JP2000316864A - Ultrasonograph - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide ultrasonic tomograms of good picture quality by eliminating the influence of pulsation. SOLUTION: An image reconfiguring part 31 which receives the input of radial image data from an image data storage device via a data transfer bus 23 to reconstruct an image such as a three-dimensional image for output to the data transfer bus 23, a distortion detecting part 32 for detecting the amount of distortion of the image data from the image reconfiguring part 31, and an image distortion correcting part 33 for correcting the amount of distortion detected by the distortion detecting part 32 are arranged within an arithmetic processor 14. The image reconfiguring part 31 reconfigures image data according to the output of the image distortion correcting part 33 and outputs it to the data transfer bus 23.

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, and more particularly to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a feature in a part for constructing an ultrasonic tomographic image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the medical field, three-dimensional scanning is performed by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from a living body, and an ultrasonic tomographic image of the inside of the living body is displayed by using the obtained echo data in a three-dimensional region. Various ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses for making a diagnosis have been conventionally proposed.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-47066 discloses a device capable of capturing echo data in a three-dimensional area and displaying an ultrasonic image three-dimensionally on a two-dimensional display. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-155328 discloses that an ultrasonic tomographic image formed by using echo data obtained by three-dimensional scanning is marked to specify a vertical cross-sectional position, and that a vertical cross-sectional image in the vicinity of a region of interest affects body movement and the like. A device that can be displayed quickly without being disclosed is disclosed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-265734 discloses an apparatus for displaying an ultrasonic tomographic image using echo data in a three-dimensional area, in which data to be stored is limited and three-dimensional image data is efficiently stored. A method of storing a three-dimensional image that can be performed is disclosed.

In the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus as described above, the relationship between the three-dimensional display image and the actual scanning state of the ultrasonic transducer is difficult to understand on the display screen of the ultrasonic tomographic image. However, there is a problem that it is difficult to grasp the scanning position and the scanning direction of the image, and it is difficult to recognize the position of a lesion site on an image when performing a diagnosis.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 10-262964 discloses a three-dimensional scanning of an ultrasonic transducer and a screen display on a monitor, so that the relationship between a scanning state and a display image can be easily understood. There has been proposed an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of displaying an ultrasonic tomographic image capable of easily grasping a corresponding positional relationship in a living body.

[0006]

However, the lumen in the living body has a pulsation, etc.
When three-dimensional scanning is performed by a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus such as that disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 964, there is a problem that an image is distorted in a linear direction due to the influence of the pulsation or the like, and data that is difficult to diagnose may occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of removing an influence of pulsation and obtaining an ultrasonic tomographic image having good image quality.

[0008]

An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention comprises: an echo data generating means for transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic wave to and from a living body to obtain echo data at a plurality of continuous linear positions of the living body; Echo data storage means for storing echo data at a plurality of positions, tomographic image forming means for forming a plurality of tomographic images from the echo data at the plurality of positions obtained by the echo data generating means, and the plurality of tomographic images Image distortion amount detection means for detecting the respective image distortion amounts, and image distortion correction means for correcting distortion of the plurality of tomographic images based on the image distortion amounts detected by the image distortion amount detection means. It is composed.

In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, the image distortion amount detecting means detects each image distortion amount of the plurality of tomographic images, and the image distortion correcting means is detected by the image distortion amount detecting means. By correcting distortion of the plurality of tomographic images based on the image distortion amount, it is possible to remove the influence of pulsation and obtain an ultrasonic tomographic image with good image quality.

[0010]

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

FIGS. 1 to 23 relate to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.
2 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the arithmetic processor of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a console of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a configuration showing a configuration of a touch panel screen of the operation terminal of FIG. FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a display configuration of a monitor of the image processing apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of a monitor image of the image processing apparatus on a touch panel screen of the operation terminal of FIG.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a first display example of the monitor of the image processing apparatus of FIG. 1, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a second display example of the monitor of the image processing device of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a third display example of the monitor of the image processing apparatus.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a linear image when echo data of a tomographic image in a living body taken into the ultrasonic observation apparatus of FIG. 1 is affected by a heartbeat or the like. FIG. 11 shows a tomographic image of the living body taken into the ultrasonic observation apparatus of FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a perspective projection image when echo data of an image is affected by a heartbeat or the like. FIG. 12 shows the influence of the heartbeat or the like on echo data of a tomographic image in a living body taken into the ultrasonic observation apparatus of FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a linear image obtained by removing the influence of a heartbeat or the like from echo data of a tomographic image in a living body taken into the ultrasonic observation apparatus of FIG. 1, and FIG. 14 is a view showing the ultrasonic observation of FIG. FIG. 15 is a perspective projection image obtained by removing the effects of heartbeat and the like from echo data of a tomographic image in a living body taken into the apparatus. FIG. 15 shows echo data of a tomographic image in the living body taken into the ultrasonic observation apparatus of FIG. Theory explaining the effects of heart beat FIG. 16 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a first modification of the arithmetic processor of FIG. 1. FIG. 17 is a functional block showing a configuration of a main part of a second modification of the arithmetic processor of FIG. FIG. 18 is a first explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of the arithmetic processor of FIG. 17, FIG. 19 is a second explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of the arithmetic processor of FIG. 17, and FIG.
FIG. 21 shows a modification of the image processing apparatus of FIG.
FIG. 2 is a first explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the image processing apparatus of FIG.
2 is a second explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the image processing device of FIG. 20, and FIG. 23 is a third explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the image processing device of FIG.

