JP2003135459A - Method for judging ultrasonic probe state and ultrasonic diagnostic instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect the proper contact of the ultrasonic probe of an ultrasonic diagnostic instrument with a prescribed part. SOLUTION: In an ultrasonic diagnostic method, the ultrasonic probe 20 having ultrasonic sensors with a plurality of channels is put on the prescribed region 30 of a subject, ultrasonic wave is transmitted toward the region, the reflection signal of the ultrasonic wave is received and the photographed image of the prescribed region 30 is formed based on the received signal. In addition to a normal processing for the photographed image, data which indicates correlation is calculated from the reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors with the channels in the ultrasonic probe 20 and, then, the contact state of the ultrasonic sensors with the prescribed region 30 is judged by referring to the calculated data which indicates correlation. Data indicating correlation is obtained by dividing the whole channel ultrasonic sensors of the probe 20 into a plurality of blocks with a plurality of ultrasonic sensors as one block and calculating the average value of the reception signals in the ultrasonic sensors in each block. When the average value of the reception signal in each block is lower than the average value of the adjacent block, the ultrasonic sensors of the block are judged not to be sufficiently brought into contact with the prescribed region 30. The result is displayed in a display means 2 in an easily recognizable state.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic method and apparatus, and more particularly, to determine a condition such as whether a probe used for ultrasonic diagnosis is in proper contact with a predetermined part of a subject. , Ultrasonic probe state determination method,
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that implements it.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a doctor or a technician (hereinafter referred to as an operator) ultrasonically photographs an ultrasonic probe (hereinafter also referred to as a probe or a probe) for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves. When pressed against the body surface of the person (subject) to be received, ultrasonic waves are transmitted from the probe to a predetermined part of the subject, the reflected ultrasonic waves are received, the received signal is processed, and the signal is processed. The processed captured image is displayed on the display device in front of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. An operator or a doctor diagnoses the state of the imaged region of the subject from the imaged image.

Although various methods of imaging an ultrasonic imaging object (predetermined portion) using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus have been proposed and put into practical use, how to use a probe of an operator who uses the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus becomes a problem. Sometimes. A frequently occurring problem in the usage of the probe by the operator is poor contact or insufficient contact of the probe with a predetermined part of the subject. As the poor contact of the probe with the predetermined portion of the subject, for example, while the probe has an ultrasonic sensor of 192 channels, for example, the ultrasonic sensor of 10 channels at the periphery of the probe is appropriately applied to the predetermined portion of the subject. It happens that there is no contact. Such partial contact failure usually occurs due to the complexity of the shape such as the body surface of the subject to be subjected to ultrasonic imaging, individual differences among operators who use the probe, and the like.

When a contact failure or an insufficient contact state of the ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of channels to a predetermined portion of the subject occurs, the transmission signal and / or the reception signal of the ultrasonic sensors of those channels are lowered, and the ultrasonic sensors are not sufficient. I can't get a good picture. The operator can observe the photographed image displayed on the display device of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with the naked eye, and if the photographed image is judged to be insufficient, the operator can perform scanning with the probe again.
However, repeating the scanning by the probe many times has a problem that the inspection time by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus becomes long. In addition, when the operator observes the captured image displayed on the display device and determines whether or not the captured image is insufficient, there is a difference in the determination criteria depending on the operator, and when a doctor later diagnoses the captured image. There is a possibility that the photographed image will be insufficient.

In addition, when the ultrasonic sensor of the probe is applied to a predetermined portion of the subject to be imaged by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the probe is moved or the predetermined portion of the subject is moved, so that the above-mentioned moment is described. When a poor contact or an insufficient contact state occurs, it may happen that the operator does not recognize such a momentary poor contact or insufficient contact state. In such a case, when a doctor makes a detailed diagnosis of a captured image, it may occur that the captured image is of low quality due to such poor contact or insufficient contact. In such cases, retesting may be necessary.

Further, for example, in the case of an ultrasonic examination in which a contrast medium is administered to a subject, how large an ultrasonic signal can be converged on a focal point or how much uniform sound pressure can be set. Although important, depending on the degree of experience of the operator or the operation method of the operator, use of a probe that does not meet such a purpose may occur.

In order to overcome such a problem, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1-110349 discloses an ophthalmic ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in which a contact state between an ultrasonic probe and a cornea to be brought into contact with the cornea of an eye to be examined. We propose a method to detect the error, improve the measurement accuracy, and display the alignment accurately. However, the method proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-110349 is limited to an ophthalmic ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and cannot be applied to a normal ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus used for ultrasonic imaging of organs. Moreover, since an additional means such as a piezoelectric element is used to detect the contact state, the device configuration becomes complicated and the cost becomes high.

[0008]

As described above, when the probe is actually used to photograph a predetermined portion of the subject, a part or all of the probe appropriately contacts the body surface of the subject. No effective method for properly detecting whether or not there has been proposed.

In addition to the poor contact of the probe, even if the probe is properly brought into contact with the body surface of a predetermined region of the subject, if a strong reflector such as a rib is present in front of the predetermined region of the subject, The captured image in that direction tends to be dark. In such a case, in the past, normally, a probe was used with a large opening, ultrasonic waves were transmitted and received from many ultrasonic sensors, ultrasonic signals from other directions were received, and a captured image was somehow managed, The device is designed such that the signal processing circuit of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus performs signal processing such as gain adjustment on the captured image to display the captured image on the display device of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. However, when a doctor later diagnoses an image captured by such a method, it may happen that the symptom cannot be accurately diagnosed.

An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic probe state determination method capable of detecting that the probe is appropriately contacting a predetermined portion of the subject during ultrasonic imaging. Another object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that implements the ultrasonic probe state determination method.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, an ultrasonic probe having a plurality of channels of ultrasonic sensors is driven to transmit ultrasonic waves to a predetermined portion of a subject, and the reflected signals are received and received. In an ultrasonic imaging method for generating a captured image of a predetermined portion of the subject based on a signal, performing signal processing of the captured image of the predetermined portion of the subject generated based on the received signal, the ultrasonic probe Data indicating a correlation is calculated from the reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of channels, and the ultrasonic sensor of a plurality of channels of the ultrasonic probe to the predetermined part of the subject is referred to with reference to the calculated data indicating the correlation. An ultrasonic probe state determination method is provided, which comprises determining the contact state of the ultrasonic probe. Preferably, the sound ray data in the ultrasonic sound ray direction in the captured image are summed up, and when the summed value is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the ultrasonic sensor has a poor contact.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for carrying out the above ultrasonic probe state determination method.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, an ultrasonic probe having a plurality of channels of ultrasonic sensors is driven to transmit ultrasonic waves to a predetermined portion of a subject, and the reflected signals are received and received. In an ultrasonic imaging method for generating a captured image of a predetermined portion of the subject based on a signal, in the normal imaging mode, performing signal processing of a captured image of the predetermined portion of the subject generated based on the received signal, In the test imaging mode, (a) signal processing of a captured image of a predetermined portion of the subject generated based on the received signal is performed, and (b) reception of ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of channels driven by the ultrasonic probe. Calculate the data showing the correlation from the signal,
(C) An ultrasonic probe, wherein the contact state of ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of channels of the ultrasonic probe with respect to a predetermined portion of the subject is determined with reference to the data indicating the calculated correlation. A state determination method is provided.

Preferably, the plurality of channels of the ultrasonic sensor in the ultrasonic probe are divided into a plurality of blocks in advance with the plurality of ultrasonic sensors as one block, and in the test photographing mode, (aa) A plurality of ultrasonic sensors in each block are simultaneously driven, and (bb) signal processing of a captured image of a predetermined portion of the subject generated based on a received signal of the driven ultrasonic sensor is performed (cc) )
Calculate the data showing the correlation from the received signals of the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels driven by the ultrasonic probe,
(Dd) The process of determining the contact state of the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels of the ultrasonic probe with respect to the predetermined region of the subject by referring to the data indicating the calculated correlation is performed for the ultrasonic sensors of all blocks. It is characterized by performing.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for carrying out the above ultrasonic probe state determination method.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, an ultrasonic probe having an ultrasonic sensor having a plurality of channels is used to transmit ultrasonic waves to a predetermined portion of a subject, receive reflected signals thereof, and receive the received signals. In the ultrasonic imaging method for generating a captured image of a predetermined portion of the subject based on the above, a plurality of ultrasonic sensors of all the plurality of channels of the ultrasonic probe are previously provided as one block for each of the predetermined number of the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels. Divide into blocks and in the test shooting mode,
(A) The ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of channels in one block divided into the plurality of blocks are simultaneously driven, ultrasonic waves are transmitted from the driven ultrasonic sensors to a predetermined part of the subject, and reflected waves thereof Is received by all the ultrasonic sensors in the ultrasonic probe, (b) signal processing of a captured image of a predetermined portion of the subject generated based on the received signal is performed, and (c) the ultrasonic probe Calculate the data indicating the correlation from the received signal of the ultrasonic sensor of the driven multiple channels, the plurality of channels of the ultrasonic probe to the predetermined portion of the subject with reference to the data indicating the calculated correlation The contact state of the ultrasonic sensor is judged, (d) the received signals of the ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of channels which are not driven by the ultrasonic probe are signal-processed, and the ultrasonic reflection signal is analyzed. I) to the process (d), and carrying out all of the ultrasonic sensor, ultrasonic probe state determining method is provided.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for carrying out the above ultrasonic probe state determination method.

