JP2004229823A - Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To assist a user in changing an attitude of a probe so that the scanning surface orthogonally crosses the center axis of a blood vessel. <P>SOLUTION: The area of the blood vessel is operated by frame, and based on the area by frame, the reference area is specified as a representative value by heart rate. The difference in the reference area between heart beats is operated, and the information indicating whether the change of the attitude of the probe 10 currently performed by the user is appropriate or not based on the mark or size of the difference is displayed in a display part. Specifically, when the difference is minus, a red display process is executed; when the difference is plus, a blue display process is executed; and when the difference is equivalent to zero, a blinking display process is executed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and more particularly, to a posture adjustment of an ultrasonic probe with respect to a blood vessel (that is, a luminal tissue).
[0002]
[Prior art]
When the ultrasonic beam is electronically or mechanically scanned, a scanning surface having a predetermined shape is formed. A two-dimensional mapping of the echo data obtained on the scanning plane forms a tomographic image (B-mode image). When diagnosing a blood vessel as a luminal tissue, it is necessary to set a scan plane so as to be orthogonal to the central axis of the blood vessel as accurately as possible, for example, for displacement measurement and flow rate calculation. Specifically, while observing an ultrasonic image, the ultrasonic probe is rotated around its axis, or the ultrasonic probe is tilted (oscillatingly rotated), whereby the scanning surface is positioned. . Note that Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration for accurately obtaining a blood flow rate by changing the attitude of a probe.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-9-248304
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the above-described subjective technique requires skill, has poor positioning reproducibility, and has a problem that the measurement result is not objective. If there is variation in the measurement conditions among the diagnosers, the reliability of the comparison of the measurement results and the like will be reduced, and the disease diagnosis accuracy will be affected.
[0005]
An object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily optimize the posture of an ultrasonic probe with respect to luminal tissue.
[0006]
Another object of the present invention is to provide convenience for the user in adjusting the attitude of the ultrasonic probe.
[0007]
It is another object of the present invention to enable a scan plane orthogonal to a blood vessel to be set more quickly and accurately.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
(1) The present invention provides an ultrasonic probe abutting on the surface of a living body and transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from a blood vessel, and each frame based on a reception signal obtained by transmitting and receiving the ultrasonic waves. Tomographic image forming means for forming a tomographic image of the same; reference value calculating means for calculating a reference value representing the size of the cross-sectional area of the blood vessel for each heartbeat based on the tomographic image of each of the frames; Based on the reference value for each heartbeat when the attitude of the probe is changed, a difference calculation unit that calculates a difference between reference values between heartbeats, and evaluates a difference between reference values between the heartbeats. A means for providing a user with information for assisting the operation of adjusting the attitude of the ultrasonic probe, wherein when the difference is negative, negative information representing the difference is provided, and when the difference is positive. Operation support hand that provides positive information indicating the Characterized in that it comprises a and.
[0009]
In the above configuration, while observing the tomographic image, the ultrasound probe is contacted by the user with the ultrasound probe in contact with the surface of the living body so that the cross section of the blood vessel is substantially included in the scanning plane. When rotated or tilted (oscillating rotation) about the center axis, a reference value indicating the magnitude of the cross-sectional area of the blood vessel is calculated for each heartbeat, and a difference between the reference values between heartbeats is calculated. . Then, the sign of the difference is evaluated, that is, the increase / decrease of the area between heartbeats is analyzed, and negative information or positive information is displayed according to the situation at that time. The user can search for an optimal posture by recognizing such operation support information for posture adjustment of the ultrasonic probe. In other words, when negative information is provided, it can be recognized that the direction of the posture change of the ultrasonic probe is appropriate, and when positive information is provided, the posture change of the ultrasonic probe is Can be recognized as inappropriate. For example, if the ultrasonic probe is repeatedly rotated forward and backward, it is easy to find an appropriate angle.
