JP2006026256A - Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve operability of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus by allowing an operator to operate intuitively when changing a variety of image parameters of an ultrasonic diagnostic image displayed on a monitor. <P>SOLUTION: A display screen of the image display monitor 11 displays not only the ultrasonic diagnostic image 14 but also parameter keys 15A, 15B, 15C, 15D, 15E, and 15F (and their parameter set values) for selecting image parameters A, B, C, D, E and F respectively and soft keys such as a slide resistance 16 or the like. When one of the parameter keys 15A-15F is touched, a control section 4 detects the touched position to determine which one of the keys is touched and validates the operation of a trackball 12a and a key 12b of a console 12. By doing so, a desired parameter value can be modified in accordance with the operation of the console, and a diagnostic image according to the modified parameter value can be displayed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of changing various image parameters of an ultrasonic diagnostic image displayed on a monitor.

As shown in FIG. 7, a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of changing various image parameters of an ultrasonic diagnostic image displayed on a monitor has a diagnostic image with setting parameter names A, B, C, D, E, F and a monitor 31 for displaying the parameter setting value, and a console 32 dedicated to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus operated by the operator to change the parameter. The dedicated console 32 has, for example, a liquid crystal panel 321, a touch panel 322, a trackball 323, key switches 324A to 324F, a slide resistor 325, an encoder knob (not shown), etc. as operation means for changing parameters (for example, the following). Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-248843 (abstract) JP 2000-342581 A (Abstract) JP 2002-333953 A (abstract)

  However, in the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, set values such as the image parameters A to F are displayed on the diagnostic image displayed on the monitor 31, but only for changing the image parameters A to F and the like. Therefore, the operator needs to be interested in both the image on the monitor 31 and the console 32 when changing the parameters, and the operation is complicated. was there. In addition, a large number of key switches 324A to 324F for changing parameters, encoder knobs, slide resistors 325, etc. need to be prepared on the dedicated console 32 (or in the vicinity of the monitor 31). There was also. Further, in a small device having excellent portability and a device using a notebook personal computer for control and image display, it is necessary to minimize or eliminate the dedicated console 32 and improve operability.

The present invention has been made to solve the conventional problems, and improves the operability by enabling an intuitive operation when an operator changes various image parameters of an ultrasonic diagnostic image displayed on a monitor. An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of
Another object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of reducing the size of the apparatus by reducing control keys and improving the portability.

In order to achieve the above object, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention has a touch panel and displays a display means for displaying an ultrasonic diagnostic image.
An ultrasonic diagnostic image corresponding to a set image parameter, a key for changing the image parameter, and a parameter change screen corresponding to the key are displayed on the display means, and the display is displayed according to the touch position of the touch panel Change display means for detecting a key displayed on the display screen of the means and a parameter change operation corresponding to the key and changing the image parameter of the ultrasonic diagnostic image displayed and displaying the change on the display means; The
It was set as the structure which has.
With this configuration, the operator can operate settings such as an image parameter and a display mode displayed on the diagnostic image on the diagnostic image monitor.

The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention also includes an ultrasonic diagnostic image corresponding to a set image parameter, a key for changing the image parameter of the displayed ultrasonic diagnostic image, and a key corresponding to the key. Means for displaying the parameter change screen on the liquid crystal display of the notebook personal computer,
The key displayed on the display screen of the liquid crystal display according to the touch position of the touch panel attached to the front surface of the display screen of the liquid crystal display and the parameter change operation corresponding to the key are displayed. Means for changing the image parameter of a diagnostic ultrasound image and displaying it on the liquid crystal display;
It was set as the structure which has.
With this configuration, you can operate the settings such as image parameters and display mode on the touch panel installed on the console of a general-purpose notebook personal computer (notebook computer), so that a dedicated console can be used in addition to the console of the general-purpose laptop computer. The operability can be improved without adding.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when an operator changes various image parameters of the ultrasonic diagnostic image displayed on a monitor, intuitive operation is enabled and operability can be improved. In addition, the present invention can reduce the size of the apparatus by reducing the number of control keys and improve the portability.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of FIG.

