CN114680939A

CN114680939A - Full-breast ultrasonic scanning method and breast ultrasonic imaging equipment

Info

Publication number: CN114680939A
Application number: CN202011611546.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 朱子俨; 刘德杰; 方教康
Original assignee: Shenzhen Mindray Bio Medical Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shenzhen Mindray Bio Medical Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-12-29
Filing date: 2020-12-29
Publication date: 2022-07-01

Abstract

The application provides a full breast ultrasound scanning method and breast ultrasound imaging equipment, which are applied to the breast ultrasound imaging equipment, wherein the breast ultrasound imaging equipment comprises a full breast ultrasound probe, and the method comprises the following steps: acquiring the type of a scanning surface to be detected; displaying a guide mark on the whole-breast ultrasonic probe according to the type of the scanning surface to be detected; after the full breast ultrasonic probe is placed on the breast area to be detected, controlling the transducer to emit first ultrasonic waves in the process of moving in the accommodating space, receiving first ultrasonic echoes and obtaining first ultrasonic echo signals; and generating a full-breast ultrasonic image according to the first ultrasonic echo signal. The full-breast ultrasound probe display method and device have the advantages that the guide mark is displayed on the full-breast ultrasound probe, so that a user can accurately place the full-breast ultrasound probe on a target position of a breast area to be detected, and accordingly an ultrasound image corresponding to a scanning surface meeting clinical specifications is obtained.

Description

Full-breast ultrasonic scanning method and breast ultrasonic imaging equipment

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of breast ultrasonic scanning, in particular to a full breast ultrasonic scanning method and breast ultrasonic imaging equipment.

Background

The mammary machine can realize medical separation due to the characteristic of 'standard scanning image standard', namely 'a technician scans and screens at a basic level end, and a doctor remotely reads a film off line at an expert end'. The system is very suitable for primary breast cancer screening work, remote medical treatment and classified diagnosis and treatment are realized by utilizing the internet technology, the workload of doctors is reduced, and meanwhile, medical resources are shared. However, scanning and reading are not performed by the same person, nor at the same time. The expert cannot see the patient and can only give a diagnosis by means of the image, so that the quality of the image is very important.

At present, the level difference between ultrasonic technicians and doctors in hospitals at all levels is large, and the operation of mammary machines by primary technicians is not standard and is not skilled. If the operation is not standard, the image is not standard and can not be used for remote radiograph reading diagnosis, or the medical resource waste of the patient reexamination is caused. For the doctor at the reading end, the low-quality whole milk data needs more time to be repeatedly read and confirmed, the diagnosis efficiency is reduced, and even the risk of missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis exists.

Disclosure of Invention

In a first aspect of the present application, a full breast ultrasound scanning method is provided, which is applied to a breast ultrasound imaging device, the breast ultrasound imaging device includes a full breast ultrasound probe, the full breast ultrasound probe includes a transducer, a sound window and a housing, the transducer is located in an accommodating space formed by the sound window and the housing, the transducer can move in the accommodating space, and the method includes: acquiring the type of a scanning surface to be detected; displaying a guide identifier on the whole breast ultrasound probe according to the type of the scanning surface to be detected, wherein the guide identifier is used for guiding a user to place the whole breast ultrasound probe on a target position of a breast area to be detected, and the target position is a scanning position of the scanning surface to be detected corresponding to the breast area to be detected; after the full-breast ultrasonic probe is placed on the breast area to be detected, the transducer emits first ultrasonic waves in the process of moving in the accommodating space, receives first ultrasonic echoes and obtains first ultrasonic echo signals; and generating a full-breast ultrasonic image according to the first ultrasonic echo signal.

In a second aspect of the present application, there is provided a whole breast ultrasound scanning method applied to a breast ultrasound imaging apparatus including a whole breast ultrasound probe, the method including: receiving a control signal, and displaying a guide identifier on the whole breast ultrasound probe, wherein the guide identifier is used for guiding a user to place the whole breast ultrasound probe on a target position of a breast area to be detected, and the target position is a scanning position of a preset scanning surface corresponding to the breast area to be detected; and after the full-breast ultrasonic probe is placed on the breast area to be detected, controlling the full-breast ultrasonic probe to emit ultrasonic waves, receiving ultrasonic echoes and obtaining ultrasonic echo signals, and processing the ultrasonic echo signals to obtain ultrasonic images.

In a third aspect of the present application, there is provided a breast ultrasound imaging apparatus comprising a full breast ultrasound probe, a transmitting circuit, a receiving circuit, a processor, and a light emitting element, wherein: the full-breast ultrasonic probe comprises an acoustic window, a shell and a transducer, wherein the transducer is positioned in a containing space formed by the acoustic window and the shell, and can move in the containing space; the processor is used for acquiring the type of the scanning surface to be detected; controlling the light-emitting element to display a guide identifier on the whole breast ultrasound probe according to the type of the scanning surface to be detected, wherein the guide identifier is used for guiding a user to place the whole breast ultrasound probe on a target position of a breast area to be detected, and the target position is a scanning position of the scanning surface to be detected on the breast area to be detected; the transmitting circuit is used for exciting the transducer to transmit a first ultrasonic wave in the process that the transducer moves in the accommodating space; the receiving circuit is used for controlling the transducer to receive a first ultrasonic echo and obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal in the process that the transducer moves in the accommodating space; the processor is further configured to generate a full-breast ultrasound image from the first ultrasound echo signal.

In a fourth aspect of the present application, a breast ultrasound imaging apparatus is provided, which comprises a full breast ultrasound probe, a transmitting circuit, a receiving circuit and a processor, wherein: the whole breast ultrasound probe is used for receiving a control signal to display a guide identifier, the guide identifier is used for guiding a user to place the whole breast ultrasound probe on a target position of a breast area to be detected, and the target position is a scanning position of a preset scanning surface corresponding to the breast area to be detected; the transmitting circuit is used for exciting the transducer to transmit ultrasonic waves; the receiving circuit is used for controlling the transducer to receive ultrasonic echoes and obtain ultrasonic echo signals; the processor is used for processing the echo signals to generate an ultrasonic image.

In a fifth aspect of the present application, there is provided a breast ultrasound imaging apparatus comprising a full breast ultrasound probe, a transmitting circuit, a receiving circuit and a processor, wherein: the full-breast ultrasonic probe comprises an acoustic window, a shell and a transducer, wherein the transducer is positioned in a containing space formed by the acoustic window and the shell, and can move in the containing space; at least part of the shell and at least part of the acoustic window are transparent, so that a user can observe the breast to be detected through the shell and the acoustic window, the acoustic window is provided with a guide mark, the guide mark is used for guiding the user to place the whole breast ultrasonic probe on a target position of a breast area to be detected, and the target position is a corresponding scanning position of a preset scanning surface on the breast; the transmitting circuit is used for exciting the transducer to transmit a first ultrasonic wave in the process that the transducer moves in the accommodating space; the receiving circuit is used for controlling the transducer to receive a first ultrasonic echo and obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal in the process that the transducer moves in the accommodating space; the processor is further configured to generate a full-breast ultrasound image from the first ultrasound echo signal.

The whole-breast ultrasonic scanning method and the breast ultrasonic imaging device display the guide identifier on the whole-breast ultrasonic probe, so that a user can accurately place the whole-breast ultrasonic probe on a target position of a breast area to be detected, and an ultrasonic image corresponding to a scanning surface meeting clinical specifications is obtained.

Drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present application will become more apparent by describing in more detail embodiments of the present application with reference to the attached drawings. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the application and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the application and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the application. In the drawings, like reference numbers generally represent like parts or steps.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic view of a standard scan plane of a whole milk ultrasound scan.

Figure 2 shows a schematic block diagram of a breast ultrasound imaging apparatus according to one embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic structural diagram of a whole-breast ultrasound probe according to an embodiment of the present application.

Figure 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of displaying guide markers on a full-breast ultrasound probe according to one embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic diagram of displaying guide markers on a whole-breast ultrasound probe according to another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic flow diagram of a full-breast ultrasound scanning method according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 7 shows a schematic flow diagram of a full-breast ultrasound scanning method according to another embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

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

It is understood that the terminology used in the description and claims of the present application and the accompanying drawings is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present application. The terms "first," "second," and the like in the description and claims of the present application and in the above-described drawings are used for distinguishing between different objects and not for describing a particular order. The singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term "comprises" and any variations thereof is intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not limited to only those steps or elements listed, but may alternatively include other steps or elements not listed, or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Further, the present application may be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described in the present embodiment. The following detailed description is provided for the purpose of providing a more thorough understanding of the present disclosure, and the words used to indicate orientation above, below, left and right are used solely to describe the illustrated structure in the context of the corresponding figures.

