JP2002355244A - Ultrasonic diagnostic system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ultrasonic diagnostic system which can display a warning message that the system is in remote operation during the remote operation. SOLUTION: When this ultrasonic diagnostic system is remote-operated by external equipment via a communication control part 8, a message display part 10 displays a warning message that the system is in remote operation by information inputted via the communication control part 8 from external equipment and an operation control part 9 limits input operation at the ultrasonic diagnostic system side. A result of failure inspection such as good/bad of an image, etc., is displayed on a message display part 10 and an operator at the ultrasonic diagnostic system side can inspect failure of the ultrasonic diagnostic system.

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 which transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from an object and displays an ultrasonic tomographic image or a blood flow image of a diagnostic site of the object. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-137243. As shown in FIG. 6, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus mainly includes a probe 1 for transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic wave to and from a subject, a probe 1 for driving the probe 1 to generate an ultrasonic wave, and receiving a reflected echo. An ultrasonic transmitting / receiving unit 2 for processing signals, a cine memory 3 for recording a plurality of frames of the signals from the ultrasonic transmitting / receiving unit 2 in time series, and writing data read from the cine memory 3 for each scanning line of the ultrasonic beam to obtain image data. , A display unit 5 for displaying an output signal from the scan converter 4 as an image, a control unit 6 for controlling each of the above components, and output data directly output from the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 2. Or a switch 7 for selecting one of the output data from the cine memory 3 and a communication control unit 8 for controlling data communication to the outside via the control unit 6. .

The communication control unit 8 controls transmission and reception of communication between the image in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, various data such as calculation results, and control programs.

[0004] Next, a procedure for communication with the outside will be described. First, the communication control unit 8 receives and records an external interrupt request such as a remote failure diagnosis. Subsequently, the communication control unit 8 determines whether or not the accepted interrupt request is a regular interrupt request. If the accepted interrupt request is a regular request, the communication control unit 8 transmits the contents of the interrupt processing to the control unit 6. The control unit 6 determines the control classification based on the content of the received processing, and controls the relevant part.

Next, an example of a conventional software version upgrade by remote control will be described. In the case of software version upgrade, a communication start request is first made from an external computer, and then a communication start request signal is output to a common bus. Subsequently, the communication control unit 8 receives the communication information sent from the external computer, and upon receiving the start request signal, gives up the bus line and stands by in a state of waiting for reception. Next, the communication control unit 8 detects information indicating that the software is upgraded. next,
The detected information is sent to the control unit 6, and the control unit 6 suspends, aborts, and terminates the process being executed according to the priority, and prepares for software transfer acceptance.

[0006]

By the way, in the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the operation from the key panel is not accepted when preparing for the transfer acceptance of the software, and further, the software is transmitted to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus side. Since it is not displayed that the transmission is in progress, it has not been possible to determine whether the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus cannot be operated due to a failure or cannot be operated due to the remote operation.

Similarly, when image data is transferred by remote control, it is necessary to prohibit the use of the ultrasonic apparatus or to prohibit the use of a part of the processing, but this is not displayed. Was. Therefore, when the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is used for diagnosis, it has not been possible to determine whether the function is normal.

Further, when some functions are prohibited, the user must operate while judging whether or not the functions can be replaced by other functions, which is very inconvenient. Further, such an operation may cause misdiagnosis. Similarly, when the failure diagnosis is performed remotely, the function under inspection is prohibited, and it is not possible to determine whether the device is normal. This is very inconvenient, and may cause erroneous diagnosis.

[0009] In addition, diagnosis by remote operation, remote failure diagnosis, and the like have been put into practical use. For example, when remote operation is performed, use of the device is prohibited, and the device is constructed only for the convenience of remote processing. I was

Further, in the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, when a remote diagnostic operation is performed on a remote ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the user of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus can cooperate with the failure diagnosis. I couldn't do that.

For example, firstly, it is not possible to determine whether or not the image quality has deteriorated because there is no means for grasping the image quality of the ultrasonic tomographic image. Secondly, it is necessary to grasp the density resolution of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. Thirdly, there is no means for performing the measurement, and thirdly, no means for grasping the spatial resolution of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is provided.

Further, these information are not displayed on the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus side, and it is determined whether the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus has a large crosstalk due to a failure or cannot be operated due to a remote operation. Could not. For this reason, when using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for diagnosis, it is necessary to operate while judging whether the function is normal or not, which is very inconvenient, and there is a possibility that misdiagnosis is induced.

Furthermore, in the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, when remotely operating an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus at a remote place, first, whether the remote operation is investigating the cause of the failure of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus? No, secondly, whether the state of failure of the ultrasonic diagnostic device is being grasped, thirdly, whether the failed ultrasonic diagnostic device is being repaired, fourthly, ultrasonic diagnosis Information such as whether or not the software of the apparatus is being upgraded, and fifthly, whether or not data such as images are being transmitted or received, is not displayed on the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus side. Therefore, it was not possible to determine whether the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus could not be operated due to a failure, or could not be operated due to remote operation. In this case, when urgently using an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for diagnosis due to an emergency, etc., it is necessary to operate while judging whether the function is normal or not, which is very inconvenient and may cause misdiagnosis. there were.