Preferably, a photographed image of a predetermined portion of the subject is displayed in a photographed image display area of a display means, and a display showing whether or not the contact state of the ultrasonic sensor of the ultrasonic probe is good is displayed in the photographed image display area. Is displayed on the ultrasonic probe status display portion adjacent to.

Any of the following methods can be used to calculate the data indicating the correlation and determine the state.

(1) The data showing the correlation is calculated for the data after the phase adjustment processing is performed on the reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels of the ultrasonic probe. (2) The ultrasonic sensors of all the plurality of channels of the ultrasonic probe are divided into a plurality of blocks, and the reception signal unit of the ultrasonic sensor in each block is measured. (3) The average value of the reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels in each block is calculated, and when the average value of the reception signals of the blocks is lower than the average value of the reception signals of the adjacent blocks, It is determined that the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels are not sufficiently in contact with the predetermined part of the subject. (4) The average value of the reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels in each block is calculated, and another continuous block having the same or almost equal average value is detected, and the average value is calculated. When the average value of the received signals of successive blocks that have detected that they are equal or approximately equal to each other is lower than the average value of the received signals of other adjacent continuous blocks or the average value of the received signals of one adjacent block, It is determined that the ultrasonic sensors in the continuous blocks are not sufficiently in contact with the predetermined part of the subject.

More preferably, the state determination result obtained by the processing in the test photographing mode is recorded in the memory and / or displayed on the display means in association with the ultrasonic photographed image data. .

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of an ultrasonic probe state determination method of the present invention and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for carrying out the method will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 illustrated in FIG.
Is an operation mode setting means 12 and a normal photographing processing means 14.
And either the test photographing processing means 16 or the state determination means 22, the ultrasonic probe driving means 18, the ultrasonic probe 20, and the display means 24.

The normal photographing processing means 14 performs a normal photographing process using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 which has been performed by an operator who has used the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 so far.
The details of the processing will be described later with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, for example. The state determination unit 22 is a unit added by the present invention, and after the processing of the normal imaging processing unit 14, determines whether the ultrasonic sensor of the ultrasonic probe 20 described later is in contact with the predetermined portion 30. As described above, in the present invention, the normal photographing processing means 14 and the state determination means 22 operate in combination. In such a form, the test photographing processing means 16 is unnecessary.
That is, when the state determination means 22 is used, the test photographing processing means 16 is unnecessary, and when the test photographing processing means 16 is used, the state determination means 22 is unnecessary. In addition, when the state determination such as the contact failure of the ultrasonic sensor of the ultrasonic probe 20 is not performed, the state determination unit 22 is not used.

On the other hand, the test photographing processing means 16 is a means added by the present invention, and in the test photographing mode when the normal photographing mode and the test photographing mode are set, the ultrasonic sensor of the ultrasonic probe 20 is covered. A process of testing whether or not the predetermined portion 30 of the sample is properly contacted is performed. For the detailed processing contents, for example,
This will be described later with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. At this time, the normal photographing processing means 14 operates in the normal photographing mode. However, in this case, the state determination means 22 is not used.

The operation mode setting means 12 drives the normal photographing processing means 14 in the normal photographing mode and the test photographing processing means 16 in the test photographing mode when the normal photographing mode and the test photographing mode are set. For example, when the operator sets the operation mode setting switch (not shown) on the operation panel portion of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10, the setting mode is detected and set. The operation mode setting means 12 or the normal photographing processing means 14 is driven according to the selected mode. The operation mode setting means 12 is also a means added by the present invention.

The ultrasonic probe driving means 18 and the ultrasonic probe 20 are existing means of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10, and are the normal photographing processing means 14 and the test photographing processing means 1.
6 used by both. The ultrasonic probe 20 will be described later with reference to FIG.

In the present embodiment, the display means 24 is, for example, a CRT display device provided on the front surface of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10. The display unit 24 displays the photographed image by the normal photographing processing unit 14 and the state display by the state judging unit 22, or the test photographing processing unit 1.
It is used for both the status display by 6.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between a plurality of channels of ultrasonic sensors of an ultrasonic probe used in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 and a block configuration. In this example, the ultrasonic probe 20 is composed of an ultrasonic sensor of 192 channels as a whole, and is divided into a plurality of blocks for test imaging in the test imaging processing means 16 described later. In this example, one block is a 16-channel ultrasonic sensor, and is divided into 12 blocks as a whole.

Determination of ultrasonic probe state according to the first embodiment
Processing FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the operation of one embodiment of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 of the present invention and the first embodiment of the ultrasonic probe state determination method of the present invention. That is, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the processing of the ultrasonic probe state determination method performed using the normal imaging processing means 14 and the state determination means 22 of FIG. in this case,
The normal photographing processing means 14, the state determining means 22, the ultrasonic probe driving means 18, and the ultrasonic probe 20 are used, but the operation mode setting means 12 and the test photographing processing means 16 are not used. The operation illustrated in FIG. 3 will be described below.

Step 1 : The normal imaging processing means 14 carries out the normal ultrasonic imaging processing which has been performed so far using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 and the ultrasonic probe 20. The normal ultrasonic imaging process is the same as the imaging process that has been performed by the operator using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 and the ultrasonic probe 20. An example of the normal photographing process is shown in FIG.
This will be described later with reference to FIGS. 7 and 10. The captured image by the normal capturing processing unit 14 is displayed in the captured image display area 102 of the state determination unit 22 illustrated in FIG. That is, with the position of the ultrasonic probe 20 facing upward, a captured image that expands in a fan shape toward the predetermined region 30 of the subject is displayed in the captured image display area 102.

Step 2 : After the processing of the normal imaging processing means 14, the state determining means 2 operates and the ultrasonic probe 20
The state determination means 2 illustrated in FIG. 4 determines the contact state of the ultrasonic sensor of FIG.
The defective contact state is displayed on the first ultrasonic probe status display unit 104 and / or the second ultrasonic probe status display unit 106 near the second captured image display area 102.
As a method of determining the contact state failure, for example, by summing the sound ray data in the ultrasonic sound ray direction in the ultrasonic image,
If the total value is less than a threshold value, it is determined that the ultrasonic sensor is defective. An example of processing by the state determination means 22 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 6, 7 and 10.

Normal photographing processing means 14 and state determination means 22
The ultrasonic probe 20 can be configured integrally with
If the contact state of the ultrasonic sensor is not determined,
Since it suffices to stop the state determination means 22, it is convenient to separate the normal photographing processing means 14 and the state determination means 22. If the normal photographing processing means 14 is separated, it can be operated in cooperation with the test photographing processing means 16 in the second embodiment. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the normal photographing processing means 14, the test photographing processing means 16, and the state determining means 22 are separately configured,
These are operated appropriately to achieve the intended processing.

Determination of ultrasonic probe state according to the second embodiment
Processing FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the second embodiment of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 of the present invention and the second embodiment of the ultrasonic probe state determination method of the present invention. That is, FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing of the ultrasonic probe state determination method performed using the normal imaging processing means 14 and the test imaging processing means 16 of FIG. In this case, the operation mode setting unit 12, the operation mode setting unit 12, the normal imaging processing unit 14, the test imaging processing unit 16, the ultrasonic probe driving unit 18, and the ultrasonic probe 2 in FIG.
0, the state determination means 22 is used. However, in this embodiment, the state determination means 22 is not used. In this case, the test shooting mode and the normal shooting mode are set. The operation illustrated in FIG. 5 will be described below.

Step 01 : Operation mode setting means 12
Should input the state of an operation mode setting switch (not shown) on the operation panel portion of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 to operate the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 and the ultrasonic probe 20 in the normal imaging mode. Detects whether to operate in test shooting mode. In this case, the operator using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is
The operation mode setting switch is set to use the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 in the normal imaging mode or the ultrasonic imaging apparatus 10 in the test imaging mode.

The test shooting mode is the test shooting mode not only depending on the setting state of the operation mode setting switch described above but also in various other cases. An example of such a test photographing mode is as follows: (1) The switch position of the operation mode setting switch is set to the test photographing mode side by the setting of the operator of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 described above, for example, a doctor, an inspection technician or the like. In this case, (2) in the normal imaging period, when the test imaging mode is automatically switched at a preset fixed cycle, (3) the operation mode setting means 12 sets the reception signal level of the ultrasonic sensor of the ultrasonic probe 20 to a predetermined value. There are various cases such as automatically setting the test shooting mode when the following cases are detected. In such a case, the test shooting mode is automatically set, and the test shooting processing unit 16 performs the test shooting by the operation. It can be carried out.