The description which follows sets forth some of the embodiments for carrying out the present application, however, the foregoing description is intended to be illustrative of the general principles of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of the present application. The protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the definitions of the appended claims.

In the whole breast ultrasound scanning, a whole breast ultrasound probe of a breast ultrasound device can be placed on one scanning surface at a time to obtain a whole breast ultrasound image corresponding to one scanning surface, and the whole breast ultrasound image can be a three-dimensional whole breast ultrasound image, wherein different scanning surfaces cover different areas of a breast to obtain a whole breast ultrasound image showing different areas of the breast. Clinically, each patient's unilateral breast typically requires 3-5 standard scan planes to be scanned, see the simplified schematic of fig. 1, e.g., a thin small breast requires only three standard planes to cover the whole breast: front and back (AP), outer side (LAT) and inner side (MED); for a full breast, the upper Side (SUP) and the lower side (BIP) need to be scanned on the basis of the aforementioned 3 planes; for patients with axillary lymph node abnormalities, the axillary area (Axilla) needs to be scanned. The operator can also customize the scanning surface for a certain lesion or some special requirements.

A flow of a user (technician) using a breast machine to perform whole breast ultrasound scanning is as follows: the patient lies on the back, and the user inputs the information of the patient and determines which side of the breast is scanned, the type of the scanning surface and the scanning sequence; a user pulls a shell of the full-breast ultrasonic probe to cover a specific part of a compressed breast area according to the type of a current scanning surface; and locking the whole-breast ultrasonic probe by a user, adjusting parameters such as pressure and size, and clicking to start ultrasonic scanning. After one-time ultrasonic scanning is finished, a full-breast ultrasonic image corresponding to one scanning surface can be obtained, the full-breast ultrasonic probe is unlocked, a user pulls the shell of the full-breast ultrasonic probe to cover the next specific part of the squeezed breast area according to the type of the next scanning surface, and then the full-breast ultrasonic probe is repeatedly locked, parameters are adjusted, and ultrasonic scanning is started. Of course, other whole milk ultrasonic scanning processes can also be as follows: the user does not predetermine the type of the scanning surface and the scanning sequence, and after each scanning surface is scanned, selects the type of the next scanning surface and starts the whole-breast ultrasonic scanning of the next section. Or, in the actual scanning work, the user can also modify the type of the next scanning surface according to the actual situation or the scanning expectation, temporarily decide to repeat the scanning, or add a special surface.

Referring to fig. 2, the breast ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 may include a full breast ultrasound probe 100, a transmission circuit 101, a transmission/reception selection switch 102, a reception circuit 103, a beam forming circuit 104, a processor 105, and a display 106. The transmitting circuit 101 can excite the full-breast ultrasonic probe 100 to transmit ultrasonic waves to target tissues; the receiving circuit 103 may control the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 to receive the ultrasound echo returned from the target tissue, thereby obtaining an ultrasound echo signal; the ultrasonic echo signal is subjected to beamforming processing by the beamforming circuit 104, and then sent to the processor 105. The processor 105 processes the ultrasound echo signals to obtain ultrasound images of the target tissue, which ultrasound images obtained by the processor 105 may be stored in the memory 107, which may be displayed on the display 106.

Referring to fig. 3, fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a full-breast ultrasound probe 100, the full-breast ultrasound probe 100 may include an acoustic window 3, a housing 2, a transducer 4, and a driving device 5, the transducer 4 is located in a receiving space formed by the acoustic window 3 and the housing 2, and the driving device 5 can drive the transducer 4 to move in the receiving space. When the whole breast ultrasonic probe 100 is used for whole breast ultrasonic scanning, the acoustic window 3 compresses the breast area, the ultrasonic wave emitted by the transducer 4 penetrates through the acoustic window 3 to be incident on the breast area to be detected, and the ultrasonic echo returned by the breast area to be detected is received by the transducer after penetrating through the acoustic window. The housing 2 of the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 may also include a handle 21, which the user may hold to place the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 at a particular location on the breast area to be measured.

In one embodiment, when the ultrasonic scanning is started after the whole breast ultrasonic probe 100 is placed, the transducer 4 moves in the receiving space formed by the acoustic window 3 and the housing 2, for example, the transducer can move from one side of the receiving space to the other side of the receiving space, during the movement of the transducer 4 in the receiving space, the transmitting circuit 101 excites the transducer 4 to transmit ultrasonic waves to the breast area to be measured, and the receiving circuit 103 controls the transducer 4 to receive ultrasonic echoes returned from the breast area to be measured, so as to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal. The processor 105 processes the ultrasonic echo signal, so that a group of ultrasonic images obtained by the transducer 4 emitting ultrasonic waves at different positions in the accommodating space and receiving the ultrasonic echo can be obtained, the group of ultrasonic images includes ultrasonic images corresponding to different positions of the breast area to be detected, the processor 105 further performs three-dimensional reconstruction on the group of ultrasonic images to obtain a three-dimensional full-breast ultrasonic image, wherein the group of ultrasonic images can be a group of two-dimensional ultrasonic images, including but not limited to ultrasound image types such as a B-type ultrasonic image, a C-type ultrasonic image, an elastic ultrasonic image, and the like, and certainly the group of ultrasonic images can also be a group of one-dimensional ultrasonic images, a group of three-dimensional ultrasonic images, a group of four-dimensional ultrasonic images, or a group of ultrasonic images formed by combining various ultrasonic images.

The three-dimensional full-breast ultrasound image obtained through full-breast ultrasound scanning can be transmitted to a computer or breast ultrasound imaging equipment at the end of a mammary professional doctor in a different place from the breast ultrasound imaging equipment at the end of a technician through a network, and the mammary professional doctor can integrally observe the pathological change condition of the breast through the three-dimensional full-breast ultrasound image and can also intercept any section on the three-dimensional full-breast ultrasound image to observe the pathological change section condition of the breast. Not limited to the above manner of transmitting the three-dimensional whole breast ultrasound image through the network, when the operation capability of the breast ultrasound imaging device at the technician end is weak, the breast ultrasound imaging device at the technician end may also transmit a group of ultrasound images obtained in the process of the transducer moving in the accommodating space to a computer or breast ultrasound imaging device at the breast professional doctor end, and perform three-dimensional reconstruction in the computer or breast ultrasound imaging device at the breast professional doctor end to obtain a three-dimensional whole breast ultrasound image. The breast ultrasonic imaging device at the technician end can also transmit an ultrasonic echo signal obtained in the process of the transducer moving in the accommodating space to a computer or breast ultrasonic imaging device at the breast professional doctor end, the computer or breast ultrasonic imaging device at the breast professional doctor end processes the ultrasonic echo signal to obtain a group of ultrasonic images, and further three-dimensional reconstruction is carried out on the group of ultrasonic images to obtain a three-dimensional whole breast ultrasonic image.

As shown in fig. 6, an embodiment of a full breast ultrasound imaging scanning method is discussed below in conjunction with the components of a breast ultrasound imaging apparatus.

In step 201, the type of the scan surface to be measured is obtained.

For example, a plurality of standard scan planes of the breast may be displayed on the display 106, and the user may select one of the plurality of standard scan planes using the input device to initiate a scanning procedure corresponding to the selected standard scan plane. In other embodiments, the display 106 may also be a touch screen, and the user may directly click an icon on the touch screen to select one of the plurality of standard scanning surfaces, so as to start a scanning process corresponding to the selected standard scanning surface. The scan plane displayed on the display 106 is not limited to a standard scan plane of the breast, but may be a user-defined scan plane, or other scan plane that a user scans according to the specific needs of the patient. Of course, the user may select the scanning surface to be scanned before the scanning of each scanning surface begins; the user may also preset the scanning order of each scanning surface before the scanning of all the scanning surfaces starts, and continuously scan each scanning surface according to the preset order after the scanning starts.

In step 201, the processor 105 obtains the type of the scan surface to be measured, which may be the type of the scan surface input by the user through the input device (including the touch screen) before the scan of each scan surface starts; the type of the scanning surface to be scanned can be acquired according to the scanning sequence after the scanning sequence of each scanning surface is preset for the user. The type of the scanning surface comprises but is not limited to at least one of a standard scanning surface, a custom scanning surface and other scanning surfaces, the type of the standard scanning surface comprises but is not limited to at least one of a front and back surface (AP), a lateral surface (LAT), a medial surface (MED), a superior Surface (SUP), an inferior surface (BIP) and an underarm surface (Axilla), wherein the type of the scanning surface can be further divided into two sets of scanning surfaces of left side breast and right side breast.

