ultrasound signals. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may transmit the ultrasound image data to the mobile terminal 130 through the wireless communication module 210 to display the ultrasound image.

It should be noted that the above description of the modules of the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is merely for convenience of description and is not intended to limit the present disclosure within the scope of the illustrated embodiments. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that, given the teachings of the present system, any combination of modules or sub-system configurations may be used to connect to other modules without departing from such teachings.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary block diagram of an ultrasound device 120 shown in accordance with some embodiments of the present description. As shown in fig. 3, the ultrasound device 120 may include a wireless communication module 310, a display 320, an image processing module 330, a networking module 340, a storage module 350, and an input module 360.

The wireless communication module 310 may be used for the ultrasound device 120 to wirelessly communicate with the wireless ultrasound probe 110, the mobile terminal 130, and/or the cloud terminal 140. The wireless communication module 310 may include, but is not limited to, one or more communication modules such as Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Wi-Fi, bluetooth, Zigbee, Wi-Fi direct (WFD), Ultra Wideband (UWB), infrared data association (IrDA), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Near Field Communication (NFC), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), and the like. In some embodiments, the ultrasound device 120 may receive the electrical signal converted from the ultrasound echo signal transmitted by the wireless ultrasound probe 110 through the wireless communication module 310. In some embodiments, the ultrasound device 120 may send instructions to the wireless ultrasound probe 110 through the wireless communication module 310, for example, to start scanning, switch scanning modes, and/or end scanning, etc. In some embodiments, the wireless communication module 310 may receive a wireless signal from the wireless ultrasound probe 110 and locate the wireless ultrasound probe 110 according to the strength of the wireless signal. In some embodiments, the ultrasound device 120 may receive the first location information and/or the second location information from the wireless ultrasound probe 110 through the wireless communication module 310.

The display 320 may be used to display the interface of the ultrasound system. The interface may include ultrasound images, ultrasound settings, and the like. In some embodiments, the display 320 may also display the first location information and/or the second location information of the wireless ultrasound probe 110, and the navigation path generated from the first location information and/or the second location information.

The image processing module 330 may be configured to process the electrical signal transmitted by the wireless ultrasound probe 110 converted from the ultrasound echo signal and convert it into ultrasound image data. The image processing module 330 may also send the ultrasound image data to the display 320 for display.

Networking module 340 may be used to upload information and data related to ultrasound device 120 to cloud 140 and download information and data from cloud 140. In some embodiments, the networking module 340 may be used to download the first location information and/or the second location information of the wireless ultrasound probe 110 from the cloud 140. In some embodiments, networking module 340 may be used to upload ultrasound images in ultrasound device 120 to cloud 140. In some embodiments, the networking module 340 may be used to send the ultrasound image in the ultrasound device 120 up to the mobile terminal 130. In some embodiments, the networking module 340 may be configured to send usage authorization information of the wireless ultrasound probe 110 by other ultrasound devices to the cloud 140.

The storage module 350 may be used to store ultrasound images. The storage module 350 may also store device information, configuration information, etc. for the ultrasound system. The storage module 350 may also store various operating instructions that the various modules implement in the present application. The storage module is a computer readable storage medium.

The input module 360 may be used to receive operation commands of image freezing, gain adjustment, etc. from a user.

In some embodiments, the ultrasound device 120 further comprises a navigation module. The navigation module may be implemented in a general purpose processor, and may position the wireless ultrasound probe 110 and generate a navigation path based on the first position information and/or the second position information of the wireless ultrasound probe 110. In some embodiments, when the distance between the ultrasound device 120 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is greater than the first preset threshold, the ultrasound device 120 may generate a first navigation path according to the first position information, and then generate a second navigation path according to the second position information. In some embodiments, the ultrasound device 120 may generate the navigation path only from the second location information when the distance of the ultrasound device 120 from the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is greater than a first preset threshold. In some embodiments, the ultrasound device 120 may generate the navigation path only from the second position information when the distance of the ultrasound device 120 from the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is less than or equal to a first preset threshold. In some embodiments, when the ultrasound device 120 is indoors and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is outdoors, the ultrasound device 120 may generate a first navigation path outdoors according to the first location information and then generate a second navigation path indoors according to the second location information. In some embodiments, when the ultrasound device 120 is indoors and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is outdoors, the ultrasound device 120 may generate the navigation path based only on the first location information or the second location information. In some embodiments, when both the ultrasound device 120 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 are outdoors, the ultrasound device 120 may generate the navigation path from only the first location information or the second location information. In some embodiments, when the ultrasound device 120 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 can perform short-range wireless communication, the ultrasound device 120 can instruct the wireless ultrasound probe 110 to emit a sound signal and a light signal, making it easy for a user to find the wireless ultrasound probe 110.

It should be noted that the above description of the modules of the ultrasound device 120 is merely for convenience of description and is not intended to limit the present disclosure to the scope of the illustrated embodiments. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that, given the teachings of the present system, any combination of modules or sub-system configurations may be used to connect to other modules without departing from such teachings.