The test shooting mode will be described in more detail. For example, the operator sets the operation mode setting switch provided on the operation panel portion of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 to the “normal imaging mode”, operates the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10, and the operator moves the predetermined area 30 of the subject to a desired position. When scanning is performed by the ultrasonic probe 20, and the result is displayed as a captured image on the display unit 24 of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10, the operator observes the captured image displayed on the display unit 24 and improperly captures the image. When it is determined that the image is an image, the operator tilts the operation mode setting switch (not shown) provided on the operation panel portion of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 to the test imaging mode side. When there is such a setting change of the operation mode setting switch, the operation mode setting means 12 immediately detects it and operates the test photographing processing means 16. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is possible to perform the processing switched to the test shooting mode even during the normal shooting operation. Of course, the operator inspects the condition of the ultrasonic probe 20 as an initial state of the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10. Therefore, before the normal imaging operation using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10, the operator sets the operation mode setting switch to the test imaging mode side. Alternatively, the test shooting operation can be performed by driving the test shooting processing unit 16.

Alternatively, in the operation in the normal photographing mode, the operator uses the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 and the ultrasonic probe 20 to photograph a predetermined portion 30 of the subject a predetermined number of times and obtain a photographed image of the predetermined portion 30. When this happens, an index showing the accuracy of the captured image data,
For example, since the flag is automatically output, the operation mode setting unit 12 can automatically drive the test photographing processing unit 16 at every predetermined cycle to perform the test photographing described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 10. it can.

Alternatively, in the operation in the normal photographing mode, the operation mode setting means 12 judges the level of the reception signal detected by the ultrasonic probe 20, and the signal received by the ultrasonic probe 20 is at a low level as a whole. The operation mode setting means 12 automatically switches from the normal photographing mode to the test photographing mode, and the test photographing processing means 16 is driven to cause the test photographing processing means 16 to operate as shown in FIGS.
The test shooting described with reference to 0 can be performed. Of course, the test shooting mode described above is an example, and the test shooting mode is not limited to the example described above.

Step 02 : If none of the above-mentioned test photographing modes is applicable, the operation mode setting means 1
2 drives the normal photographing processing means 14, and the normal ultrasonic photographing processing is performed by the normal photographing processing means 14. The normal ultrasonic imaging process is the step 1 described with reference to FIG.
Similar to the process of (S1), the imaging process is the same as that performed by the operator using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 and the ultrasonic probe 20. An example of the normal photographing process will be described later with reference to FIGS. 6, 7 and 10.

Step 03 : In the test photographing mode, the operation photographing mode processing means 16 drives the test photographing processing means 16 to perform the test photographing processing by the test photographing processing means 16. An example of the test photographing processing by the test photographing processing means 16 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 7 and 10.

Step 04 : Operation mode setting means 12
Detects whether or not there is an operation end instruction, and when there is no operation end instruction, repeats the above operation. The operation end instruction is, for example, when the power switch of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is turned off.

Determination of ultrasonic probe state according to the first embodiment
Specific Example of Method A specific example of the ultrasonic probe state determination method according to the first embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a first example of an embodiment of the ultrasonic probe state determination method of the present invention illustrated in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of a photographed image on the display means 24, which is performed by the processing illustrated in FIG.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, the normal photographing processing means 14 illustrated in FIG.
The processing of 6 and 21 is performed, and the state determination means 22 performs step 1
Processes 7 to 20 are performed.

Step 11 : The normal photographing processing means 14
The ultrasonic probe driving means 18 is driven according to the normal imaging conditions to drive the ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of channels in the ultrasonic probe 20 to generate ultrasonic waves, and the operator applies the ultrasonic probe 20 to the ultrasonic probe 20. Ultrasonic waves are transmitted to the predetermined part 30. As a method of driving the ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of channels in the ultrasonic probe 20 by the normal imaging processing means 14, according to the ultrasonic imaging method, (a) a 192 channel ultrasonic sensor illustrated in FIG. 2 as a large opening operation. May be driven simultaneously, or (b) as narrow aperture operation
Any method of sequentially performing the operation of simultaneously driving the ultrasonic sensors in each block in which the 6-channel ultrasonic sensor is one block may be used.

Step 12 : The normal imaging processing means 14 is an ultrasonic wave generated by driving the ultrasonic sensor of the ultrasonic probe 20 and transmitted to the predetermined region 30 of the subject and reflected by the predetermined region 30 of the subject. Ultrasonic wave probe 2
When it is received by the ultrasonic sensor 0, the received signal is input and temporarily stored in the memory in the normal imaging processing means 14. Of course, such transmission of ultrasonic waves to the predetermined region 30 of the subject and reception of ultrasonic waves from the predetermined region 30 of the subject are performed according to the driving method of the above-described multi-channel ultrasonic sensor.

Step 13 : The operator focuses the ultrasonic probe 20 on a predetermined portion 30 of the subject and applies ultrasonic waves from the ultrasonic probe 20 to the predetermined portion 30 of the subject almost simultaneously from the ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of channels. When sent,
Position of ultrasonic sensor and / or predetermined part 3 of subject
There is a time lag in the reception timing of the reception signals of a plurality of channels depending on the transmission path to 0. Therefore, the normal photographing processing means 14 performs a phase matching process of the reception signals of the plurality of channels so that the reception timings (phases) of the reception signals of the plurality of channels are matched. To describe a specific example of the phase matching process, for example, among ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of channels in the ultrasonic probe 20 driven at substantially the same timing, a received signal of an ultrasonic sensor that is received earlier is delayed and delayed. Match the received signal.

Step 14 : The normal photographing processing means 14
Predetermined arithmetic processing is performed on the reception signal subjected to the phase matching processing performed in step 13. As an example of such an arithmetic process, for example, the reception signals of the ultrasonic probe 20 obtained by the processes up to the previous time are added, and the ultrasonic probe 20 is added.
The average value of the reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors of the same channel in is calculated. That is, the average value of a plurality of reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors of each of a plurality of channels in the ultrasonic probe 20 is obtained. Such calculation of the average value is also an example of simple filter processing.

Steps 15 and 16 : Normal photographing processing means 1
In step 4, the average signal of the received signals of the ultrasonic sensors of the respective channels of the ultrasonic probe 20 processed in step 14 is displayed on the display means 24 of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 as a picked-up image spreading in a fan shape from top to bottom. Image processing is performed and the result is displayed on the display unit 24. The display example is illustrated in FIG. The display of the picked-up image image-processed by the normal pick-up processing means 14 on the display means 24 is the picked-up image corresponding to the position of the ultrasonic probe 20, as displayed on the display means 24 of the existing ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10. The captured image is displayed on the captured image display area 102 as a captured image that expands in a fan shape from the upper portion of the display area 102 toward the inside of the predetermined region 30 of the subject.

Step 17 : The state determination means 22 is driven by the normal photographing processing means 14. State determination means 22
At this time, it is checked whether or not the ultrasonic sensor of the ultrasonic probe 20 is set to the mode for determining the contact state of the subject with the predetermined portion 30 by the setting of the operator. When the operator has set such a state determination, the state determination means 22 performs the state determination processing shown in steps 18-20. In addition, unconditionally, the state determination means 22
Such a check is not necessary when performing the processing of.

Step 18 : The state determining means 22 calculates the data showing the correlation with respect to the received signals of the plurality of channels of the ultrasonic probe 20 subjected to the phase matching processing in step 13. An example of the data indicating the correlation will be described later.

Step 19 : The state determining means 22 performs a determination process on the data indicating the correlation calculated in step 18 so that a part or all of the ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of channels of the ultrasonic probe 20 are a predetermined portion 30 of the subject. A determination process is performed to determine whether or not the user is in good contact with. An example of this determination processing will be described later.

Step 20 : The state determining means 22 determines the result of the determination in step 19 as the first ultrasonic probe state display section 104 and / or the second ultrasonic wave in the display area 100 of the display means 24 illustrated in FIG. It is displayed on the probe status display unit 106. Further, the state determination means 22 uses the normal photographing processing means 1 described above for the determination result in step 19.
4 is recorded in the memory in the test photographing processing means 16 in association with the data corresponding to the photographed image displayed in the photographed image display area 102 of FIG. 4 or displayed on the display means 24.

In addition, the memory of the normal photographing processing means 14,
The memory of the state determination means 22 may be one shared memory. That is, one memory for storing various data is prepared in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10, and the memory is shared by the normal imaging processing means 14 and the state determination means 22.