(Structure) As shown in FIG. 1, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes an ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves and obtains a real-time echo image (ultrasonic tomographic image). And an image processing device 3 for performing various image processing based on the echo data obtained by the ultrasonic observation device 2. The ultrasonic observation device 2 is connected to an ultrasonic probe 4 having an ultrasonic transducer 4a for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, and a driving unit 4b for driving the ultrasonic probe 4.

The ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 includes a transmitting / receiving section 5 for transmitting / receiving an ultrasonic wave to / from the driving section 4b,
A frame memory 6 for storing the echo data fetched by the above, a DSC unit 7 for converting sound ray data received from the frame memory 6 into desired television data,
A D / A conversion circuit 8 that receives an output of the unit 7 and converts a digital image signal into an analog signal, a monitor 9 that receives an output image signal of the D / A conversion circuit 8 and displays a real-time ultrasonic image, A system controller 1 for controlling the driving unit 4b, the transmitting / receiving unit 5, and the frame memory 6
0.

The image processing apparatus 3 includes a CPU 11 for controlling an image processing unit and the like, a main storage device 12 for recording data and the like of each image processing result, and a sound ray data from the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2. Image data storage device 13 for storing, and DSC for converting sound ray data into desired television data
An arithmetic processor 14 for performing various image processing such as processing and brightness value conversion processing at high speed; an external storage device 15 for recording information such as a processing program and backup data;
An operation console 16 having a keyboard or the like for inputting data such as commands, a track ball 17 as an input instruction device used for setting an image area, etc., and a frame buffer 18 for temporarily storing data after image processing
A D / A conversion circuit 19 for converting a digital image signal output from the frame buffer 18 into an analog signal, and a monitor for inputting an output image signal from the D / A conversion circuit 19 and displaying an image after image processing. 20 and a recording device for recording data stored in the image data storage device 13 on an exchangeable medium, for example, a magneto-optical disk device 21
And a printer 22 for printing various data and images
It is comprised including.

The components of the image processing apparatus 3 and the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 are connected via a data transfer bus 23 to exchange processed image data.
In addition, a video processor 25 that performs signal processing on an imaging signal from an endoscope 24 that captures an observation region in a body cavity is connected to the data transfer bus 23 of the image processing device 3. Endoscope image data can be captured.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the arithmetic processor 14, a data transfer bus 23
Image reconstruction unit 31 for reconstructing an image such as a three-dimensional image by inputting the radial image data via the CPU and outputting the image to the data transfer bus 23, and a distortion for detecting a distortion amount of the image data from the image reconstruction unit 31 An image detector 32 and an image distortion corrector 33 for correcting the amount of distortion detected by the distortion amount detector 32 are provided. The image reconstructor 31 reconstructs image data based on the output of the image distortion corrector 33. Build and transfer data bus 2
3 is output. Note that the distortion amount of the image data is a deviation amount of a lumen wall position between the respective radial image data or a deviation amount of a specific part in the radial image.

As shown in FIG. 3, the operation console 16 includes an operation terminal touch panel screen 41 having a touch panel provided on a display surface, a recording switch 42, a print switch 43,
The switch unit 47 includes a freeze switch 44, an eight-direction arrow switch 45, and a caliper mark switch 46.

As shown in FIG. 4, for example, in the operation terminal touch panel screen 41 in the oblique projection mode, a cutting line moving button 51 for setting a cutting plane of the three-dimensional image, a pseudo color button 52 for coloring the three-dimensional image Marker button 5 for displaying a marker for making it easy to see the three-dimensional image
3, an image rotation dial 54 for rotating a three-dimensional image radial image, a gain adjustment slider 55 for adjusting the image gain, a contrast adjustment slider 56 for adjusting the image contrast, a view button 57 for displaying a three-dimensional image, a cross-section setting A section setting mode button 58 for switching to the mode, a Z direction button 59 for switching the Z direction of the three-dimensional image, a comment button 61 for calling a comment screen, an information button 62 for calling a patient information screen, a load button 63 for reading data, A save button 64 for saving data,
A measurement button 65 for performing various measurements, a shutdown button 66 for shutting down the image processing apparatus 3, a mode button 60 for switching between an inspection mode and a review mode, and a switching tag 67 for moving to another function are provided.

Here, the switching tag 67 is a tag for displaying a radial image (Radial Rev), a tag for a helical image (Helical Rev), and a tag (Oblique) for setting perspective construction of a three-dimensional image. And a tag (Surface) for setting the perspective surface construction of the three-dimensional image and a system setting tag (SYSTEM).

The buttons, dials and sliders on the operation terminal touch panel screen 41 are the trackball 1.
7 is also operable.

