JP2001321380A - Diagnostic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a diagnostic device having a display function capable of easily recognizing the position of the part in a total image to even when the part of the image is displayed. SOLUTION: An ultrasonic signal obtained by an ultrasonic vibrator built in an ultrasonic probe is converted into coordinates or the like by an ultrasonic image processing part and a CPU board to display the total image in a total image display area 31 of a monitor 16 and to movably display a marker 32 for assigning a partial area in the total image display area 31, and the image of the area part assigned by the marker 32 is enlarged in a selected part display area 33 and displayed simultaneously with the total image. Consequently, even if the particle image is displayed, it is easy to recognize which part of the total image the partial image corresponds to.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a diagnostic apparatus for displaying an ultrasonic diagnostic image and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an ultrasonic transducer is provided in a small-diameter probe which can be inserted into an endoscope and easily perform ultrasonic diagnosis during endoscopic diagnosis of an ultrasonic image, and the ultrasonic transducer is rotated. Ultrasound diagnostic apparatuses for obtaining images have been developed.

[0003] There is a case where the user wants to see the center of the ultrasonic image depending on the observation site, or brings the image to the lower half or the upper half or an intermediate position. This means that the organ and the observation site are displayed at a position that is commonly used depending on the position of the organ in the anatomy, and the like, so that diagnosis can be easily performed. Therefore, it is necessary to move (scroll) or rotate (rotate) the image to move it to a position where observation is most easy.

For example, Japanese Patent Application No. 11-319932 employs a method in which a sufficiently large image is formed inside an observation device and a necessary portion is moved to a desired position by scrolling the image.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION However, Japanese Patent Application No.
The method according to No. 319932 has a disadvantage that when a part of an image is displayed, it is difficult to know which part of the whole image is displayed. Further, when the rotation is performed by a pointing device such as a trackball, when the pointing device is operated in the X direction, unnaturalness may appear depending on the position of the image.

For example, if the plus direction in the X direction is defined as clockwise rotation, when the upper half of the image is displayed, it looks natural, but when the lower half of the image is displayed, the image moves in the opposite direction to the moving direction. It was very difficult to scan.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and has a display function for easily knowing which part of an entire image is displayed even when a part of the image is displayed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a diagnostic device having the following. Further, even when a part of an image is rotated and displayed, a diagnostic device having a display function with good operability that can be rotated in a direction in which the operation of rotating and the displayed image display state are in harmony is provided. The purpose is also to do.

[0008]

An image generating means for generating first image data from an image signal obtained by observing a subject, a display means for displaying an observed image, and a display means for displaying the observed image. Reduced image generating means for reducing the obtained first image data to obtain second image data, and a reduced image for setting a reduced image display area for displaying a reduced image based on the second image data on the display means Area setting means;
Marker display means for displaying a marker designating a desired area in the reduced image displayed in the area set by the reduced image area setting means, and marker displayed on the marker display means for the reduced image A designated area image display area setting means for setting an area for displaying the first image data corresponding to an area as an image; and a reduced image based on the second image data displayed in the reduced image display area of the display means. Image display processing means for displaying, in the designated area image display area of the display means, an image of the portion corresponding to the reduced image designated by the marker, which is based on the first image data, By displaying an image of an area portion designated by specifying a desired area in the reduced image with a marker together with the reduced image together with the image, Whether the image specified by chromatography mosquito corresponds to which part of the reduced image is to be readily seen.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 7 relate to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows an initial state (standard state) of the monitor. FIG. 3 shows a display example when the marker is moved upward in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 shows a processing procedure of the display operation, and FIG. 5 shows a rotation direction when performing the operation of FIG. 6 shows a display example when the mouse is moved rightward, and FIG. 7 shows a display example when the mouse is moved rightward in an image display state different from that of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is connected to an ultrasonic probe 2 which is inserted into a living body and transmits and receives ultrasonic waves, and which is connected to the ultrasonic probe 2. It comprises an ultrasonic observation device 3 and an external recording device 4 connected to the ultrasonic observation device 3.

