JP2005204808A - Ultrasonic probe and ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To remove an effect of vibration of an ultrasonic probe and, in particular, precisely measure flood flow information related to a low speed blood flow largely affected by the vibration of the ultrasonic probe, when displaying the state of the interior of a living body using a Doppler effect in the transmission/receiving wave of the ultrasonic wave. <P>SOLUTION: This ultrasonic probe 1 is fixedly installed in a housing 3 served as a casing and the housing is installed with a vibration detecting part 4 for detecting the vibration of an acoustic element 2 as a transmission/receiving wave of the ultrasonic wave. The vibration of the acoustic element is detected by the vibration detecting part as the vibration of the housing vibrating with the acoustic element and supplied to the ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus via a cable 5 and a connector part 6. The ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus removes the vibration component detected by the vibration detecting part from the ultrasonic receiving signal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for observing and diagnosing an in-vivo state using the Doppler effect in ultrasonic transmission / reception.

  A conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus displays an image of blood flow information in a living body by utilizing the Doppler effect of transmitted / received ultrasonic waves, particularly for low-speed blood flow that is difficult to sort out from body motion components. As an apparatus that enables measurement of blood flow information, for example, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 below is known.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus disclosed in the following Patent Document 1 includes an ultrasonic probe that repeatedly performs transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves at a predetermined frequency, and a control unit that controls the repetition frequency of the predetermined transmission and reception waves; From the Doppler shift detection means for detecting the Doppler shift signal from the obtained received signal, the MTI (Moving Target Indicator) filter section for attenuating the low frequency component from the detected Doppler shift signal, and the Doppler shift signal after the low frequency attenuation Means for removing a phase shift component related to the body movement of the measurement object, and means for displaying a moving image of the reflector in the ultrasonic image obtained from the received signal, and controlling the repetition frequency of the transmitted and received waves; The body movement removal parameter setting is performed in conjunction with this, and this makes it possible to improve the display capability related to low-speed blood flow.

Patent Document 2 below discloses an ultrasonic probe that includes an angle sensor that detects a moving angle and a distance sensor that detects a moving distance. This ultrasonic probe can detect the movement angle and movement distance when moving along the surface of the subject by manual operation. Based on the detection result, the ultrasonic transmission / reception position and direction data are detected. Can be obtained, and image display based on these data can be performed.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-299751 (paragraph 0045, FIG. 1) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-23332 (paragraphs 0015 to 0025, FIG. 1)

  However, although the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 can remove the influence of body movement, it does not remove the Doppler shift signal erroneously detected by the vibration of the ultrasonic probe itself. This is impossible, and there is a problem that blood flow information relating to low-speed blood flow cannot be accurately measured. In addition, the ultrasonic probe disclosed in Patent Document 2 can detect the movement angle and movement distance accompanying the operation of the ultrasonic probe by the operator, but detects the vibration of the ultrasonic probe. This is impossible, and there is a problem that blood flow information relating to low-speed blood flow cannot be accurately measured.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention makes it possible to remove the influence of vibration of an ultrasonic probe when displaying an in-vivo state image using the Doppler effect in transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves. An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic probe and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of accurately measuring blood flow information relating to a low-speed blood flow that is greatly affected by the vibration of the probe.

In order to achieve the above object, an ultrasonic probe according to the present invention transmits an ultrasonic wave in accordance with a supplied electric signal, and converts the received ultrasonic wave into an electric signal and outputs it. When,
A housing for relatively fixing and holding the acoustic element;
Vibration detecting means for detecting vibration of the housing that vibrates together with the acoustic element.
With the above configuration, it is possible to directly measure the vibration of the ultrasonic probe caused by the vibration of the acoustic element when observing and diagnosing the state in the living body using ultrasonic waves.

In order to achieve the above object, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention transmits an ultrasonic wave according to a supplied electric signal, and converts the received ultrasonic wave into an electric signal and outputs the electric signal. The electrical signal between an ultrasonic probe having an element, a housing for relatively fixing and holding the acoustic element, and a vibration detecting means for detecting vibration of the housing that vibrates together with the acoustic element. Transmitting and receiving means for transmitting and receiving,
Vibration filter means for correcting a received signal related to the ultrasonic wave based on a detection result of the vibration by the vibration detection means;
Doppler shift signal detection means for detecting a Doppler shift signal from the received signal after processing by the vibration filter means;
Image signal processing means for generating an image signal for displaying the Doppler shift signal as an ultrasonic Doppler image.
With the above configuration, it is possible to remove the influence of the vibration of the ultrasonic probe caused by the vibration of the acoustic element from the ultrasonic reception signal (received signal). It becomes possible to accurately measure blood flow information relating to the low-speed blood flow received.