As shown in FIG. 5, the display screen 20a of the monitor 20 has an image display area 71 for displaying an ultrasonic tomographic image and a three-dimensional image, and displays patient information and the like so as to surround the image display area 71. Character display area 7 to be displayed
2 are provided. The character display area 72 includes a hospital name, date, time, patient ID, name, age, date of birth,
A patient data area 73 for displaying gender and other patient data;
R. DIR information indicating the direction of the radial image, indicating whether the current inspection mode is the high image quality mode. QUAL
ITY ON / OFF display (Hi-Quality display), radial image range information, remaining capacity of recording medium,
Information for identifying the observation site (informatio
n), an image information area 74 in which comments and the like are displayed,
A host data area 75 for displaying the GAIN and CONTRAST adjustment values and the like of the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2, and a BACK for indicating whether or not a program being processed in parallel is running;
It comprises a GROUND TASK WINDOW 77 and a model display area 78 showing the relationship between the image displayed in the image display area 71 and the actual three-dimensional image.

As shown in FIG. 6, the display screen 20a can also be displayed on a sub-screen display section 79 on the operation terminal touch panel screen 41 of the console 16, and is displayed on the operation terminal touch panel screen 41. Various images displayed in the image display area 71, for example, a three-dimensional image, a wire frame image thereof, a measurement screen, and the like can be displayed, and various operations can be performed without looking up at the monitor 20, thereby improving operability. I have. In addition, the console 16 may have an external image input, and it is convenient that the external input can be displayed on the small screen display unit 79. Note that the child screen display unit 7
9 may display the input from the outside as it is,
An image processed by the console 16 may be displayed.

On the monitor 20, in addition to the display screen 20a including the image display area 71 shown in FIG. 7, an ultrasonic image is displayed on the entire screen under the control of the console 16 as shown in FIG. When an ultrasonic image is displayed on the entire screen, an overlap window 80 displaying information such as an ID is superimposed and displayed on the monitor 20. By displaying the ultrasound image on the entire screen,
Even when the monitor 20 is small, the image can be easily viewed by displaying a large image on the entire monitor.

(Operation) When performing ultrasonic observation, the ultrasonic probe 4 is inserted into a test site such as a lumen, and the transmission / reception unit 5 and the driving unit 4 are controlled based on the control of the system controller 10.
By transmitting and receiving the ultrasonic wave into and from the living body while rotating the ultrasonic transducer 4a by b, the echo data of the in-vivo tomographic image is taken into the ultrasonic observation device 2. The echo data thus obtained is stored in the frame memory 6,
Echo data is sent as digital signals from the frame memory 6 to the image processing device 3 via the data transfer bus 23 in the form of sound ray data. On the other hand, the endoscope 24 is driven by a video processor 25, an endoscope image is generated by the video processor 25, and the endoscope image is taken into the image processing device 3 via the video processor 25.

The sound ray data sent to the image processing device 3 is
The arithmetic processor 14 performs image processing such as DSC processing and luminance value conversion processing. Further, the result of the image processing is sent to the frame buffer 18 and temporarily stored therein, sent to the monitor 20 via the D / A conversion circuit 19, and the ultrasonic tomographic image or the three-dimensional ultrasonic image after the image processing is displayed. .

Here, as shown in FIG. 9, on the monitor 20, an endoscope image obtained by the endoscope 24 (see FIG. 1) is converted into an ultrasonic tomographic image or a three-dimensional ultrasonic image as a child screen 81. The endoscopic image can be superimposed, and the user can perform desired deformation such as enlargement, reduction, rotation, and the like.

The arithmetic processor 14 performs STC processing, which is a luminance value conversion, on the radial image data input from the image data storage device 13 via the data transfer bus 23, and then executes image reconstruction. be able to.
As a result, after the inspection, the STC can be applied freely, and an easy-to-understand image can be obtained.

The echo data of the in-vivo tomographic image taken into the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 is affected by the heartbeat and the like.
In a linear image such as that shown in FIG. 0 or a perspective projection image shown in FIG. This is because, when viewed in a radial image, as shown in FIG. 12, the relationship between the center, which is the position of the ultrasonic probe 4, and the lumen wall is shifted by pulsation.

In the present embodiment, in the arithmetic processor 14, the image reconstructing unit 31 converts two adjacent radial image data out of the radial image data input from the image data storage device 13 via the data transfer bus 23. Output to the distortion amount detection unit 32. The distortion amount detection unit 32 extracts the respective contours of two adjacent radial image data, compares them, and detects a deviation amount Δx shown in FIG. The deviation amount Δx is transferred to the image distortion correction unit 33 together with the original image data as a distortion amount for two sheets. By repeating this, when the amount of distortion is detected for all the radial images to be reconstructed, the image is converted into a radial image whose distortion has been corrected by the image distortion correction unit 33 based on the amount of distortion.
Then, by transferring the corrected radial image to the image reconstructing unit 31, the image reconstructing unit 31 reconstructs the image and obtains a desired image such as a linear image or a three-dimensional image. As a result,
An image with little distortion, such as a linear image as shown in FIG. 13 or a perspective projection image as shown in FIG.

As for the detection of image distortion, in addition to the above-described method, in the arithmetic processor 14, the image reconstructing unit 31 stores one of the radial image data of the radial image data input from the storage device 13 via the data transfer bus 23. The radial image data of the minute is output to the distortion amount detection unit 32. The distortion amount detection unit 32 detects the contour of the radial image data,
The shift amount ΔY appearing at 3 o'clock on the image shown in FIG. 15 is detected. This deviation amount ΔY is transferred to the image distortion correction unit 33 together with the original image as a radial image distortion amount. On the basis of the deviation amount ΔY, a method of converting the image into a radial image in which the image distortion is corrected by the image distortion correction unit 33 can be adopted. The shift amount indicated by ΔY is a shift amount detected when the observation target portion moves while generating a radial image for one screen. It can be detected when the affected part moves due to the pulsation of the heart.