[0010]
In the above configuration, since a representative value called a reference value is used for each heartbeat, appropriate operation support is performed without being affected by a change in cross-sectional area (physiological area change) due to pulsation of a blood vessel in one heartbeat. be able to. Since the difference between reference values between heartbeats is used, it is desirable that the posture of the ultrasound probe be changed slowly in consideration of the heartbeat cycle. In particular, it is desirable to perform the operation so that the posture changes at a constant speed as much as possible.
[0011]
Preferably, the apparatus further includes a posture change detecting unit that detects a posture change of the ultrasonic probe between the heartbeats, wherein the operation support unit is configured to perform the operation when the posture change of the ultrasonic probe occurs between the heartbeats. Only the difference is evaluated.
[0012]
According to the above configuration, it is possible to prevent a problem that the posture is erroneously determined to be proper even though the posture is not proper. For example, a posture change may be determined based on an angle change of a certain minute angle or more.
[0013]
Preferably, the attitude change detecting means is a sensor provided on the ultrasonic probe. An acceleration sensor or the like can be used as this sensor.
[0014]
Desirably, the information processing apparatus includes a determination unit that determines an appropriate posture state based on the difference, and an appropriate information providing unit that provides appropriate information indicating the appropriate posture state to a user. According to this configuration, it is possible to recognize not only the direction of the change but also the proper state itself.
[0015]
Preferably, the determination means determines the appropriate posture state when the difference is smaller than a predetermined value. That is, the appropriate state is determined based on the fact that the difference satisfies the minimum condition.
[0016]
Preferably, a means for variably setting the predetermined value is included. For example, it is desirable to variably set the predetermined value according to the size of the blood vessel, the determination accuracy, the speed of the posture change, and the like.
[0017]
Preferably, the determination means determines the appropriate posture state when the difference has switched from negative to positive. That is, the determination of the inflection point on the minimum side.
[0018]
Preferably, the negative information, the positive information, and the proper information are displayed on a screen in different display modes. The color, shape, and line type can be changed, and the presence or absence of blinking can be used. Further, character information may be provided, or information may be provided using sound or light.
[0019]
Preferably, the reference value is a maximum value, a minimum value, or an average value of a cross-sectional area of a blood vessel in one heartbeat. That is, an objective numerical value that can be compared with each other in each heartbeat is used. As a result, an increase or decrease in area due to pulsation within one heartbeat can be ignored.
[0020]
(2) The present invention provides an ultrasonic probe which is in contact with the surface of a living body and transmits / receives ultrasonic waves to / from a blood vessel and each frame based on a reception signal obtained by transmitting / receiving the ultrasonic waves. Tomographic image forming means for forming a tomographic image of the same; reference value calculating means for calculating a reference value representing the size of the cross-sectional area of the blood vessel for each heartbeat based on the tomographic image of each of the frames; Based on the reference value for each heartbeat when the attitude of the probe is changed, a difference calculation unit that calculates a difference between reference values between heartbeats, and evaluates a difference between reference values between the heartbeats. A means for providing a user with information for assisting an operation of adjusting the attitude of the ultrasonic probe, which indicates that the ultrasonic probe is in an appropriate attitude when the difference satisfies a minimum condition. Operation support means for providing appropriate information; Characterized in that it contains.
[0021]
In the above configuration, while observing the tomographic image, the ultrasound probe is contacted by the user with the ultrasound probe in contact with the surface of the living body so that the cross section of the blood vessel is substantially included in the scanning plane. When rotated or tilted (oscillating rotation) about the vertical center axis, a reference value indicating the size of the cross-sectional area of the blood vessel is calculated for each heartbeat, and a difference between the reference values between heartbeats is calculated. You. Then, when the difference satisfies the minimum condition, appropriate information is provided. The user can search for an optimal posture by recognizing such operation support information for posture adjustment of the ultrasonic probe. That is, when the appropriate information is obtained, it can be recognized that the posture of the ultrasonic probe has been optimized.
