JP2004065370A - Ultrasonograph equipment, method for creating ultrasonographic information, and ultrasonographic system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide ultrasonograph equipment, a method for creating ultrasonographic information, and an ultrasonographic system, which enable a multifaceted diagnosis about a subject. <P>SOLUTION: This ultrasonograph is equipped with: a reception part 16 for generating an ultrasonic reception signal by receiving and processing an ultrasonic wave which is generated from the subject depending on a transmitted ultrasonic wave; an image processing part 18 for reconstituting an image in accordance with the ultrasonic reception signal which is output from the reception part 16; and a display part 22 for displaying an image signal of the processing part 18. The ultrasonograph is provided with a data transfer means 24 for transferring transfer data to external information processor 25 by converting the ultrasonic reception signal, which is output from the reception part 16, into the transfer data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and more specifically, to a technique for creating information necessary for a diagnosis such as a diagnostic image based on a measured signal.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus receives and processes the ultrasonic waves generated from the subject in accordance with the transmitted ultrasonic waves, generates an ultrasonic reception signal, that is, an RF signal, and reconstructs an image based on the generated RF signal, for example. It is known that a diagnostic image of an observation region is displayed.
[0003]
In such an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, for example, a B mode, an M mode, a Doppler mode, and the like are known as a display method of a diagnostic image. For example, in the B mode display, among the signal strength information, frequency information, and phase information included in the RF signal, the signal strength information is luminance-modulated at a predetermined gradation, that is, an image is displayed by changing the signal strength to the luminance strength. Is what you do. Further, usually, the image signal is stored in a memory and is displayed again as needed. That is, the luminance-modulated image signal is stored in the cine memory, and when, for example, a doctor re-diagnoses the subject, the stored image information is read out, and the image of the observation region is displayed again based on the read-out image signal. That is being done.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, generally, only necessary information is stored in a cine memory. For example, in the B mode, when the signal intensity information included in the RF signal is subjected to luminance modulation, the frequency information and the phase information are lost. That is, the signal information subjected to the luminance modulation is stored in the cine memory, while the signal information relating to the frequency information and the phase information is not stored.
[0005]
Therefore, it is not possible to satisfy a demand for a multifaceted diagnosis, that is, a diagnosis from a different viewpoint using different types of data later. In other words, when precision is important, for example, when measuring subtle movements of the heart muscle, numerical analysis using frequency information and phase information may be effective, but in order to use frequency information and phase information, It is necessary to image the subject again to acquire an RF signal, which takes time. Also, no consideration is given to performing different analyzes by a plurality of diagnosers to make a multifaceted diagnosis.
[0006]
An object of the present invention is to enable a multifaceted diagnosis of a subject.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problem, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention includes a receiving unit configured to receive an ultrasonic wave generated from a subject in accordance with a transmitted ultrasonic wave and generate an ultrasonic reception signal, and output from the receiving unit. An image processing unit that reconstructs an image based on the received ultrasonic signal, and a display unit that displays the image signal of the image processing unit, and converts the ultrasonic reception signal output from the reception unit to transfer data. Data transfer means for transferring the data to an external information processing apparatus.
[0008]
As described above, since the ultrasound reception signal before being reconstructed by the image processing unit is transferred to the external information processing device by the data transfer unit, the transferred ultrasound reception signal includes, for example, signal intensity information, frequency information, All measurement information such as phase information is included. Therefore, for example, by independently analyzing the signal strength information, the frequency information, and the phase information, a plurality of pieces of diagnostic information can be obtained from different viewpoints with respect to the same observation region, for example, the minute movement of the heart muscle. . Since multifaceted diagnosis, that is, diagnosis of the same object can be performed from different viewpoints based on the obtained plurality of pieces of diagnosis information, diagnosis accuracy can be further improved.
[0009]
Further, the ultrasonic diagnostic system of the present invention includes a receiving unit configured to receive an ultrasonic wave generated from a subject in accordance with a transmitted ultrasonic wave to generate an ultrasonic reception signal, and to receive an ultrasonic wave output from the receiving unit. An image processing unit that reconstructs an image based on a signal, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus including a display unit that displays an image signal of the image processing unit, and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus via a first signal transmission path. An information processing terminal connected to the information processing apparatus via a second signal transmission path, and the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus processes the ultrasonic reception signal output from the receiving unit for information processing. The information processing device has a data transfer unit that transfers the received ultrasound signal from the data transfer unit, stores the received signal in the storage unit, and stores the received ultrasound signal in the storage unit in response to a request from the information processing terminal. The received ultrasonic receiver A signal is output to the information processing terminal, and the information processing terminal accesses the information processing apparatus, receives the ultrasound reception signal, and generates diagnostic information of the subject based on the received ultrasound reception signal. It is characterized by the following.