Fig. 4 is an exemplary block diagram of the mobile terminal 130 shown in accordance with some embodiments of the present description. As shown in fig. 4, the mobile terminal 130 may include a wireless communication module 410, a display 420, an APP module 430, and a networking module 440.

The wireless communication module 410 may be used for the mobile terminal 130 to wirelessly communicate with the wireless ultrasound probe 110, the ultrasound device 120, and/or the cloud 140. The wireless communication module 410 may include, but is not limited to, one or more communication modules such as Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Wi-Fi, bluetooth, Zigbee, Wi-Fi direct (WFD), Ultra Wideband (UWB), infrared data association (IrDA), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Near Field Communication (NFC), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), and the like. In some embodiments, the mobile terminal 130 may receive the electrical signal converted from the ultrasonic echo signal transmitted by the wireless ultrasound probe 110 through the wireless communication module 410. In some embodiments, the mobile terminal 130 may receive the image data transmitted by the wireless ultrasound probe 110 through the wireless communication module 410. In some embodiments, the mobile terminal 130 may send an instruction to the wireless ultrasound probe 110 through the wireless communication module 410, for example, start scanning, switch scanning modes, and/or end scanning. In some embodiments, the wireless communication module 410 may receive a wireless signal from the wireless ultrasound probe 110 and locate the wireless ultrasound probe 110 according to the strength of the wireless signal. In some embodiments, the mobile terminal 130 may receive the first position information and/or the second position information from the wireless ultrasound probe 110 through the wireless communication module 410.

The display 420 may be used to display ultrasound images. In some embodiments, when the ultrasound device 120 is not present and the ultrasound image is processed by the moving tip 130, the display 420 may display an interface that processes the ultrasound image. In some embodiments, the display 420 may also display the first location information and/or the second location information of the wireless ultrasound probe 110, and display a navigation path generated from the first location information and/or the second location information.

The APP module 430 can locate and navigate the wireless ultrasound probe 110. The APP module 430 may be implemented in a general-purpose processor. The APP module 430 may display a map page and display the first location information and/or the second location information of the wireless ultrasound probe 110 on the map. In some embodiments, a navigation path to the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may also be generated from the first location information and/or the second location information. In some embodiments, the APP module 430 may navigate the user according to the first location information when the distance between the mobile terminal 130 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is greater than a first preset threshold, the APP module 430 may navigate the user according to the first location information or the second location information when the distance between the mobile terminal 130 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is equal to the first preset threshold, and the APP module 430 may navigate the user according to the second location information when the distance between the mobile terminal 130 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is less than the first preset threshold. In some embodiments, when the distance between the mobile terminal 130 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is less than the second preset threshold, the APP module 430 may instruct the wireless ultrasound probe 110 to emit a sound signal and/or a light signal, so that the user can easily find the wireless ultrasound probe 110. The second preset threshold may be less than or equal to the first preset threshold.

The networking module 440 may be configured to upload information and data related to the mobile terminal 130 to the cloud terminal 140 and download information and data from the cloud terminal 140. In some embodiments, the networking module 440 may be used to download the first location information and/or the second location information of the wireless ultrasound probe 110 from the cloud 140. In some embodiments, the networking module 440 may be configured to upload the ultrasound image in the mobile terminal 130 to the cloud 140. In some embodiments, the networking module 440 may be configured to transmit usage authorization information of the wireless ultrasound probe 110 by the other ultrasound device to the other ultrasound device, the wireless ultrasound probe 110, or the cloud 140.

In some embodiments, the mobile terminal 130 may further include a storage module that may be used to store the ultrasound images. The storage module may also store various operating instructions of the mobile terminal 130. The storage module is a computer readable storage medium.

In some embodiments, the mobile terminal 130 may further include an input module, which may be configured to receive an operation command from a user.

In some embodiments, the mobile terminal 130 may further include an image processing module, which may be used to process the electrical signals transmitted by the wireless ultrasound probe 110 converted from the ultrasound echo signals and convert them into ultrasound image data.

It should be noted that the above description of the modules of the mobile terminal 130 is only for convenience of description, and the present specification is not limited to the scope of the illustrated embodiments. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that, given the teachings of the present system, any combination of modules or sub-system configurations may be used to connect to other modules without departing from such teachings.

Figure 5 is an exemplary flow diagram of a flow 500 of wireless ultrasound probe location and encryption shown in accordance with some embodiments of the present description.

