JP2000175910A - Ultrasonograph - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten a medical examination time and to relive the burden of a pregnant woman to be forced to be in a hard supine attitude by providing a display means for superimposing and displaying a mother mark expressing a mother on a fetus mark expressing the position of a fetus inside the mother's body. SOLUTION: A mother mark is displayed (S11) and, then an initial pattern of a fetus mark is displayed (S12). An operator operates a pointer by a mouth or the like, selects the initial pattern of the fetus mark and executes a dragging operation so that the initial pattern of the fetus mark is rotated by an optical angle (S13). Thus, the position of the fetus in the mother's body is expressed. Further, character information intrinsic to the fetus is set (S14). Then the previously displayed mother mark is added to the fetus mark which is obtained by the processes in image (S15). Thus, the formation and editing of the fetus mark concerning one of mutiplets is completed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus used for examination or diagnosis of a pregnant woman and fetus in obstetrics and gynecology (hereinafter referred to as "examination").

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The fetal body mark display in a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus indicates the orientation of a fetus on an image collected by applying an ultrasonic probe to a mother from a predetermined direction. In a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a fetal body mark is displayed together with an ultrasonic diagnostic image such as a B-mode image, for example, as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, an appropriate mark is selected from a plurality of maternal mark groups 100 representing the mother and the contact direction of the ultrasonic probe to the mother, and further, a plurality of fetal mark groups 200 are selected. , An appropriate mark is selected, and the selected mark is displayed together with the ultrasonic diagnostic image. According to such a display, the observer has information on from which direction the image currently being observed was collected by applying the ultrasonic probe to the mother, and in which direction the fetus was facing on the image. You can get the information on whether the image is shown.

[0003] In recent years, in the medical field of obstetrics and gynecology, the examination of multiple fetuses (a plurality of fetuses existing in the mother's womb) pregnant women whose number of examinations and physical burden are slightly different from those of a single fetus have been examined.
In view of the fact that the fetus is a multiple fetus, it has been desired to display an advanced fetal body mark.

[0004] However, when the above-described conventional fetal body mark display is applied to the examination of a multi-fetal pregnant woman, there are the following problems.

[0005] In the conventional fetal body mark display, it is impossible to express how a plurality of fetuses exist in the mother. That is, the positional relationship between the mother and the fetus or the positional relationship between the fetuses is unknown.

[0006] Therefore, the fetuses overlap,
In the case of multiple births that exist in a twisted positional relationship, it is difficult for a doctor to grasp the body position, and there has been a problem that it takes a long time to start a medical examination such as obstetric measurement.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and provides information for grasping the positional relationship (posture) of fetuses of a multiple pregnancy woman and identifying individual fetuses. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of shortening the examination time and reducing the burden on a pregnant woman who is forced to have a hard supine posture.

[0008]

In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention is configured as follows. (1) The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention transmits an ultrasonic wave to a mother, receives a reflected wave thereof, and collects an ultrasonic diagnostic image representing the mother and the fetus based on the received signal. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes a display unit for displaying a maternal mark representing the mother and a fetal mark representing how the fetus fits inside the mother in a superimposed manner. (2) The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention is the apparatus according to the above (1), wherein the display means displays a plurality of fetal marks corresponding to a plurality of fetuses so as to be distinguishable from each other. It is characterized by. (3) The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention is the apparatus according to any one of (1) and (2) above, wherein the display means corresponds to a plurality of fetuses and character information unique to each fetus. Is displayed. (4) The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention is the apparatus according to any one of (2) and (3), and further includes maternal identification information for identifying each of the plurality of maternal bodies, Storage means for storing the fetal mark corresponding to the mother in association with the search means, and a search means for searching the storage means using any of the mother identification information as an index, and reading the fetal mark as a search result, It is further provided that the display means displays the fetal mark obtained by the search means. (5) The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention is the apparatus according to any one of (1) to (4), and includes at least one of a touch command screen, a keyboard, a mouse, and a trackball. An editing unit for creating or editing at least one of the maternal mark, the fetal mark, and the character information on a predetermined editing screen is further provided. (6) The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention is the apparatus according to the above (5), wherein the editing means displays an ultrasonic diagnostic image of a mother and a fetus on the edit screen. .