[0010]
As described above, since the ultrasound reception signal before being reconstructed by the image processing unit is stored in the storage unit, the stored ultrasound reception signal includes, for example, all measurement information such as signal intensity information, frequency information, and phase information. Contains information. Further, since the information processing apparatus including the storage means is connected to a second signal transmission path, for example, a communication network, the ultrasonic wave stored by accessing the main storage unit from a group of information processing terminals connected to the communication network. Signal data can be shared between a plurality of terminals. Therefore, for example, signal intensity information, frequency information, and phase information relating to microsecond movement of an observation site, for example, a heart muscle, can be analyzed independently and in parallel by a plurality of information processing terminals. As a result, a plurality of diagnostic information from different viewpoints can be obtained quickly, for example, in real time, and a multifaceted diagnosis can be performed based on the obtained plurality of diagnostic information, so that the diagnostic accuracy can be further improved. .
[0011]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus to which the present invention has been applied. As shown in the figure, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 includes a probe 10 for transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic wave to and from a subject, and a transmitting unit 14 for driving the probe 10 and transmitting an ultrasonic wave. Further, a receiving unit 16 is provided that receives an ultrasonic wave generated from the subject and performs a phasing addition process on the received ultrasonic wave to generate an ultrasonic signal, that is, an RF signal. An image processing unit 18 for reconstructing an image signal from the RF signal output from the receiving unit 16 and a display unit 22 for displaying an image based on the image signal reconstructed by the image processing unit 18 are provided. Have been.
[0012]
Further, an RF signal transmitting unit 24 that converts an RF signal output from the receiving unit 16 into transfer data and transfers the data is provided, and an external information processing that receives the RF signal transferred by the RF signal transmitting unit 24. An apparatus, that is, a server 25 is provided. The server 25 includes an RF signal receiving unit 26 that receives an RF signal from the RF signal transmitting unit 24, and a storage device 27 that stores the RF signal received by the RF signal receiving unit 26.
[0013]
The operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus thus configured will be described. The probe 10 is applied to the surface of the subject, and the probe 10 irradiates the subject with ultrasonic waves according to a transmission signal transmitted from the transmission unit 14 via the transmission / reception separation unit. As a result, the reception signal generated from the subject is received by the reception unit 16 via the transmission / reception separation unit 12. The received analog received signal is optimally amplified by a TGC or the like, and the amplified received signal is subjected to phasing and addition by a delay circuit to be generated as an RF signal. The generated RF signal includes information necessary for diagnosis, such as signal strength information, frequency information, and phase information. Among the information, the signal strength information is luminance-modulated by, for example, 256 gradations by the image processing unit 18 so that the image signal On the other hand, frequency information and phase information are lost. The image signal modulated by the image processing unit 18 is converted into a signal for display by the DSC unit 20, that is, a digital scan converter, and displayed on the display unit 22 as a monochrome B-mode image.
[0014]
In such an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, when a measurement in which accuracy is emphasized, for example, when a delicate movement of a heart muscle is measured, the measurement accuracy can be improved only by visually observing the monochrome B-mode image displayed on the display unit 22. May not be obtained and may cause misdiagnosis. Therefore, in the present embodiment, in addition to the diagnosis of visually observing the black and white B-mode image, a plurality of pieces of diagnostic information from different viewpoints are obtained by performing, for example, numerical analysis using frequency information and phase information. The diagnostic accuracy is further improved by performing a multifaceted diagnosis based on the diagnostic information obtained.
[0015]
Here, the characteristic portion according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of the RF signal transfer unit 24. As shown in FIG. 2, the RF signal transfer unit 24 includes a data conversion unit 15, a memory 17, and a differential driver 19.
[0016]
The RF signal output from the reception unit 16 is converted into transfer data by the data conversion unit 15 of the RF signal transmission unit 24, temporarily stored in the memory 17, and then transferred by the differential driver 19. The transferred RF signal is stored in the storage device 27 of the server 25.