In step 202, a guiding identifier is displayed on the whole breast ultrasound probe according to the type of the scanning surface to be detected, the guiding identifier is used for guiding a user to place the whole breast ultrasound probe on a target position of a breast area to be detected, and the target position is a scanning position of the scanning surface to be detected corresponding to the breast area to be detected.

The processor 105 displays a guiding identifier on the whole breast ultrasound probe according to the type of the scanning surface to be detected, where the guiding identifier is used to guide a user to place the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 on a target position of the breast area to be detected, and the target position is a scanning position of the scanning surface to be detected on the breast area to be detected. It will be appreciated that throughout the whole breast ultrasound scan, the target location is related to the type of scan surface to be scanned (i.e. the scan surface to be scanned). For example, when the type of the scan surface to be measured is the outer scan surface of the right breast, as shown in an icon corresponding to the outer scan surface (R Lat) of the right breast in fig. 1, a shadow portion on the schematic diagram of the breast area in the figure is a scan position of the outer scan surface of the right breast on the breast area, that is, a target position to be guided by the guide identifier; when the type of the scan plane to be measured is the front and back scan plane of the right breast, as shown in the icon corresponding to the front and back scan plane (R AP) of the right breast in fig. 1, the shadow part on the schematic diagram of the breast area in the figure is the corresponding scan position of the front and back scan plane of the right breast on the breast area, that is, the target position to be guided by the guiding mark.

The guiding mark is a mark for guiding a user to place the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 on a target position of a breast area to be measured, and the guiding mark is different according to different types of scanning surfaces to be measured so as to meet clinical requirements that the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 needs to be placed on different target positions of the breast area to be measured when different types of scanning surfaces to be measured are scanned. The processor 105 displays a guide identifier on the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 according to the type of the scanning surface to be detected, and the guide identifier may be displayed on the acoustic window 3 of the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100, the housing 2, or an aiming frame (not shown) external to the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100, or the like, so as to facilitate the observation of the user when operating the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100, so that the user can place the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 on the target position of the breast region to be detected according to the guide identifier.

The guide identification may be an identification of a coupling range of the acoustic window 3 with the breast region when the full-breast ultrasound probe 100 is placed on the target position; arrows directing the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 to move in various directions may also be identified; a schematic map of the target location of the breast area, or the like, may also be used to indicate to the user the exact placement of the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 on the target location of the breast area to be examined.

Displaying the guide identifier on the whole breast ultrasound probe according to the type of the scanning surface to be detected can automatically display the guide identifier on the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 after the processor 105 acquires the type of the scanning surface to be detected; or after the user manually triggers the guidance sign function, the processor 105 displays a guidance sign on the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 according to the triggering instruction; it is also possible that after the user manually triggers the guidance identifier function, the processor 105 executes step 201 to acquire the type of the scan surface to be measured, and then automatically displays the guidance identifier on the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100.

Displaying the guide mark on the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 according to the type of the scan surface to be measured can help an inexperienced technician to accurately place the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 on the target position of the breast area to be measured, or guide the technician to move the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 to the target position after the technician places the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 on the breast area to be measured. The target position is different according to the type of the scanning surface to be detected, so that a technician can place the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 according to the guidance of the guidance mark when scanning each scanning surface of a patient, thereby adapting to the scanning position requirements of different scanning surfaces, obtaining a high-quality whole breast ultrasound image and meeting the subsequent diagnosis requirement.

Taking the example of the guide identification being an identification of a coupling range of the acoustic window 3 with the breast area, the guide identification may comprise at least one of a guide identification of a breast coupling range and a guide identification of a nipple coupling range. The guiding mark of the breast coupling range indicates, according to the type of the scanning surface to be measured, a mark of the coupling range of the acoustic window 3 and the breast when the full-breast ultrasound probe 100 is placed on the target position of the breast area to be measured, specifically, the guiding mark may be a shadow mark of the breast coupling range on the breast area similar to fig. 1, a contour mark of the breast coupling range on the breast area, or a mark indicating the breast coupling range such as a shadow or contour mark of the breast coupling range on the acoustic window 3. Similarly, the nipple coupling range guidance mark indicates, according to the type of the scanning surface to be measured, a mark indicating the coupling range of the acoustic window 3 and the nipple when the full-breast ultrasound probe 100 is placed on the target position of the breast area to be measured, specifically, a shadow or outline mark of the nipple coupling range on the breast area may also be indicated, and a mark indicating the nipple coupling range such as a shadow or outline mark of the breast coupling range on the acoustic window 3 may also be indicated. Of course, the guidance mark may also include only one of the guidance mark of the breast coupling range and the guidance mark of the nipple coupling range, for example, when the type of the scanning surface to be measured is oxter face (Axilla), the guidance mark may include only the guidance mark of the breast coupling range to guide the user to correctly couple the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 with the breast, that is, the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 may be considered to be placed on the target position of the breast area to be measured; in other cases, when the placement position of the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 is not so strict, only one of the guide identifier of the breast coupling range and the guide identifier of the nipple coupling range may be applied.

The display modes of the guide marks of the breast coupling range and the nipple coupling range may be different, including but not limited to at least one of different colors, different shapes, different linearity and different thicknesses. For example, the guide identification of the breast coupling range is a yellow shading identification of the breast coupling range on the breast area, and the guide identification of the nipple coupling range is a red shading identification of the nipple coupling range on the breast area; alternatively, the index of the breast coupling range is identified as a dashed outline of the breast coupling range on the acoustic window 3, and the index of the nipple coupling range is identified as a solid outline of the nipple coupling range on the acoustic window 3.

In one embodiment, at least part of the housing 2 and at least part of the acoustic window 3 of the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 are transparent, so that a user can observe the breast area to be measured through the housing 2 and the acoustic window 3, and the guide marker can be located on the acoustic window 3. Referring to fig. 3, the transparent region 22 of the housing 2 is shown through which the transducer 4 is visible to a user, as well as the acoustic window beneath the transducer 4; the transparent region of the acoustic window 3 is 31, and a user can observe the breast region of the patient through the transparent region 22 of the housing and the transparent region 31 of the acoustic window, so that the user can move the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 so that the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 is accurately placed at a target position of the breast region. Of course, the housing 2 and the acoustic window 3 of the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 may be transparent, so that the user has a wider viewing angle when moving the whole breast ultrasound probe 100, so that the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 can be more conveniently and accurately placed on the target position of the breast area.

At least a portion of the housing 2 and at least a portion of the acoustic window 3 are transparent, further, it is convenient for a user to visually observe the coupling range of the acoustic window 3 with the breast area, and thus the guide mark can be disposed on the acoustic window 3. For example, the guiding mark may be a contour mark of the breast coupling range on the acoustic window 3, the contour mark is displayed on the acoustic window, and when the user places the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100, the user can observe through the transparent region 22 of the housing and the transparent region 31 of the acoustic window, and the contour of the actual coupling range of the breast is adjusted to be coincident with or within the contour mark displayed on the acoustic window 3, so as to guide the user to place the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 on the target position of the breast region to be measured.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 3 to 5, at least a portion of the housing 2 and at least a portion of the acoustic window 3 are transparent, the guide mark 7 is located on the acoustic window 3, the user can observe the breast area to be measured and the guide mark 7 on the acoustic window 3 through the transparent area 22 of the housing 2 and the transparent area 31 of the acoustic window 3, and the guide mark 7 may include a guide mark 71 of the breast coupling range and a guide mark 72 of the nipple coupling range. In the process of placing the whole breast ultrasound probe 100, the user can observe the breast area to be measured through the transparent area 22 of the shell 2 and the transparent area 31 of the acoustic window 3, and move the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 until the guide mark 7 is located above the target position of the breast area to be measured, wherein the guide mark 71 of the breast coupling range is located at the corresponding position of the breast of the patient, and the guide mark 72 of the nipple coupling range is located at the corresponding position of the nipple of the patient. The user further controls the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 to press towards the breast area to be measured, and the user can continuously adjust the position of the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 during the pressing of the whole breast ultrasound probe 100, so that the target position of the breast area to be measured observed from the transparent area 22 of the housing 2 and the transparent area 31 of the acoustic window 3 and the coupling range of the acoustic window 3 just coincide with the guide mark 7 or are located within the guide mark 7, that is, the coupling boundary of the breast area to be measured and the acoustic window 3 coincides with the guide mark 71 of the breast coupling range or are located within the guide mark 71, and the coupling boundary of the nipple of the breast area to be measured and the acoustic window 3 coincides with the guide mark 72 of the nipple coupling range or are located within the guide mark 72. Of course, after the user has pressed the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 down to the breast area to be measured, the coupling range between the breast area to be measured and the acoustic window 3 is found not to be in conformity with the guide identifier 7, and the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 may be lifted up again and pressed back to the breast area to be measured after adjusting the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 according to the coupling condition of the last pressing and the guide identifier 7.