[0022]
Preferably, the apparatus further includes a posture change detecting unit that detects a posture change of the ultrasonic probe between the heartbeats, wherein the operation support unit is configured to perform the operation when the posture change of the ultrasonic probe occurs between the heartbeats. Only the difference is evaluated. According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent erroneous determination when the ultrasonic probe does not move.
[0023]
When optimizing both the rotation angle around the axis of the ultrasonic probe and the swing (tilt) angle, optimize one angle while fixing the other angle, and then adjust the other angle. One angle may be optimized while being fixed. According to the present invention, since the scanning plane can be easily orthogonalized to the central axis of the blood vessel, objective and good reproducibility can be obtained, and measurement accuracy of the blood vessel area and the like can be improved.
[0024]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0025]
First, the relationship between the blood vessel 12 and the scan plane S will be described with reference to FIGS. In each of the drawings, the direction crossing the blood vessel (the short axis direction) is the x-axis, the central axis direction (the long axis direction) of the blood vessel is the y-axis, and the axis perpendicular to those axes is the z-axis. Here, assuming that the shape of the blood vessel cross section is an ellipse having a major axis length Dx and a minor axis length Dz, the sectional area S is
S = πDxDz (1)
Is calculated.
[0026]
However, when the scanning plane S is not perpendicular to the direction of the blood vessel center axis (long axis y direction) (when it is rotated around the center axis as shown in FIG. 2 or tilted and rotated as shown in FIG. 4). The major axis length and the minor axis length of the blood vessel cross section on the scanning plane S are considered as follows.
[0027]
FIG. 2 schematically shows a state in which a blood vessel is viewed from above (from the body surface side). The angle between the scan plane S and the x-axis when the probe 10 is rotated about its central axis (in the xy plane) is α. In this case, the minor axis length Dz does not change even when the angle α changes, while the major axis length Dx ′ becomes as follows.
[0028]
Dx ′ = Dx / cosα (2)
That is, as the angle α increases, the shape of the cross section of the blood vessel becomes longer horizontally as shown in FIGS.
[0029]
FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a blood vessel viewed from the side. The angle between the scanning plane S and the z-axis when the probe 10 is tilted and rotated in the yz plane is β. In this case, the major axis length Dx does not change even when the angle β changes, while the minor axis length Dz ′ becomes as follows.
[0030]
Dz ′ = Dz / cosβ (3)
That is, as the angle β increases, the shape of the cross section of the blood vessel increases vertically as shown in FIGS.
[0031]
Generally, in the initial state where the probe 10 is in contact with the living body, both the angle α and the angle β are present at the same time, so the following relationship is established.
[0032]
S ′ = S / (cosα) (cosβ) (4)
As can be understood from the above, when α = 0 and β = 0, S ′ becomes the minimum, which is equal to the actual area S. Therefore, if the posture of the probe 10 is set so that the size of the cross-sectional area of the blood vessel is minimized in the tomographic image of the blood vessel, the scanning plane S can be set correctly for the blood vessel. Further, by identifying an increase or decrease in the area when the posture of the probe 10 is changed, it is possible to determine whether the current direction of the posture change is appropriate or not, and to assist the user in adjusting the posture based on the direction. Can provide information. However, the blood vessel itself beats in conjunction with the heartbeat, and the cross-sectional area changes within one heartbeat. Therefore, it is desired to obtain a reference value (representative value) based on an objective criterion for each heartbeat and compare them with each other.
[0033]
Actually, the blood vessel cross-sectional area can be calculated by executing an automatic tracing of the intima of the blood vessel using an edge extraction method or the like and counting the number of pixels in an area surrounded by the automatic tracing.
[0034]
FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the entire configuration.
[0035]
In this embodiment, the probe 10 is gripped by the user, and the transmitting and receiving surface, which is the distal end surface, is brought into contact with the surface of the living body. The probe 10 has an array vibrator composed of a plurality of vibrating elements. An ultrasonic beam is formed by the array vibrator, and the ultrasonic beam is electronically scanned. Examples of the electronic scanning method include electronic linear scanning and electronic sector scanning.
