JP2003175042A - Ultrasonograph diagnostic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To precisely and simply display the cross section of which part of an internal organ an ultrasonic planogram displays. <P>SOLUTION: An ultrasonic three-dimensional image processor 11 comprises a DSC (data stream compatibility) 41 for coordinate transformation of echo data, a contour extraction part 42 for extracting the contour of the internal organ from ultrasonic image data, a contour correction part 43 for generating correction data for correcting contour data with the ultrasonic image data, the contour data and positional and angular data, a three-dimensional memory 44 for storing the contour data and correction data, a schema generation part 45 for generating internal organ schema data with the contour data, the correction data and the positional and angular data, a cross sectional position marker generation part 46 for generating a cross section position marker showing the cross sectional position of echo data, and a composing part 47 for composing scheme data and a cross sectional position marker. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic image diagnostic apparatus, and more particularly to an ultrasonic image diagnostic apparatus characterized by an image generating portion for receiving a reflected wave by ultrasonic irradiation and generating an ultrasonic tomographic image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an ultrasonic endoscope has been inserted into a living body, a lesion in the body has been discovered from its optical image, and ultrasonic waves have been emitted. Methods of diagnosing images are widespread. In addition, a method is also used in which a puncture is performed while visually observing under an optical image / ultrasound tomographic image guide using a puncture needle, cells are aspirated, and a definitive diagnosis is performed using aspirated cells. In addition, a method of inserting an endoscope and treating a lesion under the endoscope is also performed. Further, a method of performing follow-up observation after treatment using an optical image / ultrasound tomographic image is also performed.

On the other hand, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-261900, the position of the tip of an ultrasonic probe is simply detected by using a magnetic source for generating a magnetic field and a magnetic sensor for detecting the magnetic field. A method for obtaining a three-dimensional ultrasonic image with a structure has been proposed.

Further, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 62-68442, ultrasonic diagnostics in which a magnetic sensor is provided on the ultrasonic probe to display information on the position and direction of the ultrasonic probe using a body mark and a probe mark. A device has been proposed.

In the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-68442, a magnetic source is embedded in a bed, and a subject lies on it. Next, the position of the tip of the sternum, the belly button, the side of the right body, and the side of the left body is measured with a built-in magnetic sensor attached to the ultrasonic probe to create a body mark. Then, at the same time when the ultrasonic tomographic images are collected and displayed, the position and the angle with respect to the bed are measured by the magnetic sensor, and the position and angle information of the ultrasonic probe is displayed on the body mark diagram. However, in the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-261900, it is necessary to know which position in the living body the optical image or ultrasonic tomographic image obtained by inserting the ultrasonic endoscope shows. There is a problem that it is difficult to understand because there is no choice but to judge from optical images and ultrasonic tomographic images.

Further, the ultrasonic endoscope used in the body cavity disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-261900 is more than the ultrasonic probe used outside the body disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-68442. Since the position of the scanning plane by the ultrasonic transducer cannot be seen, the position of the tip of the ultrasonic endoscope is difficult to understand, and the position where the ultrasonic endoscope is once diagnosed is made to reach again for treatment and follow-up. There was a problem that would be more difficult.

Therefore, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-51217 proposes an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in which the tip of the insertion portion of the ultrasonic endoscope can be easily inserted and placed in a target lesion.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-123187, when the ultrasonic endoscope is inserted into the living body, the visual field position / direction of the optical image pickup means and the tomographic plane position of the ultrasonic tomographic image /
We propose an ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system that can display the direction and recognize the position and direction of the ultrasonic endoscope tip easily and accurately.

[0009]

However, in the device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-51217, it is possible to know which side of the body the ultrasonic endoscope is, but which part of the organ is inserted. There is a problem that I do not know in detail until.

Further, in the apparatus of the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-123187, it is a body mark of a stomach or the like that is prepared in advance that displays a mark indicating an ultrasonic tomographic plane, and the body mark is subjected to ultrasonic scanning. Since it is different from the actual shape of the organ at the time of doing, there is a problem that it is difficult to actually understand even if the position of the tomographic plane is shown on the body mark.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and ultrasonic image diagnosis capable of accurately and easily displaying which section of an organ is displayed on an ultrasonic tomographic image. The purpose is to provide a device.