The processor 105 displays a guide identifier on the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 according to the type of the scanning surface to be detected, and the guide identifier is different according to the type of the scanning surface to be detected. For example, as shown in fig. 4, when the processor 105 obtains that the type of the scanning plane to be measured is the front and back right breast (R AP), two concentric circles with different sizes may be displayed on the acoustic window, wherein the outer circle is the guide mark 71 of the breast coupling range, and the inner circle is the guide mark 72 of the nipple coupling range, so as to guide the user to place the breast and the nipple of the patient in the central area of the acoustic window 3, and the acoustic window 3 compresses the breast and the nipple from the position right above the breast and the nipple, so as to obtain the scanned image of the front and back right breast (R AP) in the standard scanning plane meeting the clinical requirement. For example, as shown in fig. 5, when the processor 105 obtains that the type of the scanning plane to be measured is the right lateral breast surface (R Lat), a guide mark 71 of a circular arc and two straight lines, that is, a breast coupling range, and a guide mark 72 of a long strip shape, that is, a nipple coupling range, located on a central axis of the guide mark 71 graph may be displayed on the acoustic window to guide the user to squeeze the breast and the nipple of the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 from the outside of the breast area to be measured on the right side of the patient, so that the coupling range of the breast and the acoustic window 3 of the patient coincides with the guide mark 71 or is located inside the guide mark 71, and the coupling range of the nipple and the acoustic window 3 of the patient is located inside the guide mark 72, and with the help of the guide mark 7, the user may accurately place the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 on a target position corresponding to the right lateral breast surface (R Lat), thereby obtaining a scanning of the right lateral breast surface (R Lat) in a standard scanning plane meeting clinical requirements And (4) an image. It can be understood that the type of the scanning surface to be measured also includes a left breast scanning surface and a right breast scanning surface, and the displayed guide identifier may also be correspondingly different, and here, the scanning surface corresponding to the right breast is taken as an example, and accordingly, the guide identifier corresponding to the left breast may be mirror symmetry or other variations of the guide identifier of the right breast, which is not described herein again.

In one embodiment, the breast imaging apparatus further includes a light emitting element, and the step 202 of displaying the guide identifier on the whole breast ultrasound probe according to the type of the scanning surface to be detected includes controlling the light emitting element to project the guide identifier on the acoustic window 3 according to the type of the scanning surface to be detected. The light-emitting element may be an element that can emit visible light, such as a projection device, a spotlight or a lamp strip, please refer to fig. 3 to 5, and the light-emitting element may be located on the connecting rod 6 connecting the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 and the host; or inside the housing 2 of the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100, such as inside the housing 2 corresponding to the link 6 or inside the housing 2 corresponding to the handle 21; it may also be located outside the housing 2 of the whole breast ultrasound probe 100, such as at the junction of the handle 21 and the housing 2, or the like, to facilitate the location where the light emitting elements project visible light onto the acoustic window 3 to form the index markings. It should be emphasized that the light emitting element projects the guide mark on the acoustic window 3, and is not limited to the light emitting element being located outside the acoustic window, and the light emitting element illuminates the acoustic window 3 through the emitted light to display the guide mark on the acoustic window 3; the light-emitting element can also be directly positioned on the acoustic window, and the light emitted by the light-emitting element directly irradiates on the acoustic window 3, so that a user can clearly identify the guide mark projected by the light-emitting element.

The light-emitting element can be fixedly connected with the breast ultrasound imaging device, so that the distance from the light-emitting element to the acoustic window 3 is unchanged, and the position or the size of the guide mark on the acoustic window 3 cannot be changed due to the movement of the full-breast ultrasound probe 100; of course, the light emitting element may also be movably connected to the breast ultrasound imaging device, and the position and size of the guide mark projected on the acoustic window 3 may be adjusted by adjusting the position of the light emitting element relative to the breast ultrasound imaging device.

In step 202, the processor 105 may control the light emitting elements to emit different lights according to different types of scanning surfaces to be detected, so as to project different guiding marks on the acoustic window, and guide the user to place the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 on different target positions of the breast area to be detected. For example, the processor 105 may control the projection device to project different shapes to form different guide identifications on the acoustic window; different positions of the lamp strip can be controlled to be lightened so as to project different guide marks on the sound window.

In one embodiment, step 202 may further include, acquiring the size of the breast area to be measured; step 202 may include displaying a guide marker on the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 according to the type of scan surface to be measured and the size of the breast to be measured. It can be understood that, when the guide identifier is a guide identifier of the coupling range, if the size of the breast area of the patient is larger, the coupling range of the breast area to be measured and the acoustic window 3 is also larger, and the size of the corresponding guide identifier of the coupling range displayed on the acoustic window 3 is also larger. Taking fig. 4 as an example, when the size of the breast area to be measured is a, the diameter of the guide mark 71 of the breast coupling range is 20cm, and the diameter of the guide mark 72 of the nipple coupling range is 5 cm; when the size of the breast area to be measured is B, the diameter of the guide mark 71 of the breast coupling range is 30cm, and the diameter of the guide mark 72 of the nipple coupling orientation is 7 cm. Of course, when the size of the breast area to be measured is different, only one of the guide identifier of the breast coupling range or the guide identifier of the nipple coupling range may be adjusted. The guiding mark is displayed on the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 according to the type of the scanning surface to be detected and the size of the breast to be detected, the guiding mark with a larger size is displayed when the size of the breast area of the patient is larger, the specific size and the shape of the guiding mark are comprehensively determined according to the type of the scanning surface to be detected and the size of the breast to be detected, and the user can preset the form of the guiding mark according to clinical requirements. Because the range of the target position of the breast area to be measured can be different due to the difference of the breast size, the indication mark is determined independently according to the type of the scanning surface to be measured, and the indication mark can not accurately guide the user to place the whole breast ultrasonic probe 100 due to the fact that the range of the target position is too large or too small.

In step 203, after the full breast ultrasound probe is placed on the breast area to be measured, the transducer emits a first ultrasonic wave in the process of moving in the accommodating space, receives a first ultrasonic echo, and obtains a first ultrasonic echo signal.

After the full-breast ultrasonic probe 100 is placed on the breast area to be measured, the transmitting circuit 101 excites the transducer 4 to transmit first ultrasonic waves in the process that the transducer 4 moves in the accommodating space; the receiving circuit 103 controls the transducer 4 to receive the first ultrasonic echo and obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal in the process that the transducer 4 moves in the accommodating space. After the full-breast ultrasonic probe 100 is placed on the breast area to be detected, the full-breast ultrasonic probe 100 can be placed at the target position of the breast area to be detected for the breast ultrasonic equipment, or when the breast ultrasonic imaging equipment detects that the pressure of the full-breast ultrasonic probe 100 for extruding the breast area to be detected reaches a preset value, or when the user considers that the full-breast ultrasonic probe 100 is placed and locks the full-breast ultrasonic probe 100, or the like, when the breast ultrasonic equipment detects that a condition for starting subsequent full-breast ultrasonic scanning is met, or when the user considers that the full-breast ultrasonic probe 100 is placed and can perform subsequent full-breast ultrasonic scanning, the user should consider that the full-breast ultrasonic probe 100 is placed in a range in which the full-breast ultrasonic probe 100 is placed on the breast area to be detected.

The transducer 4 moves in the accommodating space, so that the processor 105 controls the driving device 5 to drive the transducer 4 to move in the accommodating space; the driving device 5 can be manually started by a user to drive the transducer 4 to move in the accommodating space; in a full-breast ultrasound probe 100 that does not include the drive means 5, it is also possible to manually drive the transducer 4 for the user to move within the housing space.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises the following steps after the full-breast ultrasound probe is placed on the breast area to be detected: and stopping displaying the guide identification. After the full-breast ultrasonic probe is placed on the breast to be detected, namely, the breast ultrasonic imaging equipment detects that the full-breast ultrasonic probe 100 is placed on the target position of the breast area to be detected, or the user thinks that the full-breast ultrasonic probe 100 is placed on the target position of the breast area to be detected, at this time, the need for continuously displaying the guide mark on the full-breast ultrasonic probe is eliminated, and under the condition that the guide mark is formed by projecting a light-emitting element on the sound window 3, the temperature abnormality caused by the long-time light irradiation on the sound window 3 can influence the ultrasonic imaging and the service life of the full-breast ultrasonic probe 100, and after the full-breast ultrasonic probe is placed on the breast area to be detected, the display of the guide mark can be stopped. The guidance mark stopping displaying can be used for automatically stopping displaying the guidance mark after the breast ultrasound equipment detects that the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 is placed; the display of the stop guide sign may also be manually controlled for the user.