[0036]
FIG. 1 shows a scanning surface S formed by electronic linear scanning of the ultrasonic beam B. When the probe 10 is first positioned, the blood vessel 12 is included in the scan plane S while viewing the displayed tomographic image, and the scan plane S is substantially perpendicular to the central axis of the blood vessel. The posture and position of the probe 10 are adjusted. Reference numeral 12A indicates the adventitia of the blood vessel 12, and reference numeral 12B indicates the intima of the blood vessel 12. The cross-sectional area of the blood vessel 12 is usually defined as an area in the intima 12B.
[0037]
The probe 10 has a motion detection sensor 13 constituted by an acceleration sensor or the like. That is, the change in the attitude of the probe 10 can be electrically detected by the motion detection sensor 13. Instead of such a motion detection sensor 13, a motion may be detected based on, for example, a received signal.
[0038]
The transmission unit 14 is configured as a transmission beamformer, and supplies a plurality of transmission signals to the array transducer with a predetermined delay relationship. The receiving unit 16 is configured as a receiving beam former, and executes a phasing addition process on a plurality of received signals output from the array transducer.
[0039]
The reception signal after the phasing addition is sent to the signal processing unit 24. The signal processing unit 24 has a plurality of arithmetic units, and FIG. 1 particularly shows a tomographic image forming unit 26 among them. The tomographic image forming unit 26 is an arithmetic unit that executes signal processing, coordinate conversion processing, and the like for forming a B-mode image.
[0040]
The signal (image data) output from the signal processing unit 24 is output to the display processing unit 28. The display processing unit 28 has a function of synthesizing various images. The image data output from the display processing unit 28 is output to the display unit 30, and a tomographic image or the like is displayed on a display screen of the display unit 30.
[0041]
The electrocardiograph 18 is a measuring unit for detecting an electrocardiographic signal from the subject, and the electrocardiographic signal is output to the operation support unit 32.
[0042]
The operation support unit 32 is a unit that provides support information to the user in order to appropriately set the scan plane S as orthogonal to the center axis of the blood vessel. In the present embodiment, the scanning support unit 32 includes an area calculation unit 34, a reference area calculation unit 36, a difference calculation unit 40, and a determination unit 38. Incidentally, those modules may be constituted by hardware, or their functions may be realized by software. The area calculation unit 34 is a module that calculates a cross-sectional area of a blood vessel for each tomographic image of each frame. Specifically, for example, a plurality of reference lines are set radially from the center of gravity of the blood vessel, and the edge detection is performed on each reference line to detect the intima 12B of the blood vessel 12, and the detection point of each intima 12B is detected. Are connected to each other to automatically trace the intima 12B. The area can be calculated by counting, for example, the number of pixels in the closed loop obtained by the automatic tracing. Incidentally, this technique itself is known.
[0043]
The reference area calculation unit 36 is a module that calculates, for each heartbeat, a maximum area, a minimum area, an average area, or the like of blood vessels in a plurality of frames included in the heartbeat as a reference area. That is, the blood vessel 12 itself beats with a heartbeat, that is, the area of the blood vessel 12 is physiologically increased or decreased. In this case, when the probe 10 is slowly rotated, if the area difference between the respective frames is simply obtained, the above-mentioned pulsation is affected. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a reference area as a representative value is specified for each heartbeat, and these are compared with each other to determine whether or not the posture change of the probe 10 is appropriate. An electrocardiographic signal is used as a synchronization signal for that purpose.
[0044]
As described above, the difference calculation unit 40 is a module that calculates a difference (difference area) between two reference areas obtained between heartbeats, that is, two adjacent heartbeats. By observing the increase or decrease of the difference, it can be determined whether or not the currently performed rotational scanning of the probe is directed to a more optimal direction or not. Such a determination is made by the determination unit 38.