  In FIG. 1, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention schematically shows an ultrasonic probe 1 and an ultrasonic wave for transmitting an ultrasonic signal to a subject (not shown) and receiving a reflected signal from the subject. The signal transmission / reception unit 2, the image processing unit 3 that generates an ultrasonic diagnostic image by image processing the signals received by the ultrasonic probe 1 and the ultrasonic signal transmission / reception unit 2, and the control that controls the entire ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 2, an image display monitor 11 for displaying an ultrasonic diagnostic image 14, a key for changing image parameters of the ultrasonic diagnostic image 14, and a parameter change screen corresponding to the key, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the touch panel 10 superimposed on the monitor 11, a dedicated console 12 and a general-purpose full keyboard 13 having a QWERTY layout are provided. . Note that the touch panel 10 is not limited to the one superimposed on the image display monitor 11, and may be any one that integrates the display function and the operation function.

  FIG. 2 schematically shows a display screen of the image display monitor 11, in addition to the ultrasonic diagnostic image 14, parameters for selecting image parameters A, B, C, D, E, and F, respectively. Keys 15A, 15B, 15C, 15D, 15E, 15F (and their parameter set values) and soft keys such as slide resistance 16 are displayed. The console 12 includes a trackball 12a, a key 12b, an encoder knob 12c, and the like as hard keys. In such a configuration, when one of the parameter keys 15A to 15F is touched, the control unit 4 detects the touch position to determine which parameter key is touched, and the trackball 12a of the console 12 and the key By enabling the operation of 12b, the value of a desired parameter can be changed according to the operation on the console 12 side. Then, an ultrasonic diagnostic image 14 corresponding to the changed parameter value is displayed. The full keyboard 13 can be used to input the name of the subject.

  FIG. 3 shows a modified initial screen in which the operator console 12 is omitted and all parameter setting operations are performed by the touch panel 10. The initial screen includes a diagnostic image 101, a live / freeze key 102, a print key 103, a save key 104, a measurement start key 105, a parameter display 106, and reception reference frequency, depth, brightness, and magnification as parameters. A frequency key 107, a depth key 108, a luminance key 109, an enlargement key 110, a color correction key 111, and the like for changing color correction values are displayed. When the touch panel 10 on the image display monitor 11 is touched, the control unit 4 detects the touch position, determines which key is touched, and performs control according to the touched key. Although the touch position is “detected” as an input method to the touch panel 10, in addition to this, the input content can be changed depending on the touch pressure, the touching time, the order of touching keys, and the like. This makes it possible to make more detailed settings.

  In the live / freeze key 102, “real time moving image (live)” is currently selected in FIG. 3 and “live” is displayed. In this state, the real time moving image is displayed as the diagnostic image 101. When the live / freeze key 102 is touched in this state, the control unit 4 switches the display to the “stop (freeze) image” as the diagnostic image 101 and displays the live / freeze key 102 to “freeze”. Switch to display. When the print key 103 is touched, the control unit 4 performs control to print the displayed diagnostic image 101 by a printer (not shown), and when the save key 104 is touched, the displayed diagnostic image 101 is displayed. Is stored in a recording medium (not shown). Near the frequency key 107, depth key 108, luminance key 109, enlargement key 110, and color correction key 111 (on the left side of the key in FIG. 3), the currently selected parameter value is displayed. Note that the currently selected parameter value may be displayed in a superimposed manner on the displayed diagnostic image 101 instead of in the vicinity of the key.

  FIG. 4 shows a screen when the frequency key 107 for changing the reception reference frequency is touched. When “5.0”, “3.6”, and “2.5” are displayed as the submenu 107a of the reception reference frequency, and one of these numbers is selected and the reception reference frequency is changed, a diagnostic image is displayed. The visible depth and resolution of 101 are changed, and the currently selected parameter value is switched and displayed.

  FIG. 5 shows a screen when the enlargement key 110 is touched. In the area of the diagnostic image 101, an enlargement frame for selecting the area of the diagnostic image 101 to be enlarged is displayed, and a submenu 110a of an enlargement ratio slide resistance is displayed. When the enlargement frame is touched and moved, the enlargement frame moves up and down, left and right, and when the submenu 110a of the enlargement ratio slide resistance is touched and the bar in the submenu 110a is moved, the diagnostic image is displayed. The enlargement factor 101 and the display position are changed, and the enlargement factor displayed on the left side of the enlargement key 110 is also switched and displayed.

