JP2002238892A - Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the operation such as selection of parameter and adjustment of the selected parameter. SOLUTION: When a track ball 18 is rotated in the longitudinal direction, the direction is determined by a rotation direction determining part 21 to operate a parameter selecting part 23, and the parameter corresponding to the quantity of rotation can be selected. When the track ball 18 is rotated in the lateral direction, the direction is determined by the rotation direction determining part 21 to operate a parameter adjusting part 24, and the value of parameter can be adjusted according to the quantity of rotation.

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 for transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic wave to obtain a tomographic image in a subject and detecting a velocity of a blood flow or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is provided with a function of capturing various types of images and various measurement functions. In accordance with these functions, many image adjustment parameters are set, and measurement items and You need to set up that method.
Usually, input devices such as a keyboard, special key switches, an encoder, a trackball, a mouse, and a touch panel are arranged on the operation panel, but each of the specially provided key switches is assigned to each parameter or measurement item. I have.

[0003] An operator operates these to select a parameter to be adjusted or to select a measurement item. Next, the user inputs a parameter value, a measurement method, and the like by operating a trackball, an encoder, and the like.

[0004]

However, in the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the operability of parameter selection and parameter value adjustment is poor, and this has been a factor in lowering diagnostic efficiency. When diagnosing a patient using an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, an operator usually holds an ultrasonic probe in one hand and obtains an image while applying the ultrasonic probe to an affected part. When adjusting an image, the user operates a key switch or the like with the other hand to select a parameter to be adjusted, and then operates a trackball or the like to adjust a value of the parameter or the like. Therefore, the operation is complicated. In particular, when adjusting the image, it is necessary to adjust the parameters while watching the image reflected on the monitor device. Difficult and inefficient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in which operations such as parameter selection and adjustment thereof can be easily performed to improve diagnostic efficiency.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention transmits an ultrasonic wave into a subject and receives a reflected wave from the subject. An acoustic wave probe, a transmission / reception control unit for controlling transmission / reception of ultrasonic waves by the ultrasonic probe, a signal processing unit for processing a signal received from the transmission / reception control unit, and an image display device to which a signal from the signal processing unit is sent A position input device that is operated by the operator and inputs a position signal corresponding to the operation direction and the operation amount; a direction determination unit that determines the operation direction from the position signal in at least two directions; A setting signal generation unit for generating a signal corresponding to the operation amount component of the position signal; and a control unit for controlling the transmission / reception control unit and the signal processing unit based on a signal from the setting signal generation unit. There has been a feature.

When a position input device is operated, a position signal is input. The position signal corresponds to the operation direction and the operation amount. Taking a trackball as an example of the position input device, the position signal corresponds to the rotation direction and the rotation amount. From this position signal, the operation direction (rotation direction in the case of a trackball) is determined in at least two directions, and the setting signal generation unit issues an operation amount (track) of the position signal for each of the determined operation directions (rotation direction). In the example of the ball, a signal corresponding to the amount of rotation) component is generated. For example, if the directions to be determined are two directions, vertical and horizontal,
When it is determined in the vertical direction, the type of parameter corresponding to the rotation amount is output, and when it is determined in the horizontal direction, the value of the parameter according to the rotation amount is output. The control unit controls the transmission / reception control unit and the signal processing unit based on the type and parameter value of the parameter to adjust the parameter. Therefore, the operator can perform these adjustments only by holding the ultrasonic probe in one hand and operating the position input device with the other hand. The operator only needs to look at the image display device and does not need to look at the position input device, and can make this adjustment by a blind operation, thereby increasing the diagnostic efficiency.

[0008]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In FIG.
One embodiment of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention is shown. In FIG. 1, an ultrasonic probe 11 is connected to a transmission / reception control unit 12, transmits an ultrasonic wave into a subject (patient's body), and receives a reflected wave thereof. The received signal is input to the signal processing unit 13 and processed to form an ultrasonic image. This image signal is converted into a video signal by the scan conversion unit 14, sent to the monitor device 31 via the video output unit 15, and displayed. The central control unit 16 controls these, and a keyboard 17 and a trackball 18 are connected. Keyboard 17 is a character (character)
Is a device for inputting a trackball 18
Is a position input device. These are arranged on an operation panel (not shown).

The track ball 18 is provided with a rotatably held ball. When the ball is rotated by hand, a position corresponding to the direction of rotation and the amount of rotation can be input. The position signal output from the trackball 18 is input to the rotation direction determination unit 21 so that the rotation direction is vertical / horizontal (Y
X) The determination is made in two directions, and the parameter selection unit 23 or the parameter adjustment unit 24 of the setting signal generation unit 22 operates according to the determination result.