[0012]

An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to the present invention comprises a transmitting coil for generating a magnetic field and a receiving coil for detecting a magnetic field generated by the coil, and includes one of the transmitting coil and the receiving coil. Either one of the ultrasonic endoscopes arranged at the tip, the position angle detecting means for detecting the position and angle of the tip of the ultrasonic endoscope by the detection signal detected by the receiving coil, and the ultrasonic wave In an ultrasonic image diagnostic apparatus including an ultrasonic image generating unit that generates an ultrasonic image by an ultrasonic echo signal from an endoscope, a schematic diagram generating unit that generates a schematic diagram of a region of interest based on the ultrasonic image. And an operation surface instruction diagram for generating an operation surface instruction diagram for instructing a scanning surface of the ultrasonic echo signal estimated by the position and angle of the tip of the ultrasonic endoscope detected by the position angle detection means. Configured to include a forming means, and combining means for combining the operation surface based graphic and the diagram of the region of interest.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 17 relate to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing system, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing apparatus of FIG. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration, FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing processing in the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing apparatus of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display screen displayed on the image processing monitor by the processing of FIG. 3, and FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the schematic diagram data generation process of FIG. 3, FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the contour extraction process of FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram explaining the contour extraction process of FIG.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the schematic diagram data update determination process and the schematic diagram data update process of FIG. 3, FIG. 9 is a first explanatory diagram for explaining the process of FIG. 8, and FIG. 10 is a second diagram for explaining the process of FIG.
11 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a modified example of the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing system of FIG. 1, and FIG. 12 is a first diagram illustrating an operation of the modified example of the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing system of FIG. 14 is a second explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the modification of the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing system of FIG. 11, and FIG.
11 is a third explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the modified example of the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing system of FIG. 11, and FIG. 15 is an ultrasonic wave 3 of FIG.
FIG. 16 is a fourth explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of the modification of the three-dimensional image processing system, FIG. 16 is a fifth explanatory view illustrating the operation of the modification of the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing system of FIG. 11, and FIG. It is a 6th explanatory view explaining the operation of the modification of the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing system of.

(Structure) As shown in FIG. 1, the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing system 1 according to the present embodiment captures an image of a region to be examined in a body cavity and irradiates the region with ultrasonic waves to generate an ultrasonic echo. An ultrasonic endoscope 2 that obtains a signal, a light source device 3 that supplies observation light to the ultrasonic endoscope 2, and an image pickup signal of a region to be inspected picked up by the ultrasonic endoscope 2 are signal-processed for endoscopy. A video device 4 for generating a mirror image, an ultrasonic observation device 5 for generating an ultrasonic tomographic image of a region to be examined based on an ultrasonic echo signal obtained by the ultrasonic endoscope 2, and a video device 4. The observation monitor 7 for displaying the endoscopic image and the ultrasonic tomographic image generated by the ultrasonic observation device 5, and the magnetic source 8 for generating the magnetic field are provided at the tip of the ultrasonic endoscope 2. The magnetic field generated by the magnetic source 8 can be detected by the magnetic sensor 9. The position detection device 10 for detecting the position of the tip of the ultrasonic endoscope 2 by using the digital echo data output from the ultrasonic observation device 5 and the position of the tip of the ultrasonic endoscope 2 from the position detection device 10. An ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing apparatus 11 for signal-processing directional data to generate a three-dimensional image of a test site, and image processing for displaying a three-dimensional image of the test site generated by the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing apparatus 11. And a monitor 12.

The ultrasonic endoscope 2 is composed of an elongated insertion portion 21 which is inserted into a body cavity and an operation portion 22 which is connected to the base end of the insertion portion 21. The insertion portion 21 is capped from the distal end. 23, curved portion 24, and flexible tube 25 having flexibility
And a bending knob 22 provided on the operation unit 22.
By operating a, the bending portion 24 can be bent in the direction indicated by the thick arrow.