In step 505, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 determines whether the ultrasound device 120 is within a predetermined range for near field communication. In some embodiments, the wireless communication module 210 in the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may send out a wireless communication signal, and the ultrasound device 120 may determine the distance between the wireless ultrasound probe 110 and the ultrasound device 120 according to the strength (also may be the arrival time, the direction, etc.) of the received wireless communication signal. The ultrasound device 120 may transmit the distance to the wireless ultrasound probe 110. In some embodiments, the ultrasound device 120 may emit a wireless communication signal, and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may determine the distance between the wireless ultrasound probe 110 and the ultrasound device 120 according to the strength (also may be the arrival time, the direction, etc.) of the received wireless communication signal. The wireless ultrasound probe 110 may compare the distance with a third preset threshold, and when the distance is greater than the third preset threshold, it may be determined that the ultrasound apparatus 120 is not within the predetermined range for near field communication. The third preset threshold relates to the short-range wireless communication distance between the wireless ultrasound probe 110 and other devices (e.g., the ultrasound device 120, the mobile terminal 130). In some embodiments, the third preset threshold may be 10 meters, 15 meters, 20 meters, 25 meters, 30 meters, or the like. In some embodiments, the third preset threshold may be equal to the first preset threshold. In some embodiments, the third preset threshold may vary depending on the signal type, signal strength, surrounding environment, and the like. When the distance between the wireless ultrasonic probe 110 and the other devices is smaller than a third preset threshold, the wireless ultrasonic probe 110 can perform short-range wireless communication with the other devices; when the distance between the wireless ultrasound probe 110 and the other device is greater than the third preset threshold, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 cannot perform short-range wireless communication with the other device or the short-range wireless signal is poor, and the communication quality is low. In some embodiments, when the distance between the wireless ultrasound probe 110 and the other device is greater than the third preset threshold, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may communicate with the other device at a long distance through the cloud 140. In some embodiments, when the distance between the wireless ultrasound probe 110 and the other devices is less than the third preset threshold, the ultrasound device 120 and/or the mobile terminal 130 may perform close range communication with the wireless ultrasound probe 110 to locate the wireless ultrasound probe 110.

The wireless communication module 210 may include, but is not limited to, one or more communication modules such as Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Wi-Fi, bluetooth, Zigbee, Wi-Fi direct (WFD), Ultra Wideband (UWB), infrared data association (IrDA), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Near Field Communication (NFC), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), and the like. In some embodiments, the wireless communication module 210 may include a bluetooth ibeacon positioning device. Ibeacon is based on Bluetooth LE technology, and is called Bluetooth Low Energy, which may be abbreviated as BLE. The three common methods for ibeacon indoor wireless positioning are as follows: a received signal strength location method, a time of arrival location method, a received signal angle location method, a reference point location method. In some embodiments, the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) value may be used to indicate the Signal Strength of ibeacon, and the RSSI value may vary with distance as in other wireless signals. We can judge how far the user is from the ibeacon device by the variation of the RSSI value. The wireless communication module 210 may locate the wireless ultrasound probe 110 by wirelessly communicating with the close range locating device 150. In some embodiments, the positioning range may be several millimeters to several tens of meters, for example, several millimeters to 50 meters. In some embodiments, the positioning accuracy may be on the order of centimeters, which is better than the global positioning system, the glonass satellite navigation system, and the beidou satellite navigation system. For example, the positioning accuracy of the global positioning system is on the order of meters.

In some embodiments, when the short-range wireless communication between the wireless ultrasound probe 110 and the ultrasound device 120 is not possible, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may determine that the ultrasound device 120 is not within the short-range communication predetermined range.

Step 510, when the wireless ultrasound probe 110 determines that the ultrasound device 120 is not in the predetermined range of the short-range communication, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 starts a positioning function to acquire first position information. In some embodiments, the location module 240 in the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may acquire the first location information. The positioning module 240 may include a global positioning system, a glonass satellite navigation system, a beidou satellite navigation system, a galileo positioning system, etc. In some embodiments, upon the disconnection between the wireless ultrasound probe 110 and the ultrasound device 120, the ultrasound device 120 may pop up a prompt box on the display screen that prompts the user that the probe has exceeded a predetermined distance. In some embodiments, when the ultrasound device 120 is not present and the mobile tip 130 is used to generate an ultrasound image, after the connection between the wireless ultrasound probe 110 and the mobile tip 130 is interrupted, the mobile tip 130 may pop up a prompt box on the display screen to prompt the user that the probe has exceeded the predetermined distance. In some embodiments, the mobile terminal 130 may be matched with the wireless communication module of the ultrasound device 120, and the mobile terminal 130 may obtain characteristic information unique to the wireless ultrasound probe 110.

In step 515, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 uploads the first location information to the cloud 140. In some embodiments, the location module 240 may have a cloud interconnection function. When the wireless ultrasound probe 110 determines that the ultrasound device 120 is not in the predetermined range of the short-range communication, the positioning module 240 may be automatically turned on to perform positioning to obtain the first position information, and upload the first position information to the cloud 140. In some embodiments, the wireless communication module 210 in the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may upload the first location information to the cloud 140. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may send the first location information directly to the ultrasound device 120 and/or the mobile tip 130. For example, when the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is located at a position where the wireless ultrasound probe can perform the short-range wireless communication with the ultrasound device 120 and/or the mobile terminal 130, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may transmit the first location information to the ultrasound device 120 and/or the mobile terminal 130 through the wireless communication module 210.