In step 204, a full-breast ultrasound image is generated from the first ultrasound echo signal.

The processor 105 generates a full-breast ultrasound image from the first ultrasound echo signal. The transducer 4 transmits a first ultrasonic wave in the moving process in the accommodating space, receives a first ultrasonic echo and obtains a first ultrasonic echo signal, and when the transducer 4 moves to different positions in the accommodating space, the transducer can respectively transmit the first ultrasonic wave and receive the first ultrasonic echo at different positions to obtain the first ultrasonic echo signal. Therefore, the first ultrasonic echo signal includes ultrasonic echo signals at different positions of the target position of the breast region to be detected, and when the full-breast ultrasonic image is generated according to the first ultrasonic echo signal, the processor 105 may first process the ultrasonic echo signals at the respective positions respectively to form a group of two-dimensional ultrasonic images, and further perform three-dimensional reconstruction on the group of two-dimensional ultrasonic images to obtain the full-breast ultrasonic image. Based on the full-breast ultrasound image, medical staff can view the whole three-dimensional full-breast ultrasound image, and can select a section image in the full-breast ultrasound image to view, measure and the like for further operation, particularly for the medical staff who remotely views the full-breast ultrasound image, the full-breast ultrasound image comprehensively covers the information of the breast area to be measured, so that the remote medical staff can comprehensively know the health condition of the breast area to be measured under the condition of not contacting with patients.

For a highly inexperienced technician, it may still be impossible to accurately place the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 at the target position of the breast area to be measured according to the guiding marks on the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100, the placement position of the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 may be shifted relative to the target position, and the technician is not aware of the fact, so that the subsequent ultrasound scanning step is started, which may also result in inaccurate obtained whole-breast ultrasound images and may not be used for subsequent diagnosis of the health condition of the breast area of the patient. Based on this, the present application further provides an embodiment of detecting the actual placement of the user and outputting a prompt directing the user to move the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 further.

In one embodiment, after the full-breast ultrasound probe is placed on the breast area to be measured, the method further includes: detecting the placement condition of the whole-breast ultrasonic probe on the breast area to be detected; displaying, on the whole milk ultrasound probe, a cue information based on the placement, the cue information including, but not limited to, at least one of an actual coupling cue, an error cue, and an improvement suggestion.

After the full-breast ultrasonic probe 100 is placed on the breast area to be measured, including after the full-breast ultrasonic probe 100 is placed on the breast area to be measured, the transducer transmits first ultrasonic waves and receives first ultrasonic echoes to obtain first ultrasonic echo signals; or after the full-breast ultrasonic probe 100 is placed on the breast area to be detected, the transducer transmits a first ultrasonic wave and receives a second ultrasonic echo to obtain a first ultrasonic echo; and other situations in which the placement of the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 on the breast area to be measured is complete.

In one embodiment, the breast ultrasound imaging apparatus further includes a lighting element, and detecting placement of the full breast ultrasound probe on the breast region to be detected may include: controlling the lighting element to acquire an optical image of a coupling surface of the breast area to be detected and the acoustic window; and detecting the placement condition of the full-breast ultrasonic probe on the breast area to be detected based on the optical image. The light-collecting element may comprise a camera, a video camera or other device capable of acquiring an optical image, and the processor 105 may control the light-collecting element to acquire an optical image of the coupling surface of the breast area to be measured and the acoustic window. The lighting element can be positioned on the connecting rod 6 connecting the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 and the host, can be positioned inside the shell 2 of the whole breast ultrasound probe 100, can be positioned outside the shell 2 of the whole breast ultrasound probe 100, and can be positioned at any position convenient for collecting the optical image of the coupling surface of the breast area to be detected and the acoustic window 3. Illustratively, at least part of the housing 2 and at least part of the acoustic window 3 of the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 are transparent, the lighting element is a camera located at a position corresponding to the connecting rod 6 inside the housing 2, and after the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 is placed, the camera photographs the coupling surface of the breast area to be measured and the acoustic window 3 from the inner side of the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 towards the acoustic window 3 to obtain a photograph of the coupling surface. The placement condition of the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 on the breast area to be measured is detected based on the photo of the coupling surface, a prompt of the actual coupling range of the breast area to be measured and the acoustic window 3 is displayed on the whole breast ultrasound probe according to the placement condition, a prompt of user operation error, improvement suggestion and the like. When the placement condition of the whole-breast ultrasonic probe 100 is good, the user can improve the confidence of the next ultrasonic scanning according to the information displayed on the whole-breast ultrasonic probe 100; when there is a problem in the placement of the whole breast ultrasound probe 100, the user can further adjust the position of the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 according to the information displayed on the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 to accurately place the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 on the target position, thereby scanning to obtain a whole breast ultrasound image meeting clinical requirements.

The placement condition of the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 on the breast area to be detected is detected based on the optical image, the optical image can be analyzed through methods such as feature extraction and depth learning, and at least one of evaluation indexes such as whether the actual placement position of the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 reflected in the optical image is a target position, whether bubbles exist in a coupling surface of the breast area to be detected and the acoustic window 3, whether the actual coupling range of the breast and the acoustic window 3 is standard, whether the nipple is in a proper position in the coupling surface, and the like is determined, so that the placement condition of the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 on the breast area to be detected is obtained, and prompt information is further generated according to the placement condition.

In one embodiment, detecting the placement of the whole-breast ultrasound probe on the breast area to be measured may include: controlling the transducer to emit second ultrasonic waves to the breast area to be detected and receive second ultrasonic echoes to obtain second ultrasonic echo signals, and generating second ultrasonic images according to the second ultrasonic echo signals; and detecting the placement condition of the full-breast ultrasonic probe on the breast area to be detected based on the second ultrasonic image. The transducer 4 transmits a second ultrasonic wave to the breast area to be measured and receives the second ultrasonic wave, before the process that the transducer 4 moves in the accommodating space, the processor 105 controls the process that the transducer 4 transmits and receives the ultrasonic wave in advance at a preset position in the accommodating space, the second ultrasonic echo signal obtained by the transmission and the reception in advance generates a second ultrasonic image, the second ultrasonic image may be a frame of ultrasonic image scanned in advance before full-breast ultrasonic scanning, the second ultrasonic image is used for detecting the placement condition of the full-breast ultrasonic probe 100 on the breast to be measured, and prompt information is displayed on the full-breast ultrasonic probe 100 based on the placement condition.

Detecting the placement condition of the whole breast ultrasonic probe on the breast area to be detected based on the second ultrasonic image, analyzing the ultrasonic image by using methods such as feature extraction and depth learning, and determining at least one of evaluation indexes such as whether bubbles exist in a coupling surface of the breast area to be detected and the acoustic window 3 reflected in the ultrasonic image, whether the actual coupling range of the breast and the acoustic window 3 is standard, whether the position of the nipple in the coupling surface is proper, whether the depth of ultrasonic scanning is proper, and the like, so that the placement condition of the whole breast ultrasonic probe 100 on the breast area to be detected is obtained, and prompt information is further generated according to the placement condition.

In one embodiment, the detecting the placement of the whole-breast ultrasound probe on the breast area to be measured includes: and detecting the placement condition of the whole-breast ultrasonic probe on the breast area to be detected based on the whole-breast ultrasonic image. The processor 105 may further detect a placement of the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 in the breast region to be measured based on the whole-breast ultrasound image after generating the whole-breast ultrasound image from the first ultrasound echo signal. The placement condition of the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 on the breast area to be detected based on the whole breast ultrasound image detection may be a three-dimensional image detection placement condition based on the whole breast ultrasound image, or a placement condition detected by taking any section in the whole breast ultrasound image, including but not limited to a coronal plane, a sagittal plane, a transverse plane, and the like of the whole breast ultrasound image. Further, the processor 105 may also modify the whole-breast ultrasound image, and then detect the modified whole-breast ultrasound image, and the modification of the whole-breast ultrasound image may be adapted to a slight interference post-processing enhancement modification algorithm to improve the quality of the whole-breast ultrasound image, including but not limited to a back sound and shadow enhancement function of a micro bubble, a slight disturbance motion tracking correction function, a nipple back shadow enhancement function, and the like.

