JP2002263101A - Ultrasonic diagnostic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To display a reference image indicating the inside of a living body together with an ultrasonic image. SOLUTION: The image 117 of an anatomical drawing which is an illustration image is displayed together with the ultrasonic image 118. A scan mark 115' indicating a wave transmission/reception area is synthesized and displayed on the image 117. a comment 116 can be entered in relation to the image 117. Instead of the image 117 of the anatomical drawing, a schema image generated from a B mode image can be displayed as well. The image of the anatomical drawing can be automatically switched accompanying the position and posture of a probe.

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 apparatus capable of displaying a reference image together with an ultrasonic image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, for example, a body mark is displayed near a B-mode image (two-dimensional tomographic image) as necessary. The body mark is, for example, each part of the human body (chest, abdomen, etc.) by multiple lines
It is an extremely simple graphic image schematically representing the outer shape of. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus has a large number of body marks mounted thereon, and these can be selected by the user.

On the body mark, a probe mark also formed of a simple figure (for example, a thick line) can be displayed. In this case, the position and direction of the probe mark on the display screen are set by the user according to the actual contact position and contact direction of the ultrasonic probe.

[0004]

When observing an ultrasonic image, it is necessary to roughly grasp which section in the living body the ultrasonic image corresponds to from the positional relationship between the body mark and the probe mark. But can't recognize the details. That is, the body mark simply represents the external shape (surface) of a specific part of the human body, and does not represent the inside of the human body. Further, the probe mark indicates the contact position of the ultrasonic probe, and cannot represent the position or inclination of the actual ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving area (scanning surface). In particular, when the reproduced ultrasonic image or the printed ultrasonic image is observed at a later date, the above-described problem becomes significant.

[0005] After the ultrasonic diagnosis is performed, an inspection report is created. Specifically, a printed ultrasonic image is pasted on the inspection report, and a schematic diagram (a conceptual diagram for explaining the ultrasonic image) is drawn by hand, and a comment is written therein. You. Since such work was performed manually, it was very complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has as its object to enable more detailed guidance display with an ultrasonic image.

Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily specify an ultrasonic diagnostic site.

Another object of the present invention is to enable an inspection report to be created on a display screen of an apparatus.

[0009]

(1) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an ultrasonic probe which transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from a tissue inside a living body and outputs a received signal. An ultrasonic image forming unit that forms an ultrasonic image of the tissue based on the received signal; a reference image output unit that outputs an auxiliary reference image representing the tissue; and the reference image together with the ultrasonic image And a display means for displaying.

According to the above configuration, an auxiliary reference image is displayed together with the ultrasonic image, and by observing the reference image, the inside of the living body can be auxiliary observed. The conventional body mark is merely a simple figure showing the outer shape of the subject, but the reference image represents a tissue inside the living body (including a tissue to be diagnosed or its surrounding tissue). A plurality of reference images may be displayed at the same time, or a plurality of reference images in which the degree of detail changes stepwise may be switched and displayed. The reference image and the ultrasound image are displayed in the same screen, and it is desirable that the former is smaller and the latter is displayed as compared with the latter. In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a main display and an auxiliary display, an ultrasonic image may be displayed on the main display and a reference image may be displayed on the auxiliary display. The ultrasonic image is a B-mode image, a two-dimensional Doppler image, a three-dimensional image, or the like.

(2) To achieve the above object,
The present invention transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from tissues inside a living body,
Thereby, an ultrasonic probe that outputs a reception signal, an ultrasonic image forming unit that forms an ultrasonic image of the tissue based on the reception signal, and a plurality of illustration images schematically representing the inside of a living body are stored. An image database, image selecting means for selecting an illustration image corresponding to the tissue from the image database, and display means for displaying the selected illustration image together with the ultrasonic image.

According to the above configuration, an appropriate illustration image can be selected manually or automatically from a plurality of illustration images, and the illustration image can be displayed together with the ultrasonic image. The illustration image may be a black and white image, but is preferably a color image.