[0045]
That is, when the sign of the difference is negative, the determination unit 38 determines that the rotation direction of the probe 10 is an appropriate direction, and outputs information indicating the direction to the display processing unit 28. If the difference is positive, it is determined that the rotation of the probe 10 is in an inappropriate direction, and information representing the rotation is output to the display processing unit 28. In the present embodiment, the scanning surface 38 has a function of determining that the angle α or the angle β described above has become zero or can be regarded as zero, as an appropriate posture state. The determination of the appropriate posture state can be realized by several methods.For example, as described later in detail, the determination may be made when the difference has become a certain value or less, or the polarity of the difference may be negative. The determination may be made at the time of the positive switching. When the determination of the appropriate posture is performed, information representing the determination is output to the display processing unit 28.
[0046]
In the operation of the operation support unit 32 as described above, the angle of the probe 10, that is, the angle α or the angle β is ideally slowly changed at a constant speed by the user. However, if the user does not perform such an operation, or if the movement of the probe is extremely small, the above difference will result in zero or near zero. That is, there is a problem that the difference becomes small even if the angle α or the angle β is not close to zero. Thus, in the present embodiment, the above-described motion detection sensor 13 is provided, and the calculation (or determination) of the difference is performed only when it can be considered that the probe 10 has moved. A specific operation example of the operation support unit 32 will be described later with reference to FIGS.
[0047]
In the present embodiment, the display processing unit 28 causes the display unit 30 to display information for supporting a user's probe operation based on information output from the operation support unit 32. Specifically, the display unit 30 displays negative information indicating that the difference is negative, positive information indicating that the difference is positive, and appropriate information indicating that the appropriate posture state has been achieved.
[0048]
For example, such information can be represented by various methods such as changing the color of a certain display portion, changing the shape, using the presence or absence of blinking, and the like. In the present embodiment, as one expression method, the color of a predetermined display portion is displayed in red for negative information, and the color of the predetermined display portion is displayed in blue for positive information. Further, a predetermined display portion is blinked for appropriate information. This allows the user to intuitively understand whether or not the angle of the probe 10 is oriented in the optimization direction and whether or not the angle is optimized by observing such a color change or blinking expression. It becomes.
[0049]
This will be described with reference to FIG. 6. The horizontal axis in FIG. 6 is the time axis, and the vertical axis indicates the above-described reference area when the angle α or the angle β is changed. Alternatively, the vertical axis may be the area of each frame. As shown in FIG. 6, when the angle is periodically vibrated, when the reference area gradually decreases, a predetermined display portion on the display screen is displayed in blue, while the reference area is When it gradually increases, a predetermined display portion on the display screen is displayed in red. In the state where the reference area is minimum, for example, a predetermined display portion is blinked.
[0050]
FIG. 7 shows a display example displayed on the display unit 30 shown in FIG. In the display screen 100, a tomographic image 102 as a B-mode image is displayed. The tomographic image 102 shows a cross section of a blood vessel, reference numeral 104A indicates an adventitia of the blood vessel, and reference numeral 104B indicates an intima of the blood vessel. An inner area 104 is an area to be subjected to an area calculation. In this case, when automatically tracing the intima 104B and displaying the trace line, it is desirable to change the color of the line in accordance with the above-described rule or to make the line blink. Further, instead of changing the color, the type of the trace line may be changed. Further, the area of the region 104 is displayed on the display screen 100 by numerical values as indicated by reference numeral 106. The blinking of the numerical display may indicate that the vehicle is in the optimal posture state. An OK display 108 indicating that the posture has been optimally displayed may appear on the screen 100. That is, it is desirable to change the display content so that the negative information, the positive information, and the optimal information are clearly transmitted to the user who is observing the screen.
[0051]
Although the display content is changed in this embodiment, a sound may be output instead or together with the change. That is, the user is made aware of the current state by changing the timbre or outputting a message.
[0052]
In FIG. 1, a control unit 20 controls the operation of each component in the apparatus, and an input unit 22 including an operation panel or the like is connected to the control unit 20.