At step 520, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 communicates with the close-range localization device 150 to obtain second location information. The close range location device 150 may be a device having a wireless communication module including, but not limited to, an ultrasound device, a WiFi base station, a bluetooth device, an infrared device, a near field communication device, etc. having a known fixed location. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may communicate with one or more close range positioning devices 150 to perform close range positioning to acquire second location information. The wireless ultrasound probe 110 may emit a wireless signal containing characteristic information unique to the wireless ultrasound probe 110. The characteristic information may include a unique identification or number of the wireless ultrasound probe 110. The short-range positioning device 150 can position the wireless ultrasound probe 110 according to the received strength (also the arrival time, the direction, etc.) of the wireless signal sent by the wireless ultrasound probe 110. The location techniques may include circumferential location techniques, hyperbolic location techniques, azimuthal location techniques, and the like. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may be accurately located based on the strength (which may also be the time of arrival, direction, etc.) of wireless signals received by three or more close range locating devices 150 (e.g., at least 3 bluetooth local area network access points installed indoors). In some embodiments, the close range positioning device 150 may send positioning information to the wireless ultrasound probe 110. In some embodiments, the positioning information transmitted to the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may include a plurality of positioning information measured by the plurality of short-range positioning devices 150, and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may screen out at least three positioning information according to the strength, direction, distance from the short-range positioning device 150, communication signal type from the short-range positioning device 150, and the like of the plurality of positioning information, and determine the accurate position of itself as the second position information according to the at least three positioning information. In some embodiments, the positioning information sent to the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may include one or two positioning information from which the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may determine its position as the second position information.

In step 525, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 or the short-range positioning device 150 uploads the second location information to the cloud 140. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may upload the second location information to the cloud 140. In some embodiments, the short range positioning device 150 may send positioning information to the cloud 140. The cloud 140 may determine second location information of the wireless ultrasound probe 110 according to the positioning information. In some embodiments, the positioning information sent to the cloud 140 may include a plurality of positioning information measured by the plurality of short-range positioning devices 150, and the cloud 140 may filter out at least three positioning information according to the intensity, direction, distance between the wireless ultrasound probe 110 and the short-range positioning device 150, communication signal type between the wireless ultrasound probe 110 and the short-range positioning device 150, and the like of the plurality of positioning information, and determine the accurate position of the wireless ultrasound probe 110 as the second position information according to the at least three positioning information. In some embodiments, the positioning information sent to the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may include one or two positioning information from which the cloud 140 may determine the position of the wireless ultrasound probe 110 as the second position information. In some embodiments, the cloud 140 may not process the positioning data, but send the positioning data to the ultrasound device 120 and/or the mobile terminal 130 to process the positioning information to obtain the second location information. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may send the second location information directly to the ultrasound device 120 and/or the mobile end 130. For example, when the proximity wireless communication between the ultrasound device 120 and/or the mobile terminal 130 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is directly possible, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may transmit the second location information to the ultrasound device 120 and/or the mobile terminal 130 through the wireless communication module 210. In some embodiments, the close-range localization device 150 may send the second location information directly to the ultrasound device 120 and/or the mobile terminal 130. For example, when the short-range wireless communication between the ultrasonic device 120 and/or the mobile terminal 130 and the short-range positioning device 150 can be directly performed, the short-range positioning device 150 can transmit the second position information to the ultrasonic device 120 and/or the mobile terminal 130.

In step 530, after the wireless ultrasound probe 110 determines that the ultrasound device 120 is not in the predetermined range of the short-range communication, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 starts an encryption function. In some embodiments, when the distance between the wireless ultrasound probe 110 and the ultrasound device 120 is greater than the third preset threshold, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 determines that the ultrasound device 120 is not in the predetermined range of the short-range communication, and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 starts the encryption function. After the encryption function is turned on, an unauthorized ultrasound device may not be connected to the wireless ultrasound probe 110 for ultrasound examination. In some embodiments, the encryption module 250 of the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may be used to encrypt the wireless ultrasound probe 110. In some embodiments, the encryption module 250 may implement the cryptographic operation through a dedicated encryption chip or other processing chip, or the like. When other unauthorized ultrasound devices need to perform an ultrasound examination using the wireless ultrasound probe 110, and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 has connection information with the original ultrasound device 120, the unauthorized ultrasound devices may be authorized by the original ultrasound device 120 so that they can use the wireless ultrasound probe 110. In some embodiments, when there is no initial connection information between the ultrasound device 120 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110, the ultrasound device may connect directly to the wireless ultrasound probe 110 or authorize the ultrasound device using other authorization methods. In some embodiments, the mobile device 130 may authorize an unauthorized ultrasound device so that it may use the wireless ultrasound probe 110.