  FIG. 6 shows an apparatus using a general-purpose notebook personal computer (notebook personal computer) 20 as another embodiment of the present invention, and a touch panel 10 is mounted on an image display monitor 21 of the notebook personal computer 20. The console 22 of the notebook computer 20 is composed of a general-purpose keyboard having a QWERTY layout.

  In this apparatus, the apparatus main body 24 connected between the ultrasonic probe 1 and the notebook personal computer 20 includes a notebook personal computer 20 in addition to the ultrasonic signal transmitting / receiving unit 2, the image processing unit 3 and the control unit 4 shown in FIG. For example, a USB interface or an IEEE 1394 interface is installed, and two-way communication is performed with the interface of the same model on the notebook personal computer 20 side, so that an ultrasonic diagnosis corresponding to the currently set image parameter is performed. An image, a key for changing an image parameter of the displayed ultrasonic diagnostic image, and a parameter change screen corresponding to the key are displayed on the image display monitor 21, and the image display monitor 21 is displayed according to the touch position of the touch panel 10. Detects and displays the key displayed on the screen and the parameter change operation corresponding to that key It is displayed on the image display monitor 21 by changing the image parameters of the ultrasonic diagnostic image is. As a result, when the operator changes various image parameters of the ultrasonic diagnostic image displayed on the image display monitor 21, an intuitive operation can be performed and operability can be improved, and control keys can be reduced. The apparatus can be miniaturized and the portability can be improved.

  As described above, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention can improve the operability by enabling an intuitive operation when the operator changes various image parameters of the ultrasonic diagnostic image displayed on the monitor. This is useful as an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that allows the user to change and adjust image parameters.

The block diagram which shows the whole structure of one Embodiment of the ultrasonic diagnosing device which concerns on this invention 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the main part of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of FIG. Explanatory drawing showing an initial screen of a modified example in which the operator console is omitted and all parameter setting operations are performed using the touch panel. Explanatory drawing which shows the frequency change screen of the modification which omits the console and performs all parameter setting operations using the touch panel Explanatory drawing which shows the enlargement rate change screen of the modification which omits the console and performs all parameter setting operations using the touch panel The block diagram which shows other embodiment of the ultrasonic diagnosing device which concerns on this invention Configuration diagram showing a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ultrasonic probe 2 Ultrasonic signal transmission / reception part 3 Image processing part 4 Control part 10 Touch panel 11 Image display monitor (display means)
12 operation console 12a trackball 12b key 12c encoder knob 13 full keyboard 14 ultrasonic diagnostic image 15A-15F parameter key 16 slide resistance 20 general-purpose notebook personal computer (notebook personal computer)
21 Image display monitor of general-purpose notebook computer 22 Console of general-purpose notebook computer 24 Main unit 101 Diagnosis image 102 Live / freeze key 103 Print key 104 Save key 105 Measurement start key 106 Parameter display 107 Frequency key 107a, 110a Submenu 108 Depth key 109 Luminance key 110 Enlarge key 111 Color correction key

Claims (2)

A display unit having a touch panel and displaying an ultrasonic diagnostic image;
An ultrasonic diagnostic image corresponding to a set image parameter, a key for changing the image parameter, and a parameter change screen corresponding to the key are displayed on the display means, and the display is displayed according to the touch position of the touch panel Change display means for detecting a key displayed on the display screen of the means and a parameter change operation corresponding to the key and changing the image parameter of the ultrasonic diagnostic image displayed and displaying the change on the display means; The
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. An ultrasonic diagnostic image corresponding to the set image parameter, a key for changing the image parameter of the displayed ultrasonic diagnostic image, and a parameter change screen corresponding to the key are displayed on the liquid crystal of the notebook personal computer. Means for displaying on the display;
The key displayed on the display screen of the liquid crystal display according to the touch position of the touch panel attached to the front surface of the display screen of the liquid crystal display and the parameter change operation corresponding to the key are displayed. Means for changing the image parameter of a diagnostic ultrasound image and displaying it on the liquid crystal display;
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.