Preferably, the image processing apparatus further includes image processing means for processing the illustration image selected from the image database, and the display means displays the processed illustration image. The processing includes, for example, cutting, changing the shape such as changing the magnification of scaling,
Examples include resolution conversion and color conversion.

Preferably, the image processing means changes the contents of the processing in accordance with a change in a display condition of the ultrasonic image. Here, the display conditions of the ultrasonic image include a change in operation conditions that result in a change in display contents (for example, a change in transmission / reception conditions), in addition to a zoom, a change in display depth, a change in a display area, and the like. . This is the same in the following description.

Preferably, the apparatus further includes scan mark generating means for generating a scan mark for schematically representing a transmission / reception area of an ultrasonic wave on the displayed illustration image, and wherein the scan mark is formed on the selected illustration image. Are composited and displayed.

According to the above configuration, the scan mark is displayed on the illustration image, and the transmission / reception part can be grasped at a glance in relation to the tissue. It is desirable to prepare a plurality of scan marks for each type of probe or electronic scanning method.

Preferably, the scan mark generation means changes a display mode of the scan mark according to a change in a display condition of the ultrasonic image. According to this configuration, the scan range can be displayed more accurately in relation to the illustration image.

Preferably, the apparatus further includes comment entry means for inputting a comment in association with the displayed illustration image in a display screen of the display means. According to this configuration, it is possible to add a comment on the illustration image or in the vicinity thereof without directly entering the ultrasonic image itself, and to add information that supports observation and diagnosis of the ultrasonic image. In particular, when reproducing a recorded ultrasonic image or observing a printed ultrasonic image, such information can be referred to for convenience of diagnosis. The comment includes, for example, the name of each part, a description of the tissue properties, and the like.

Preferably, the apparatus further includes means for changing a display position of the comment in accordance with a change in a display condition of the ultrasonic image. According to the above configuration, it is possible to maintain the positional relationship between the illustration image and the comment by changing the display position of the comment following the change of the display condition.

Preferably, the illustration image is a color anatomical diagram. The color anatomical diagram is preferably a diagram having a three-dimensional expression, and it is desirable to hold a plurality of illustration images in which the size of the imaging range varies stepwise.

(3) To achieve the above object,
The present invention transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from tissues inside a living body,
Accordingly, an ultrasonic probe that outputs a reception signal, a detection unit that detects coordinate information about the ultrasonic probe, and an ultrasonic image forming unit that forms an ultrasonic image of the tissue based on the reception signal And an image database storing a plurality of illustration images schematically representing the inside of the living body,
An image selection unit that selects an illustration image corresponding to the tissue from the image database based on the coordinate information, and a display unit that displays the selected illustration image together with the ultrasonic image. And

According to the above configuration, for example, the spatial position and posture (three-dimensional position, rotation angle around each axis, etc.) of the ultrasonic probe which is in contact with the surface of the living body or inserted into the body cavity are determined. The detected image is automatically selected from the image database according to the detected coordinate information. Therefore, for example, when the ultrasonic probe is moved and scanned, it is possible to sequentially display individual illustration images corresponding to each movement position on the scanning surface.
For example, when transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves from various directions to the heart, it is also possible to automatically select an appropriate illustration image for each direction.

Preferably, the apparatus further includes scan mark generating means for generating a scan mark for schematically representing a transmission / reception area of an ultrasonic wave on the displayed illustration image based on the coordinate information, The scan mark is superimposed and displayed on the image. According to this configuration, it is possible to change the position and shape of the scan mark based on the coordinate information, and to more accurately specify the diagnosis site. In that case, for example, the coordinate system of the illustration image is used as a reference.

Preferably, the image selecting means further selects the illustration image according to the body type of the subject. According to this configuration, even if each subject has a different body shape, an illustration image corresponding to the body shape can be selected, and the ultrasonic diagnostic site can be specified more accurately.