(Effects) As described above, in the present embodiment, the distortion amount detection unit 32 detects distortion of an image due to pulsation and the like, and the image distortion correction unit 33 converts the radial image corrected for distortion into an image reconstruction unit. By outputting to the image reconstruction unit 31, in the image such as the three-dimensional image reconstructed by the image reconstruction unit 31, the disturbance of the image due to the influence of the pulsation or the like can be corrected, and the display can be intuitively understood. Diagnosis and the like can be facilitated.

As shown in FIG. 16, the arithmetic processor 14 receives image data from the image data storage device 13 via the data transfer bus 23 and determines a part of the image data. It is possible to provide a color classification unit 83 that gives color information to the part determined by the determination unit 82 and outputs image data to the image reconstruction unit 31.

An arithmetic processor 14 having the function of FIG.
In, the part determination unit 82 takes in the image data stored in the image data storage device 13 via the data transfer bus 23, and uses an algorithm for tissue property diagnosis.
It determines which pixel (lesion or normal) each pixel of the image data belongs to, and sends the determination result to the color classification unit 83. The color classification unit 83 gives preset color information to each pixel of the image data based on the determination result, and outputs the color information to the image reconstruction unit 31. Upon reconstructing the image, the image reconstructing unit 31 that has received the image data with the color information generates a colorized reconstructed image based on the color information. This colored reconstructed image data is written to the frame buffer 18 via the data transfer bus 23 and displayed on the monitor 20.

The cross section may be automatically set so that the cross section of the three-dimensional image comes to the lesion by using the information obtained by determining the region. In addition, since the stomach wall has a layer structure, each layer may be distinguished by using characteristics of each layer, and each layer may be color-coded.

By providing the function shown in FIG. 16, different colors can be assigned to each part, so that an easy-to-understand image in which the parts can be identified at a glance can be obtained.

As shown in FIG. 17, the endoscope image data is input from the video processor 25 to the arithmetic processor 14 via the data transfer bus 23 to detect the color change of the endoscope image data. The detection unit 84 receives the ultrasonic image data via the data transfer bus 23, receives the color change data detected by the color change detection unit 84, and determines the color change portion of the endoscope image data in the ultrasonic image data. Position estimating unit 85 for estimating the position, and ultrasonic image data at the position estimated by the position estimating unit.
1 and an image enhancing unit 86 that outputs the image data to the image processing unit 1.

Arithmetic processor 14 having the function of FIG.
In the above, the color change detection unit 84 inputs the endoscope image data via the data transfer bus 23, detects a color changing portion in the endoscope image, and uses the detected information as the position estimation unit 85. Output to The position estimating unit 85 is connected to the data transfer bus 2
3 and receives the color change data detected by the color change detection section 84 to estimate which part of the ultrasonic image data is the color change portion of the endoscope image data. That is, the position estimating unit 85 estimates where the lesioned part 88 that has changed color on the endoscope image 87 shown in FIG. 18 corresponds to the ultrasonic image 89 shown in FIG. The image data is output to the image enhancement unit 86 together with the image data. The image enhancing unit 86 processes the received ultrasonic image data based on the position estimation information from the position estimating unit 85, and processes the ultrasonic image corresponding to the lesion 88 having changed color on the endoscope image 87. The lesion 90 on the image 89 is emphasized. Then, the image reconstruction unit 31 reconstructs an image using the data from the image enhancement unit 86.

By providing the function shown in FIG. 17, the contrast between the endoscopic image and the ultrasonic image becomes clear, and an image that is easy to understand can be obtained.

As shown in FIG. 20, the type of the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 to be connected is determined, and the determination information is sent to the CPU 1.
The ultrasonic observation device detection circuit 91 that outputs the signal to the device 1 can be provided in the image processing device 3.

In the image processing apparatus 3 having the function of FIG. 20, the ultrasonic observation apparatus detection circuit 91 determines the type of the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 to be connected, and outputs the judgment information to the CPU 1.
Output to 1. In the CPU 11, based on the determination information, S
The number of TC stages is determined and the whole is controlled. The console 16 is C
Based on the control of the PU 11, the connected ultrasonic observation device 2
The number of stages of the STC is changed according to, and displayed on the operation terminal touch panel screen 41. FIG. 21 shows an STC with four stages.
22 shows an STC having five stages, and FIG. 23 shows a STC having six stages.
Operation terminal touch panel screen 41 displaying the STC of each stage
Is shown. The setting of the STC itself is preset and recorded for each frequency used for the data, and the setting for the frequency is automatically called according to the frequency of the data. Note that the number of STC stages may be changed according to the magnification of the radial image (change of display range).

By providing the image processing device 3 with the ultrasonic observation device detection circuit 91, the operation can be performed with the STC optimal for the ultrasonic observation device 2 to be used, so that the operability can be further improved. .

(Example) Hereinafter, more specific functions of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the operation terminal touch panel screen 41 of the console 16 in FIG.
An example will be described with reference to the display screen 20a of FIG.