Step 21 : The state determination means 22 drives the normal photographing processing means 14 at the end of the processing of step 20. The driven normal imaging processing means 14 detects whether or not the ultrasonic imaging processing is completed based on the state of the operation switch in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10. If the ultrasonic imaging processing is not completed, the normal imaging processing means 14 performs step 11
The above process is repeated. When the end of ultrasonic imaging is indicated, the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is ended.

First example of the processing of the state judging means 22: flat
As a first example of calculating the data indicating the correlation in step 18, the average deviation state determination means 22 has a plurality of channels (see FIG. 2) in each block of the ultrasonic probe 20 illustrated in FIG.
The average value of the reception signal of the ultrasonic sensor of 16 channels is calculated. Further, the test photographing processing means 16 calculates the average value of the reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors of all blocks (all channels). As described above, the data indicating the correlation in the first example is the average value of the reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors of each block in the ultrasonic probe 20 and the average value of the reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors of all blocks (all channels). Is.

The state determining means 22 determines the average value of the received signals of the ultrasonic sensors of the block in which the ultrasonic probe 20 is present as lower than the average value of the entire received signals, for example, the average value of the whole, as the determination processing of step 19. Is 20% or less and is extremely lower than the average value of the reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors of the adjacent blocks, for example, 30% or less of the average value of the adjacent blocks. If such a condition is met, the state determination unit 22 determines that the ultrasonic sensor in the block in the ultrasonic probe 20 is in insufficient contact with the predetermined portion 30 of the subject, Alternatively, it is determined that a strong reflector such as a rib is present in front and a received signal of a sufficient level cannot be obtained. The size of each block of the ultrasonic probe 20 is, for example, a unit for detecting a contact failure of the ultrasonic probe 20 to the predetermined portion 30 of the subject, for example, as shown in FIG. The sound wave sensor can be determined based on a standard such as one unit (block).

The state determining means 22 is the ultrasonic probe 20.
When an abnormality is detected in the level of the reception signal of the ultrasonic sensor of such a block,
For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the first ultrasonic probe status display unit 104 and / or the second ultrasonic probe status display located above and below the captured image display area 102 in the display area 100 of the display unit 24. It is displayed in a distinguishable manner that the corresponding block portion of the unit 106 is abnormal (contact failure).

For example, when the display means 24 provided in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is a monochrome display device, the state determination means 22 includes the first ultrasonic probe state display section 104 or the second ultrasonic probe state display section 106. The block portion corresponding to the abnormal block of the ultrasonic probe 20 is displayed in white. In the example illustrated in FIG. 4, the ultrasonic probe 20
It illustrates that the ultrasonic sensor of the block 1 has an abnormal state such as poor contact with the predetermined portion 30 of the subject. Display means 24 provided in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10
Is a color display device, the test photographing processing means 16
The block of the ultrasonic probe 20 in which the poor contact is generated as illustrated in FIG. 4, and the block 1 of the ultrasonic probe 20 in the example illustrated in FIG. 4 is displayed in a color such as red so that the operator can easily and quickly identify the block. .

The operator using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 observes the photographed image displayed in the photographed image display area 102 of the display area 100 of the display means 24,
By observing the contact state defect display on the first ultrasonic probe status display unit 104 and / or the second ultrasonic probe status display unit 106 located above and below the captured image display area 102, the captured image display area 102 It is possible to easily recognize whether or not the shooting state displayed on the screen is appropriate. When the operator using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 displays such a defect display on the first ultrasonic probe state display unit 104 or the second ultrasonic probe state display unit 106, the ultrasonic probe 20 The method of applying the ultrasonic probe 20 to the predetermined region 30 of the subject can be modified so that the contact failure of the ultrasonic sensor of the corresponding block to the predetermined region 30 of the subject is eliminated. As described above, according to the present embodiment, the defective state of how to apply the ultrasonic sensor of the ultrasonic probe 20 to the predetermined portion 30 of the subject is accurately and quickly detected by the signal processing by the test imaging processing unit 16. In addition, there is no operator-specific difference in the criterion for determining the defective state. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, accurate work of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 can be performed without depending on the skill level of the operator who uses the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10. As a result, the accuracy of the operation by the operator is improved, and the ultrasonic imaging time of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 can be shortened.

When the state determining means 22 detects a defective block such as a contact failure in the above-mentioned block of the ultrasonic probe 20, the first ultrasonic probe state display section as shown in FIG. 4 is used. In addition to the abnormal display on the 104 and / or the second ultrasonic probe state display unit 106, it corresponds to the above-mentioned abnormal state block in the memory storing the captured image data displayed in the captured image display area 102. An index, for example, a flag, indicating that the contact state of the ultrasonic probe 20 with the predetermined portion 30 of the subject is not sufficient is attached to the data storage area in the memory.
As a result, when a doctor diagnoses a captured image after operating the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10, if such an index is also attached to the captured image and output, the ultrasonic probe 20 makes good contact with the predetermined site 30 of the subject. It is possible to know whether or not there is an image taken in the state.

In the above-described embodiment, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is provided with a new element, for example, a piezoelectric element for detecting the contact state of the ultrasonic probe 20, to detect the pressure. JP-A-11-110349 In contrast to the method disclosed in US Pat.
Since it is only necessary to change the program in 0 and add a program for performing the processing of the operation mode setting means 12 and the test photographing processing means 16, the implementation is easy and the price does not soar significantly. In addition, the operator determines the state determination means 2
If the setting that does not operate No. 2 is performed, the operation of the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 can be performed.

Determination of ultrasonic probe state according to the second embodiment
First Specific Example of Method A first specific example of the second embodiment of the ultrasonic probe state determination method of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a specific example of the first example of the second embodiment of the ultrasonic probe state determination method of the present invention illustrated in FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display example of a photographed image on the display means 24 which is performed by the processing of the normal photographing processing means 14 in the normal photographing mode illustrated in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of a photographed image on the display means 24 which is performed by the processing of the test photographing processing means 16 illustrated in FIG.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, the operation mode setting means 12 illustrated in FIG. 1 performs the process of step 22. The normal photographing processing means 14 performs steps 11 to 1
3 and steps 14 to 17 are performed. The test photographing processing means 16 performs the processing of steps 19 to 21.

Step 11 : The normal photographing processing means 14
Similar to the processing of step 11 in FIG. 6, the ultrasonic probe driving means 18 is driven according to the normal imaging condition to drive the ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of channels in the ultrasonic probe 20 to generate ultrasonic waves, and the operator operates the ultrasonic wave. Ultrasonic waves are transmitted to a predetermined region 30 of the subject to which the ultrasonic probe 20 is applied. As a method of driving the ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of channels in the ultrasonic probe 20 by the normal imaging processing means 14, according to the ultrasonic imaging method, (a) a 192 channel ultrasonic wave illustrated in FIG. 2 as a large opening operation. The sensors may be driven simultaneously, or (b) the operation of simultaneously driving the ultrasonic sensors in each block in which the 16-channel ultrasonic sensor is one block as the narrow opening operation is sequentially performed for each block. Either method may be used.

Step 12 : The normal photographing processing means 14
Similar to the process of step 12 of FIG. 6, the ultrasonic probe 20
When the ultrasonic sensor of the ultrasonic probe 20 receives the ultrasonic wave generated by the driving of the ultrasonic sensor and transmitted to the predetermined part 30 of the subject, the ultrasonic wave reflected by the predetermined part 30 of the subject is received. A signal is input and temporarily stored in the memory in the normal photographing processing means 14. Of course, such transmission of ultrasonic waves to the predetermined region 30 of the subject and reception of ultrasonic waves from the predetermined region 30 of the subject are performed according to the driving method of the above-described multi-channel ultrasonic sensor.

Step 13 : The operator focuses the ultrasonic probe 20 on a predetermined portion 30 of the subject and applies ultrasonic waves from the ultrasonic probe 20 to the predetermined portion 30 of the subject almost simultaneously from the ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of channels. When sent,
Position of ultrasonic sensor and / or predetermined part 3 of subject
There is a time lag in the reception timing of the reception signals of a plurality of channels depending on the transmission path to 0. Therefore, the normal photographing processing means 14 receives the reception timing (phase) of the reception signals of a plurality of channels, as in the processing of step 13 of FIG.
Phase matching processing of the received signals of the plurality of channels is performed so as to match. To describe a concrete example of the phase matching process,
For example, as described above, of the ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of channels in the ultrasonic probe 20 driven at substantially the same timing, the received signal of the ultrasonic sensor that is received earlier is delayed and the signal that is received later is delayed. To match.

Step 22 : Operation mode setting means 12
Check whether it is the test shooting mode or the normal shooting mode. As an example of the test shooting mode, as described above,
(1) For example, when a doctor, an inspection technician, etc., sets an operation mode setting switch (not shown) on the operation panel of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 to the test photographing mode side, (2) a test is performed at preset constant intervals. When operating the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 under imaging conditions, (3) operation mode setting means 1
2 is a case where the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is automatically operated in the test imaging mode when the case where the level of the received signal of the ultrasonic probe 20 is below a predetermined level is detected.