The placement condition of the whole breast ultrasonic probe on the breast area to be detected is detected based on the whole breast ultrasonic image, the whole breast ultrasonic image (or the section image of the whole breast ultrasonic image) can be analyzed through methods such as feature extraction and depth learning, and at least one of evaluation indexes such as whether bubbles exist in the coupling surface of the breast area to be detected and the acoustic window 3 in the ultrasonic image (or the section image of the whole breast ultrasonic image), whether the actual coupling range of the breast and the acoustic window 3 is standard, whether the nipple is in a proper position in the coupling surface, whether the whole breast ultrasonic image has abnormal jitter, whether the image brightness is proper and the like is determined, so that the placement condition of the whole breast ultrasonic probe 100 on the breast area to be detected is obtained, and prompt information is further generated according to the placement condition.

The detection of the placement of the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 on the breast area may be determined by the detection result of any one of the optical image, the second ultrasound image, and the whole breast ultrasound image, or may be determined by the detection result of at least two of the optical image, the second ultrasound image, and the whole breast ultrasound image in a comprehensive manner. Detecting placement of the full-breast ultrasound probe 100 on the breast area based on the optical image, the second ultrasound image, or the full-breast ultrasound image may be detected from at least one of three dimensions of placement correctness, placement criteria, and placement quality. Illustratively, (1) placing correctly may include: the actually obtained full-breast ultrasound image should be corresponding to the type of the scanning surface to be detected, the processor 105 takes the type of the scanning surface to be detected as the standard, and after the full-breast ultrasound probe 100 is placed, the coupled part of the breast area to be detected can be detected, for example, by an optical image before the scanning of the full-breast ultrasound image is started; after the full-breast ultrasound image is obtained, the full-breast coronal plane can be detected; the judgment is based on the coupling range of the acoustic window 3 and the breast, and the relative position of the nipple and the acoustic window. (2) The placement criteria may include: the full-breast ultrasound image should conform to standard specification features such as: the whole-breast ultrasound image must include a nipple, the nipple should be in a range close to a central area, the boundary of a breast coupling area is smooth and standard, the coupling range is in the central area of an acoustic window scanning range, and the occupation ratio is not less than a specified threshold value. The given threshold may be adjusted appropriately according to the size of the patient's breast, etc., with smaller sizes having smaller thresholds. (3) The placement quality may include: the breast area is well coupled with the acoustic window without obvious bubbles, or the influence of sound shadow behind the bubbles on the whole breast ultrasound image is not serious, the whole breast ultrasound image has no obvious abnormal shake, the scanning depth comprises a breast fat layer and a gland layer, the whole breast ultrasound image can see ribs and a heart (proving to comprise all the breast fat layer and the gland layer), the image brightness is proper, and the image processing parameters are proper.

The detection of the placement of the whole-breast ultrasound probe on the breast area to be detected can be performed on an optical image before the whole-breast ultrasound image is generated, a prescanning frame of ultrasound image before the whole-breast ultrasound image is generated, and the whole-breast ultrasound image, namely the detection can be performed in the whole-breast ultrasound scanning stage (before the whole-breast ultrasound image is formed) and in the three-dimensional reconstruction stage (after the whole-breast ultrasound image is formed). The former has the advantage that prompt information is given before scanning, so that repeated scanning of low-quality full-breast ultrasonic images is avoided, and the scanning time is saved, for example, the coupling quality is detected by photographing through a miniature camera before scanning the full-breast ultrasonic images, whether the scanning surface is standard or not is detected, and the like. The latter has the advantages that (1) the actual full-breast ultrasound image is detected, and the obtained placing condition conclusion is more comprehensive and accurate, such as the actual influence of bubbles and image deformation caused by abnormal motion (cough/speaking) of a patient in the scanning process; (2) the post-processing function in the reconstruction stage can also pertinently correct some slight quality problems (the sound and shadow behind the bubbles are enhanced, the disturbance motion is corrected and the like), and under the condition that the correction can be carried out through the post-processing function, the position of the full-breast ultrasonic probe 100 does not need to be readjusted, so that the operation steps are saved. Specifically, for the detection of the placement condition of the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 on the breast area to be detected, the user can choose to perform the detection at different stages according to the experience of the user and the specific condition of the patient.

Displaying at least one of an actual coupling prompt, an error prompt, and an improvement suggestion on the full-breast ultrasound probe 100, including on the acoustic window 3 of the full-breast ultrasound probe 100, on the housing 2 of the full-breast ultrasound probe 100, or on an external display screen of the full-breast ultrasound probe 100. In one embodiment, the housing 2 of the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 is at least partially transparent, the acoustic window 3 is at least partially transparent, the transparent portion of the acoustic window 3 displays a coupling guide identifier of the breast area, and after the user places the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 through the coupling guide identifier of the breast area, the processor 105 detects an actual placement condition of the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 and the breast area to be measured, such as an actual coupling range of the breast area to be measured and the acoustic window, and displays the actual coupling range of the breast area to be measured on the transparent portion of the acoustic window 3 at the same time. By displaying the actual coupling prompt on the acoustic window 3, the user can compare the actual coupling prompt with the coupling guide mark, and find the placement deviation of the whole breast ultrasound probe 100, thereby knowing how to adjust so that the placement condition of the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 meets the clinical requirements. In other embodiments, when the processor 105 detects that the placement of the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 on the breast region to be detected does not meet the clinical requirements, an error prompt of characters or symbols may be displayed on a display screen external to the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 to prompt the user to reposition the whole breast ultrasound probe 100, so as to prevent the whole breast ultrasound image obtained by scanning from not meeting the clinical diagnosis requirements due to poor placement. In still another embodiment, the processor 105 may display an improvement suggestion on the acoustic window 3 when detecting that the placement of the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 on the breast area to be measured does not meet the clinical requirements, and may display on the acoustic window 3, for example, a direction in which the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 needs to be moved to the target position when the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 is not placed on the target position, for example, a direction in the form of an arrow directing the user to move the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100.

Another embodiment of a full breast ultrasound imaging scanning method is discussed below in conjunction with the components of a breast ultrasound imaging device, as shown in fig. 7. In this embodiment, please refer to the above discussion for the same or similar features as those in the above embodiments, which are not repeated herein.

In step 301, a control signal is received, and a guide identifier is displayed on the whole breast ultrasound probe, where the guide identifier is used to guide a user to place the whole breast ultrasound probe on a target position of a breast to be detected, and the target position is a scanning position corresponding to a preset scanning surface on the breast.

The processor 105 receives a control signal and displays the guiding mark on the whole breast ultrasound probe 100, where the control signal received by the processor 105 may include, but is not limited to, at least one of a power-on signal of the breast ultrasound imaging apparatus, a signal that parameter setting of the whole breast ultrasound scan is completed, and a signal of the moving probe. It can be understood that the guide identifier corresponds to a target position on a breast region to be detected where the whole milk ultrasonic probe needs to be placed, the target position corresponds to a type of a preset scanning surface, and the preset scanning position may be a factory preset standard scanning surface, a user preset scanning surface, or a scanning surface preset by the user in the whole milk scanning process. The guidance mark is displayed on the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100, and may be a guidance mark corresponding to the type of the scanning surface to be executed, which is displayed on the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 according to the type of the preset scanning surface, or all guidance marks corresponding to the types of all preset scanning surfaces may be displayed on the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 at the same time.

For example, when the processor 105 receives a start signal of the breast ultrasound imaging apparatus, the guidance identifiers corresponding to all types of scanning planes are displayed on the whole-breast ultrasound probe, and the user may select one of the guidance identifiers according to the type of the scanning plane to be scanned currently, so as to place the whole-breast ultrasound probe on the target position of the breast area to be detected by referring to the guidance identifier; further, the colors of the guide marks corresponding to the types of the scanning surfaces may be different, and the user may determine the type of the scanning surface corresponding to the guide mark by the color of the guide mark, so that the whole breast ultrasound probe 100 is placed at the target position of the breast area to be measured according to the guide mark with the specific color. Of course, the control signal received by the processor 105 may also be a signal for selecting a type of a to-be-detected tangent plane for the user, or the type of the current to-be-detected scanning plane determined according to a scanning tangent plane type sequence preset by the user, and the processor 105 may also display a guide identifier on the whole-breast ultrasound probe 100 according to the type of the to-be-detected scanning plane.

In step 302, after the full-breast ultrasound probe is placed on the breast to be detected, the full-breast ultrasound probe is controlled to transmit ultrasonic waves, receive ultrasonic echoes and obtain ultrasonic echo signals, and the ultrasonic echo signals are processed to obtain an ultrasound image.