(Action) According to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention configured as described above, a doctor or the like performing a medical examination can see at a glance how the fetus fits inside the mother based on the contents displayed by the display means. Be able to grasp. The fetus marks are displayed corresponding to a plurality of fetuses existing in the mother.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus suitable for obstetric examination in obstetrics and gynecology according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes an ultrasonic probe 2, a transmission / reception control unit (T / R) 4, a signal processing unit 6, a DSC
8, monitor 10, host system 12, FDD 14, H
The apparatus includes a DD 16, a panel subsystem 18, and a fetal mark display processing unit 28, and the apparatus can access a patient chart information database 42 provided in a hospital information system (HIS), for example.

The ultrasonic probe 2 controlled by the transmission / reception control unit 4 transmits an ultrasonic wave to a mother body (not shown), receives a reflected wave thereof, and outputs the received signal to the transmission / reception control unit 4.

The signal processing section 6 generates, for example, a B-mode ultrasonic diagnostic image representing the mother and the fetus based on the received signal obtained from the transmission / reception control section 4. B generated here
The ultrasonic diagnostic image in the mode is converted by the DSC 8 into a video signal in the TV format, and is displayed on the monitor 10.

The panel subsystem 18 is a means for processing instructions from a user (in this case, a physician performing a medical examination) and editing and inputting a multi-fetal posture mark, and includes a touch command screen (TCS) 20, a keyboard (KB), and the like. 22,
The mouse 24 and the trackball 26 are connected.

The fetal mark display processing section 28 includes a multi-fetal position mark reading section 30, a multi-fetal position mark editing section 32,
It comprises a multiple fetal position mark storage unit 34. The multiple fetus position mark storage unit 34 stores the fetal mark pattern 36 and the maternal mark pattern 3 associated with the mother (patient).
8. A means for storing character information 40.

The operation of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described.

(Operation at Examination) FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation at the examination. Here, it is assumed that a checkup of a mother pregnant with a certain twin fetus is performed.

First, the operation at the time of the first medical examination will be described.

In step S1, a doctor inputs an instruction as to whether or not the patient is a multiple pregnancy woman. Here, since a multiple pregnancy woman is assumed, the process proceeds to step S2. If it is not a multiple pregnancy woman, that is, if it is a single fetus, the process proceeds to step S4, and a normal examination similar to the conventional one is performed.

Next, in step S2, the doctor instructs whether or not this examination is the first examination.

Since this is the first medical examination, step S
Then, the process proceeds to 3 to create a multi-fetal posture mark. In addition,
Prior to the creation of the multiple fetus position mark, ultrasound images of the mother and fetus were collected, and the displayed contents were confirmed.
Doctors need to know how the fetus fits in the mother's body. Further, the creation and editing of the multiple fetus position mark described below may be performed after the examination in step S4. That is, the creation and editing of the multiple fetus position mark can be performed at any time.

(Creation and editing of multiple fetal position marks)
Create and register a new multiple fetus position mark for the twin fetus.

The multi-fetal position mark creating / editing is performed by the multi-fetal position mark editing unit 32 on, for example, a multi-fetal position mark editing screen 44 as shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 45 denotes a character information setting unit; 46, a window for creating a fetus mark or maternal mark; 47, a pointer; 48, a fetus mark being created; 49, character information displayed on the fetus mark 48; . Multiple fetal position mark editing screen 4
Reference numeral 4 shows a reference ultrasonic diagnostic image 55 for assisting in mark creation and editing.

Such a multi-fetal posture mark editing screen 44
Above, the operator such as a doctor operates the pointer 47 with the mouse 24 or the trackball 26 to draw a free curve or selects an existing pattern while referring to the ultrasonic diagnostic image 55 for reference. Move or rotate to create and edit the fetal mark pattern and the maternal mark pattern. The character information setting unit 45 adds character information 49 unique to each fetus. In detail, "M (male)" means that the fetus is male, "F (female)"
Means that the fetus is a woman, "L (large)" means that this fetus is larger than other fetuses, "S (small)" means that this fetus is smaller than other fetuses, "O (foreground)" States that this fetus is located in front of the mother with respect to other fetuses,
(Back) "means that this fetus is located in front of the mother with respect to other fetuses. It is needless to say that the character information is not limited to these, and any character information can be set.