Steps 14 to 17 : Normal shooting processing If the operation mode setting means 12 determines in step 22 that the shooting mode is the normal shooting mode, the normal shooting processing means 14 is driven to cause the normal shooting processing means 14 to execute step 1.
Processes 4 to 17 are performed.

Step 14 : When the mode detected by the operation mode setting means 12 is the normal photographing mode, the operation mode setting means 12 drives the normal photographing processing means 14. The driven normal photographing processing means 14 performs a predetermined arithmetic processing on the received signal subjected to the phase matching processing performed in step 13, as in the processing of step 14 in FIG. As an example of such arithmetic processing, for example, as described above, the reception signals of the ultrasonic probe 20 obtained in the processing up to the previous time are added, and the ultrasonic sensor of the same channel in the ultrasonic probe 20 is added. Obtain the average value of the received signal. That is, the average value of a plurality of reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors of each of a plurality of channels in the ultrasonic probe 20 is obtained.
Such calculation of the average value is also an example of simple filter processing.

Steps 15 and 16 : Normal photographing processing means 1
In step 4, the signal of the average value of the reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors of the respective channels of the ultrasonic probe 20 processed in step 14 is fanned from top to bottom in the same manner as in steps 15 and 16 of FIG. Ultrasonic diagnostic device 1 as an image
Image processing for displaying on the display means 24 of 0,
The result is displayed on the display means 24. The display example is shown in FIG.
For example. The display of the picked-up image image-processed by the normal pick-up processing means 14 on the display means 24 corresponds to the position of the ultrasonic probe 20, like the picked-up image displayed on the display means 24 of the existing ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10. Only the captured image that spreads in a fan shape from the upper part of the captured image display area 102 toward the inside of the predetermined region 30 of the subject is displayed in the captured image display area 102. The display of the display unit 24 by the test photographing processing unit 16 is performed in the form illustrated in FIG.

Step 17 : The normal photographing processing means 14
Whether or not the ultrasonic imaging process is completed is detected from the state of the operation switch in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10. If the ultrasonic imaging process is not completed, the process described above is repeated from step 11. When the end of ultrasonic imaging is indicated, the normal imaging processing unit 14 ends the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10.

Steps 18 to 21 : Test shooting process In step 22, if the operation mode setting means 12 determines that the test shooting mode is set, the operation mode setting means 12 is set.
The test photographing processing means 16 is driven by, and the driven test photographing processing means 16 performs the operations of steps 18 to 21.

Step 18 : Test photographing processing means 16
Calculates the data showing the correlation with respect to the received signals of the plurality of channels of the ultrasonic probe 20 that have been subjected to the phase matching processing in step 13, similar to the processing performed by the state determination means 22 in step 18 of FIG. An example of the data indicating the correlation will be described later.

Step 19 : Test photographing processing means 16
In the same manner as the state determination means 22 processes in step 19 of FIG. 6, a part or all of the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels of the ultrasonic probe 20 are processed by determining the data indicating the correlation calculated in step 18. Performs a determination process such as whether or not the person is in good contact with the predetermined portion 30 of the subject. An example of this determination processing will be described later.

Step 20 : Test photographing processing means 16
Similarly to the state determination means 22 processed in step 20 of FIG. 6, the determination result in step 19 indicates the first ultrasonic probe state display unit 104 in the display area 100 of the display means 24 illustrated in FIG. And / or the second ultrasonic probe status display unit 106. Further, the test imaging processing means 16 (a) or step (b) according to the operation request in the test imaging mode set by the operator on the operation mode setting switch (not shown) of the operation panel of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10. The judgment result in 19 is obtained by the above-mentioned normal photographing processing means 14,
It is recorded in the memory in the test photographing processing means 16 in association with the data corresponding to the photographed image displayed in the photographed image display area 102 in FIG. 4, or displayed on the display means 24. Note that the memory of the normal photographing processing means 14 and the memory of the test photographing processing means 16 may be one shared memory. That is, one memory for storing various data is prepared in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10, and the memory is shared by the normal imaging processing means 14 and the test imaging processing means 16.

Step 21 : Test photographing processing means 16
Is a calculation process of step 14, an image process of step 15, and a step 1 of the reception signal obtained by scanning the ultrasonic probe 20.
The same processing as the display processing in the captured image display area 102 of No. 6 is performed. That is, since the ultrasonic probe 20 in the test imaging mode also obtains the same received signal as the received signal by the ultrasonic probe 20 in the normal imaging mode, the normal imaging processing means 1 deals with such a received signal.
Perform the same signal processing as in 4 and
The captured image display area 102 of the display means 24 illustrated in FIG.
To display.

A specific example of the processing of steps 18 to 21 performed by the test photographing processing means 16 will be described below. The processing performed by the test imaging processing unit 16 performed here does not hinder the processing in the normal imaging mode even when the operator operates the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 in real time using the ultrasonic probe 20. In addition, a method is preferable, in which the calculation is as simple as possible and the contact state of the ultrasonic sensor of the ultrasonic probe 20 with the predetermined site 30 of the subject can be accurately detected. A specific example of the processing according to such a purpose will be described below.

First example of processing of test photographing processing means 16
Shown: As a first example in which the average value deviation test imaging processing means 16 calculates the data indicating the correlation in step 18, a plurality of channels in each block of the ultrasonic probe 20 illustrated in FIG. 2 (illustrated in FIG. 2). Then, the average value of the reception signals of the ultrasonic sensor of 16 channels) is calculated. Further, the test photographing processing means 1
Reference numeral 6 calculates the average value of the reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors of all blocks (all channels). As described above, the data indicating the correlation in the first example is the average value of the reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors of each block in the ultrasonic probe 20 and the average value of the reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors of all blocks (all channels). Is.

As the judgment processing of step 20, the test photographing processing means 16 makes the average value of the received signals of the ultrasonic sensors of the block in which the ultrasonic probe 20 is present lower than the average value of the whole received signals. It is detected whether the value is 20% or less and is extremely lower than the average value of the reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors of the adjacent blocks, for example, 30% or less of the average value of the adjacent blocks. If such a condition is met, the ultrasonic sensor in the block of the ultrasonic probe 20 is in insufficient contact with the predetermined portion 30 of the subject, or a strong reflector such as a rib. Can be considered to be present in the foreground and a sufficient level of received signal cannot be obtained. The size of each block of the ultrasonic probe 20 is, for example, a unit for detecting a contact failure of the ultrasonic probe 20 to the predetermined portion 30 of the subject, for example, a 16-channel ultrasonic sensor as illustrated in FIG. Can be determined by a standard such as 1 unit (block).

When the test photographing processing means 16 detects an abnormality in the level of the reception signal of the ultrasonic sensor of such a block of the ultrasonic probe 20, as the operation of step 20, for example, as illustrated in FIG. , Display means 24
Of the first ultrasonic probe state display unit 104 and / or the second ultrasonic probe state display unit 106 located above and below the captured image display region 102 in the display region 100 of FIG. Is displayed in an identifiable manner.

For example, when the display means 24 provided in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is a monochrome display device, the test photographing processing means 16 has the first ultrasonic probe state display section 104.
Alternatively, the block portion of the second ultrasonic probe state display unit 106 corresponding to the abnormal block of the ultrasonic probe 20 is displayed in white. In the example illustrated in FIG. 4, the ultrasonic sensor of the block 1 of the ultrasonic probe 20 illustrates that an abnormal state such as poor contact has occurred with respect to the predetermined portion 30 of the subject. When the display means 24 provided in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is a color display apparatus, the test photographing processing means 16 is a block of the ultrasonic probe 20 in which the contact failure is generated as illustrated in FIG. 4, and is illustrated in FIG. In the example, the block 1 of the ultrasonic probe 20 is displayed in a color such as red so that the operator can easily and quickly identify it.

Display area 1 of display means 24 illustrated in FIG.
00 of the photographed image display area 102 and the photographed image display area 102 of the display area 100A of the display means 24 illustrated in FIG.
Is the same place on the display means 24. The first ultrasonic probe status display unit 104 is located above the captured image display area 102, and the second ultrasonic probe status display unit 106 is located below the captured image display area 102. As described above, the display by the test imaging processing means 16 in step 20 is, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the first ultrasonic probe status display section located above and below the captured image display area 102 on the display screen of the display means 24. 104 or the second ultrasonic probe status display unit 106, or the first ultrasonic probe status display unit 104 and the second ultrasonic probe status display unit 106.

Thereafter, in step 21, as described above, the same processing as in steps 14, 15 and 16 is performed, and as shown in FIG. 4, the photographed image display area 102 of the display area 100A of the display means 24 is displayed. Then, the same display as the display of the captured image by the normal capturing processing means 14 is performed.