In step 535, the ultrasound device 120 and/or the mobile terminal 130 acquires the first location information of the wireless ultrasound probe 110 from the cloud 140.

The ultrasound device 120 and/or the mobile terminal 130 locates 540 the wireless ultrasound probe 110 according to the first location information.

In step 545, the ultrasound device 120 and/or the mobile terminal 130 acquires second position information of the wireless ultrasound probe 110 from the cloud 140.

The ultrasound device 120 and/or the mobile terminal 130 locates the wireless ultrasound probe 110 according to the second location information, step 550.

In some embodiments, when the distance between the ultrasound device 120 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is greater than the first preset threshold, the ultrasound device 120 may generate a first navigation path according to the first position information, and then generate a second navigation path according to the second position information. In some embodiments, the ultrasound device 120 may generate the navigation path only from the second location information when the distance of the ultrasound device 120 from the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is greater than a first preset threshold. In some embodiments, the ultrasound device 120 may generate the navigation path only from the second position information when the distance of the ultrasound device 120 from the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is less than or equal to a first preset threshold. In some embodiments, when the ultrasound device 120 is indoors and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is outdoors, the ultrasound device 120 may generate a first navigation path outdoors according to the first location information and then generate a second navigation path indoors according to the second location information. In some embodiments, when the ultrasound device 120 is indoors and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is outdoors, the ultrasound device 120 may generate the navigation path based only on the first location information or the second location information. In some embodiments, when both the ultrasound device 120 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 are outdoors, the ultrasound device 120 may generate the navigation path from only the first location information or the second location information. In some embodiments, when the ultrasound device 120 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 can perform short-range wireless communication, the ultrasound device 120 can instruct the wireless ultrasound probe 110 to emit a sound signal and a light signal, making it easy for a user to find the wireless ultrasound probe 110.

In some embodiments, when the distance between the mobile terminal 130 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is greater than a first preset threshold, the mobile terminal 130 may generate a first navigation path according to the first position information, when the distance between the mobile terminal 130 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is smaller than the first preset threshold with the movement of the mobile terminal 130, a second navigation path may be generated according to the second position information, and when the mobile terminal 130 moves to a distance equal to the first preset threshold from the wireless ultrasound probe 110, the mobile terminal 130 may display that the first navigation path is generated according to the first position information or the second navigation path is generated according to the second position information. In some embodiments, when the distance between the mobile terminal 130 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is greater than the first preset threshold, the mobile terminal 130 may generate the navigation path only according to the second position information. In some embodiments, when the distance between the mobile terminal 130 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is less than or equal to the first preset threshold, the mobile terminal 130 may generate the navigation path only according to the second position information. In some embodiments, when the mobile terminal 130 is indoors and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is outdoors, the mobile terminal 130 may first generate a first navigation path outdoors according to the first position information, and may then generate a second navigation path indoors according to the second position information after the mobile terminal 130 is located indoors along with the movement of the mobile terminal 130. In some embodiments, when the mobile terminal 130 is indoors and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is outdoors, the mobile terminal 130 may generate the navigation path only according to the first position information or the second position information. In some embodiments, when the mobile terminal 130 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 are both outdoors, the mobile terminal 130 may generate the navigation path only according to the first position information or the second position information. In some embodiments, when the mobile terminal 130 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 can perform short-range wireless communication, the mobile terminal 130 can instruct the wireless ultrasound probe 110 to emit a sound signal and a light signal, so that the user can easily find the wireless ultrasound probe 110. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may be displayed in the form of a map to guide the user in a general direction when the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is farther from the mobile end 130, and a specific direction guide may be displayed to accurately guide the user to the location of the wireless ultrasound probe 110 when the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is closer to the mobile end 130.

In some embodiments, after the mobile terminal 130 reaches a distance at which the mobile terminal 130 can perform short-range wireless communication with the wireless ultrasound probe 110, the mobile terminal 130 may obtain positioning information for positioning the wireless ultrasound probe 110 according to the signal strength therebetween (which may also include the signal arrival time, the signal direction, and the like). In some embodiments, when the distance between the mobile terminal 130 and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is less than the third preset threshold, the mobile terminal 130 may directly perform the short-range wireless communication with the wireless ultrasound probe 110. The mobile terminal 130 can position the wireless ultrasound probe 110 according to the wireless communication signal. In some embodiments, when there may be only one short-range communication device 150 near the wireless ultrasound probe 110, and therefore only one short-range positioning information, the mobile terminal 130 may use the one short-range positioning information and the positioning information obtained by itself to position the wireless ultrasound probe 110. In some embodiments, when there is no short-range communication device 150 in the vicinity of the wireless ultrasound probe 110, and therefore no short-range positioning information, the mobile terminal 130 may position the wireless ultrasound probe 110 using the above-mentioned positioning information acquired by itself. The same applies when the ultrasound device 120 is used to locate the wireless ultrasound probe 110.