The created and edited fetal mark pattern, maternal mark pattern, and character information are temporarily stored in the multiple fetal position mark storage unit 34, respectively.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of creating and editing the multiple fetus position marks. In FIG. 3, reference numerals 60 to 65 indicate display contents in the window 46 for creating a fetus mark or a maternal mark.

First, at step S11, a maternal mark is displayed, and then, at step S12, an initial pattern of a fetal mark is displayed. That is, in this case, the fetal mark is not created from the blank state, but the initial pattern of the already created fetal mark is edited.

In step S13, the operator operates the pointer 47 with the mouse 24 or the like to select the initial pattern of the fetal mark and perform the dragging operation to rotate the initial pattern of the fetal mark by an arbitrary angle (in this case, Is 180 degrees). This represents how the fetus fits in the mother. As an operation on the initial pattern, not only rotation but also movement can be performed.

Further, in step S14, character information unique to the fetus is set. In this example, “L (small)” is set. The details of the character information are as described above.

Next, in step S15, the parent mark displayed in step S11 and step S14
The image is added to the fetal mark obtained through the steps up to. This completes the creation and editing of the fetal mark for one of the multiple fetuses.

Steps S12 to S15 until the creation and editing of the fetal mark relating to the other fetus are all completed.
Is repeated.

The fetal mark, maternal mark, and character information created and edited as described above are registered in the patient chart information database 42 in association with the patient ID information as a multi-fetal position mark (step S17). Thereafter, as shown in step S4 of FIG. 2, the doctor performs the first medical examination.

Next, the operation at the second and subsequent examinations will be described.

When the second and subsequent examinations are performed, step S
The process shifts from Step 2 to Step S6. At this time, since the multiple fetal position mark of the patient has already been created and registered in the first examination, it is displayed on the monitor 10 in step S6. FIG. 5 shows the multi-fetal posture mark 3
Here are two display examples.

As a specific operation, when a doctor inputs patient ID information, the multiple fetus position mark reading unit 30 uses the patient ID information as an index (search key) to search the patient chart information database 42. A search is performed, and a corresponding multiple fetus position mark is read as a search result.

The patient ID information referred to here is, for example, information indicating a patient name, a patient number, etc., and is registered in advance in the patient chart information database 42 as information for identifying each of a plurality of patients (mothers). It has been done.

Here, based on the display of the multiple fetus position mark displayed on the monitor 10, the doctor can easily grasp how the multiple fetus fits in the mother body, the positional relationship between the two fetuses, and the like. For this reason, for example, a specific fetus can be promptly distinguished and recognized, and the process can proceed to the examination in step S4. As a specific advantage, a doctor can quickly determine which fetus should be photographed and measured.

It should be noted that the result of comparison with the B-mode ultrasonic diagnostic image clearly indicates that the displayed content of the multi-fetal position mark is different from the current state, for example, when the fetus has significantly fluctuated in the mother's body, or since the previous examination. If a long period of time has passed, or the creation of the previous multiple fetal position mark,
If there is an error in the editing (step S7), whether to perform the multiple fetus position mark creation / editing operation again (step S7)
3) Or, after completing the medical examination (step S4), perform the same work.

The advantages of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present embodiment described above are as follows.

Even in the case of multiple fetuses, the doctor can grasp at a glance the positional relationship (body position) of each fetus, and can easily and quickly identify an individual based on information unique to the fetus (large, small, gender, overlap, etc.). Can be done.

Therefore, the doctor can immediately start the work related to the examination such as obstetric measurement, and the examination time can be reduced. As a result, the burden on a multiple-pregnancy woman who has a hard supine posture can be significantly reduced.

The multi-fetal ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention is based on the fact that a multiple-fetal pregnant woman receives the ultrasonic diagnosis more frequently than a normal pregnant woman and that the multiple fetuses tend to have individual differences. Useful.

Although the positional relationship between the multiple fetuses does not always coincide with that at the time of the previous medical examination, the degree of change in the positional relationship between the fetuses and the like decreases as the number of weeks increases. Using the present invention to determine the position of the fetus at any time from the initial weeks, which is considered to be less burdensome for multiple pregnant women, allows us to know the progress of fetal changes and obtain useful medical information There is also.

Here, the multi-fetal position mark according to the present invention and the fetal mark according to the conventional example will be compared in terms of usefulness as additional information to an ultrasonic diagnostic image.