[0053]
Next, an operation example of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. First, in FIG. 8, in S101, zero is substituted into variables i and j as initial values. In S102, the calculation of the area S [i, j] is started for each frame while j is incremented by one within the i heartbeat. That is, a plurality of frames are formed for each heartbeat, and the area is calculated for each frame.
[0054]
In S103, the above-described calculation of the reference area Sr [i] is performed for the i-th heartbeat. Specifically, the maximum value of the areas S [i, j] at the i-th heartbeat is set as the reference area Sr [i]. Of course, as described above, the reference area may be a minimum area instead of the maximum area, or may be an average area. In addition, other representative values specified objectively may be used.
[0055]
In S104, it is determined whether or not i is 0. If i is 0, since the frame is an initial frame, i is incremented by 1 in S113, and the steps from S102 onward are executed.
[0056]
On the other hand, in S105, it is determined whether or not the probe has moved between the (i-1) th heartbeat and the ith heartbeat based on the output signal of the above-described motion detection sensor. That is, the user changes the angle of the probe as shown in FIG. 6 during execution of the step shown in FIG. 8, but if such an operation is not performed, an erroneous determination occurs. Is provided. Here, when it is determined that there is no movement of the probe, that is, it is determined that the posture is maintained, the steps after S102 through S113 are executed.
[0057]
If it is determined in step S105 that the probe has moved, a difference ΔS [i] in the reference area between the (i−1) th heartbeat and the ith heartbeat is calculated. Specifically, Sr [i] −Sr [i−1] is calculated, and the calculation result is substituted into ΔS [i].
[0058]
In S107, whether the difference ΔS [i] is positive or negative, that is, sign determination is performed. Here, if it is determined to be positive, S110 is executed, while if it is determined to be negative, it is determined in S108 whether or not the minimum condition is currently satisfied. That is, the minimum condition is a condition for determining the above-described proper posture state.
[0059]
For example, as the minimum condition, a condition that ΔSr [i−1] is <0 and ΔS [i] <ε is used. That is, the condition is that the difference for the immediately preceding frame is negative or 0, and the difference (or absolute value) for the current frame is less than ε. Here, the constant value ε is a threshold value for determination, and is desirably set variably according to conditions such as measurement accuracy or blood vessel area. Of course, it may be variably set by the user.
[0060]
Here, if the minimum condition is satisfied in S108, S111 is executed, and if the minimum condition is not satisfied, S109 is executed.
[0061]
In S109, the predetermined display portion is displayed in blue as described above, in S110, the predetermined display portion is displayed in red, and in S111, the predetermined display portion blinks. Of course, a display portion different from the red display or the blue display may be blinked in S111. That is, a different display mode is adopted for each case.
[0062]
In S112, it is determined whether or not to end this routine. If not, the steps from S102 onward through S113 are repeatedly executed. Therefore, the steps after S102 are executed for each heartbeat, and the display of information on the display screen is updated for each heartbeat.
[0063]
FIG. 9 shows another operation example. Incidentally, each step of S201 to S206 is the same as the above S101 to S106, and each step of S209 to S213 is the same as each step of S109 to S113. Therefore, the step of S208 will be described below.
[0064]
In S208, it is determined whether the difference ΔS [i] is positive and whether the difference has changed from negative to positive. That is, the inflection point is determined. If it is the inflection point, blinking display processing is executed in S211. If it is not the inflection point, the process of S209 is executed. Even if such a method is used, it is possible to determine the optimum state, that is, determine the minimum condition. Incidentally, it is desirable that the operation example shown in FIG. 8 or FIG. 9 is individually executed for the angle α and for the angle β. That is, first, the angle β is consciously fixed, the angle α is gradually changed by the user, and after it is determined that the angle α is appropriate, the angle β is changed while maintaining the angle α to change the angle β. This is to determine the appropriate state of β.