24 to 30 relate to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a perspective projection image displayed in the image display area. FIG. 25 is a surface projection mode screen displayed on the touch panel screen of the operation terminal. 26 is a diagram showing a surface setting screen displayed in the image display area, FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the offset circle adjustment slider on the surface setting screen, and FIG. 28 is displayed in the image display area. FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating a surface projection image, FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating a surface projection image rotation mode screen displayed on the operation terminal touch panel screen, and FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating a surface correction mode screen displayed on the operation terminal touch panel screen. .

When displaying a three-dimensional ultrasonic image,
In the switching tag 67, a tag (Oblique) for setting the perspective construction of the three-dimensional image is selected.
Is changed to the oblique projection mode screen 41a shown in FIG. By selecting the oblique projection mode screen 41a, the display screen 20a of the monitor 20 is displayed.
In the image display area 71, a cross section setting screen 71a for setting the cross section of the three-dimensional ultrasonic image shown in FIG. 5 is displayed.

Then, various settings are made on the oblique projection mode screen 41a, and the view button 57 is pressed, whereby the image display area 71 of the display screen 20a of the monitor 20 is displayed as shown in FIG.
A perspective projection image 7 which is a three-dimensional ultrasonic image as shown in FIG.
1b is displayed.

In detail, the perspective construction mode screen 41 shown in FIG.
In a, by operating the cutting line moving button 51,
The cutting line 95 is moved on the cross section setting screen 71a of FIG. That is, the cutting line movement button 51 is “+”,
It consists of "x", "○", and "△" buttons.
By pressing each button, the corresponding "+"-"+" cutting line displayed on the section setting screen 71a,
"X"-"X" cutting line, "O"-"O" cutting line, "△"
-Each cutting line 95 of the "△" cutting line moves to change the cross section. Thereby, the display cross section of the perspective projection image 71b is changed.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 24, "+", "+" is displayed on the section setting screen 71a and on the oblique projection image 71b.
Markers 96 of “x”, “○”, and “△” are displayed to make it easy to understand the correspondence between the cross-section setting screen 71a and the perspective projection image 71b. As shown in FIG. 24, a probe insertion direction marker 97 is displayed above the perspective projection image 71b, and the direction of the arrow usually indicates the tip side of the ultrasonic probe 4.

It should be noted that the correspondence may be more easily understood by framing the tomographic image of the portion where each of the markers 96 of "+", "x", "o", and "△" is displayed.
Also, instead of borders, "+", "x", "○",
A color may be given to the tomographic image of the portion where each marker 96 of “△” is displayed. By pressing the pseudo color button 52, the perspective projection image 71b is displayed in the system setting mode (SY).
Each part can be colored with a preset color in the mode in which the STEM tag is selected).

On the oblique projection mode screen 41a, by turning on / off the marker button 53, the marker 9 is turned on.
6 and display / non-display of the probe insertion direction marker 97 can be switched. In addition, by rotating the image rotation dial 54, the section setting screen 71a is displayed.
The upper radial image can be rotated, and the perspective projection image 71b is updated accordingly. Further, by operating the gain adjustment slider 55 and the contrast adjustment slider 56, the gain and contrast of the radial image on the cross-section setting screen 71a can be changed, and accordingly, the gain and contrast of the perspective projection image 71b can be changed. .

After making various settings as described above, pressing the view button 57 causes the image display area 71 to display
The perspective projection image 71b as shown in FIG. 24 is displayed. If the display is not satisfactory, the operator presses the section setting mode button 58 on the perspective projection mode screen 41a of the console 16 to return to the section setting screen 71a from the perspective projection image 71b and adjust again.

For example, by pressing the Z-direction button 59 on the perspective projection mode screen 41a, the direction of the linear image on the cross section setting screen 71a is switched, and the corresponding perspective projection image 7 is displayed.
1b also changes accordingly. Specifically, the replacement of the linear image corresponds to the change of the insertion direction of the ultrasonic probe 4 on the perspective projection image 71b, and the direction of the arrow of the probe insertion direction marker 97 changes.

Next, a surface projection mode for constructing a lumen wall surface with respect to the desired oblique projection image 71b obtained as described above will be described.

In the switching tag 67, a tag (Surface) for setting the surface projection image of the three-dimensional image is selected, and the operation terminal touch panel screen 41 of the console 16 is displayed on the surface projection mode screen as shown in FIG. 41b. By selecting the surface projection mode screen 41b, the image display area 71 of the display screen 20a of the monitor 20 is displayed as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, a cross-section setting screen 71a including a radial image for setting a cross section of a three-dimensional ultrasonic image is displayed.

As shown in FIG. 25, as in the perspective projection mode screen 41a, a cutting line moving button 51, a marker button 53, an image rotation dial 54, a gain adjustment slider 55, a contrast adjustment slider 56, View button 57, section setting mode button 58, Z direction button 59, comment button 6
1, information button 62, load button 6
3, a save button 64, a measurement button 65, a shutdown button 66, a mode button 60 for switching between an inspection mode and a review mode, and a switching tag 67 for moving to another function.

The operation of these buttons and the like is the same as that of the perspective projection mode screen 41a, and therefore, the description is omitted.

Further, in addition to the above, the surface projection mode screen 4
1b is a line button 1 for setting fineness of surface extraction
01, surface correction mode button 10 to enter the surface correction mode
2. A threshold adjustment slider 103 for facilitating surface extraction and an offset circle adjustment slider 104 for setting an offset circle for removing multiple echoes on a three-dimensional image are provided.