It should be noted that the above description of the flow is for illustration and description only and does not limit the scope of the application of the present specification. Various modifications and alterations to the flow may occur to those skilled in the art, given the benefit of this description. However, such modifications and variations are intended to be within the scope of the present description. For example, in some embodiments,

steps

535 and 540 may be omitted. The ultrasound device 120 and/or the mobile terminal 130 may acquire only the second location information of the wireless ultrasound probe 110 from the cloud 140, and perform positioning and/or generate a navigation path according to the second location information.

Fig. 6 is an exemplary flow diagram of a process 600 for close range positioning of a wireless ultrasound probe by an ultrasound device, shown in some embodiments herein.

In step 610, after the wireless ultrasound probe 110 determines that the ultrasound device 120 is within the predetermined range of the short-range communication, the process a is executed, and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 directly performs the short-range wireless communication with the ultrasound device 120. In some embodiments, when the distance between the wireless ultrasound probe 110 and the ultrasound device 120 is less than the third preset threshold, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 determines that the ultrasound device 120 is within the predetermined range of the short-range communication, and the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may directly perform the short-range wireless communication with the ultrasound device 120. The ultrasound device 120 can locate the wireless ultrasound probe 110 from a wireless communication signal (e.g., signal strength, time of arrival, direction, etc.). In some embodiments, wireless ultrasound probe 110 and ultrasound device 120 communicate wirelessly via UWB technology. In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe 110 may transmit the electrical signal converted from the ultrasound counterpulsation signal to the ultrasound device 120.

In step 620, the ultrasound device 120 acquires characteristic information of the wireless ultrasound probe 110. The characteristic information may include a unique identification or number of the wireless ultrasound probe 110.

In step 630, the ultrasound device 120 locates the wireless ultrasound probe 110. The ultrasound device 120 can acquire the location information of the wireless ultrasound probe 110 from the wireless signal information between it and the wireless ultrasound probe 110. The wireless signal information may include the type, strength, time of arrival, direction, etc. of the wireless signal. The ultrasound device 120 can acquire the position information of the wireless ultrasound probe 110 from the wireless signal information described above. The position information may include a distance and/or a direction between the wireless ultrasound probe 110 and the ultrasound device 120.

Fig. 7 is an exemplary flow diagram of a process 700 for generating a volume target corresponding to a region of an examination subject for wireless ultrasound probe examination, according to some embodiments of the present description.

At step 710, the ultrasound device 120 may acquire position information of the wireless ultrasound probe 110 relative to the couch. In some embodiments, at least three short range positioning devices may be installed within the examination room. In some embodiments, the at least three close-range positioning devices may be mounted on a wall near the examination table, such as a two-sided or three-sided wall. In some embodiments, the at least three short range positioning devices may be mounted on an examination table. In some embodiments, the at least three close range positioning devices may be mounted on the examination table and a wall near the examination table. The at least three short-distance positioning devices may include, but are not limited to, one or more communication modules such as a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Wi-Fi, bluetooth, Zigbee, Wi-Fi direct (WFD), Ultra Wide Band (UWB), infrared data association (IrDA), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Near Field Communication (NFC), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), and the like. In some embodiments, the at least three short range positioning devices may include a bluetooth ibeacon positioning device. In some embodiments, the at least three short-range positioning devices can receive the wireless signals sent by the wireless communication module 210 of the wireless ultrasound probe 110, and determine the position information of the wireless ultrasound probe 110 relative to the examination table according to the strength of the wireless signals and the position of the wireless ultrasound probe itself. The at least three short range positioning devices may transmit the position information to the ultrasound apparatus 120 and/or the wireless ultrasound probe 110.

In step 720, the ultrasound device 120 acquires a model of the examination object on the examination table. The examination object includes an animal phantom (e.g., a mouse, a rabbit, a pig, a monkey, etc.), a human phantom, an animal, a human body, or a part or organ of an animal or human body, etc. The inspection object model includes three-dimensional spatial position information of each part of the inspection object. The location may include the abdomen, calf, thigh, brain, chest, breast, kidney, liver, gall bladder, etc. In some embodiments, three-dimensional spatial position information of various parts of the examination object relative to the examination table may be acquired using different body positions of a plurality of examination objects. In some embodiments, the plurality of examination objects may include pregnant women, children, adults, and the like. Different body positions may include supine, side lying, prone, sitting, etc. For example, three-dimensional spatial position information of each part to be examined with respect to the examination couch is generated by associating each part (which may be manually input) examined by the doctor with position data of the short-range positioning apparatus.

Step 730, when the wireless ultrasound probe 110 resides at a certain position of the examination object, the ultrasound device 120 corresponds the position information of the wireless ultrasound probe 110 to the examination object model on the examination table, and identifies the part of the examination object where the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is located according to the position information of the corresponding examination object model. In some embodiments, when the wireless ultrasound probe 110 stays at a certain part of the examination object for a long time, for example, 3 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, etc., it may be determined that the wireless ultrasound probe 110 stays at the certain part of the examination object.