(4) To achieve the above object,
The present invention transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from tissues inside a living body,
Accordingly, an ultrasonic probe that outputs a reception signal, an ultrasonic image forming unit that forms an ultrasonic image of the tissue based on the reception signal, and an illustration image schematically representing the inside of a living body are obtained from an external device. And display means for displaying the illustration image along with the ultrasonic image.

According to the above configuration, an image existing on the network can be taken into the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and used as a reference image. Therefore, illustration images can be transferred and shared between a plurality of ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses via a network.

(5) In order to achieve the above object,
The present invention transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from tissues inside a living body,
Accordingly, an ultrasonic probe that outputs a received signal, an ultrasonic image forming unit that forms an ultrasonic image of the tissue based on the received signal, and a schema image that forms a schema image based on the ultrasonic image It is characterized by including forming means, and display means for displaying the schema image together with the ultrasonic image.

According to the above configuration, a schema image can be automatically created using the ultrasonic image itself, and the trouble of hand-drawing the figure can be eliminated. The schema image is desirably an image smaller than the ultrasonic image, and is displayed along with the ultrasonic image.

Preferably, the schema image forming means performs at least a reduction process on the ultrasonic image. When performing the reduction process, the resolution may be reduced.

Preferably, the schema image forming means performs at least a luminance inversion process on the ultrasonic image. Preferably, the schema image forming means includes:
At least contrast enhancement processing is performed on the ultrasonic image. Basically, a schema image is not for detailed expression but for expressing a general tissue structure, and it is desirable to perform image conversion suitable for such use.

Desirably, a comment entry means for inputting a comment in association with the schema image in a display screen of the display means is included. In that case, text data may be directly input on the schema image, but a leader line is drawn from a specific portion of the schema image,
A comment may be input first.

Preferably, the apparatus further includes means for changing a display position of the comment in accordance with a change in a display condition of the ultrasonic image. According to this configuration, even if the display condition is changed and the content of the schema image is changed, the position of the comment can be changed to follow the change.

[0033]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration. The probe 10 is a transducer that is used in contact with the body surface of the subject in the present embodiment, and that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves. An array vibrator made up of a plurality of vibrating elements is built in the probe 10. An ultrasonic beam is formed by the array transducer, and a scanning surface is formed by electronically scanning the ultrasonic beam. Here, as the electronic scanning method, for example, various scanning methods such as electronic sector scanning and electronic linear scanning can be cited. In addition, when an ultrasonic beam is two-dimensionally scanned to form a three-dimensional echo data space. The present invention is also applicable to the present invention.

The transmitting section 18 is a circuit for supplying a transmitting signal to a plurality of vibrating elements constituting an array vibrator.
The transmission section 18 functions as a so-called transmission beamformer. The receiving unit 20 is a circuit that performs a phasing addition process on a reception signal output from each of the vibrating elements in the probe 10 and outputs a reception signal after the phasing addition. The receiving section 20 functions as a so-called receiving beamformer. The B mode processing unit 22 includes a receiving unit 20
Is a circuit for executing a process of forming a B-mode image as a two-dimensional tomographic image based on the reception signal output from the B-mode image. The image information of the B-mode image thus formed is D
Output to SC28.

The Doppler processing unit 24 extracts Doppler information included in the received signal output from the receiving unit 20, and executes signal processing for forming a two-dimensional image of a moving body in a living body, particularly, a blood flow. Circuit. Doppler information output from the Doppler processing unit 24, for example, speed information and dispersion information, is D
It is output to SC28.

DSC (Digital Scan Converter) 2
Reference numeral 8 denotes a known circuit having a coordinate conversion function, a data interpolation function, an image synthesis function, and the like. The image data of the ultrasonic image output from the DSC 28
0 is output.