The operator using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 observes the picked-up image displayed in the picked-up image display area 102 of the display area 100 of the display means 24 in the same manner as that normally displayed by the pick-up processing means 14. However, by observing the contact state defect display on the first ultrasonic probe status display unit 104 and / or the second ultrasonic probe status display unit 106 located above and below the captured image display area 102, the captured image It is possible to easily recognize whether or not the shooting state displayed in the display area 102 is appropriate. When the operator using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 displays such a defect display on the first ultrasonic probe state display unit 104 or the second ultrasonic probe state display unit 106, the ultrasonic probe 20 The method of applying the ultrasonic probe 20 to the predetermined region 30 of the subject can be modified so that the contact failure of the ultrasonic sensor of the corresponding block to the predetermined region 30 of the subject is eliminated. As described above, according to the present embodiment, the defective state of how to apply the ultrasonic sensor of the ultrasonic probe 20 to the predetermined portion 30 of the subject is accurately and quickly detected by the signal processing by the test imaging processing unit 16. In addition, there is no operator-specific difference in the criterion for determining the defective state. Therefore, the accurate operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 can be performed without depending on the skill level of the operator who uses the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10. As a result, the accuracy of the operation by the operator is improved, and the ultrasonic imaging time of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 can be shortened.

When the test photographing processing means 16 detects a defective block such as a defective contact in the above-mentioned block of the ultrasonic probe 20, the first ultrasonic probe status display section as shown in FIG. 4 is used. In addition to the abnormal display on the 104 and / or the second ultrasonic probe state display unit 106, it corresponds to the above-mentioned abnormal state block in the memory storing the captured image data displayed in the captured image display area 102. An index, for example, a flag, indicating that the contact state of the ultrasonic probe 20 with the predetermined portion 30 of the subject is not sufficient is attached to the data storage area in the memory. As a result, when a doctor diagnoses a photographed image after operating the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10, if such an index is also attached to the photographed image and output, the ultrasonic probe 20 is suitable for the predetermined region 30 of the subject. It is possible to know whether or not there is an image taken in the contact state.

In the above-described embodiment, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is provided with a new element, for example, a piezoelectric element for detecting the contact state of the ultrasonic probe 20, to detect the pressure. JP-A-11-110349 Unlike the method disclosed in the official gazette, there is no need to newly add a device or means to the existing ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10, the program in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is changed, and the operation mode setting means 1
2 and the program for performing the processing of the test photographing processing means 16 only needs to be added, so that the implementation is easy and the price does not soar significantly.

Second example of processing of test photographing processing means 16
Shown: Sum of ultrasonic sound ray data As a second example of calculating the data indicating the correlation in step 18, the test photographing processing means 16 sums the sound ray data in the ultrasonic sound ray direction in the ultrasonic image. Then, when the total sum of the sound ray data is less than or equal to the predetermined threshold value, the test imaging processing means 16 causes insufficient contact of the ultrasonic sensor in the block of the ultrasonic probe 20 with the predetermined portion 30 of the subject. Can be considered a state. The process after detecting the contact failure is performed in the same manner as the first example.

Third example of processing of test photographing processing means 16
Shown: Detection of multiple blocks For example, when the ultrasonic sensor for two blocks in the ultrasonic probe 20 is in a poor contact state with the predetermined portion 30 of the subject, it is difficult to detect by the method of the first example. Therefore, when the contact failure state of the ultrasonic sensor of the ultrasonic probe 20 is not detected by the method of the first example, the processing of the second method described below is performed. The test imaging processing means 16 further obtains an average value of the reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors of each block of the ultrasonic probe 20, compares the average values of the reception signals of these blocks, and the average value of the reception signals is calculated. It is detected whether or not blocks that are almost the same are consecutive.
Then, it is checked whether or not the consecutive blocks in which the average values of the received signals are almost the same are extremely lower than the average values of the received signals of other consecutive blocks around those blocks. If the consecutive blocks where the average value of the received signal is almost the same is extremely lower than the average value of the received signal of other consecutive blocks around those blocks, the ultrasonic sensor in the area of the consecutive blocks is detected. However, it can be considered that a sufficient reception signal cannot be obtained due to insufficient contact with the predetermined portion 30 of the subject or a strong reflector such as a rib existing in front.

The test photographing processing means 16 uses the ultrasonic probe 2 which does not sufficiently contact the predetermined portion 30 of the subject.
When a block in 0 is detected, as shown in FIG. 6, either the first ultrasonic probe state display unit 104 and / or the second ultrasonic probe state display unit 106 on the display screen of the display unit 24 is detected. The display portion of the corresponding continuous block portion of is displayed in an identifiable manner as an abnormal state. For example, when the display means 24 is a monochrome display device, the test imaging processing means 16 is either the first ultrasonic probe status display section 104 and / or the second ultrasonic probe status display section 106 on the display screen of the display means 24. The corresponding block is displayed in white. Alternatively, in the case where the display device is a color display device, the test imaging processing unit 16 is configured to display either the first ultrasonic probe state display unit 104 and / or the second ultrasonic probe state display unit 106 on the display screen of the display unit 24. The corresponding block of is displayed in a color such as red.

As a result, the operator using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 observes the picked-up image in the picked-up image display area 102 of the display screen of the display means 24, and the first ultrasonic probe state display section 104 and / Or by observing the second ultrasonic probe state display unit 106,
It is possible to easily recognize whether or not the captured image displayed in the captured image display area 102 is appropriate for the plurality of blocks of the ultrasonic probe 20. When the operator displays such a defective state on the first ultrasonic probe state display unit 104 or the second ultrasonic probe state display unit 106 of the display means 24, the defective state does not recur. The predetermined portion 3 of the subject of the ultrasonic probe 20 is arranged so that the ultrasonic probe 20 contacts the predetermined portion 30 of the subject.
The ultrasonic probe 20 scans a predetermined region 30 of the subject while correcting the way of applying the probe to 0. As a result, the accuracy of the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 by the operator is greatly improved, and the ultrasonic imaging time of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 can be shortened.

Further, when the test photographing processing means 16 detects the poor contact state of the ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of blocks of the ultrasonic probe 20, the photographed image display area 102 and the first ultrasonic probe state illustrated in FIG. Display unit 104, second
In addition to the display on the ultrasonic probe status display unit 106 of
An index indicating that the contact state of the ultrasonic probe 20 with the predetermined portion 30 of the subject is not sufficient in the corresponding data storage area of the memory in which the captured image data shown in the captured image display area 102 is recorded, for example, , Flag = 1 can be added for recording. Also in this case, as described above, when a doctor diagnoses a captured image after operating the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10, if such an index, for example, a flag is also attached to the captured image and output, the ultrasonic probe 20 It is possible to know whether or not there is an image captured in a good contact state with the predetermined region 30 of the subject.

Modification of First Specific Example of Second Embodiment The processing of the operation mode setting means 12, the normal photographing processing means 14 and the test photographing processing means 16 described with reference to FIG. 7 is also shown in FIG. It is also possible to replace the processing of the illustrated flowchart.

In FIG. 9, since the processing of step 21 illustrated in FIG. 7 is duplicated in the normal photographing processing means 14 and the test photographing processing means 16, in order to avoid such duplication processing, step 22 in FIG. 6 is a flowchart in which the processing of step 16 is moved to step 22A after the processing of step 16, and the steps 18 to 20 of the test photographing processing means 16 are performed after the processing of steps 14 to 16 of the normal photographing processing means 14. ing. Of course, in this example, the process of step 21 illustrated in FIG. 7 is deleted.

Second Embodiment The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 can also perform the processing illustrated in FIG. In the processing illustrated in FIG. 10, the operation mode setting means 12 performs the detection processing in step 31. Normal photographing processing means 14 is step 3
Processes 2-38 are performed. The test photographing processing means 16 performs the processing of steps 41 to 48.

Step 31 : The operation mode setting means 12 checks whether or not there is a request for any of the above-described test photographing modes when the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is operating.

Steps 32-37 : Normal photographing processing means 1
4 is driven by the operation mode setting means 12 in the normal photographing mode to perform the operations of steps 32 to 37. Note that the processing of steps 32 to 34 is the same as the processing of steps 11 to 13 described with reference to FIG.
The steps 37 to 37 are steps 14 to 1 described with reference to FIG.
Since the processing is the same as that of 6, the description thereof will be omitted.

Steps 41 and 42 : When the operation mode setting means 12 is in the test photographing mode, the test photographing processing means 16
To drive. The driven test imaging processing means 16 drives the ultrasonic probe 20 via the ultrasonic probe driving means 18 according to the test imaging conditions.