An ultrasonic transducer (not shown) for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves in the radial direction of the outer circumference of the tip cap 23 is provided in the tip cap 23 of the insertion portion 21, and the tip cap 2
The magnetic sensor 9 for detecting the magnetic field around the tip cap 23 generated by the magnetic source 8 is provided at the tip of the tip 3, and the light source for laterally observing the site to be examined is provided on the base end side of the tip cap 23. An observation light irradiation window 27 for irradiating the observation light from the apparatus and a CCD camera 28 for picking up an optical image of the region to be inspected irradiated with the observation light are provided.

The ultrasonic transducer in the tip cap 23 is connected to one end of a flexible shaft 29 arranged in the insertion portion 21, and the other end of the flexible shaft 29 is flexible in the operation portion 22. It is connected to a DC motor 30 that rotationally drives the shaft 29.

The observation light emitted from the lamp 31 of the light source device 3 is transmitted through the light source connector 32 to the universal cable 3
The light is transmitted to the observation light irradiation window 27 by a light guide (not shown) made of glass fiber that is inserted through the operation portion 22 and the insertion portion 21.

The image pickup signal (CCD signal) from the CCD camera 28 is also transmitted to the light source connector 32 by a signal line (not shown) which also passes through the insertion portion 21, the operation portion 22 and the universal cable 33, and further the light source connector 32. Is transmitted to the video device 4 by a video cable 35 connected to the video connector 34 via the video connector 34.

Further, the ultrasonic observation apparatus 5 transmits a pulsed voltage signal to the ultrasonic vibrator 26, and the ultrasonic vibrator 26
It is designed to receive ultrasonic echo signals from
The ultrasonic echo signal from the ultrasonic transducer 26 is inserted into the insertion section 2
1, a signal line (not shown) inserted through the operation unit 22 and the ultrasonic cable 36 is transmitted to the ultrasonic observation apparatus 5 via the ultrasonic connector 37, and the magnetic field detection signal from the magnetic sensor 9 is also inserted into the operation unit 21 and the operation unit. The position detecting device 10 is transmitted by a magnetic field detection cable 39 which is transmitted to the ultrasonic connector 37 by a signal line (not shown) inserted through the portion 22 and the ultrasonic cable 36, and is further connected to the ultrasonic connector 37 through a magnetic field detection connector 38. It is supposed to be transmitted to.

There are various ultrasonic endoscopes 2 for various organs such as the stomach and the large intestine, and the frequencies of ultrasonic transducers are different, and the ultrasonic sensor 2 is different from the magnetic sensor 9 for each ultrasonic endoscope. CC
The coordinates and orientation of the D camera 28 and the ultrasonic transducer 26 are different. Therefore, a signal for specifying the ultrasonic endoscope is output from the ultrasonic endoscope 2 as a probe identification signal. The transmission path of the probe identification signal is the same as that of the magnetic field detection signal, and the illustration thereof is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing apparatus 11 includes a DSC (coordinate conversion section) 41 for converting the echo data from the ultrasonic observation apparatus 5 and a DSC (coordinate conversion section) 41. A contour extraction unit 42 for extracting the contour of an organ from coordinate-transformed ultrasonic image data, ultrasonic image data coordinate-transformed by a DSC (coordinate transformation unit) 41, and contour data and contour position extracted by the contour extraction unit 42. Detector 1
A contour correction unit 43 that generates correction data that corrects the contour data based on the position data and the angle data from 0, the contour data extracted by the contour extraction unit 42, and the contour correction unit 4
3D memory 44 for storing the correction data generated by 3
And a schematic diagram generation unit 45 that generates schematic diagram data of an organ cross section of the organ based on the contour data and correction data stored in the three-dimensional memory 44 and the position data and angle data from the position detection device 10, and position detection A cross-section position marker generation unit 46 that generates a cross-section position marker indicating the cross-section position of the echo data from the ultrasonic observation apparatus 5 based on the position data / angle data from the apparatus 10, and schematic diagram data from the schematic diagram generation unit 45. A synthesizing unit 47 for synthesizing the cross-section position markers from the cross-section position marker generating unit 46 and a DSC (coordinate conversion unit)
A display circuit 48 that superimposes the ultrasonic image data whose coordinates have been converted by 41, the schematic diagram data in which the cross-section position marker has been synthesized by the synthesizing unit 47, and the endoscopic image data from the video device 4 and which is displayed on the image processing monitor 12. Consists of.