[0017]
That is, since the RF signal is transferred and stored in the storage device 27 of the server 25 before being reconstructed by the image processing unit 18, the stored RF signal includes, for example, signal strength information, frequency information, and phase information. And other measurement information necessary for all diagnoses. Therefore, for example, when measuring subtle movements of the heart muscle, the RF signal of the storage device 27 is read, and a B-mode image is obtained based on the signal strength information of the read RF signal, and the frequency information and the phase information are obtained. For example, when numerical analysis is performed using the above, a plurality of pieces of diagnostic information from different viewpoints can be obtained. Based on the obtained measurement information, a multifaceted diagnosis, that is, a diagnosis from different viewpoints using different types of data can be performed, and the diagnosis accuracy can be further improved.
[0018]
FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of a frame format of transfer data from the RF signal transfer unit 24. FIG. 3A shows a frame in which one frame of RF data is stored in the data part, and FIG. 3B shows a frame in which one line of RF data is stored in the data part. The RF signals output from the receiving unit 16 are arranged in chronological order, and the RF signal is divided by the data converting unit 15 into packets each including a header section and a data section as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. The header portion of the divided packet includes conditions such as a synchronization control signal and an error detection signal, and the data portion includes, for example, one frame of RF data or one line of RF data. . The RF data thus converted into the transfer data is temporarily stored in the memory 17 and then transferred to the server 25 by the differential driver 19.
[0019]
Here, the amount of transfer data is large, for example, about 1 Gbyte per frame. When this large amount of data is transferred to the server 25 via a capture cable having a high speed of, for example, 40 MHz or more and a length of, for example, more than 1 m, noise is likely to occur due to disturbance. Therefore, in the present embodiment, data transfer is performed using the differential driver 19. The differential driver 19 transmits and receives signals by detecting a deviation between the signals using two signal levels. As a result, even if a disturbance is applied during data transfer, the two signal levels are uniformly affected, and the deviation between the signal levels does not change. Therefore, even if the detection of the deviation causes the influence of disturbance, the generation of noise can be suppressed, and a large amount of data can be transferred at high speed.
[0020]
FIG. 4 shows a conceptual diagram of the server 25. As shown in the figure, the server 25 includes an RF signal receiving unit 26 that receives the RF data transferred from the RF signal transferring unit 24, a storage device 27 that stores the RF data received by the RF signal receiving unit 26, An encryption processing unit 32 for encrypting the RF data stored in the storage device 27; a compression processing unit 34 for compressing the RF data stored in the storage device 27; And a LAN board 36 for transmitting the data to the network.
[0021]
First, the RF data transferred from the RF signal transfer unit 24 is received by the RF signal receiving unit 26, passes through the chipset 30 via the PCI bus 28, and is stored in the storage device 27.
[0022]
When encrypting the RF data stored in the storage device 27, the CPU 31 controls the encryption processing unit 32 which is a PCI add-in board connected to the PCI bus 28. Then, for example, data encryption using DES is performed. As a result, the encrypted RF data is not decrypted with a decryption key other than a predetermined decryption key. Therefore, even if the RF data is intercepted and intercepted and leaked, the confidentiality of the data can be ensured and the privacy of the patient can be secured. Can be protected.
[0023]
Similarly, when compressing the RF data stored in the storage device 27, the CPU controls the compression processing unit 34 which is a PCI add-in board connected to the PCI bus 28. Then, the RF data is compressed using, for example, MPEG compression. As a result, large-capacity data is compressed to a small size, and can be efficiently stored in the storage device 27. Furthermore, when transmitting RF data to the LAN via the LAN board 36, the data can be efficiently transmitted because the data is compressed.
[0024]
FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of the RF signal receiving unit 26. As shown in the figure, the RF signal receiving unit 26 controls the receiver 29 that receives the RF signal transferred by the RF signal transfer unit 24, the memory 33 that temporarily stores the RF signal received by the receiver 29, and the memory 33. And a DMA controller 35.
[0025]
First, the RF data transferred from the RF signal transfer unit 24 is temporarily stored in the memory 33 after being received by the receiver 29 of the RF signal receiving unit 26. The RF data temporarily stored in the memory 33 is stored in the storage device 27 through the chipset 30 via the PCI bus 28 by the control function of the DMA controller 35.