In the present embodiment, the probe 10 is provided with the position sensor section 12 integrally. The position sensor section 12 is constituted by a plurality of magnetic force sensors arranged in different directions for detecting a magnetic field.
The magnetic field generator 14 includes a plurality of magnetic field generators,
As a result, a plurality of different magnetic fields are formed in the space where the probe 10 exists. Therefore, by detecting such a plurality of magnetic fields with a plurality of magnetic field sensors, the coordinates of the probe 10 in a three-dimensional space, the rotation angle around each axis, and the like can be specified from the detection results.
The calculation of such coordinates and angles is performed by the position and orientation measurement unit 16. The position sensor unit 12, the magnetic field generation unit 14, and the position and orientation measurement unit 16 are known per se. In any case, coordinate information indicating the position and orientation of the probe 10 is output to the control unit 26 for various automatic settings. In addition, as a method for detecting the position and the attitude of the probe 10, a method other than the above method can be adopted.

The control section 26 is a means for controlling the operation of each component included in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and in this embodiment, has a display control function. This will be described later in detail. The operation panel 42 is connected to the control unit 26. The operation panel 42 includes, for example, a keyboard and a trackball, and is operated by a user. The communication unit 46 is connected to an external network, and can communicate with an external device connected to the network. In the present embodiment, illustration data of an anatomical chart stored on an external device can be downloaded into the present device.

As will be described later, the schema image forming section 34 is a circuit for forming a schema image by processing a B-mode image. The image data of the schema image is output to the display processing unit 30.

The anatomical chart database (DB) 36 is constituted by a storage unit that stores various types of anatomical chart images representing the inside of the human body. The image is read from the anatomical chart DB 36 and the image is output to the display processing unit 30.

The scan mark forming section 38 is a circuit for forming a scan mark indicating the outer shape of a scanning area described later, and the image data of the scan mark is output to the display processing section 30. The body mark storage unit 40 is a circuit that stores various body marks that represent the external shape of each part of the human body as a simple figure, similarly to a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and when any one of the body marks is selected, The image data is output to the display processing unit 30.

The display processing unit 30 is a circuit for forming a display screen image by synthesizing another image (image) with the ultrasonic image, and outputting the data to the display unit 32. Further, the image information displayed on the display unit 32 can be printed on paper in the printing unit 48, that is, an inspection report can be issued.

Next, a specific configuration and an operation example of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the data structure of the anatomical chart DB 36. As shown in the figure, the image data of each anatomical chart is divided by subject and type in this example, and coordinate information is associated with each image data. For example, if "abdomen" is specified as the subject and "whole" is specified as the type, image data having a file name specified by them is searched, and the image data is displayed as shown in FIG. Output to the processing unit 30.

As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, a large number of anatomical image data having different levels of detail are prepared in a stepwise manner. It can be displayed on the display screen. In this case, for example, the entire surface of the organ inside the living body can be displayed, or a cross section of the organ from a specific direction can be displayed. The coordinate information is information for specifying the coordinate relationship between the image data. As will be described later, when the plurality of image data are sequentially selected with the movement of the probe 10, the coordinate information of the image data is used. Information is referenced. Of course, when the moving direction of the probe 10 is fixedly determined in advance, it is only necessary to add only the information indicating the display order without giving the image information for each image data.

Various modifications of the anatomical chart DB 36 are possible. Incidentally, the anatomical chart DB 36 may be substantially constituted by an external storage device such as a CD-ROM. The image data downloaded from the external device by the control unit 26 is temporarily stored in a storage unit (not shown), and the image data is output to the display processing unit 30 as needed.

FIG. 3 shows a basic form of the scan mark generated by the scan mark forming section 38. As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, a plurality of scan marks (A) to (D) are prepared for a two-dimensional scan, which correspond to each electronic scanning method. In the present embodiment, (E) and (F)
As shown in (3), scan marks in the case where three-dimensional data are captured are also prepared. Of course, when these scan marks are actually displayed as images, the shape of the scan marks is converted in relation to the displayed anatomical image or schema image, as will be described in detail later.