(Operation) Next, the operation of the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing system 1 of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described.

The ultrasonic endoscope 2 is inserted by a user such as a doctor into a tubular organ such as the stomach, esophagus, or large intestine in the living body of the subject.

At this time, the observation light from the light source device 3 passes through the light source connector 32, the universal cable 33, the operation section 22, and a light guide (not shown) inserted through the insertion section 21, and then the observation light irradiation window 27. Irradiate the test site.

An image pickup signal (CCD signal) from the CCD camera 28 relating to the surface of the part to be inspected is inputted to the video device 4 via the signal line in the universal cable 33, the video connector 34 connected to the light source connector 32 and the video cable 35. Then, the video device 4 receives an image pickup signal (CCD signal).
A video signal relating to the surface of the site to be inspected is created based on the above, and output to the observation monitor 7.

On the other hand, by rotating the DC motor 30, the flexible shaft 29 and the ultrasonic transducer 2
6 is rotated, and during this rotation, a pulsed voltage signal repeatedly transmitted from the ultrasonic observation device 5 is applied to the ultrasonic transducer 26, and the ultrasonic transducer 26 transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from the living body. Performs a so-called radial scan that rotates.

The ultrasonic echo signal from the ultrasonic transducer 26 regarding the site to be examined obtained by the radial scan is
Signal line in ultrasonic cable 36 and ultrasonic connector 37
Then, it is input to the ultrasonic observation device 5.

Then, the ultrasonic observation device 5 performs processing such as envelope detection, logarithmic amplification, and A / D conversion on the ultrasonic echo signal to create a tomographic image signal regarding the site to be examined, and an observation monitor. Output to 7. In addition, digital echo data regarding the site to be examined is created based on the ultrasonic echo signal and output to the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing apparatus 11.

The echo data at this time is described with the value corresponding to the distance from the ultrasonic transducer 26 and the radial scan rotation angle, that is, the value corresponding to the polar coordinates as the address, and the intensity of the ultrasonic echo signal as the data. I shall.

The observing monitor 7 displays an optical image of the region to be examined by the video signal from the video device 4, and displays an ultrasonic tomographic image of the region to be examined by the tomographic image signal from the ultrasonic observation device 5. On the other hand, the magnetic sensor 9 has a magnetic source 8
Detects the magnetic field generated by. Then, the magnetic field detection signal from the magnetic sensor 9 is input to the position detection device 10 via the signal line in the ultrasonic cable 36, the magnetic field detection connector 38 connected to the ultrasonic connector 37, and the position detection cable 39.

Then, the position detecting device 10 determines the coordinates (x, y, z) of the magnetic sensor 9 with respect to the magnetic source 8 and the orientation [Euler angle (ψ, θ, φ)] based on the magnetic field detection signal.
The digital position data / angle data (x, y, z, ψ, θ, φ) including information about and are output to the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing apparatus 11.

In the three-dimensional scanning by the ultrasonic endoscope 2 of the present embodiment, the user holds the ultrasonic endoscope 2 by hand as shown in FIG. 1 and moves in the direction of the arrow (from the subject). (To pull out)
This is done by moving or operating the bending knob 22a to bend the bending portion 24 and changing the direction of the tip cap 23.

In this way, in the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing apparatus 11, the three-dimensional memory 44 stores the three-dimensional contour data and the correction data in advance.