The ultrasonic probe 2 has an elongated insertion portion 5 and a holding portion 6 provided at the rear end of the insertion portion 5 and held by an operator.
And a connector 7 provided at an end of a cable extending from the grip portion 6. The connector 7 is connected to the ultrasonic observation apparatus 3.

An ultrasonic vibrator 8 for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves is built in the distal end portion of the sheath constituting the insertion portion 5, and the ultrasonic vibrator 8 is attached to a distal end of a flexible shaft 9 inserted into the insertion portion 5. The flexible shaft 9 is attached at its rear end to a drive unit 10 in the grip unit 6. By driving a motor (not shown) constituting the drive unit 10, the flexible shaft 9 is rotated and attached to the front end. The ultrasonic transducer 8 is rotationally driven to perform radial scanning.

A signal line having one end connected to the ultrasonic vibrator 8 is inserted into the hollow portion of the flexible shaft 9.
The other end of the signal line is connected to a contact of the connector 7 via a slip ring or the like (not shown) of the drive unit 10.

Then, the ultrasonic observation device 3 is
A transmission signal for driving the ultrasonic vibrator 7 is output in a pulse form from the transmitter / receiver 11 and is output from the ultrasonic vibrator 8 to the subject side, and the acoustic impedance changes. The ultrasonic wave reflected by the portion to be reflected is received by the ultrasonic transducer 8, converted into an electric signal, that is, an echo signal, input to the transmission / reception unit 11, amplified and detected, and input to the ultrasonic image processing unit 12. You.

The ultrasonic image data digitized by the ultrasonic image processing unit 12 is transmitted to the ultrasonic image processing unit 1.
2 is input to the CPU board 14 via the connected PCI bus 13, for example. Image processing such as coordinate conversion is performed in the CPU board 14. In other words, the ultrasonic data directly obtained by the radial scanning is sound ray data along the radial direction.
It converts the coordinates into image data (TV scanning signal) in a rectangular coordinate system to generate ultrasonic image data to be displayed on the display means.

In the CPU board 14, when the ultrasonic image data generated by the coordinate conversion is defined as a first image (data), the first image (data) is reduced to show a second image representing the whole and a selected portion. Processing is performed to generate a marker, a third image indicating an ultrasonic image of a portion indicated by the marker in the second image, and a text image displaying patient data and the like.

The processed image enters the VGA board 15 via the PCI bus 13, is subjected to image display processing, is output to the monitor 16, and is displayed on the monitor screen. The control operation of the device 3 is performed by a mouse 18 and a keyboard 19 connected to the I / O board 17. Further, a printer 20 is connected to the I / O board 17 so that a hard copy of an image can be performed.

A SCSI board 21 is connected to the PCI bus 13, and image data is recorded in the external recording device 4 connected to the SCSI board 21. Further, a LAN board 22 is connected to the PCI bus 13 so that a network can be formed with external devices (not shown).

In the present embodiment, as described above, the CPU board 14 generates a second image showing the entire ultrasonic image, and displays a display area (display frame) in the second image.
Is displayed movably, and a third image for generating an enlarged image of the display area designated by the marker is generated. Note that, as described later, the CP
The U board 14 also performs a process of rotating and displaying the third image by moving the mouse 18 in the left-right direction.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a display image displayed on the screen 16a of the monitor 16 in an initial state (or a standard state) in which the marker is not moved in this embodiment.
The whole image display area 31 displays the whole image by radial scanning, and the markers 32 in the whole image display area 31 are displayed.
The area part (frame part) indicated by is selected section display area 3
3 is enlarged and displayed. The patient information is displayed in the patient information area 34 on the upper side of the display screen.

FIG. 3 shows a display example when the marker 32 in the whole image display area 31 is moved upward by operating the arrow keys of the keyboard 19 or by using the mouse 18. The image is displayed in the selection area 33
Will be displayed enlarged. By freely moving the whole image display area 31 in this manner, a desired portion is enlarged and displayed, and the user can see it.

In this embodiment, an image can be rotated by an operation of moving the mouse 18 to the right or left as a pointing device, for example. In this case, the rotation direction is changed in accordance with the position of the display frame specified by the marker 32 in the whole image display area 31 in which the direction in which the image is rotated is enlarged and displayed in the selection section display area 33. Like that.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of the operation for determining the rotation direction in this case. First, the center position of the image is determined in the first step S1. CPU in CPU board 14
Determines whether the center position of the image is above or below the threshold by comparing it with a preset threshold (threshold) position.

FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C show typical examples of the discrimination, and FIG. 5A shows the state of the initial value in which the center O of the image indicated by the dashed line is at the center position. The position of the threshold Th indicated by a dotted line is set in advance at a predetermined position above the center position. Note that the position of the threshold Th can be changed and set. Then, when the display frame by the marker 32 is moved upward to be in a state as shown in FIG.
Is determined to be above the position of the threshold Th.

Further, when the display frame by the marker 32 is moved downward to be in a state as shown in FIG.
It is determined that the center O of the image is below the position of the threshold Th. If it is determined in step S1 that the center O of the image is below the position of the threshold Th, step S2 is performed.
When it is determined that the center O of the image is above the position of the threshold Th, the process proceeds to step S3.

In steps S2 and S3, the X of the mouse 18
Judge the increase in the direction. In step S2, the X of the mouse 18
The increase in the direction is determined, and if it is determined that the increase is in the + direction (increase direction), the process proceeds to step S4 and the mouse 18
The image is rotated rightward in response to the rightward movement of.

FIG. 6 shows an image in this case. Mouse 18
Indicates the rotation of the image when the mouse is moved to the right. When the mouse 18 moves to the right, the image displayed in the selection section display area 33 is rotated right as indicated by the arrow. When it is determined in step S2 of FIG. 4 that the amount is increased in the negative direction (decreasing direction), the process proceeds to step S5, and a process of rotating the image leftward with respect to the movement of the mouse 18 is performed.

Also in step S3, the amount of increase in the X direction of the mouse 18 is determined. If it is determined that the amount of increase is in the + direction (increase direction), the process proceeds to step S5, where the mouse 18 moves in the right direction To rotate the image to the left.

FIG. 7 shows an image in this case. In this case, since the lower side of the image is mainly displayed, when the same processing as in FIG. 6 is performed, the mouse 18 is moved to the right to perform an operation in which the movement of the mouse 18 and the image move in reverse. In such a case, a process of rotating to the left is performed. That is, when the mouse 18 moves to the right, the image displayed in the selection section display area 33 is rotated to the left as indicated by the arrow.

If it is determined in step S3 of FIG. 4 that the amount is increased in the negative direction (decreasing direction), the process proceeds to step S4, in which the image is rotated clockwise with respect to the left movement of the mouse 18. Do. In the present embodiment, the operation of moving the mouse 18 in the left-right direction is assigned to the function of rotating the enlarged image. However, the mouse 18 is assigned to rotate the enlarged image by operation means other than the mouse 18, for example, by rotating the trackball. Is also good.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the whole image is displayed, and the marker for designating a part of the whole image is moved, so that the image of the designated region is simultaneously enlarged. In this configuration, the enlarged and displayed portion can be easily understood by the marker of the whole image, and even when an operation of rotating is performed, the portion is rotated according to the state of the image that is actually enlarged and displayed. Since the direction is determined and the image is rotated in a natural direction with respect to the image state, it is easy to set the image display state to be actually displayed. That is, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 that is easy to use or has good operability can be realized.

In other words, according to the present embodiment, the part to be observed can be freely selected while recognizing the whole image. In addition, by changing the rotation direction of the image according to the position of the image, a natural display operation can be performed for the operation.

In the above description, the marker 32 is not limited to being movable (scrollable) only in the vertical direction, but may be movable in the horizontal direction or the like. Of course, the image displayed in the selection section display area 33 changes in accordance with the moving operation. Marker 3
The size of the second area may be changed. In this case, for example, depending on the size of the designated area,
The magnification of the image displayed in the selection section display area 33 is changed. In the present embodiment, an example in which an ultrasonic image is displayed has been described. However, the present invention can be widely applied to a diagnostic apparatus that generates and displays an image of a subject.