In some embodiments, the ultrasound apparatus 120 may match the position data of the short range positioning device in the examination object model with the position information of the current wireless ultrasound probe 110. The position information may be spatial coordinate information. When the matching degree is greater than the preset threshold, the ultrasound apparatus 120 may determine a portion corresponding to the position data of the short-range positioning device in the inspection object model as the portion of the inspection object where the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is located.

In some embodiments, the wireless ultrasound probe positioning system 100 may further include a camera, which may acquire the height, body position, and position of the subject on the examination table in real time. The ultrasound device 120 may combine the model of the examination subject, the current location information of the wireless ultrasound probe 110, the height, body position, and location on the examination table of the examination subject to determine the location of the examination subject where the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is located. In some embodiments, the ultrasound device 120 may identify multiple human body sites due to the proximity of several sites in the human body, such as the uterus and ovary, pancreas and liver.

In step 740, the ultrasound device 120 generates a body mark corresponding to the identified portion of the examination object. In some embodiments, after the ultrasound device 120 determines the location of the examination object where the wireless ultrasound probe 110 is located during the examination, one or more body landmarks of the location of the examination object may be displayed on the screen for selection by the user, so that the user does not need to manually input the body landmarks.

It should be noted that the above description of the flow is for illustration and description only and does not limit the scope of the application of the present specification. Various modifications and alterations to the flow may occur to those skilled in the art, given the benefit of this description. However, such modifications and variations are intended to be within the scope of the present description.

The beneficial effects that may be brought by the embodiments of the present application include, but are not limited to: (1) the wireless ultrasonic probe realizes the precise positioning of the remote positioning of the wireless ultrasonic probe through the cooperative work of the positioning technology and the cloud technology, and effectively solves the problems of probe loss, forgetting and the like; (2) the wireless ultrasonic probe realizes the precise positioning of the short-distance positioning and the long-distance positioning of the wireless ultrasonic probe through the cooperative work of the positioning technology, the short-distance positioning technology and the cloud technology, and effectively solves the problems of probe loss, forgetting and the like; (3) when the distance between the wireless ultrasonic probe and the ultrasonic equipment exceeds the preset distance, the encryption module in the probe is automatically started, so that other equipment cannot be matched, the wireless probe can be connected only through the authorization of the initial ultrasonic equipment, and the problem that the wireless probe is stolen is effectively solved; (4) the position of the part of the inspection object where the wireless ultrasonic probe is located is positioned by a close-range positioning technology, and the corresponding body mark is automatically generated according to the positioning, so that the workload of a doctor can be reduced, and the inspection efficiency of the doctor is improved.

It is to be noted that different embodiments may produce different advantages, and in different embodiments, any one or combination of the above advantages may be produced, or any other advantages may be obtained.

Having thus described the basic concept, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing detailed disclosure is to be regarded as illustrative only and not as limiting the present specification. Various modifications, improvements and adaptations to the present description may occur to those skilled in the art, although not explicitly described herein. Such modifications, improvements and adaptations are proposed in the present specification and thus fall within the spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of the present specification.

Also, the description uses specific words to describe embodiments of the description. Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," and/or "some embodiments" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with at least one embodiment of the specification is included. Therefore, it is emphasized and should be appreciated that two or more references to "an embodiment" or "one embodiment" or "an alternative embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, some features, structures, or characteristics of one or more embodiments of the specification may be combined as appropriate.

Additionally, the order in which the elements and sequences of the process are recited in the specification, the use of alphanumeric characters, or other designations, is not intended to limit the order in which the processes and methods of the specification occur, unless otherwise specified in the claims. While various presently contemplated embodiments of the invention have been discussed in the foregoing disclosure by way of example, it is to be understood that such detail is solely for that purpose and that the appended claims are not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, are intended to cover all modifications and equivalent arrangements that are within the spirit and scope of the embodiments herein. For example, although the system components described above may be implemented by hardware devices, they may also be implemented by software-only solutions, such as installing the described system on an existing server or mobile device.

Similarly, it should be noted that in the preceding description of embodiments of the present specification, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure aiding in the understanding of one or more of the embodiments. This method of disclosure, however, is not intended to imply that more features than are expressly recited in a claim. Indeed, the embodiments may be characterized as having less than all of the features of a single embodiment disclosed above.

Numerals describing the number of components, attributes, etc. are used in some embodiments, it being understood that such numerals used in the description of the embodiments are modified in some instances by the use of the modifier "about", "approximately" or "substantially". Unless otherwise indicated, "about", "approximately" or "substantially" indicates that the number allows a variation of ± 20%. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the numerical parameters used in the specification and claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties of the individual embodiments. In some embodiments, the numerical parameter should take into account the specified significant digits and employ a general digit preserving approach. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of the range are approximations, in the specific examples, such numerical values are set forth as precisely as possible within the scope of the application.