In the surface projection mode, first, the line button 101 is used to specify the level of fineness when the surface is extracted. Next, by operating the threshold adjustment slider 103, the threshold of the display brightness of the radial image on the surface setting screen 71b is adjusted, and the noise is removed by setting so that the brightness is not displayed below a predetermined brightness. To facilitate surface extraction. Then, by operating the offset circle adjustment slider 104, the size of the offset circle 105 shown in FIG.
06 (see FIG. 26) is removed from the surface projection image 71d.

When the desired setting is completed, pressing the surface correction mode button 102 causes the scan line 107 to run from the center on the surface setting screen 71c as shown in FIG. An extraction point marker 108 is displayed with the location as an extraction point. By automatically repeating this process for the number of scan lines 107 corresponding to the fineness set by the line button 101, surface extraction for one radial image is performed. Then, this is performed on a plurality of radial images that are continuous in a three-dimensional space, and after the extraction is completed, the view button 57 is pressed, and as shown in FIG. 28, the surface projection formed using the extracted result is performed. The image 71d is displayed in the image display area 71 of the display screen 20a of the monitor 20, and the operation console 16
On the operation terminal touch panel screen 41, a surface projection image rotation mode screen 41c as shown in FIG. 29 is displayed.

As shown in FIG. 29, a marker button 53, a gain adjustment slider 55, a contrast adjustment slider 56, a view button 57, and a section setting mode button 58 are displayed on the front projection image rotation mode screen 41c, as in the front projection mode screen 41b. A surface correction mode button 102, a comment button 61, an information button 62, a load button 63, a save button 64, a measurement button 65, a shutdown button 66, a mode button 60 for switching between an inspection mode and a review mode, and other functions for moving to other functions. A switching tag 67 is provided.

In addition, a rotation angle adjustment button 121 for rotating the viewing angle of the displayed surface projection image 71d, a surface projection image 7
In the display of 1d, there is provided a surface projection shape button 122 including a wire button 122a for executing a frame wire display and a surface button 122b for executing a construction image display with a surface attached.

On the surface projection image rotation mode screen 41c, the surface projection image 71d is
It can be rotated around two rotation axes (φ, χ, ψ), and the viewing angle of the surface projection image 71d can be changed. Further, as shown in FIG. 28, the amounts of rotation of the three rotation axes are displayed as a rotation angle direction display 123 in the model display area 78 of the display screen 20a of the monitor 20, and based on the information of the rotation angle direction display 123. By inputting the same rotation angle, the same appearance can be reproduced. Also,
By pressing the wire button 122a of the surface projection shape button 122, the surface projection image 71d can be displayed in a wire frame that can be easily processed, and the rotation processing can be performed at high speed.

If the result of the extraction in the surface projection mode is not satisfactory, the user touches the surface correction mode button 102 to display the operation terminal touch panel screen 41 of the console 16 as shown in FIG. The screen is changed to the surface correction mode screen 41d.

As shown in FIG. 30, the surface correction mode screen 41d includes a gain adjustment slider 55, a contrast adjustment slider 56, a view button 57, a section setting mode button 58, and a surface correction mode button 102, similarly to the surface projection mode screen 41b. , Comment button 61, information button 62, load button 63, save button 6
4. Measurement button 65, shutdown button 66, mode button 60 for switching between inspection mode and review mode
And a switching tag 67 for moving to another function.

In addition, the surface correction mode screen 4
1d, an image selection slider 141 for selecting a radial image whose surface has been extracted in the surface projection mode to be corrected,
A candidate point selection button 142 for moving the extraction point marker 108, which is a surface extraction point automatically extracted in the surface projection mode, and a scan line selection button 143 for moving the scan line 107 are provided.

On the surface correction mode screen 41 d, a radial image whose surface has been extracted to be corrected by the image selection slider 141 is selected, the scan line 107 shown in FIG. 26 is moved by the scan line selection button 143, and the candidate point selection button 142 is further moved by the candidate point selection button 142. By moving the extraction point marker 108 shown in FIG. 26, a desired extraction result can be obtained manually. When the desired extraction is performed, by pressing the view button 57, the desired surface projection image 71d formed using the extracted result is displayed on the display screen 20 of the monitor 20, as shown in FIG.
The image is displayed in the image display area 71 of FIG.

[Appendix] (Appendix 1) Echo data generating means for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from a living body to obtain echo data at a plurality of continuous linear positions of the living body, Echo data storing means for storing, ultrasonic tomographic image generating means for generating an ultrasonic tomographic image from the echo data at the plurality of positions stored in the echo data storing means, and the ultrasonic data stored in the echo data storing means. A part discriminator for discriminating between a normal part and a lesion part of the living body from the echo data at a number of positions; A three-dimensional image generator for generating a three-dimensional image of the living body, which is color-coded from the echo data at the plurality of positions to which the color information has been provided by the color information providing means. Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by comprising a means.

(Additional Item 2) The region discriminating means has a surface extracting function of extracting the surface of the living body from the echo data at the plurality of positions, and the three-dimensional image is provided with the extracted surface of the living body. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a combination of the ultrasonic tomographic images.

(Additional Item 3) The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to Additional Item 1, wherein the color information adding means assigns different colors to the normal part and the lesion part.