  Further, in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, the vibration filter means integrates a vibration signal of the ultrasonic probe detected from the vibration detection means, and the ultrasonic probe. And a corrector for correcting the received signal related to the ultrasonic wave based on the moving amount of the ultrasonic probe detected by the integrator. Is preferred.

  The present invention provides an ultrasonic probe and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having the above-described configuration. When an in-vivo state is observed and diagnosed by ultrasonic waves, an ultrasonic wave generated due to vibration of an acoustic element is provided. It is possible to directly measure the vibration of the acoustic probe and remove the influence of the vibration measured by the ultrasonic probe from the received ultrasonic signal. It is possible to accurately measure blood flow information related to the flow.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of an ultrasonic probe according to an embodiment of the present invention. An ultrasonic probe (ultrasonic probe) 1 shown in FIG. 1 detects an acoustic element (ultrasonic transducer) 2 that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves, a housing 3 that holds the acoustic element 2, and vibrations of the housing 3. The vibration detecting unit 4, the cable 5, and the connector unit 6 connected to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 (see FIG. 2).

  The acoustic element 2 is fixedly held by the housing 3. Therefore, with the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the vibration detection unit 4 detects the vibration of the housing 3 to detect the vibration of the acoustic element 2 that is fixedly held by the housing 3 and causes the vibration of the housing 3. It becomes possible to do. The vibration detection unit 4 can also detect vibration of the housing 3 due to the influence of some vibration other than the acoustic element 2 in addition to detecting the vibration of the housing 3 caused by the vibration of the acoustic element 2.

  The detection signal of the vibration of the housing 3 detected by the vibration detection unit 4 and the electrical signal from the acoustic element 2 are supplied to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 2 via the cable 5 and the connector unit 6. . In addition, an electrical signal to the acoustic element 2 is also supplied from the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 2 via the connector unit 6 and the cable 5.

  Next, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus connected to the ultrasonic probe 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus connected to the ultrasonic probe in the embodiment of the present invention. 2 includes an ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 101, a B-mode processing unit 102, a vibration filter unit 104, a Doppler shift detection unit 103, an MTI filter unit 105, a velocity calculation unit 106, a DSC. A (Digital Scan Converter) unit 107, a control unit 108, and a monitor unit 109 are included. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is connected to the ultrasonic probe 1 having the acoustic element 2 and the vibration detection unit 4 via the cable 5 and the connector unit 6.

  The ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 101 exchanges electrical signals for ultrasonic signals transmitted and received in the ultrasonic probe 1 with the acoustic element 2 of the ultrasonic probe 1 while receiving and receiving ultrasonic waves. An electrical signal related to a wave (hereinafter referred to as a received signal) is supplied to each of the B-mode processing unit 102 and the vibration filter unit 104. In the B mode processing unit 102, a tomographic image (B mode image) is generated and supplied to the DSC unit 107.

  On the other hand, the vibration filter unit 104 is also supplied with a signal related to the vibration detection result by the vibration detection unit 4 of the ultrasonic probe 1. And the vibration filter part 104 is based on the detection result of the vibration by the vibration detection part 4 of the ultrasonic probe 1, and the vibration detected by the vibration detection part 4 from the received signal (that is, vibration by the acoustic element 2). The received signal is corrected and the corrected received signal is supplied to the Doppler shift detector 103. The vibration filter unit 104 includes, for example, an integrator that integrates the vibration signal of the ultrasonic probe 1 detected by the vibration detection unit 4 to detect the movement amount of the ultrasonic probe, and the integrator. Based on the detected amount of movement of the ultrasound probe 1, it can be configured with a corrector that corrects the received signal. Then, the Doppler shift detection unit 103 detects the Doppler shift signal from the reception signal corrected by the vibration filter unit 104 and supplies the Doppler shift signal to the MTI filter unit 105.