For each patent, patent application publication, and other material, such as articles, books, specifications, publications, documents, etc., cited in this specification, the entire contents of each are hereby incorporated by reference into this specification. Except where the application history document does not conform to or conflict with the contents of the present specification, it is to be understood that the application history document, as used herein in the present specification or appended claims, is intended to define the broadest scope of the present specification (whether presently or later in the specification) rather than the broadest scope of the present specification. It is to be understood that the descriptions, definitions and/or uses of terms in the accompanying materials of this specification shall control if they are inconsistent or contrary to the descriptions and/or uses of terms in this specification.

Finally, it should be understood that the embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the principles of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Other variations are also possible within the scope of the present description. Thus, by way of example, and not limitation, alternative configurations of the embodiments of the specification can be considered consistent with the teachings of the specification. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present description are not limited to only those embodiments explicitly described and depicted herein.

Claims

1. A method of positioning a wireless ultrasound probe (110), the method comprising:

obtaining first position information of a wireless ultrasound probe (110) from a cloud (140), wherein

The wireless ultrasound probe (110) comprises a localization module (240),

the wireless ultrasound probe (110) determines the first location information by the positioning module (240), an

The wireless ultrasound probe (110) uploading the first location information to the cloud (140); and

locating the wireless ultrasound probe (110) according to the first position information.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining second position information of the wireless ultrasound probe (110) from the cloud (140), wherein

The second location information is obtained by a short-range positioning device (150) in communication with the wireless ultrasound probe (110), an

The second location information is uploaded to the cloud (140) by a close range positioning device (150) or the wireless ultrasound probe (110), and

locating the wireless ultrasound probe (110) according to the second position information.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

when the distance between a mobile terminal (130) and the wireless ultrasonic probe (110) is greater than a first preset threshold value, navigating the mobile terminal (130) according to the first position information; and

and when the distance between the mobile terminal (130) and the wireless ultrasonic probe (110) is smaller than the first preset threshold value, navigating the mobile terminal (130) according to the second position information.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

when the distance between a mobile terminal (130) or an ultrasonic device (120) and the wireless ultrasonic probe (110) is smaller than a third preset threshold value, the mobile terminal (130) or the ultrasonic device (120) and the wireless ultrasonic probe (110) are positioned through close-range communication.

5. A wireless ultrasound probe positioning system (100) comprising

A computer-readable storage medium for storing a set of instructions;

at least one processor in communication with the computer-readable storage medium, the at least one processor being controlled to perform the method recited by any of claims 1-4 when executing the set of instructions.

6. A wireless ultrasound probe (110) comprising

A positioning module (240) for determining first position information of the wireless ultrasound probe (110); and

the positioning module (240) is further configured to upload the first location information to a cloud end (140), wherein the first location information is sent by the cloud end (140) to an ultrasound device (120) and/or a mobile terminal (130) to enable the cloud end to position the wireless ultrasound probe (110).

7. The wireless ultrasound probe (110) of claim 6, further comprising a wireless communication module (210) for communicating with a close range positioning device (150) to obtain second position information of the wireless ultrasound probe (110), and

the wireless communication module (210) is further configured to upload the second location information to the cloud (140).

8. The wireless ultrasound probe (110) of claim 7,

the wireless communication module (210) is further configured to acquire position information of the wireless ultrasound probe (110) relative to a bed, wherein,

the position information of the wireless ultrasonic probe (110) relative to the examination bed is used for corresponding to an examination object model on the examination bed, the part of the examination object where the wireless ultrasonic probe (110) is located is identified according to the position information of the corresponding examination object model, and the examination object model comprises three-dimensional space position information of each part of the examination object.

9. The wireless ultrasound probe (110) of claim 6, further comprising

An encryption module (250) for encrypting the wireless ultrasound probe (110) to disable unauthorized ultrasound equipment from connecting to the wireless ultrasound probe (110) when the distance between the wireless ultrasound probe (110) and the ultrasound equipment (120) is greater than a third preset threshold.

10. An ultrasound system comprising an ultrasound device (120) and a wireless ultrasound probe (110) according to any of claims 6-9, the ultrasound device (120) being in communication with the wireless ultrasound probe (110), characterized in that the ultrasound system performs the method of:

acquiring position information of the wireless ultrasonic probe (110) relative to an examination table;

acquiring an inspection object model on the inspection bed, wherein the inspection object model comprises three-dimensional space position information of each part of an inspection object;

when the wireless ultrasonic probe (110) is resident at a certain position of an inspection object, the position information of the wireless ultrasonic probe (110) is corresponding to an inspection object model on the examination bed, and the part of the inspection object where the wireless ultrasonic probe (110) is located is identified according to the corresponding position information of the inspection object model; and

and generating a body mark corresponding to the identified part of the examination object.