FIG. 4 shows an example of image processing when an illustration image of an anatomical chart is displayed together with an ultrasonic image. First, in the present embodiment, an image of the anatomical chart is selectively output from the anatomical chart DB 36 shown in FIG. 1 by manual selection or automatic selection. It is shown in FIG.

In the display processing unit 30, the original anatomical chart 10
From 0, a portion corresponding to the specific area 102 is cut out by manual specification or automatic specification as necessary. That is indicated by reference numeral 104 in FIG.

On the other hand, an image of any one of the scan marks is output from the scan mark forming section 38 shown in FIG. 1 either manually or automatically. This is represented as the original scan mark 106 in FIG. The display processor 30 corrects the shape of the original scan mark 106 by manual designation or automatic conversion. That is indicated by reference numeral 108 in FIG. The display position of the corrected scan mark 108 is designated manually or automatically.

The display processing unit 30 combines the image including the anatomical chart 104 and the scan mark 108 thus configured with the ultrasonic image, and outputs the combined image image to the display unit 32. Therefore, since the image of the anatomical chart and the scan mark are displayed together with the ultrasonic image, the state of the tissue to be diagnosed and its surroundings can be observed. It can be easily grasped whether the operation is performed in the direction.

In this embodiment, when the display conditions such as the display depth and the display field of view are changed in the state where such display is performed, reference numeral 1 in FIG.
As indicated by reference numeral 10 and reference numeral 112, the content of the display image is changed in accordance with the change of the display condition. In the example indicated by reference numeral 110, for example, when the display depth is reduced, the shape and position of the probe mark 108 are maintained as they are,
On the other hand, the magnification of the anatomical chart has been changed. In the example indicated by reference numeral 112, in the same case as described above, the magnification of the anatomical chart is maintained, and the shape of the scan mark is reduced. It is shown at 114.

According to such automatic display change, there is an advantage that when referring to the image of the anatomical chart, the relationship with the actual diagnosis site can be grasped without error.

FIG. 5 shows a display example in the case of displaying an image of the anatomical chart as described above. As shown in FIG. 5, a color image 117, which is an anatomical chart, is displayed near the B-mode image 118. The color image 117 is an image output from the anatomical chart DB 36, an image obtained by processing the image, or a downloaded image. Also, as shown in FIG. 5, a scan mark 115 ′ representing a scanning surface, which is an ultrasonic wave transmission / reception area, is displayed on the color image 117 in a composite manner.
8 is generated by performing a shape conversion on the scan mark 115 output from the scan mark 115.

In the present embodiment, a comment can be entered as text data on or in association with the image 117, which is indicated by reference numeral 1 in FIG.
Indicated at 16. For example, a leader may be used to enter such a comment,
Text data can also be entered directly on a specific part of the image.

FIG. 5 shows an illustration image showing the surface of the heart as an example of the anatomical chart. Of course, an image of the anatomical chart showing the cross section of the heart is displayed, and the image is scanned on the image in the same manner as described above. The mark 115 'may be combined and displayed.

In FIG. 5, a B-mode image 118 is shown.
Although the image 117 of the anatomical chart having a size slightly smaller than the size of the anatomical chart is shown, it is desirable to display the image 117 of the smaller anatomical chart on a display screen of an actual ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

FIG. 6 shows another display example of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus shown in FIG.

In FIG. 6, a B-mode image 206 is displayed on the display screen 204. This B-mode image 206
Is generated by the B-mode processing unit 22 shown in FIG. 1, and is indicated by reference numeral 200 in FIG. In the present embodiment, the schema image forming unit 34 shown in FIG.
Generates a schema image 202.

More specifically, a schema image 202 is generated by executing image processing such as reduction processing, luminance inversion processing, and contrast enhancement processing on the B-mode image 200. Of course, a schema image may be created using another image processing method.