  In the MTI filter unit 105, the low frequency component attenuation processing of the Doppler shift signal from which the vibration component by the acoustic element 2 is removed is performed, and the body motion component is removed. Then, in the speed calculation unit 106, the Doppler shift signal from which the body motion component has been removed by the MTI filter unit 105 is converted into a speed signal and supplied to the DSC unit 107.

  In the DSC unit 107, for example, synchronization with the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 101 is performed by the control unit 108, and vibration components due to the influence of the acoustic element 2 and body The speed signal converted from the Doppler shift signal from which the dynamic component is removed is superimposed as an image signal for color display, and the image signal is output so that it can be displayed on the monitor unit 109.

  With the above configuration and operation, vibration due to the influence of the acoustic element 2 is detected by the vibration detection unit 4, and based on the detection result, the vibration component due to the influence of the acoustic element 2 can be removed from the Doppler shift signal.

  Next, a waveform diagram of a received signal detected by the Doppler shift detection unit 103 shown in FIG. 3, a vibration waveform diagram detected by the vibration detection unit 4 shown in FIG. 4, and the ultrasonic probe 1 shown in FIG. The operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to the amount of movement. FIG. 3 is a schematic waveform diagram for comparing the received signal detected by the Doppler shift detector in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention with the received signal detected by the conventional technique. . Note that the horizontal axis of the graph shown in FIG. 3 indicates the depth in the measurement object (for example, in a living body), and is common to the waveforms 210 to 214. On the other hand, the vertical axis of the graph shown in FIG. 3 indicates the intensity of the received signal, and an independent axis is set for each of the waveforms 210 to 214. That is, each waveform 210-214 has an independent reference intensity. FIG. 4 is a waveform diagram of vibration detected by the vibration detection unit in the ultrasonic probe according to the embodiment of the present invention, and a waveform 301 is a vibration waveform. In addition, the vertical axis | shaft of the graph shown in FIG. 4 is intensity | strength, and a horizontal axis is time. FIG. 5 is a graph obtained by integrating the vibration waveform, and a waveform 302 represents the movement amount of the ultrasonic probe 1 (ultrasonic probe movement amount). In addition, the vertical axis | shaft of the graph shown in FIG. 5 is a movement amount, and a horizontal axis is time. At time 303, the reception waveform 212 in FIG. 3 is acquired, and at time 304, the reception waveform 214 is acquired.

  When the flow of blood or the like is detected by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10, ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received multiple times for the same location. The ultrasonic signal obtained from the ultrasonic probe 1 is supplied as a reception signal to the Doppler shift detection unit 103 as described above. The Doppler shift detection unit 103 detects a Doppler shift from the correlation of a plurality of sound rays obtained continuously.

  A waveform 210 is a waveform of a received signal at a certain time, a first peak (hereinafter referred to as a flow portion peak) 201 is a portion where a flow exists, and a next peak (hereinafter referred to as a fixed portion peak) 202 is a fixed portion. Is due to. On the other hand, the waveform 211 is a reception signal of the same part acquired after a lapse of a minute time from the time of the waveform 210, and the waveform 212 is a reception signal of the same part acquired after a lapse of a minute time from the time of the waveform 211. .

  As can be seen from the waveforms 211 and 212, the flow portion peak 201 moves with the passage of time, and it is detected that there is a flow. Further, the position of the fixed portion peak 202 is not moved, and it can be seen that the fixed portion peak 202 is a peak due to the fixed portion that does not depend on the passage of the same time.

  A waveform 213 is a waveform of a received signal when detection is performed using a conventional technique when some vibration is applied to the housing 3 of the ultrasonic probe 1 (for example, vibration due to the influence of the acoustic element 2). is there. In the waveform 213, the fixed portion peak 202 that should be detected in the same portion as the waveforms 210 to 212 is detected in a shifted manner. Therefore, it is doubtful whether the position of the flow portion peak 201 is also detected at an accurate position.