When the actual inspection is started, in the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing apparatus 11, as shown in FIG.
In the schematic diagram generation unit 45 in 1
The three-dimensional schematic data of the organ is generated from the three-dimensional contour data and correction data stored in the three-dimensional memory 44 and the position data and angle data from the position detecting device 10. The details of the schematic diagram data generation process in the schematic diagram generation unit 45 will be described later.

Then, in step S2, the contour correction section 43 acquires the two-dimensional data from the current DSC (coordinate conversion section) 41 and the position data / angle data from the position detection device 10, and in step S3 the contour correction section 43. In the step S4, if it is necessary to update the schematic diagram data, it is determined whether or not the schematic diagram data needs to be updated by comparing the contour data and the position data / angle data acquired in advance. Update processing is executed, and the process proceeds to step S5. If it is not necessary to update the schematic diagram data, the process proceeds directly to step S5. The details of the schematic diagram data update determination processing in step S3 and the schematic diagram data update processing in step S4 will be described later.

In step S5, the cross-section position marker generator 4
6, a cross-section position marker indicating the cross-section position of the echo data from the ultrasonic observation device 5 is generated based on the position data / angle data from the position detection device 10, and step S6
Then, in the synthesizing unit 47, the schematic diagram data from the schematic diagram generating unit 45 and the sectional position marker from the sectional position marker generating unit 46 are synthesized.

Then, in step S7, in the display circuit 48, the view direction (position) of the endoscopic image in which the ultrasonic image data coordinate-converted by the DSC (coordinate conversion unit) 41 and the cross-section position marker are combined by the combining unit 47 is set. Position and direction of the tip of the insertion part based on position data and angle data from the detection device 10)
Endoscopic image display for displaying an endoscopic image as shown in FIG. 4 by superimposing the schematic diagram data of the two-dimensional organ cross-section in the insertion direction with reference to FIG. 4 and the endoscopic image data from the video device 4. An area 51, an ultrasonic image display area 52 for displaying an ultrasonic image, a schematic diagram display area 53 for displaying a schematic diagram,
Coordinate data for displaying position data / angle data (x, y, z, ψ, θ, φ) is displayed on the image processing monitor 12 with a display screen including a coordinate display area 54. Here, in the two-dimensional schematic diagram 55 displayed in the schematic diagram display area 53, the cross-section position marker 56 indicating the scanning cross section of the ultrasonic image displayed in the ultrasonic image display area 52 is simultaneously displayed.

The above-described schematic diagram data generation processing in step S1 is performed by performing a three-dimensional scan by the ultrasonic endoscope 2, so that the three-dimensional ultrasonic waves whose coordinates are converted in step S11 as shown in FIG. Image data, position data, and angle data are acquired and output to the contour extraction unit 42. Then, in step S12, the contour extracting unit 42 extracts the contour of the organ from each two-dimensional data forming the three-dimensional ultrasonic image data and outputs it to the three-dimensional memory 44. The contour extraction processing in step S12 will be described later.

Subsequently, in step S13, the schematic diagram generation unit 4
3 in 3 from the outline data of the extracted two-dimensional organ
The dimensional contour data is synthesized, and the schematic diagram generation unit 45 synthesizes the position data from the position detection device 10 in step S14.
An organ section corresponding to the orientation of the insertion part is generated based on the angle data, and a schematic diagram of the organ section is output to the synthesizing section 47 in step S15 to be displayed on the image processing monitor 12 and the processing ends.

The contour extraction processing in step S12 is disclosed in detail in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-192. However, as shown in FIG. 6, the scan line at the time of starting the ultrasonic radial scan in step S21. And set step S
Set the scan start point on the scan line with 22,
The scan starts from the scan start point. As shown in FIG. 7, the echo data of the body cavity is extracted as Low ECHO, and the wall of the body cavity (organ wall) is extracted as High ECHO. Therefore, the scan point of the ultrasonic image data scanned in step S23 is predetermined. It is determined whether the brightness is equal to or higher than the threshold value, and if it is less than the predetermined threshold value, step S
In step 24, the scan point is moved and the process returns to step S23. When it is determined that the scan point being scanned has a brightness equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value, the extraction point is determined as a contour in step S25,
In step S26, the extraction points on all the scan lines are confirmed, the two-dimensional organ contour is extracted, and the process is ended.