An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of displaying a warning message indicating that remote control is being performed during remote control.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of cooperating with a user of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for failure diagnosis when performing a remote diagnosis.

[0016]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 of the present application has communication control means for communicating with an external device, and communicates from the external device via the communication control means. In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus which is remotely operated based on information transmitted and received, limiting means for restricting operation on the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus side during remote operation by the external device, and information indicating that remote operation is being performed during the remote operation And a display means for displaying the warning message.

According to the present invention, the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is restricted during the remote operation, and a warning message indicating that the remote operation is being performed is displayed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having communication control means for communicating with an external device and remotely operating based on information transmitted and received from the external device via the communication control means. In the device, display means for displaying an operation procedure for acquiring an image of a phantom or the like for failure diagnosis during a remote failure diagnosis operation by the external device, and an image acquired in accordance with the operation procedure displayed on the display means. Means for transmitting to the external device via communication control means.

According to the present invention, an operation procedure for acquiring an image of a phantom or the like for failure diagnosis during a remote failure diagnosis operation is displayed, and the image acquired in accordance with the displayed operation procedure is transmitted via the communication control means. Send to an external device. As a result, necessary data can be collected according to the screen instruction, and cooperation for failure diagnosis can be obtained.

In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic wave to and from a subject and displaying an ultrasonic tomographic image or a blood flow image of a diagnostic site in the sample, a remote ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is used to remotely control the data. , And software installation, image quality can be determined by remote failure diagnosis.

Furthermore, image data transfer, software version upgrade, failure diagnosis, etc. are performed by remote control, and a warning message to that effect is displayed during the operation to restrict the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body. With the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can be used, a message indicating the procedure of using a phantom or the like can be displayed during a failure diagnosis, and the result of the inspection can be determined in real time at a remote place according to the display.

Further, failure diagnosis is performed by remote control,
It is also possible to display a warning message indicating that the inspection function does not function sufficiently during the execution of the failure diagnosis or when it is determined that a failure has occurred, thereby restricting the operation of the inspection function of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body.

Further, in addition to the method implemented by hardware, an image display device for displaying an output signal as an image, a control unit for controlling each of the above-described components, and a control unit in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus via the control unit In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising a communication control unit for controlling communication of data to the outside, while remotely controlling the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a remote operation is being performed on a display screen of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus equipped with an algorithm for displaying a warning message to the effect can obtain the same effect.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention mainly includes a probe 1, an ultrasonic transmitting / receiving unit 2, a cine memory 3, a scan converter 4, an image display device 5, a control unit 6, , A switch 7 and a communication control unit 8. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus transmits / receives ultrasonic waves to / from a subject and displays an ultrasonic tomographic image or a blood flow image of a diagnostic site of the subject.

The probe 1 has one or a plurality of transducers in its interior (not shown) which are sources of ultrasonic waves and receive reflected echoes from the inside of a living body. Beam scanning is performed, and ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received inside the subject.

When transmitting an ultrasonic beam from the probe 1 into the subject, the ultrasonic receiving section 2 includes a known transmission pulsar and a transmission delay circuit for forming the ultrasonic beam, and a probe. A receiving amplifier for amplifying the reflected echo signals received by the transducers of the stylus 1, a receiving delay circuit for forming a received ultrasonic beam by adding and aligning the phases of the received reflected echo signals, and an adder And a phasing circuit comprising: The ultrasonic receiving unit 2 drives the probe 1 to generate an ultrasonic wave and processes a received reflected echo signal.

The cine memory 3 records a plurality of frames of the signal from the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 2 in chronological order. The scan converter 4 forms image data by writing the data read from the cine memory 3 for each scanning line of the ultrasonic beam, and converts the data into, for example, B-mode tomographic image data.

The image display device 5 comprises, for example, a television monitor for inputting and displaying B-mode tomographic image data, and displays an output signal from the scan converter 4 as an image. The control unit 6 includes an operation control unit 9 for controlling the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and a message display unit 10. The control unit 6 has a central processing unit (CPU) therein, and various control data and control software. Is stored. The control unit 6
The operation of each of the above components is controlled.

The switching unit 7 is provided at the subsequent stage of the cine memory 3 and selects either the output data directly from the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 2 or the output data from the cine memory 3 and sends the selected data to the scan converter 4. . Communication control unit 8
Controls communication of data in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus to the outside via the control unit 6.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing at the time of remote control of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention having the operation control section 9 and the message display section 10.

When remote control is performed from an external device (not shown) via the communication control unit 8, the message display unit 10 displays a warning message indicating that remote control is being performed based on information input from the external device via the communication control unit 8. Is displayed (steps 100 and 102), and the operation control section 9 restricts the input operation on the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus side (step 104).