An example of the driving method of the ultrasonic probe 20 by the test photographing processing means 16 in the test photographing mode will be described. For example, the ultrasonic probe 20 illustrated in FIG. 2 is divided into a plurality of blocks for each 16-channel ultrasonic sensor, that is, 12 blocks in the example of FIG.

In step 41, the test photographing processing means 16 drives a plurality of ultrasonic sensors belonging to the block for each block to transmit ultrasonic waves toward a predetermined portion 30 of the subject, and in step 42, the ultrasonic waves are detected. The reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors of all blocks of the probe 20 are input.

Step 43 : Test photographing processing means 16
Performs a phase matching process similar to the phase matching process in the normal photographing process in step 34. The phase matching process is similar to the process of step 13 of FIG.

Step 44 : As an example of the arithmetic processing, the test photographing processing means 16 calculates the average value of the reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors of the respective blocks subjected to the phase matching processing.

Step 45 : Test photographing processing means 16
Checks whether or not the average value of the reception signals of the blocks to which the plurality of driven ultrasonic sensors of the ultrasonic probe 20 belong is at a predetermined level. If the average value of the received signal of the block does not reach the predetermined level, the ultrasonic sensor of the block is not in sufficient contact with the predetermined portion 30 of the subject, or the ultrasonic wave sensor of the block is blocked by a strong reflector such as ribs and desired. It can be considered that the ultrasonic waves have not reached the predetermined region 30 of the subject.

Further, the test photographing processing means 16 checks whether or not the average value of the reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors in the block portion of the ultrasonic probe 20 which is not driven is equal to or higher than a predetermined level. If the average value of the reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors in the block portion of the ultrasonic probe 20 that is not driven is above a predetermined level, it can be considered as a noise reception signal due to reflection or the like.

Step 46 : If the average value of the received signals of all the ultrasonic sensors of the block to which the driven ultrasonic sensor belongs is less than or equal to a predetermined level, the test photographing processing means 16 is similar to the processing of step 20 of FIG. , A display indicating a poor contact state is made on a corresponding block portion of either the first ultrasonic probe state display unit 104 and / or the second ultrasonic probe state display unit 106 of FIG. This display method is performed in the same manner as the method described in the first and second embodiments.

When the average value of the reception signals of the plurality of ultrasonic sensors in the block portion of the ultrasonic probe 20 which is not driven is not less than the predetermined level, the test photographing processing means 16 also displays the noise. As such a noise display,
For example, when the display means 24 is a monochrome display device, the corresponding block is displayed by halftone dots. Alternatively, when the display means 24 is a color display device, the corresponding block is displayed in a color such as yellow. This allows the operator to easily identify the noise condition.

Step 47 : When the test photographing processing means 16 detects any one of contact failure and noise of the ultrasonic sensor of the ultrasonic probe 20, the first ultrasonic probe state display section 104 and / or the example shown in FIG. Alternatively, in addition to the display on the second ultrasonic probe status display unit 106, the ultrasonic probe is stored in the corresponding data storage area of the memory in which the captured data displayed in the captured image display area 102 of the display unit 24 is recorded. There is an index indicating that the contact state of the subject 20 with the predetermined portion 30 is not sufficient, for example, flag 1 = 1 and an index indicating due to noise, for example, flag 2 = 1. Record that. Therefore, not only the operator who is using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 but also a doctor later can use the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1
When such a flag is attached to the captured image when making a diagnosis by observing the captured image of 0, whether or not the result is that the ultrasonic probe 20 is captured in a good contact state with the predetermined portion 30 of the subject,
It is possible to know whether or not there is noise.

As described above, according to the second specific example of the second embodiment (third embodiment), as in the first and second embodiments, the ultrasonic probe 20 is covered in units of blocks. The contact state of the specimen with the predetermined portion 30 can be easily detected. Furthermore, according to the third embodiment, it is determined whether or not the ultrasonic sensor of a certain block in the ultrasonic probe 20 which cannot be detected by the first and second embodiments affects the reception signals of other blocks. Can be detected.

Although the first to third embodiments have been described as examples of the ultrasonic probe state determining method of the present invention, the implementation of the ultrasonic probe state determining method of the present invention is not limited to the above method, and various methods are applicable. Can be modified.
For example, the data indicating the correlation described above is merely an example, and the data indicating the correlation similar to the method described above can be calculated.

[0110]

According to the present invention, the existing ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and ultrasonic probe can be changed without changing the existing ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and ultrasonic probe without adding new elements. By utilizing the device and the ultrasonic probe, it is possible to detect whether or not the ultrasonic probe is appropriately contacting a predetermined portion of the subject during ultrasonic imaging. When the contact failure of the ultrasonic sensor is detected, the correction can be performed, and as a result, according to the present invention, the inspection by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus can be performed quickly and accurately.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to detect the situation where the transmission signal of one ultrasonic sensor in the ultrasonic probe is received by another ultrasonic sensor.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a relationship between a plurality of channels of ultrasonic sensors of an ultrasonic probe used in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 and a block configuration.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the operation of the first embodiment of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 of the present invention and the first embodiment of the ultrasonic probe state determination method of the present invention. .

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example performed by the processing illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the second embodiment of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 of the present invention and the second embodiment of the ultrasonic probe state determination method of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a first example of an embodiment of the ultrasonic probe state determination method of the present invention illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process of a specific example of the first example of the second embodiment of the ultrasonic probe state determination method of the present invention illustrated in FIG.

8 is a diagram showing a display example of a shooting result in a normal shooting mode performed by the processing illustrated in FIG.

9 is a flowchart showing a modification of the processing illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a process of a second specific example of the second embodiment of the ultrasonic probe state determination method of the present invention illustrated in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Ultrasonic diagnostic device 12 ... Operation mode setting means 14, 14 Normal imaging processing means 16, Test imaging processing means 18, Ultrasonic probe driving means 20, Ultrasonic probe 22, State determination Means 30..Predetermined part of subject 100, 100A..display area 102..captured image display area 104,106..first and second ultrasonic probe state display section

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Hiroshi Hashimoto             127, 4-7 Asahigaoka, Hino City, Tokyo             GE Yokogawa Medical System Co., Ltd.             Within F-term (reference) 2G047 BA03 DB02 EA10 EA12 GB02                       GG20 GG33 GG34 GG36                 4C301 BB22 EE11 EE13 GB04 JB23                       JB27 JB28 JB29 LL02                 4C601 BB05 BB06 EE09 EE11 GB01                       GB03 GB04 JB34 JB35 JB36                       JB40 JB41 JB45 LL01 LL02

Claims (23)