As shown in FIG. 8, in the judgment processing for updating the schematic drawing data in step S3 and the updating processing for the schematic drawing data in step S4, the contour is extracted from the current two-dimensional data (ultrasound image data) in step S31. Execute (see FIG. 6). Then, in step S32, the change amount vector is calculated by comparing the previous contour with the current contour.

For example, as shown in FIG. 9, when an organ such as the stomach is expanded, the previous two-dimensional contour data is changed as shown in FIG. 10, and the present contour data is changed according to the expansion.
The change amount vector is calculated as a vector indicating a change state for each scan line.

When the change amount vector is calculated, it is determined in step S33 whether or not the change amount vector is a certain value or more. If it is less than the certain value, the process proceeds to step S36, and if the change amount vector is more than the certain value, step S34. Then, the change amount vector is applied to the other previous two-dimensional contour data (constituting the three-dimensional contour data) to generate the current three-dimensional contour data based on the change amount vector in step S35, and the process proceeds to step S36. .

In step S36, it is judged from the position data and angle data from the position detecting device 10 whether or not the scope angle (position and direction of the tip of the insertion portion) has changed. If there is no change in the scope angle, step S38 follows. If there is a change in the scope angle, go to step S37
In step S35, the cross section of the current three-dimensional contour data is recut according to the scope angle, and the schematic diagram generated in step S38 is output to the combining unit 47 to complete the schematic diagram update and end the processing. To do.

(Effect) As described above, in the present embodiment, a schematic diagram corresponding to the insertion position of the ultrasonic endoscope 2 is generated and displayed, and the ultrasonic tomographic plane currently being observed is displayed on the schematic diagram. It is displayed as a marker on the screen, and the schematic diagram and the marker are updated according to the state of the organ and the insertion position, angle, etc., so it is possible to accurately and easily understand which section of the organ is displayed on the ultrasonic tomographic image. Can be displayed.

The present embodiment can also be applied to a convex type ultrasonic endoscope 2a in which the ultrasonic transducer 100 is arranged on the distal end side surface of the insertion portion 21a as shown in FIG.

That is, even when the convex type ultrasonic endoscope 2a is used, an endoscopic image display area 51a for displaying an endoscopic image and an ultrasonic wave for displaying an ultrasonic image as shown in FIG. An image display area 52a, a schematic diagram display area 53a for displaying a schematic diagram, and coordinate data for displaying position data / angle data (x, y, z, ψ, θ, φ) are displayed on a display screen including a coordinate display area 54a. It is displayed on the processing monitor 12.

In the three-dimensional scanning by the convex type ultrasonic endoscope 2a, the user holds the ultrasonic endoscope 2 with his / her hand, and moves forward / backward or rotates in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. This is performed by operating the bending knob 22a to bend the bending portion 24 and changing the direction of the tip cap 23.
By doing so, a plurality of two-dimensional data can be obtained by three-dimensional scanning as shown in FIG. Then, by calculating the two-dimensional data, the three-dimensional data in the body cavity can be acquired as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, the convex type ultrasonic endoscope 2a
Also, as shown in FIG. 16, echo data of the body cavity is extracted as Low ECHO, and the body cavity wall (organ wall) is extracted.
Is extracted as High ECHO, the contour can be extracted by the process described in FIG. 6, and the lymph node in the body cavity can be extracted. When the scope angle (position and direction of the tip of the insertion portion) changes, as shown in FIG. 17, for example, the first cross section 20 according to the previous scope angle.
Second schematic cross section 2 according to the current scope angle
01 can be updated to the schematic diagram.