[0026]
FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic system to which the present invention is applied. As shown in the figure, a LAN 38 which is a communication network formed in a ring shape is provided, and Hubs 103 a to 103 i having a plurality of network ports are installed on the LAN 38. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 is connected to the port of the Hub 103a, and the information processing terminals 104a to 104g, for example, workstations or personal computers are connected to the ports of the Hubs 103c to 103i. An information processing apparatus, that is, a server 102 is connected to a port of the Hub 103b.
[0027]
The operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic system configured as described above will be described. First, in the ultrasonic apparatus 1, an RF signal is generated by receiving and processing an ultrasonic wave generated from a subject, and the generated RF signal is converted into data for transfer before being configured by the image processing unit 18. You. The converted RF data is transferred to the server 102 via the Hubs 103a and 103b and stored in the storage device 27, and transmitted to the workstations 104a to 104g in response to a request from the workstations 104a to 104g.
[0028]
In this manner, the terminals of the workstations 104a to 104g can share the same subject RF data via the LAN. Therefore, at each workstation, a plurality of analysts can analyze the RF data of the same object in parallel from different viewpoints by a plurality of analysts, so that a plurality of diagnostic information can be obtained in many aspects and quickly. As a result, a known technique, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-17581, which makes it possible to access an image constituted by an image signal processing unit via a communication network, and an RF signal constituted by an image signal processing unit to a cine memory Compared to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-299745, which enables storage and offline diagnosis processing, the same observation site can be diagnosed from multiple viewpoints in a multifaceted and prompt manner. Therefore, the diagnostic accuracy can be further improved as compared with the related art.
[0029]
As described above, the present invention has been described based on the embodiment, but the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to this. For example, instead of the image processing unit 18 that performs image processing of a monochrome B-mode image, an image processing unit that performs image processing of an M-mode image or image processing of a color Doppler image may be used. Further, instead of the encryption processing unit 32 and the compression processing unit 34 which are the PCI add-in boards, encryption processing software or compression processing software by software processing may be used. Further, the server 25 may be integrated with the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1.
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, a multifaceted diagnosis of a subject can be made possible.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus to which the present invention has been applied.
FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of an RF signal transfer unit.
FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of a frame format of transfer data.
FIG. 4 shows a conceptual diagram of a server.
FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of an RF signal receiving unit.
FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic system to which the present invention is applied.
[Explanation of symbols]
16 receiving unit 18 image processing unit 22 display unit 24 RF signal transfer unit 25 information processing device 26 RF signal receiving unit 27 storage device 104a information processing terminal

Claims (6)

A receiving unit that receives an ultrasonic wave generated from a subject in accordance with the transmitted ultrasonic wave to generate an ultrasonic reception signal, and an image that reconstructs an image based on the ultrasonic reception signal output from the reception unit A processing unit, comprising a display unit for displaying an image signal of the image processing unit,
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: a data transfer unit that converts an ultrasonic reception signal output from the receiving unit into transfer data and transfers the data to an external information processing device. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data transfer unit is connected to the information processing device via a communication line. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic reception signal includes frequency information and phase information. An ultrasonic diagnostic information creating method in which an ultrasonic reception signal measured by an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is analyzed by a plurality of information processing apparatuses using the same or different analysis means to create a plurality of diagnostic information. A receiving unit that receives an ultrasonic wave generated from a subject in accordance with the transmitted ultrasonic wave to generate an ultrasonic reception signal, and an image that reconstructs an image based on the ultrasonic reception signal output from the reception unit A processing unit, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus including a display unit that displays an image signal of the image processing unit, an information processing apparatus connected to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus via a first signal transmission path, An information processing terminal connected to the information processing apparatus via a second signal transmission path;
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus has a data transfer unit that transfers an ultrasonic reception signal output from the receiving unit to the information processing apparatus,
The information processing device captures the ultrasound reception signal transferred from the data transfer unit and stores the signal in a storage unit, and receives the ultrasound reception signal stored in the storage unit in response to a request from the information processing terminal. Outputting a signal to the information processing terminal,
The information processing terminal accesses the information processing apparatus, receives the ultrasonic reception signal, and generates diagnostic information of the subject based on the received ultrasonic reception signal. Ultrasound diagnostic system. The second signal transmission path is a communication network;
The ultrasound diagnostic system according to claim 5, wherein the information processing terminal is a plurality of information processing terminals communicably connected to the communication network.

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