(Additional Item 4) The ultrasonography according to the additional item 1, wherein the setting of the tomographic plane of the ultrasonic tomographic image is automatically set to the portion of the lesion site determined by the site determining means. Ultrasound diagnostic device.

(Supplementary note 5) The supplementary item 2, wherein the extracted surface of the living body is a surface determined and extracted by a layer structure unit of a body cavity wall of the living body by the site determining means. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus as described in the above.

In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses according to additional items 1 to 5,
By automatically discriminating the affected part and the lesion part, it is possible to easily obtain a tomographic image of the affected part.

(Appendix 6) An echo data generating means for transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic wave to and from the living body to obtain echo data from the living body, an echo data storing means for storing the echo data, and an echo data storing means for storing the echo data Ultrasound image generation means for generating an ultrasonic image from the echo data, color change detection means for inputting endoscopic image data and detecting color change of the endoscope image data, and detection by the color change detection means Position estimating means for estimating a position on the ultrasonic image corresponding to the position of the color change, and image emphasizing means for enhancing the ultrasonic image portion at the position estimated by the position estimating means. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.

In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the additional item 6, it is possible to accurately detect a lesion on an ultrasonic image and to make diagnosis easier.

(Additional Item 7) An ultrasonic observation apparatus that transmits and receives an ultrasonic wave to and from a living body and obtains echo data from the living body, and an image processing apparatus that generates an ultrasonic image of the living body from the echo data In the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, there is provided an operation unit having an operation screen display unit for displaying an operation screen for inputting an instruction signal to the image processing apparatus, and the operation screen display unit has an image display area for displaying an external image An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.

(Additional Item 8) The operating means has a processing function of processing the external image, and is capable of selecting and switching between the external image and the image processed by the processing means in the image display area. 8. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus displays the information.

(Additional Item 9) The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to additional item 7, wherein the console has image input means.

In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses according to additional items 7 to 9,
By providing an image display area in the operation means, it is possible to further improve the operability.

(Supplementary Item 10) An ultrasonic observation apparatus that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from a living body and obtains echo data from the living body, and an image processing apparatus that generates an ultrasonic image of the living body from the echo data A determination unit configured to determine a type of the ultrasonic observation apparatus; and an ST configured to determine a number of STC stages based on a determination result of the determination unit.
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: a C-stage number determining unit; and an STC switch set to the STC stage number determined by the STC stage number determining unit.

(Additional Item 11) The STC switch is
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the button is a button displayed on a liquid crystal panel of a touch panel.

In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses of the additional items 10 and 11, the operability can be further improved by changing the number of STC stages for each ultrasonic observation apparatus.

(Additional Item 12) An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: an ultrasonic observation apparatus that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from a living body to obtain echo data from the living body; and an image processing apparatus that generates a plurality of types of images from the echo data. The apparatus includes an operation unit having an operation screen display unit that displays an operation screen for inputting an instruction signal to the image processing apparatus, and the operation screen display unit can display an image generated by the image processing apparatus. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.

(Additional Item 13) The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to additional item 12, wherein the image generated by the image processing apparatus is a cross section setting image for setting a cross section of an ultrasonic image.

(Supplementary Note 14) The image generated by the image processing device is a three-dimensional image of a wire frame, and is used for setting a cross-section setting and a display angle setting of the three-dimensional ultrasonic image to the image processing device by the operation means. 13. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 12, wherein a section setting and a display angle setting of the three-dimensional image of the wire frame are performed in accordance with the operation.

(Additional Item 15) The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to additional item 12, wherein measurement is possible based on an image generated by the image processing device displayed on the operation screen display means.

In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to additional items 12 to 15, the operability can be further improved by displaying the image generated by the image processing device on the operating means.

(Additional Item 16) An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: an ultrasonic observation apparatus that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from a living body to obtain echo data from the living body; and an image processing apparatus that generates an ultrasonic image from the echo data. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: display means for displaying the ultrasonic image; and image control means for variably controlling the size of the ultrasonic image displayed on the display means.

(Additional Item 17) The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to additional item 16, wherein the change in the size of the ultrasonic image is a switch between the entire display area of the display means and a normal display.

In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses of the additional items 16 and 17, diagnosis is made easier by displaying the ultrasonic image on a large screen.

(Additional Item 18) An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: an ultrasonic observation apparatus that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from a living body to obtain echo data from the living body; and an image processing apparatus that generates an ultrasonic image from the echo data. And an echo data storage means for storing the echo data, and processing the echo data called from the echo data storage means to generate
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: STC processing means for obtaining a TC effect.

In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the additional item 18, the operability can be further improved by performing the STC processing in the post process.

[0091]

As described above, according to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, the image distortion amount detecting means detects each image distortion amount of a plurality of tomographic images, and the image distortion correcting means detects the image distortion amount. Since the distortion of a plurality of tomographic images is corrected based on the image distortion amount detected by the means, there is an effect that an influence of pulsation is removed and an ultrasonic tomographic image with good image quality can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the arithmetic processor of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a console of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a touch panel screen of the operation terminal of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a display configuration of a monitor of the image processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of a monitor image of the image processing apparatus on the touch panel screen of the operation terminal of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a first display example of a monitor of the image processing apparatus in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a second display example of the monitor of the image processing apparatus in FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a third display example of the monitor of the image processing apparatus in FIG. 1;

10 is a diagram showing a linear image when echo data of a tomographic image in a living body taken into the ultrasonic observation apparatus of FIG. 1 is affected by a heartbeat or the like;

11 is a diagram showing a perspective projection image when echo data of a tomographic image in a living body taken into the ultrasonic observation apparatus of FIG. 1 is affected by a heartbeat or the like;

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the influence of echo data of a tomographic image in a living body taken into the ultrasonic observation apparatus of FIG.