Here, it is assumed that one of various parameters is selected and then the value of the parameter is adjusted. Types of parameters include, for example, dynamic range, gamma correction, focus, enlargement / reduction, and the like. When the dynamic range is selected, its value (for example, assuming that the dynamic range can be set to eight levels) is set. A signal for designating the type of these parameters and a signal for designating their values are output from the setting signal generator 22 and sent to the central controller 16 to be displayed on the screen of the monitor device 31.
The corresponding control signal and data are sent to the device 6 and the like to set the imaging parameters and the like, and the imaging is performed.

For example, when an ultrasonic image is taken, an ultrasonic image 33 is displayed on a screen 32 of a monitor device 31 as shown in FIG. A parameter display 34 appears in the lower right corner of 32. First, the trackball 18 is rotated in the vertical direction (Y direction). Then, the rotation direction of the trackball 18 is determined by the rotation direction determination unit 21, and the rotation direction is determined to be large in the Y direction. Therefore, the parameter selection unit 23 operates and the rotation amount component of the position signal of the trackball 18 is determined. , A parameter selection signal is output. When the trackball 18 is rotated in the vertical direction, for example, a dynamic range,
Signals for specifying the types of parameters such as gamma correction, focus, and enlargement / reduction are output one after another, and are displayed one after another as a parameter display 34. Therefore, when the type of the parameter to be adjusted is displayed, the rotation is stopped, and a button switch (not shown, provided on the trackball 18) is pressed to input the type of the parameter. Here, it is assumed that the symbol “DR” indicating the dynamic range is selected and displayed.

After the type of the parameter to be set is input, the value of the parameter is adjusted. At this time, the trackball 18 is rotated in the lateral direction (X direction). Then, the rotation direction determination unit 21 determines that the rotation direction is X
It is determined that it is greater in the direction, and the parameter adjuster 24 operates accordingly, and a parameter value signal is output according to the rotation amount component of the position signal from the trackball 18. The parameter adjustment unit 24 outputs different parameter values one after another according to the amount of lateral rotation of the trackball 18. This value is displayed in order on the parameter display section 34, for example, "1" to "8". When the parameter value to be set is displayed, the rotation is stopped and the button switch is pressed to input the value. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the parameter value “3” is input, and the value “3” is displayed.

Therefore, the operator can select these parameters and adjust their values only by operating the trackball 18 with one hand. Since the operation of the trackball 18 can be performed by blind, the line of sight may be directed to the monitor device 31 and the line of sight may be changed to the monitor device 3.
There is no need to reciprocate between 1 and the operation panel.

In the above description, when the trackball 18 is rotated, the types and values of the parameters are displayed one after another. However, when the trackball 18 is rotated in the vertical direction, the types of the parameters are displayed in a list in a menu. The type of parameter is changed so that each of them is sequentially specified by highlighting or the like according to the amount of rotation, and stops when the type of the desired parameter is specified. May be configured to be input.
A similar menu display / input method may be adopted when inputting a parameter value by rotating in the horizontal direction.

In this case, the rotation directions are determined in two directions and assigned to different categories of inputs, respectively.
It is also possible to determine the direction of rotation more than the direction and assign an input for each category to them.

Further, the case where the setting of the parameters of the image is performed has been described above. However, the present invention is also applicable to the case where the setting and adjustment of various measurements using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus are performed. Can be assigned to each input such as a measurement item and a measurement method in the horizontal direction.

In addition, it goes without saying that the specific configuration and the like can be variously changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in FIG.
1. Although the setting signal generating unit 22, the parameter selecting unit 23, and the parameter adjusting unit 24 are represented by hardware, they may be constituted by hardware having such different functions. Can be realized by software. Although the trackball 18 is used as the position input device in FIG. 1, other position input devices such as a flat pad and a mouse can be used.

[0018]

As described above, according to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, the operations for setting and adjusting parameters and the like are integrated only in the position input device, and the blind operation becomes possible. As described above, the operation is simplified, the operator is released from complicated operations, and the diagnostic efficiency is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing an example of a screen displayed on a monitor device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 11 ultrasonic probe 12 transmission / reception control unit 13 signal processing unit 14 scan conversion unit 15 video output unit 16 central control unit 17 keyboard 18 trackball 21 rotation direction determination unit 22 setting signal generation unit 23 parameter selection unit 24 parameter adjustment unit 31 monitoring device 32 screen 33 Ultrasound image 34 Parameter display

Claims (1)

[Claims] An ultrasonic probe that transmits an ultrasonic wave into a subject and receives a reflected wave in the subject; a transmission / reception control unit that controls transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves by the ultrasonic probe; A signal processing unit that processes a signal received from the transmission / reception control unit, an image display device to which a signal from the signal processing unit is sent, and a position signal that is operated by an operator and that corresponds to the operation direction and operation amount A position input device, a direction determination unit that determines an operation direction from the position signal in at least two directions, a setting signal generation unit that generates a signal corresponding to an operation amount component of the position signal for each determined direction, An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, comprising: a transmission / reception control unit and a control unit that controls the signal processing unit based on a signal from a setting signal generation unit.