Thus, when applied to the convex type ultrasonic endoscope 2a, the same effect as that of the present embodiment can be obtained, and the convex type ultrasonic endoscope 2a can be applied to the treatment of lymph nodes. Since it is effective, displaying lymph nodes on the schematic diagram enables effective treatment. That is, it is difficult to know which cross section the convex type ultrasonic endoscope 2a sees when it is rotated, but a desired lymph node can be easily approached by using a schematic diagram.

[0053]

As described above, according to the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to accurately and easily display which section of an organ the cross section of an organ is displayed on.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing in the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display screen displayed on an image processing monitor by the processing of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a schematic diagram data generation process of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the contour extraction processing of FIG.

7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the contour extraction processing of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the schematic diagram data update determination process and the schematic diagram data update process of FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is a first explanatory diagram illustrating the processing of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a second explanatory diagram illustrating the processing of FIG.

11 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a modified example of the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing system of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a first explanatory diagram illustrating an operation of a modified example of the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing system in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a second explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of the modified example of the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing system in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a third explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of the modified example of the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing system in FIG.

FIG. 15 is a fourth explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of the modified example of the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing system in FIG.

FIG. 16 is a fifth explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of the modified example of the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing system of FIG. 11.

FIG. 17 is a sixth explanatory view explaining the operation of the modified example of the ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing system of FIG. 11.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Ultrasonic 3D image processing system 2 ... Ultrasound endoscope 3 ... Light source device 4 ... Video device 5 ... Ultrasonic observation device 7 ... Observation monitor 8 ... Magnetic source 9 ... Magnetic sensor 10 ... Position detection device 11 ... Ultrasonic three-dimensional image processing device 12 ... Image processing monitor 21 ... insertion part 22 ... Operation unit 22a ... Curved knob 23 ... Tip cap 24 ... Curved part 25 ... Flexible part 26 ... Ultrasonic transducer 27 ... Observation light irradiation window 28 ... CCD camera 29 ... Flexible shaft 30 ... DC motor 41 ... DSC (coordinate conversion unit) 42 ... Contour extraction unit 43 ... Contour correction unit 44 ... Three-dimensional memory 45 ... Schematic diagram generation unit 46 ... Section position marker generation unit 47 ... Synthesis section 48 ... Display circuit

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F term (reference) 4C301 BB03 BB13 BB22 BB26 EE11                       GD09 GD16 JC08 JC16 KK17                       KK18 KK28 KK30 LL04                 4C601 BB03 BB05 BB06 BB09 BB16                       BB24 EE09 GA17 GA21 GA29                       GA30 JB55 JC09 JC15 JC20                       JC25 JC26 JC37 KK21 KK22                       KK31 KK32 LL01 LL02

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An ultrasonic wave, comprising: a transmitter coil for generating a magnetic field; and a receiver coil for detecting a magnetic field generated by the coil, wherein one of the transmitter coil and the receiver coil is arranged at a tip. Endoscope, a position angle detecting means for detecting the position and angle of the tip of the ultrasonic endoscope by the detection signal detected by the receiving coil, and an ultrasonic image by an ultrasonic echo signal from the ultrasonic endoscope. In an ultrasonic image diagnostic apparatus including an ultrasonic image generating unit that generates a schematic diagram generating unit that generates a schematic diagram of a region of interest based on the ultrasonic image, the position detected by the position angle detecting unit. An operation plane indication map generating means for generating an operation plane indication map for instructing a scanning plane of the ultrasonic echo signal estimated by the position and angle of the tip of the ultrasonic endoscope, and the formula diagram and the front of the region of interest. Ultrasound imaging apparatus characterized by comprising a combining means for combining the operation surface based graphic. 2. A reproduction instructing means for detecting movement and rotation of the ultrasonic endoscope and for instructing the schematic drawing generating means to regenerate the schematic drawing. Item 2. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to item 1. 3. The regeneration instructing means estimates the change of the schematic diagram based on the body cavity information of the newly acquired one or more ultrasonic image images, and outputs the estimation information to the schematic diagram generating means. The ultrasonic image diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ultrasonic image diagnostic apparatus supplies the instruction to regenerate the schematic diagram.