Subsequently, a reference image and information on an operation procedure for acquiring an image of a phantom or the like for failure diagnosis corresponding to the reference image are input from the external device via the communication control unit 8 and a message display unit. The operation procedure is displayed on 10 (step 106). Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the input reference image is displayed on the image display device 5 (step 108).

The operator of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus performs an operation for acquiring an image of a phantom or the like for failure diagnosis according to the operation procedure displayed on the message display unit 10.
Note that the operation control unit 9 is restricted in the input operation, but the operation can be performed. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus acquires images for failure diagnosis according to the above operation (step 1).
10). The collected image output from the scan converter 4 is displayed on the image display device 5 in parallel with the reference image as shown in FIG. Thus, the operator of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus can perform the failure diagnosis of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus by comparing the reference image with the collected failure diagnosis image (step 112).

On the other hand, the collected images for failure diagnosis are as follows:
The data is transferred to the external device via the control unit 6 and the communication control unit 8. The person performing the failure diagnosis on the external device side compares the transferred failure diagnosis image with the reference image, and transmits the comparison result to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus side. As a result, the result of the failure diagnosis such as the quality of the image is displayed on the message display unit 10, and the operator of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is notified of the result of the failure diagnosis (step 114). It should be noted that the external device for performing the failure diagnosis has means for grasping the concentration distribution of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, means for grasping the spatial resolution, and the like, and is capable of performing advanced failure diagnosis.

Next, another embodiment of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing at the time of remote operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention having the operation control unit 9 and the message display unit 10.

When remote control is performed from an external device via the communication control unit 8, as shown in FIG. A warning message to the effect is displayed (steps 200 and 202), and the operation control unit 9 restricts the input operation on the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus side (step 204).

If the remote control is to be performed continuously, the processing of steps 202 to 206 is repeated. When the remote operation is terminated, the message display unit 10 deletes the warning message indicating that the remote operation is being performed by the information input from the external device via the communication control unit 8 (step 20).
8), the operation control unit 9 releases the restriction on the input operation on the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus side (step 210).

In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention, a warning message indicating that the remote operation is being performed is displayed on the screen of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus while the remote ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is being remotely operated. By displaying, it is possible to determine whether or not the remote operation is being performed on the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus side. Also,
By restricting input operations on the ultrasonic diagnostic device while a warning message indicating that remote operation is being performed is displayed on the display screen, input operations on the ultrasonic diagnostic device for remote control are prohibited. Can be determined.

Further, in the present invention, image data transfer, software version upgrade, etc. are performed by remote control, and a warning message to that effect is displayed on the display screen during the execution of the processing, thereby restricting the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. By that
It is also possible to determine what state the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is in.

Further, in the present invention, during remote operation via the communication control unit, the operation procedure and the like are displayed, and the reference image is displayed in parallel with the output signal from the scan converter, so that the image quality can be determined without any individual difference. I can do it.

Further, in the present invention, when performing the fault diagnosis by remote operation, if the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is performing the fault diagnosis or is determined to be faulty, the inspection function is sufficiently displayed on the display screen of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. Display a warning message that the function does not work. Then, by restricting the operation of the inspection function on the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus side, it is possible to determine whether the inspection function of the apparatus is normal or faulty, and to grasp the state of the apparatus. It can avoid triggering.

Further, according to the present invention, a message of a procedure for using a phantom or the like is displayed on the display screen of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus during the execution of the failure diagnosis by remote operation, and the inspection function is provided according to the display. Thus, the time during which the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus cannot be operated during the remote operation can be effectively used.

[0044]

As described above, according to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, the same parallel display image as that of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus can be obtained by remote control, so that the operator can collect data according to the screen instructions. The image quality can be determined in real time. Further, data in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus can be communicated with an external device, and image quality evaluation data can be centrally managed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing image quality determination processing at the time of remote control of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display example of a warning message indicating that remote operation is being performed and a reference image to be compared;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing at the time of remote control of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of a warning message indicating that remote control is being performed.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Probe, 2 ... Ultrasonic transmission / reception part, 3 ... Cine memory, 4
... scan converter, 5 ... image display device, 6 ... control unit, 7 ... switch, 8 ... communication control unit, 9 ... operation control unit, 1
0: Message display area

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having communication control means for communicating with an external device and remotely controlled based on information transmitted and received from said external device via said communication control means. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: limiting means for restricting operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus during remote operation; and display means for displaying a warning message indicating that remote operation is being performed during the remote operation. . 2. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having communication control means for communicating with an external device and remotely operating based on information transmitted and received from said external device via said communication control means, wherein: Display means for displaying an operation procedure for acquiring an image of a phantom or the like for failure diagnosis during a remote failure diagnosis operation, and an image acquired in accordance with the operation procedure displayed on the display means via the communication control means. Means for transmitting to an external device.