[Supplementary Notes] Image generating means for generating first image data from an image signal obtained by observing a subject; display means for displaying an observation image; and reducing the first image data generated by the image generating means. A reduced image generating means for obtaining a second image data by using the reduced image area setting means for setting a reduced image display area for displaying a reduced image based on the second image data on the display means; Marker display means for displaying a marker for designating a desired area in the reduced image displayed in the area set by the setting means, and corresponding to the area of the reduced image displayed by the marker display means A designated area image display area setting means for setting an area for displaying the first image data as an image; and a reduced image display area of the display means for displaying a reduced image based on the second image data. Image display processing means for displaying, in the specified area image display area of the display means, an image based on the first image data of a portion corresponding to the reduced image specified by the marker. Characteristic diagnostic device.

2. The diagnostic device of Supplementary Note 1, further comprising a pointing device capable of designating the marker and instructing scrolling, wherein the image display processing unit is configured to: The first portion of the portion corresponding to
A diagnostic apparatus for scrolling and displaying an image based on the image data. 3. The diagnostic device according to claim 2, wherein the image display processing means changes a scroll direction instructed by the pointing device in accordance with a position of a marker designating a desired area of the reduced image.

4. While observing the ultrasonic image of the tomographic image generated from the echo signal by the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave transmitted toward the ecological tissue, in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of observing an image different from the ultrasonic image, by transmitting and receiving Coordinate conversion means for converting the obtained reception signal into a TV scanning signal, and a first display for reducing the obtained image and displaying the whole image
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by displaying a display image, a second image displaying a detailed image on a screen, and a marker indicating an area that can be displayed in the second image on the first display image.

5. 4. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the marker of the first image is scrolled by a pointing device. 6. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the scroll direction of the pointing device is changed according to the position of the marker of the first image.

7. Whole image generating means for generating a whole image from an image signal obtained by observing a subject, display means for displaying the whole image in a first area, and a part of the whole image being movable Marker display means for displaying a marker designated on the display means; and a partial image of a part of the whole image corresponding to the area designated by the marker display means, enlarged to a second area of the display means, and A diagnostic device, comprising: a partial image display unit that displays images simultaneously.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention, together with the entire image (reduced image), the image of the area designated by specifying a desired area in the entire image by the marker is simultaneously displayed with the entire image. By displaying, it is easy to know which part of the whole image corresponds to the image specified by the marker.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display example of an initial state (standard state) on a monitor.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a display example when a marker is moved upward in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a display operation.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a representative example of rotation direction determination when performing the operation in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example when the mouse is moved rightward.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a display example when the mouse is moved rightward in an image display state different from that in FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ultrasonic diagnostic device 2 ... Ultrasonic probe 3 ... Ultrasonic observation device 4 ... External recording device 8 ... Ultrasonic transducer 11 ... Transceiver unit 12 ... Ultrasonic image processing unit 13 ... PCI bus 14 ... CPU board 15 ... VGA Board 16 Monitor 16a Screen 17 I / O board 18 Mouse 19 Keyboard 20 Printer 21 SCSI board 31 Whole image display area 32 Marker 33 Selection section display area

Claims (3)

[Claims] An image generation unit configured to generate first image data from an image signal obtained by observing a subject; a display unit configured to display an observation image; and a first unit generated by the image generation unit. Reduced image generation means for reducing image data to obtain second image data; reduced image area setting means for setting a reduced image display area for displaying a reduced image based on the second image data on the display means; Marker display means for displaying a marker for designating a desired area in the reduced image displayed in the area set by the reduced image area setting means; and marker displayed on the marker display means for the reduced image. Designated area image display area setting means for setting an area for displaying the first image data as an image corresponding to the set area, and a reduced image based on the second image data, Image display processing means for displaying in the reduced image display area and displaying an image based on the first image data of a portion corresponding to the reduced image specified by the marker in the specified area image display area of the display means; A diagnostic device comprising: 2. A pointing device capable of instructing scrolling by designating the marker, wherein the image display processing means corresponds to the reduced image designated by the marker according to an instruction of the pointing device. 2. The diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an image based on the first image data is scrolled and displayed. 3. The image display processing means according to claim 2, wherein said image display processing means changes a scroll direction indicated by said pointing device in accordance with a position of a marker designating a desired area of said reduced image. Diagnostic device.