[Claims] 1. An ultrasonic probe having a multi-channel ultrasonic sensor is driven to transmit ultrasonic waves to a predetermined portion of a subject, a reflected signal thereof is received, and a predetermined signal of the subject is received based on the received signals. In an ultrasonic imaging method for generating a captured image of a part, signal processing of a captured image of a predetermined part of the subject generated based on the received signal is performed, and received signals of ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of channels of the ultrasonic probe. Calculating the data indicating the correlation, and determining the contact state of the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels of the ultrasonic probe to the predetermined region of the subject by referring to the calculated data indicating the correlation, A method for judging the state of an ultrasonic probe. 2. The sound ray data in the ultrasonic sound ray direction in the photographed image are summed, and when the sum value is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the ultrasonic sensor has poor contact. Item 2. The ultrasonic probe state determination method according to Item 1. 3. An ultrasonic probe having an ultrasonic sensor of a plurality of channels is driven to transmit ultrasonic waves to a predetermined portion of a subject, a reflected signal thereof is received, and the predetermined signal of the subject is received based on the received signals. In an ultrasonic imaging method for generating a captured image of a part, in the normal imaging mode, signal processing of a captured image of a predetermined part of the subject generated based on the received signal is performed, and in the test imaging mode, (a) the Signal processing of a captured image of a predetermined region of the subject generated based on a received signal is performed, and (b) data showing a correlation is calculated from received signals of a plurality of channels of ultrasonic sensors driven by the ultrasonic probe. And (c) determining the contact state of the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels of the ultrasonic probe with respect to the predetermined region of the subject by referring to the data indicating the calculated correlation. The symptom, the ultrasonic probe state determination method. 4. An ultrasonic sensor of a plurality of channels in the ultrasonic probe is divided in advance into a plurality of blocks with the plurality of ultrasonic sensors as one block, and in the test photographing mode, (aa) A plurality of ultrasonic sensors in the block are simultaneously driven, and (bb) signal processing of a captured image of a predetermined region of the subject generated based on a received signal of the driven ultrasonic sensor is performed (c)
c) calculating data indicating the correlation from the received signals of the ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of channels driven by the ultrasonic probe, and (dd) referring to the calculated data indicating the correlation, a predetermined part of the subject. 3. The ultrasonic probe state determination method according to claim 1, wherein the process of determining the contact state of the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels of the ultrasonic probe with respect to all the ultrasonic sensors of all blocks is performed. 5. An ultrasonic probe having an ultrasonic sensor having a plurality of channels is used to transmit ultrasonic waves to a predetermined portion of a subject, receive a reflected signal thereof, and based on the received signal, the predetermined portion of the subject. In the ultrasonic imaging method for generating a captured image of, a plurality of ultrasonic sensors of all the plurality of channels of the ultrasonic probe are divided into a plurality of blocks as one block for each predetermined number of ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of channels, and a test imaging is performed. In the mode, (a) the ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of channels in one block divided into the plurality of blocks are simultaneously driven, and ultrasonic waves are transmitted from the driven ultrasonic sensors to a predetermined part of the subject, The reflected wave is received by all the ultrasonic sensors in the ultrasonic probe, and (b) signal processing of a captured image of a predetermined part of the subject generated based on the received signal. And (c) calculating the data indicating the correlation from the received signals of the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels driven by the ultrasonic probe, and referring to the calculated data indicating the correlation, the predetermined value of the subject is determined. The contact state of the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels of the ultrasonic probe to the site is determined, and (d) the received signals of the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels which are not driven by the ultrasonic probe are subjected to signal processing to obtain ultrasonic reflection signals. An ultrasonic probe state determination method, characterized by performing analysis, and (e) performing the processes (a) to (d) for all ultrasonic sensors. 6. A photographed image of a predetermined portion of the subject is displayed in a photographed image display area of a display means, and a display indicating whether or not a contact state of an ultrasonic sensor of the ultrasonic probe is good is displayed in the photographed image display area. The ultrasonic probe state determination method according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic probe state is displayed in adjacent ultrasonic probe state display portions. 7. The calculation of data indicating the correlation includes:
The ultrasonic probe state determination method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein data indicating the correlation is calculated for data obtained by performing phase matching processing on reception signals of ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of channels of the ultrasonic probe. 8. The calculation of the data indicating the correlation is performed for each of the ultrasonic sensor sensors of the plurality of channels of the ultrasonic probe divided into a plurality of blocks, and for each received signal unit of the ultrasonic sensor in each block, The ultrasonic probe state determination method according to claim 7. 9. An average value of reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels in each block is calculated as the data indicating the correlation, and an average value of reception signals of the blocks is received by an adjacent block. 8. The ultrasonic probe state determination method according to claim 7, wherein when it is lower than the average value of the signal, it is determined that the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels in the block are not sufficiently in contact with a predetermined portion of the subject. 10. An average value of received signals of the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels in each block is calculated as the data indicating the correlation, and the average value is equal or substantially equal in succession. , The average value of the received signals of successive blocks that have detected that the average values are equal or nearly equal to each other, the average value of the received signals of other adjacent continuous blocks or the value of the adjacent one block is The ultrasonic probe state determination method according to claim 7, wherein when it is lower than an average value of received signals, it is determined that the ultrasonic sensors of the continuous blocks are not sufficiently in contact with a predetermined portion of the subject. 11. The state determination result obtained by the processing in the test photographing mode is recorded in a memory and / or displayed on a display unit in association with the ultrasonic photographed image data. Item 11. The ultrasonic probe state determination method according to any one of Items 1 to 10. 12. A normal photographing processing means, a test photographing processing means, an ultrasonic probe driving means, and an ultrasonic probe having an ultrasonic sensor of a plurality of channels, wherein the normal photographing processing means is the ultrasonic wave. The ultrasonic probe is driven via a probe driving means to transmit ultrasonic waves to a predetermined part of the subject, receive a reflected signal thereof, and generate a captured image of the predetermined part of the subject based on the received signal. Then, the test imaging processing means (a) calculates data indicating a correlation from the received signals of the ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of channels of the ultrasonic probe, and (b) refers to the data indicating the calculated correlation. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for determining a contact state of ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of channels of the ultrasonic probe to a predetermined portion of the subject. 13. The test photographing processing means sums up sound ray data in the ultrasonic sound ray direction in the photographed image, and when the sum value is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, the ultrasonic sensor indicates a poor contact. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 12, which is determined to be present. 14. The display device further comprises a display unit, wherein the normal imaging processing unit displays a captured image of a predetermined portion of the subject in a captured image display area of the display unit, and a contact of an ultrasonic sensor of the ultrasonic probe. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 12 or 13, wherein a display indicating the quality of the state is displayed on an ultrasonic probe state display portion adjacent to the captured image display area. 15. An operation mode setting means for determining the test shooting mode or the normal shooting mode, driving the normal shooting processing means in the normal shooting mode, and driving the test shooting processing means in the test shooting mode. Comprising, the normal imaging processing means, by driving the ultrasonic probe through the ultrasonic probe driving means to transmit an ultrasonic wave to a predetermined part of the subject, receives the reflected signal, the received signal A captured image of a predetermined portion of the subject is generated based on the test image capturing processing means, and (a) the ultrasonic probe driving means drives the ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves to a predetermined portion of the subject. To receive the reflected signal,
Generate a photographed image of the predetermined portion of the subject based on the received signal, (f) perform signal processing of the photographed image of the predetermined portion of the subject generated based on the received signal,
(C) Data indicating the correlation is calculated from the reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels driven by the ultrasonic probe, and (d) Reference of the calculated data indicating the correlation is performed to determine the predetermined value of the subject. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 12, wherein a contact state of a plurality of channels of ultrasonic sensors of the ultrasonic probe with respect to a site is determined. 16. An ultrasonic sensor of a plurality of channels in the ultrasonic probe is divided into a plurality of blocks in advance with the plurality of ultrasonic sensors as one block, and the test photographing processing means includes (aa) A plurality of ultrasonic sensors in each block are simultaneously driven, and (bb) signal processing of a captured image of a predetermined region of the subject generated based on a received signal of the driven ultrasonic sensor is performed (c)
c) calculating data indicating correlation from the received signals of the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels driven by the ultrasonic probe, and (dd) referring to the calculated data indicating correlation, a predetermined part of the subject 16. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the processing of determining the contact state of the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels of the ultrasonic probe with respect to all the ultrasonic sensors of the blocks is performed. 17. An ultrasonic sensor for all channels of the ultrasonic probe is divided into a plurality of blocks in advance as one block for each of a predetermined number of ultrasonic sensors for a plurality of channels, and the test imaging processing means ) Simultaneously driving the ultrasonic sensors of a plurality of channels in one block divided into the plurality of blocks, transmitting ultrasonic waves from the driven ultrasonic sensors to a predetermined part of the subject, and reflecting the reflected waves thereof. All ultrasonic sensors in the ultrasonic probe receive, (b) signal processing of a captured image of a predetermined portion of the subject generated based on the received signal, and (c) driving of the ultrasonic probe. Data indicating the correlation is calculated from the received signals of the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels, and the ultrasonic probe to the predetermined part of the subject is referred to with reference to the calculated data indicating the correlation. The contact state of the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels in the lobe is determined, and (d) the received signals of the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels that are not driven by the ultrasonic probe are processed to analyze the ultrasonic reflection signals. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the processes (a) to (d) are performed for all ultrasonic sensors. 18. The test photographing process further comprises display means, wherein the normal photographing processing means or the test photographing processing means displays a photographed image of a predetermined part of the subject in a photographed image display area of the display means. 18. The ultrasonic wave according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein the means displays a display indicating whether or not the contact state of the ultrasonic sensor of the ultrasonic probe is good in the ultrasonic probe state display portion adjacent to the captured image display area. Diagnostic device. 19. The calculation of the data indicating the correlation is performed by calculating the data indicating the correlation with respect to the data obtained by performing the phase matching processing on the reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels of the ultrasonic probe. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of 13 to 18. 20. The calculation of the data indicating the correlation is performed for each of the plurality of ultrasonic wave sensors of the ultrasonic probe divided into a plurality of blocks, and for each received signal unit of the ultrasonic wave sensor in each block. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 19. 21. As data indicating the correlation, an average value of reception signals of ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels in each block is calculated, and an average value of reception signals of each block is received by an adjacent block. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 19, wherein when it is lower than the average value of the signal, it is determined that the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels of the block are not sufficiently in contact with a predetermined portion of the subject. 22. As the data indicating the correlation, an average value of the reception signals of the ultrasonic sensors of the plurality of channels in each block is calculated, and the average value is the same or substantially the same. , The average value of the received signals of successive blocks that have detected that the average values are equal or nearly equal to each other, the average value of the received signals of other adjacent continuous blocks or the value of the adjacent one block is 20. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 13, wherein when the received signal is lower than the average value of the received signals, it is determined that the ultrasonic sensors in the continuous blocks are not sufficiently in contact with a predetermined portion of the subject. 23. The state determination result obtained by the processing in the test photographing mode is recorded in a memory and / or displayed on a display unit in association with the ultrasonic photographed image data. Item 23. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of Items 15 to 22.