After the full-breast ultrasound probe is placed on the breast to be measured, the processor 105 may control the full-breast ultrasound probe 100 to emit ultrasound waves, receive ultrasound echoes and obtain ultrasound echo signals, and process the ultrasound echo signals to obtain ultrasound images. The ultrasound image may be a two-dimensional slice image of a breast area to be measured, or a full-breast ultrasound image after three-dimensional reconstruction, and this embodiment does not limit the imaging type of the ultrasound image, and may be any imaging type, such as a B-mode ultrasound image, a C-mode ultrasound image, an elastic ultrasound image, or a photoacoustic image.

The processor receives the control signal, displays the guide mark on the full-breast ultrasonic probe to guide a user to place the full-breast ultrasonic probe on a target position of a breast area to be detected, and performs ultrasonic imaging to obtain an ultrasonic image after the placement is finished. The guide mark is displayed on the whole-breast ultrasonic probe, and a guide can be provided for a user to move the whole-breast ultrasonic probe, so that the user can accurately place the whole-breast ultrasonic probe on a target position of a breast area to be detected, and an ultrasonic image corresponding to a scanning surface meeting clinical specifications is obtained.

The embodiment of the application also discloses a mammary gland ultrasonic imaging device, the mammary gland ultrasonic imaging device includes full breast ultrasonic probe, transmitting circuit, receiving circuit, treater and light emitting component, wherein: the full-breast ultrasonic probe comprises an acoustic window, a shell and a transducer, wherein the transducer is positioned in a containing space formed by the acoustic window and the shell, and can move in the containing space; the processor is used for acquiring the type of the scanning surface to be detected; controlling the light-emitting element to display a guide identifier on the whole breast ultrasound probe according to the type of the scanning surface to be detected, wherein the guide identifier is used for guiding a user to place the whole breast ultrasound probe on a target position of a breast area to be detected, and the target position is a scanning position of the scanning surface to be detected on the breast area to be detected; the transmitting circuit is used for exciting the transducer to transmit a first ultrasonic wave in the process that the transducer moves in the accommodating space; the receiving circuit is used for controlling the transducer to receive a first ultrasonic echo and obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal in the process that the transducer moves in the accommodating space; the processor is further configured to generate a full-breast ultrasound image from the first ultrasound echo signal.

The above embodiment of the method for whole breast ultrasound scanning is discussed with reference to the composition of the breast ultrasound imaging device, and for the features of the breast ultrasound imaging device in the embodiment that are the same as or similar to the above embodiment, please refer to the above discussion, and the details are not repeated here.

In one embodiment, at least part of the housing 2 and at least part of the acoustic window 3 are transparent, such that a user may view the breast to be examined through the housing 2 and the acoustic window 3; the light-emitting element is a projection device, a spotlight or a lamp strip, and the projection device, the spotlight or the lamp strip is positioned in the shell and can project the guide mark on the acoustic window.

The processor acquires the type of the scanning surface to be detected, and controls the light-emitting element to display the guide mark on the whole breast ultrasonic probe according to the type of the scanning surface to be detected so as to guide a user to place the whole breast ultrasonic probe at a target position of a breast area to be detected, thereby avoiding the problem that the obtained ultrasonic image cannot meet clinical requirements due to inaccurate placement position caused by the fact that the user cannot place the whole breast ultrasonic probe accurately due to insufficient experience. Furthermore, the guide identifier can change along with the change of the type of the scanning surface to be detected, so that the clinical requirements of the whole breast ultrasound scanning for acquiring a plurality of different scanning surfaces are met, and when a user scans different scanning surfaces, the user can be guided to place the whole breast ultrasound probe at a corresponding target position through the guide identifier, so that an ultrasound image of the scanning surface meeting the clinical requirements is acquired.

The embodiment of the application also discloses a mammary gland ultrasonic imaging device, the mammary gland ultrasonic imaging device includes full breast ultrasonic probe, transmitting circuit, receiving circuit and treater, wherein: the whole breast ultrasound probe is used for receiving a control signal to display a guide identifier, the guide identifier is used for guiding a user to place the whole breast ultrasound probe on a target position of a breast area to be detected, and the target position is a scanning position of a preset scanning surface corresponding to the breast area to be detected; the transmitting circuit is used for exciting the transducer to transmit ultrasonic waves; the receiving circuit is used for controlling the transducer to receive ultrasonic echoes and obtain ultrasonic echo signals; the processor is used for processing the echo signals to generate an ultrasonic image.

The processor receives the control signal, displays the guide mark on the whole breast ultrasonic probe to guide a user to place the whole breast ultrasonic probe on the target position of the breast area to be detected, and performs ultrasonic imaging to obtain an ultrasonic image after the placement is finished. The guide mark is displayed on the whole-breast ultrasonic probe, and a guide can be provided for a user to move the whole-breast ultrasonic probe, so that the user can accurately place the whole-breast ultrasonic probe on a target position of a breast area to be detected, and an ultrasonic image corresponding to a scanning surface meeting clinical specifications is obtained.

The embodiment of the application also discloses a mammary gland ultrasonic imaging device, the mammary gland ultrasonic imaging device includes full breast ultrasonic probe, transmitting circuit, receiving circuit and treater, wherein: the full-breast ultrasonic probe comprises an acoustic window, a shell and a transducer, wherein the transducer is positioned in a containing space formed by the acoustic window and the shell, and can move in the containing space; at least part of the shell and at least part of the acoustic window are transparent, so that a user can observe the breast area to be detected through the shell and the acoustic window, the acoustic window is provided with a guide identifier, the guide identifier is used for guiding the user to place the whole breast ultrasound probe on a target position of the breast area to be detected, and the target position is a corresponding scanning position of a preset scanning surface on the breast area to be detected; the transmitting circuit is used for exciting the transducer to transmit a first ultrasonic wave in the process that the transducer moves in the accommodating space; the receiving circuit is used for controlling the transducer to receive a first ultrasonic echo and obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal in the process that the transducer moves in the accommodating space; the processor is further configured to generate a full breast ultrasound image from the first ultrasound echo signal.

The above embodiment of the method for whole breast ultrasound scanning is discussed in combination with the composition of the breast ultrasound imaging device, and for the features of the breast ultrasound imaging device in the embodiment, which are the same as or similar to the above embodiment, please refer to the above discussion, and the details are not repeated here. In particular, in this embodiment, the acoustic window has a guiding mark, the guiding mark may be printed on the acoustic window, for example, by a silk-screen printing method, a mark pasting method, or an ink-jet method, and the guiding mark may be located on the transparent portion of the acoustic window and reduce the shielding of the transparent portion as much as possible, for example, a thinner line is used to mark the coupling contour of the breast area. Besides the graph indicating the coupling range of the breast area and the acoustic window, the guide identifier may further include characters indicating the type of the scanning surface corresponding to the graph, for example, an "R AP" may be marked near the guide identifier indicating the front and back of the right breast, so as to prompt the user to accurately find the guide identifier corresponding to the type of the scanning surface when scanning different types of scanning surfaces.

When the guide mark is the guide mark of the coupling range, a user can see through the transparent part of the shell and the transparent part of the sound window to observe the relative position of the sound window and the breast area to be detected, and the whole-breast ultrasonic probe is moved according to the guide mark on the sound window, so that the coupling range of the sound window and the breast area to be detected is coincided with the coupling range guide mark on the sound window or is positioned in the guide mark, and the user is guided to accurately place the whole-breast ultrasonic probe on the target position of the breast area to be detected, so that a whole-breast ultrasonic image corresponding to a preset scanning surface meeting clinical requirements is obtained.

The acoustic window is provided with the guide mark instead of projecting the guide mark onto the acoustic window through the light-emitting element, so that the equipment cost and the equipment reflection time are saved, and meanwhile, the function of guiding a user to accurately place the whole-breast ultrasonic probe can also be achieved.

Based on the above description, the whole breast ultrasound scanning method and the breast ultrasound imaging apparatus according to the embodiment of the present application. The guide mark is displayed on the whole-breast ultrasonic probe, and a guide can be provided for a user to move the whole-breast ultrasonic probe, so that the user can accurately place the whole-breast ultrasonic probe on a target position of a breast area to be detected, and an ultrasonic image corresponding to a scanning surface meeting clinical specifications is obtained. Furthermore, a guide identifier is displayed on the whole breast ultrasonic probe according to the type of the scanning surface to be detected, and the guide identifier can be changed along with the change of the type of the scanning surface to be detected, so that the clinical requirements of obtaining a plurality of different scanning surfaces in whole breast ultrasonic scanning are met, and a user can guide the user to place the whole breast ultrasonic probe at a corresponding target position through the guide identifier when scanning different scanning surfaces, so that an ultrasonic image of the scanning surface meeting the clinical requirements is obtained.