The thus formed schema image 202
Is the B-mode image 2 on the actual display screen 204.
06 is displayed adjacent to the display area. In FIG. 6, it is indicated by reference numeral 208. Also in this display example, text data 210 can be input as a comment on or associated with the schema image 208.

Thus, according to such a display method, B
When observing the mode image 206, comment 2
By referring to the schema image 208 to which 10 is added, it is possible to facilitate the diagnosis of the tissue, and there is an advantage that by printing such a display screen, the main part of the inspection report can be configured.

As shown in FIG. 6, in this display example, the body mark 21
4 is also displayed, and the body mark 214 is an image output from the body mark storage unit 40 (see FIG. 1). The probe mark 212 can be displayed on the body mark 214 by a known circuit in the display processing unit 30, that is, the position of the probe mark 212 can be used to roughly grasp the contact portion of the probe.

Next, the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the operation in the case where the display screen as shown in FIG. 5 is constructed while performing various settings manually.

In step S101, an organization to be diagnosed is specified using the operation panel 42 or the like. For example, a target such as a heart or a liver is specified. In S102, a scan mark corresponding to the probe 10 actually used or the electronic scanning method actually executed is selected from the scan marks shown in FIG. 3 using the operation panel 42. In this case, for example, a list of scan marks may be displayed on the display screen.

In S103, anatomical charts related to or including the target tissue specified in S101 are searched from the images of the plurality of anatomical charts stored in the anatomical chart DB 36, and a list of these is displayed on the screen. Will be displayed. Therefore, in S104, one of the images is selected by the user. In S105, a cut-out range, a display magnification, and the like in the image selected using the operation panel 42 are specified as necessary. Of course, the image of the anatomical chart output from the anatomical chart DB 36 may be displayed as it is. Further, a position for displaying the information may be selectable by the user.

In S106, the B-mode image and the anatomical image are simultaneously displayed on the display screen (see FIG. 5).
Of course, the displayed ultrasonic image is not limited to the B mode, and may be another ultrasonic image.

In S107, an operation of positioning and an operation of correcting the shape of the temporarily displayed scan mark are performed in S106. This is performed by the user using the operation panel 42 as described above.

In S108, it is determined whether or not to perform the resetting. When the resetting is to be performed, the steps from S103 are executed. On the other hand, when the reset is not performed, S109
The following steps are performed. In S109, the display screen including the ultrasonic image is frozen, that is, brought into a still image state. In S110, the comment is actually input as text data while designating the position for writing the comment using the operation panel 42. The state is shown in FIG. 5 as described above.

In S111 in FIG. 7, it is determined whether or not the display conditions such as the display depth and the display field of view have been changed in the above-described display state. If such changes have been made, S112 is performed. Steps S114 to S114 are executed. In S112, the cut-out range and the display magnification of the anatomical chart are changed as necessary according to the change of the display condition.

In S113, according to the change of the display condition,
The position and shape of the scan mark are changed as needed. That is, when the display conditions are changed, the display content is changed so that the relationship between the image of the anatomical chart and the scan mark matches the relationship between the actual tissue and the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving area. . In S114, the position where the comment is inserted is changed as necessary according to the change of the display condition as described above. Thereby, for example, when the display magnification is changed, the comment can be positioned in the same part before and after the change. In S115, it is determined whether or not to determine the content of the display screen,
When the confirmation operation is performed, the contents of the display screen are stored in the storage device in S116, or output to the printing unit 48 and recorded on paper as necessary.

FIG. 8 shows an operation example in which an image of an anatomical chart is displayed simultaneously with an ultrasonic image based on automatic setting.

In step S201, information for identifying the body type of the subject such as age, sex, weight, etc. (body shape information)
Is obtained. In this case, information registered in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in advance may be obtained, or user input may be performed using the operation panel 42.