First, as described above, the fetal mark according to the conventional example includes, as described above, information indicating from which direction the currently observed ultrasonic diagnostic image was applied to the mother with the ultrasonic probe applied thereto, and Thus, it is possible to obtain information as to which direction the fetus is facing on the image. In other words, it is useful as a guide for how the observer should observe the ultrasonic diagnostic image.

On the other hand, the multiple fetal position mark according to the present invention
First, the doctor grasps the position of the fetus in the mother's womb based on the display of the mark, and then starts an examination promptly by applying an ultrasonic probe to an appropriate position, which is useful as a guide for examination.

(Other Embodiments) Hereinafter, other embodiments will be described.

(Second Embodiment) The above-described embodiment is
The multiple fetal position mark created and edited by the multiple fetal position mark editing unit 32 is recorded in the patient chart information database 42 in association with the patient ID information.

On the other hand, in the second embodiment, a multi-fetal posture mark is used as a part of a paper chart or an electronic chart.

The multi-fetal position mark created by the multi-fetal position mark editing unit 32 is additionally recorded on the chart as an additional data image to the ultrasonic diagnostic image collected at the time of the medical examination.
For example, in the case of an electronic chart, it is recorded in the patient chart information database 42 in association with the patient ID information.

In the second and subsequent examinations, the doctor starts the examination with reference to the multiple fetus position mark recorded in the medical chart. In the second embodiment, the search and display of the multiple fetus position marks as in the first embodiment cannot be performed.
Depending on the operation, the examination time can be reduced, and the burden on pregnant women can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be implemented with various modifications. For example, FIG.
As shown in (a) and (b), the method of displaying the multiple fetus mark may be advanced. The display method shown in FIG. 6A displays a fetal mark to be examined at present by a bold line, and FIG. 6B shows one fetal mark with a solid line in order to easily express the overlap between fetuses. , And the other fetal mark is displayed as a thick line.

[0053]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Ultrasound can reduce the burden on pregnant women who can reduce the time required for examinations and reduce the burden of a hard supine posture by grasping the positional relationship (posture) of the fetuses of multiple pregnant women and providing information for identifying individual fetuses A diagnostic device can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus suitable for obstetric examination in obstetrics and gynecology according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of a medical examination;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of creating and editing a multi-fetal posture mark.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a multi-fetal posture mark editing screen.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing three display examples of a multi-fetal posture mark.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a modification of the method for displaying a multiple fetus mark.

FIG. 7 is a view for explaining display of a fetal body mark according to a conventional example of the present invention, showing a maternal mark group and a fetal mark group.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Ultrasonic probe 4 Transmission / reception control unit (T / R) 6 Signal processing unit 8 DSC (digital scan converter) 10 Monitor 12 Host system 14 FDD 16 HDD 18 Panel subsystem 28 Fetal mark Display processing unit 30 Multi-fetal position mark reading unit 32 Multi-fetal position mark editing unit 36 Fetal mark pattern 38 Maternal mark pattern 40 Character information 42 Patient medical record information database

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 4C301 CC02 EE13 EE20 KK28 5J083 AA02 AB17 AC29 BA01 EA14 EA33 EA37 EA41 EB04

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for transmitting an ultrasonic wave to a mother and receiving a reflected wave thereof, and collecting and displaying an ultrasonic diagnostic image representing the mother and the fetus based on the received signal. 5. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit configured to superimpose and display a maternal mark representing the mother and a fetal mark representing how the fetus fits inside the mother. 2. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said display means displays a plurality of said fetus marks corresponding to a plurality of fetuses so as to be distinguishable from each other. 3. The display means corresponds to a plurality of fetuses,
3. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein character information unique to each is displayed. 4. A storage means for storing maternal identification information for identifying each of a plurality of mothers and the fetal mark corresponding to each mother in association with each other, and using any of the maternal identification information as an index. A search unit that searches the storage unit and reads the fetal mark as a search result, wherein the display unit displays the fetal mark obtained as a search result of the search unit. Claim 2
Or the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of 3. 5. An editing means that includes at least one of a touch command screen, a keyboard, a mouse, and a trackball and creates or edits at least one of the maternal mark, the fetal mark, and the character information on a predetermined edit screen. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: 6. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said editing means displays an ultrasonic diagnostic image of a mother and a fetus together with said edit screen.