Although the example embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the above-described example embodiments are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application thereto. Various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one of ordinary skill in the pertinent art without departing from the scope or spirit of the present application. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present application as claimed in the appended claims.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the implementation. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described device embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is only one logical functional division, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another device, or some features may be omitted, or not executed.

In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth. However, it is understood that embodiments of the application may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description.

Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the description of exemplary embodiments of the present application, various features of the application are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the application and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. However, the method of the present application should not be construed to reflect the intent: this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into this detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this application.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that all of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and all of the processes or elements of any method or apparatus so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where such features are mutually exclusive. Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise.

Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that while some embodiments described herein include some features included in other embodiments, rather than other features, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the application and form different embodiments. For example, in the claims, any of the claimed embodiments may be used in any combination.

The various component embodiments of the present application may be implemented in hardware, or in software modules running on one or more processors, or in a combination thereof. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP) may be used in practice to implement some or all of the functionality of some of the modules in an item analysis apparatus according to embodiments of the present application. The present application may also be embodied as apparatus programs (e.g., computer programs and computer program products) for performing a portion or all of the methods described herein. Such programs implementing the present application may be stored on a computer readable medium or may be in the form of one or more signals. Such a signal may be downloaded from an internet website or provided on a carrier signal or in any other form.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustrate rather than limit the application, and that those skilled in the art will be able to design alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps not listed in a claim. The word "a" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. The application may be implemented by means of hardware comprising several distinct elements, and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In the unit claims enumerating several means, several of these means may be embodied by one and the same item of hardware. The usage of the words first, second and third, etcetera do not indicate any ordering. These words may be interpreted as names.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present application or the description thereof, and the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, and shall be covered by the protection scope of the present application. The protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. The utility model provides a full breast ultrasonic scanning method, is applied to mammary gland ultrasonic imaging equipment, mammary gland ultrasonic imaging equipment includes full breast ultrasonic probe, full breast ultrasonic probe includes transducer, acoustic window and shell, the transducer is located the acoustic window with the accommodating space that the shell formed, the transducer can remove in the accommodating space, its characterized in that includes:

acquiring the type of a scanning surface to be detected;

displaying a guide identifier on the whole breast ultrasound probe according to the type of the scanning surface to be detected, wherein the guide identifier is used for guiding a user to place the whole breast ultrasound probe on a target position of a breast area to be detected, and the target position is a scanning position of the scanning surface to be detected corresponding to the breast area to be detected;

after the full breast ultrasonic probe is placed on the breast area to be detected, controlling the transducer to emit first ultrasonic waves in the process of moving in the accommodating space, receiving first ultrasonic echoes and obtaining first ultrasonic echo signals;

and generating a full-breast ultrasonic image according to the first ultrasonic echo signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the guideline identification comprises at least one of a guideline identification of a breast coupling range and a guideline identification of a nipple coupling range.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the indication marks of the breast coupling range and the nipple coupling range are displayed differently, and the display manner is different and includes at least one of different colors, different shapes, different line types and different thicknesses.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the housing and at least a portion of an acoustic window are transparent such that a user can view the breast area under test through the housing and the acoustic window, the guide marking being located on the acoustic window.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the breast ultrasound imaging device further comprises a light emitting element, and the displaying of the guide marker on the whole breast ultrasound probe according to the type of the scan surface to be measured comprises:

and controlling the light-emitting element to project the guide mark on the sound window according to the type of the scanning surface to be detected.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising, after said placing of said full-breast ultrasound probe on said breast area to be measured:

and stopping displaying the guide identification.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein before displaying the guide identifier on the full-breast ultrasound probe according to the type of the scan surface to be tested, the method further comprises:

acquiring the size of the breast area to be detected;

the displaying of the guide identifier on the whole-breast ultrasound probe according to the type of the scanning surface to be detected comprises:

and displaying the guide identification on the full-breast ultrasonic probe according to the type of the scanning surface to be detected and the size of the breast area to be detected.

8. The method of any of claims 1-7, further comprising, after placement of the whole-breast ultrasound probe on the breast area to be measured:

detecting the placement condition of the whole-breast ultrasonic probe on the breast area to be detected;

displaying at least one of an actual placement prompt, an error prompt, and an improvement suggestion on the full-breast ultrasound probe based on the placement.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the breast ultrasound imaging device further comprises a lighting element, and the detecting the placement of the full breast ultrasound probe on the breast area to be tested comprises:

controlling the lighting element to acquire an optical image of a coupling surface of the breast area to be detected and the acoustic window;

and detecting the placement condition of the full-breast ultrasonic probe on the breast area to be detected based on the optical image.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein said detecting placement of said whole breast ultrasound probe on said breast region to be measured comprises:

controlling the transducer to emit second ultrasonic waves to the breast area to be detected and receive second ultrasonic echoes to obtain second ultrasonic echo signals, and generating second ultrasonic images according to the second ultrasonic echo signals;

and detecting the placement condition of the full-breast ultrasonic probe on the breast area to be detected based on the second ultrasonic image.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein said detecting placement of said full breast ultrasound probe on said breast area to be measured comprises:

and detecting the placement condition of the whole-breast ultrasonic probe on the breast area to be detected based on the whole-breast ultrasonic image.

12. A full-breast ultrasonic scanning method is applied to a breast ultrasonic imaging device, the breast ultrasonic imaging device comprises a full-breast ultrasonic probe, and the method is characterized by comprising the following steps:

receiving a control signal, and displaying a guide identifier on the whole breast ultrasound probe, wherein the guide identifier is used for guiding a user to place the whole breast ultrasound probe on a target position of a breast area to be detected, and the target position is a scanning position of a preset scanning surface corresponding to the breast area to be detected;

and after the full-breast ultrasonic probe is placed on the breast area to be detected, controlling the full-breast ultrasonic probe to emit ultrasonic waves, receiving ultrasonic echoes and obtaining ultrasonic echo signals, and processing the ultrasonic echo signals to obtain ultrasonic images.

13. A breast ultrasound imaging apparatus comprising a full breast ultrasound probe, a transmission circuit, a reception circuit, a processor, and a light emitting element, wherein:

the full-breast ultrasonic probe comprises an acoustic window, a shell and a transducer, wherein the transducer is positioned in a containing space formed by the acoustic window and the shell, and can move in the containing space;

the processor is used for acquiring the type of the scanning surface to be detected; controlling the light-emitting element to display a guide identifier on the whole breast ultrasonic probe according to the type of the scanning surface to be detected, wherein the guide identifier is used for guiding a user to place the whole breast ultrasonic probe on a target position of a breast area to be detected, and the target position is a scanning position of the scanning surface to be detected corresponding to the breast area to be detected;

the transmitting circuit is used for exciting the transducer to transmit a first ultrasonic wave in the process that the transducer moves in the accommodating space;

the receiving circuit is used for controlling the transducer to receive a first ultrasonic echo and obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal in the process that the transducer moves in the accommodating space;

the processor is further configured to generate a full-breast ultrasound image from the first ultrasound echo signal.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein at least a portion of the housing and at least a portion of the acoustic window are transparent such that a user can view the breast under test through the housing and the acoustic window;

the light-emitting element is a projection device, a spotlight or a lamp strip, and the projection device, the spotlight or the lamp strip is positioned in the shell and can project the guide mark on the acoustic window.

15. A breast ultrasound imaging apparatus, comprising a full breast ultrasound probe, a transmitting circuit, a receiving circuit and a processor, the full breast ultrasound probe comprising a transducer, wherein:

the whole breast ultrasound probe is used for receiving a control signal to display a guide identifier, the guide identifier is used for guiding a user to place the whole breast ultrasound probe on a target position of a breast area to be detected, and the target position is a scanning position of a preset scanning surface corresponding to the breast area to be detected;

the transmitting circuit is used for exciting the transducer to transmit ultrasonic waves;

the receiving circuit is used for controlling the transducer to receive ultrasonic echoes and obtain ultrasonic echo signals;

the processor is used for processing the echo signals to generate an ultrasonic image.

16. A breast ultrasound imaging apparatus, comprising a full breast ultrasound probe, a transmitting circuit, a receiving circuit and a processor, wherein:

the full-breast ultrasonic probe comprises an acoustic window, a shell and a transducer, wherein the transducer is positioned in a containing space formed by the acoustic window and the shell, and can move in the containing space; at least part of the shell and at least part of the acoustic window are transparent, so that a user can observe a breast area to be detected through the shell and the acoustic window, the acoustic window is provided with a guide identifier, the guide identifier is used for guiding the user to place the full-breast ultrasonic probe on a target position of the breast area to be detected, and the target position is a corresponding scanning position of a preset scanning surface on the breast area to be detected;