In S202, a tissue to be subjected to ultrasonic diagnosis is recognized. For example, when a diagnosis target is registered on the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the information may be recognized, or the user may input a target tissue using the operation panel 42.

In S203, a scan mark is automatically selected by automatically recognizing the probe type or the electronic scanning method. Of course, the scan mark may be manually selected.

In S204, an initial setting of the coordinate system is performed. That is, in order to match the coordinate system of the probe (the coordinate system recognized by the device) with the coordinate system on the living body, for example, the probe 10 is set so that the scanning plane matches a specific section (reference plane) of the living body. The contact position and the contact posture are adjusted by the user. In such a case, a skeleton diagram composed according to the physique information of the subject is displayed on the screen, a reference plane is arbitrarily designated on the skeleton diagram, and the probe 10 is set so that the scanning plane matches the reference plane. May be adjusted, or coordinates matching the scanning plane in the current contact state of the probe 10 may be designated on the skeleton diagram.

In any case, in the initial setting of the coordinate system, various methods can be used as long as each image stored in the anatomical chart DB 36 can be automatically selected according to the position and posture of the probe.

In step S 205, probe coordinate information is generated by the position and orientation measurement unit 16 based on the signal output from the position sensor unit 12, and is output to the control unit 26. In step S206, the control unit selects an appropriate anatomical image from the anatomical diagram DB 36 based on the probe coordinate information, the body shape information, and other information. Then, conditions such as a cutout range and a display magnification for the image are specified.

Similarly, in S207, the control unit 26 instructs the scan mark forming unit 38 to generate a specific scan mark based on the probe coordinate information, the body type information, and other information. The image of the specific scan mark is output from the scan mark forming unit 38 to the display processing unit 30. At the same time, information specifying the display position and the shape of the scan mark is output from the control unit 26 to the display processing unit 30.

In step S208, the display processing unit 30, which has received various instructions from the control unit 26, forms an image of the anatomical chart to be synthesized and displayed, and forms an image of the scan mark to be synthesized and displayed. A B-mode image is synthesized and displayed together with those images.

In step S209, steps S205 to S208 are repeatedly executed until the user performs a freeze operation. That is, the position of the probe 10 on the surface of the subject or the posture of the probe 10 is changed. In each case, an image of the anatomical chart corresponding to the actually formed transmission / reception wavefront is selected and displayed, and an appropriate scan image is formed and displayed accordingly.

When the user performs a freeze operation in S209, the steps from S109 shown in FIG. 7 are executed.

FIG. 9 shows a processing example in the case where the schema image as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed together with the ultrasonic image. In S301, based on the B-mode image,
A schema image is formed by the schema image forming unit 34. In S302, a schema image is synthesized and displayed together with the ultrasonic image.

In S303, it is determined whether or not a freeze operation has been performed by the user. If it is determined that the freeze operation has been performed, in S304, the user enters a comment on the schema image. Specifically, text data is input while designating the entry position on the display screen. In S305, it is determined whether or not the display condition has been changed. If the display condition has been changed, in S306, the position where the comment is displayed is changed in accordance with the change in the display condition. After the display condition is changed, the position of the comment is appropriately corrected so that the correspondence between the entry part and the comment before and after the change of the condition is maintained.

In step S307, it is determined whether or not the display content has been determined. If the display content has been determined, the display content is stored in a storage device (not shown) in step S308. Will be recorded. When displaying a scan mark in the above embodiment, if it is necessary to distinguish between the front side and the back side,
An additional mark or the like indicating the direction may be displayed. Although the body mark is not displayed in the display example shown in FIG. 5, the body mark may be displayed in such a display example as in the related art.

In the above-described embodiment, only one reference image is displayed together with the ultrasonic image. However, a plurality of reference images whose display magnification is changed in a stepwise manner may be displayed.