[0065]
Incidentally, in the above embodiment, it is possible to omit the steps S111 and S211 on the assumption that the steps S109 and S110, S209 and S210 are executed. That is, the optimum state can be determined by changing the display from blue to red. Alternatively, only the steps of S111 and S211 may be provided without providing the steps of changing the colors. In this case, information on the direction of the posture change is not provided, but the blinking display is performed at the time of matching with the optimum state, so that the user can recognize the state. However, it is desirable to adopt the operation example shown in FIG. 8 or FIG. 9 described above in order to make the user more convenient.
[0066]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, there is an advantage that the posture of the ultrasonic probe can be easily optimized with respect to the hollow tissue.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a preferred embodiment of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an angle α.
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a cross-sectional shape when an angle α is changed.
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an angle β.
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a cross-sectional shape when an angle β is changed.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a change in a reference area when an angle is periodically changed by a user.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display example.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining an operation example of the apparatus.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining another operation example of the apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
Reference Signs List 10 probe, 12 blood vessel, 13 motion detection sensor, 14 transmission unit, 16 reception unit, 26 tomographic image formation unit, 28 display processing unit, 32 operation support unit, 34 area calculation unit, 36 minimum area calculation unit, 38 determination unit, 40 Difference calculation unit.

Claims (11)

An ultrasonic probe that is in contact with the surface of a living body and transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from blood vessels,
A tomographic image forming unit that forms a tomographic image of each frame based on a reception signal obtained by transmitting and receiving the ultrasonic waves,
Reference value calculation means for calculating a reference value representing the size of the cross-sectional area of the blood vessel for each heartbeat based on the tomographic image of each frame,
Difference calculation means for calculating a difference between reference values between heartbeats based on the reference value for each heartbeat when the posture of the ultrasonic probe is changed,
A means for evaluating a difference between reference values between the heartbeats and providing information to a user for assisting an operation of adjusting a posture of the ultrasonic probe, and representing the case where the difference is negative. An operation support unit that provides negative information and provides positive information representing the difference when the difference is positive,
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: The device of claim 1,
Including posture change detection means for detecting a posture change of the ultrasonic probe during the heartbeat,
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, wherein the operation support unit evaluates the difference only when the posture change of the ultrasonic probe occurs between the heartbeats. The device according to claim 2,
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, wherein the attitude change detecting means is a sensor provided on the ultrasonic probe. The device of claim 1,
Determining means for determining an appropriate posture state based on the difference;
Proper information providing means for providing a user with proper information representing the proper posture state,
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: The device according to claim 4,
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, wherein the determining unit determines the appropriate posture state when the difference is smaller than a predetermined value. The device according to claim 5,
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising means for variably setting the predetermined value. The device according to claim 4,
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, wherein the determining unit determines the appropriate posture state when the difference switches from negative to positive. The device according to claim 4,
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, wherein the negative information, the positive information, and the appropriate information are represented on a screen by different display modes. The device of claim 1,
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reference value is a maximum value, a minimum value, or an average value of a cross-sectional area of a blood vessel within one heartbeat. An ultrasonic probe that is in contact with the surface of a living body and transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from blood vessels,
A tomographic image forming unit that forms a tomographic image of each frame based on a reception signal obtained by transmitting and receiving the ultrasonic waves,
Reference value calculation means for calculating a reference value representing the size of the cross-sectional area of the blood vessel for each heartbeat based on the tomographic image of each frame,
Difference calculation means for calculating a difference between reference values between heartbeats based on the reference value for each heartbeat when the posture of the ultrasonic probe is changed,
Evaluating the difference between the reference values between the heartbeats, a means for providing information to the user to assist the operation of adjusting the attitude of the ultrasonic probe, the time when the difference meets the minimum condition, Operation support means for providing proper information indicating that the ultrasonic probe is in a proper posture,
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: The device according to claim 10,
Including posture change detection means for detecting a posture change of the ultrasonic probe during the heartbeat,
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, wherein the operation support unit evaluates the difference only when the posture change of the ultrasonic probe occurs between the heartbeats.

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