  On the other hand, the waveform 214 was corrected using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus shown in FIG. 2 when some vibration (for example, vibration due to the influence of the acoustic element 2) was applied to the housing 3 of the ultrasonic probe 1. It is a waveform of a later received signal. Based on the signal from the vibration detection unit 4 provided in the ultrasonic probe 1, the vibration filter unit 104 integrates the waveform of the vibration signal (vibration waveform 301) to move the amount of movement of the ultrasonic probe 1 (super A waveform 302) of the acoustic probe movement amount is detected. Since the ultrasonic probe 1 moves the movement amount 305 during the time 304 when the reception signal related to the waveform 214 of the reception signal is acquired from the time 303 when the reception signal 212 related to the waveform of the reception signal is acquired, The vibration filter unit 104 can obtain a corrected waveform 214 of the received signal by moving the received waveform in the depth direction. As described above, as a result of removing the vibration component of the ultrasonic probe 1 from the reception signal, the fixed portion peak 202 that has moved is detected at a normal position in the waveform 214 of the reception signal, and the flow portion peak 201 is also the same. In addition, it can be estimated that it is detected at a normal position.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the vibration detection unit 4 detects the vibration of the ultrasonic probe 1, and based on the detection result, the vibration filter unit 104 detects the ultrasonic probe from the ultrasonic reception signal. By removing the vibration component of the probe 1, it becomes possible to remove the influence of the vibration of the ultrasonic probe when displaying an image of the in-vivo state using the Doppler effect in the transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves. In particular, it is possible to accurately measure blood flow information relating to a low-speed blood flow that is greatly affected by the vibration of the ultrasonic probe.

  The ultrasonic probe and the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention can remove the influence of the vibration of the ultrasonic probe when displaying an image of the in-vivo state using the Doppler effect in transmission / reception of ultrasonic waves. In particular, it has the effect of making it possible to accurately measure blood flow information related to low-speed blood flow that is greatly affected by the vibration of an ultrasonic probe, and is used in the medical field. It is useful as an ultrasonic probe and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for observing and diagnosing a state in a living body by utilizing the Doppler effect in transmission / reception of.

Typical sectional drawing which shows the internal structure of the ultrasonic probe in embodiment of this invention Block diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in an embodiment of the present invention Schematic waveform diagram for comparing the received signal detected by the Doppler shift detector in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention and the received signal detected by the conventional technique The schematic diagram of the vibration waveform detected by the vibration detection part in embodiment of this invention The schematic diagram of the waveform of the ultrasonic probe movement amount obtained by integrating the vibration waveform in the embodiment of the present invention

Explanation of symbols

1 Ultrasonic probe (ultrasonic probe)
2 Acoustic elements (ultrasonic transducers)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 Housing 4 Vibration detection part 5 Cable 6 Connector part 10 Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 101 Ultrasonic transmission / reception part 102 B mode processing part 103 Doppler shift detection part 104 Vibration filter part 105 MTI filter part 106 Speed calculation part 107 DSC part 108 Control part 109 Monitor Part 201 Flowing partial peak 202 Fixed partial peak 210, 211, 212, 213, 214 Received signal waveform 301 Vibration waveform 302 Ultrasonic probe movement amount waveform 303 Time when waveform 212 was acquired 304 Time when waveform 214 was acquired 305 The amount of movement of the ultrasonic probe during time 303 to time 304

Claims (3)

An acoustic element that transmits ultrasonic waves according to the supplied electric signals, converts the received ultrasonic waves into electric signals, and outputs them,
A housing for relatively fixing and holding the acoustic element;
Vibration detecting means for detecting vibration of the housing that vibrates with the acoustic element;
An ultrasonic probe having. An acoustic element that transmits ultrasonic waves according to the supplied electrical signal, converts the received ultrasonic wave into an electrical signal and outputs the acoustic element, and a housing that holds the acoustic element relatively fixed; Transmission / reception means for transmitting / receiving the electrical signal to / from an ultrasonic probe having vibration detection means for detecting vibration of the housing that vibrates together with the acoustic element;
Vibration filter means for correcting a received signal related to the ultrasonic wave based on a detection result of the vibration by the vibration detection means;
Doppler shift signal detection means for detecting a Doppler shift signal from the received signal after processing by the vibration filter means;
Image signal processing means for generating an image signal for displaying the Doppler shift signal as an ultrasonic Doppler image;
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. The vibration filter means integrates the vibration signal of the ultrasonic probe detected from the vibration detection means to detect the movement amount of the ultrasonic probe, and is detected by the integrator. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2, comprising: a corrector that corrects a received signal related to the ultrasonic wave based on a movement amount of the ultrasonic probe.