13 is a diagram showing a linear image in which the influence of a heartbeat or the like has been removed from echo data of a tomographic image in a living body taken into the ultrasonic observation apparatus of FIG. 1;

14 is a diagram showing a perspective projection image in which the influence of a heartbeat or the like has been removed from the echo data of the in-vivo tomographic image taken into the ultrasonic observation apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 15 is an explanatory view for explaining the influence of echo data of a tomographic image in a living body taken into the ultrasonic observation apparatus of FIG.

16 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a first modification of the arithmetic processor in FIG. 1;

17 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a second modification of the arithmetic processor in FIG. 1;

18 is a first explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of the arithmetic processor in FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a second explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of the arithmetic processor in FIG. 17;

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the image processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 21 is a first diagram illustrating the operation of the image processing apparatus in FIG. 20;
Illustration of

FIG. 22 is a second diagram illustrating the operation of the image processing apparatus in FIG. 20;
Illustration of

FIG. 23 is a third view illustrating the operation of the image processing apparatus in FIG. 20;
Illustration of

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a perspective projection image displayed in an image display area according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a surface projection mode screen displayed on the operation terminal touch panel screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a surface setting screen displayed in an image display area according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of the offset circle adjustment slider on the surface setting screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a surface projection image displayed in an image display area according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a front projection image rotation mode screen displayed on the operation terminal touch panel screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing a surface correction mode screen displayed on the operation terminal touch panel screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 2 ... Ultrasonic observation apparatus 3 ... Image processing apparatus 4 ... Ultrasonic probe 4a ... Ultrasonic vibrator 4b ... Driver 5 ... Transceiver 6 ... Frame memory 7 ... DSC 8: D / A conversion Circuit 9, 20 Monitor 10 System controller 11 CPU 12 Main storage device 13 Image data storage device 14 Arithmetic processor 15 External storage device 16 Operation terminal 18 Frame buffer 19 D / A conversion circuit 21 ... Magneto-optical disk drive 22 ... Printer 23 ... Data transfer bus 31 ... Image reconstruction unit 32 ... Distortion amount detection unit 33 ... Image distortion correction unit

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] June 9, 1999 (1999.6.9)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0030

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

As for the detection of the image distortion, in addition to the method described above, the image reconstruction unit 31 in the arithmetic processor 14
One of the radial image data input from the image data storage device 13 via the data transfer bus 23 is output to the distortion amount detection unit 32. The distortion amount detection unit 32 detects the contour portion of the radial image data, and detects a deviation amount ΔY appearing at 3 o'clock on the image, as shown in FIG. This deviation amount ΔY is transferred to the image distortion correction unit 33 together with the original image as a radial image distortion amount. On the basis of the deviation amount ΔY, a method of converting the image into a radial image in which the image distortion is corrected by the image distortion correction unit 33 can be adopted. The shift amount indicated by ΔY is determined while generating a radial image for one screen.
This is a shift amount detected when the observation target part moves.
It can be detected when the affected part moves due to the pulsation of the heart.

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0066

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Appendix] (Appendix 1) Echo data generating means for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from a living body to obtain echo data at a plurality of continuous linear positions of the living body, and echo data memory means for storing the ultrasonic tomographic image generating means for generating the ultrasonic tomographic image from the echo data of the echo data storage means stored in a plurality of positions, stored in the echo data memory means the a region determining means for determining a normal region and a lesion of the living body from the echo data of a plurality of locations, the color information imparting means that imparts color information to the echo data of the plurality of positions based on the determination result of the region determining means And a three-dimensional image for generating a three-dimensional image of the living body that is color-coded from the echo data at the plurality of positions to which the color information has been provided by the color information providing means. Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by comprising a formation unit.

Continued on front page F-term (reference) 4C301 AA02 BB03 BB13 BB28 BB30 CC01 EE07 FF05 JB03 JB04 JB13 JC08 JC16 JC20 KK01 KK02 KK03 KK07 KK08 KK12 KK13 KK17 KK31 KK32 KK11 A12 CB04

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An echo data generating means for transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic wave to and from a living body to obtain echo data at a plurality of positions in a continuous linear direction of the living body, and an echo data storing means for storing the echo data at the plurality of positions. Tomographic image forming means for forming a plurality of tomographic images from the echo data at the plurality of positions obtained by the echo data generating means; and image distortion amount detection for detecting an image distortion amount of each of the plurality of tomographic images. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: means for correcting distortion of the tomographic image based on the image distortion amount detected by the image distortion amount detecting means. 2. The image distortion amount detecting means calculates a difference between echo data at the plurality of positions at a position of a specific portion on an image common to the plurality of tomographic images and detects the difference as an image distortion amount. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said image distortion amount detection means calculates an image shift occurring at a specific portion on a single image and detects the image deviation as an image distortion amount. .