[0089]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Guidance display can be performed together with the ultrasonic diagnostic image. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to facilitate observation of an ultrasonic image.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of an anatomical chart DB.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the forms of various scan marks.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an anatomical chart cutting process and a scan mark synthesizing process.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining simultaneous display of an ultrasonic image and an anatomical image.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining simultaneous display of an ultrasonic image and a schema image.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 probe, 12 position sensor section, 14 magnetic field generation section, 16 position and orientation measurement section, 18 transmission section, 20 reception section, 26 control section (display control section), 30 display processing section,
32 display unit, 34 schema image forming unit, 36 anatomical chart database, 38 scan mark forming unit, 40
Body mark forming unit.

Claims (19)

[Claims] An ultrasonic probe that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from a tissue inside a living body and outputs a received signal, and an ultrasonic wave that forms an ultrasonic image of the tissue based on the received signals. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: an image forming unit; a reference image output unit that outputs an auxiliary reference image representing the tissue; and a display unit that displays the reference image together with the ultrasonic image. 2. An ultrasonic probe that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from a tissue inside a living body and outputs a received signal, and an ultrasonic wave that forms an ultrasonic image of the tissue based on the received signals. Image forming means, an image database storing a plurality of illustration images schematically representing the inside of a living body, image selection means for selecting an illustration image corresponding to the tissue from the image database, and the ultrasonic image together with the selection. And a display means for displaying the illustrated illustration image. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising image processing means for processing the illustration image selected from the image database, wherein the display processing means displays the processed illustration image on the display means. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 4. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said image processing means changes the contents of said processing in accordance with a change in a display condition of said ultrasonic image. 5. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: a scan mark generation unit configured to generate a scan mark for schematically representing a transmission / reception area of an ultrasonic wave on the displayed illustration image; An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, wherein the scan mark is synthesized and displayed on an illustration image. 6. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said scan mark generating means changes a display mode of said scan mark in accordance with a change in a display condition of said ultrasonic image. apparatus. 7. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: comment input means for inputting a comment in association with the displayed illustration image in a display screen of the display means. . 8. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising: means for changing a display position of the comment in accordance with a change in a display condition of the ultrasonic image. 9. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the illustration image is a color anatomical chart. 10. An ultrasonic probe that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from a tissue inside a living body and outputs a reception signal thereby, a detecting unit that detects coordinate information about the ultrasonic probe, and An ultrasonic image forming means for forming an ultrasonic image of the tissue based on a received signal; an image database storing a plurality of illustration images schematically representing the inside of a living body; and An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: image selecting means for selecting an illustration image corresponding to the tissue; and display means for displaying the selected illustration image together with the ultrasonic image. 11. The apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising: a scan mark generation unit configured to generate a scan mark for schematically representing an ultrasonic wave transmission / reception area on the displayed illustration image based on the coordinate information. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, wherein the scan mark is combined and displayed on the selected illustration image. 12. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said image selecting means further selects said illustration image according to the body type of the subject. 13. An ultrasonic probe that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from a tissue inside a living body and outputs a received signal, and an ultrasonic wave that forms an ultrasonic image of the tissue based on the received signals. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: an image forming unit; a unit that acquires an illustration image schematically representing the inside of a living body from an external device; and a display unit that displays the illustration image together with the ultrasonic image. . 14. An ultrasonic probe that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from a tissue inside a living body and outputs a received signal, and an ultrasonic wave that forms an ultrasonic image of the tissue based on the received signals. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: an image forming unit; a schema image forming unit that forms a schema image based on the ultrasonic image; and a display unit that displays the schema image together with the ultrasonic image. 15. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said schema image forming means executes at least a reduction process on said ultrasonic image. 16. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said schema image forming means executes at least a luminance inversion process on said ultrasonic image. 17. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said schema image forming means executes at least contrast enhancement processing on said ultrasonic image. 18. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising: comment input means for inputting a comment in association with the schema image in a display screen of the display means. 19. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising: means for changing a display position of the comment in accordance with a change in a display condition of the ultrasonic image.