JP2007097902A - Ultrasonic inspection system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that, when diagnosing support information for specifying a part with the possibility of abnormality is displayed at a main display device while performing ultrasonic diagnosing, a subject who looks at it feels uneasy. <P>SOLUTION: On an inspector, a head mount display (HMD) is mounted. On a screen in the HMD, a reference image 112 is displayed. The reference image 112 has an ultrasonic image 114 and a mark (diagnosing support information) 116 indicating the part with the possibility of abnormality. It is possible to observe an ultrasonic image 108 displayed on the main display device 24 while observing the reference image 112 as well. Since the reference image 112 is provided only for the inspector, the subject 106 is not made uneasy. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic inspection system, and more particularly to an ultrasonic inspection system equipped with a function for supporting image diagnosis.

  In the medical field, disease diagnosis has conventionally been performed by subjective judgment by visual observation (interpretation) of acquired images (X-ray CT images, MRI images, etc.). In the case of subjective judgment, judgment differences, oversights, and misunderstandings tend to occur depending on the amount of interpretation experience. It can be said that such a problem is particularly likely to occur in group medical examinations where it is necessary to perform image diagnosis for many subjects in a short time. Therefore, in the fields of X-ray image diagnosis, MRI image diagnosis, and the like, CAD (Computer-aided diagnosis) is becoming widespread for objective image diagnosis.

  According to the CAD, a part (candidate part) that may be abnormal is automatically specified by image analysis using a computer, and a diagnostic support marker indicating the position of the part is displayed on the image. The examiner can diagnose the presence / absence and degree of an abnormal site by visually observing the image while referring to such support information. In the field of ultrasonic image diagnosis, various image processing techniques have been put into practical use to support disease diagnosis. However, an ultrasonic diagnosis system having a full-fledged CAD function has not yet been commercialized. It has not been. The following Patent Documents 1-6 disclose an apparatus that supports image diagnosis. Patent Document 7 discloses an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus including a head mounted display on which an ultrasonic image is displayed. Patent Document 8 discloses an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus including an auxiliary display.

JP 2003-153877 A JP 2003-000575 A JP 2003-275196 A JP 2004-105729 A JP 2004-180987 A JP 2004-222982 A JP 2000-157542 A JP 2002-2448099 A

  By the way, according to the examination by ultrasonic diagnosis, there is an advantage that a series of processes of ultrasonic transmission / reception, image formation, image display, and image diagnosis can be performed in real time. Depending on the inspection method and the posture of the subject on the bed, the subject can see an image displayed in real time on the main display. Such an open atmosphere is emphasized from the viewpoint of relieving the tension of the subject.

  However, if support information such as a mark indicating the possibility of abnormality is displayed on the ultrasonic image, the subject may be anxious to see it. The support information indicates a candidate for abnormality and may point out a part that is actually normal but not abnormal, but a subject with poor knowledge may misunderstand that it is abnormal. In order to prevent this problem, it is possible to make the support information small or lightly displayed on the image. In such a case, the possibility that the inspector overlooks the support information increases. As an inspector, there is a demand for concentrating on the examination without hesitation of the subject. Note that each of the above-mentioned patent documents does not describe the above-described problem that occurs when an image is displayed at an examination place where the subject is present and a configuration for dealing with the problem.

  An object of the present invention is to enable a subject to undergo an ultrasonic examination with a sense of security without causing unnecessary confusion in the subject.

  Another object of the present invention is to prevent diagnosis support information from being seen by a subject.

  Another object of the present invention is to ensure that diagnosis support information associated with an ultrasound image is provided to an examiner.

  The present invention provides an ultrasonic image forming unit that forms an ultrasonic image based on data obtained by transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves, and image analysis that analyzes the ultrasonic image and determines a portion having a possibility of abnormality Means, information generating means for generating diagnostic support information for identifying a portion having the possibility of abnormality on the ultrasonic image, and providing the ultrasonic image and the diagnostic support information to an examiner. And image providing means for restricting provision of the diagnostic support information to a subject in the vicinity of the examiner.

  According to the above configuration, the image providing means provides the examiner with an ultrasound image and diagnosis support information. Basically, the diagnosis support information is provided only to the examiner, and the information is provided to the subject. Not. Therefore, it is possible to prevent unnecessary confusion and anxiety caused by the examinee looking at the diagnosis support information, and on the other hand, the diagnosis support information can be surely provided to the examiner to support diagnosis by the examiner. Therefore, the inspector can concentrate on the inspection without hesitation of the subject. It is desirable to provide the above-described diagnosis support information during a real-time operation of displaying an ultrasonic image while transmitting / receiving ultrasonic waves. The diagnosis support information is information for specifying a portion having a possibility of abnormality, and is, for example, a graphic that is synthesized and displayed on an ultrasonic image. In addition, text information and numerical information can be given.

  Preferably, it further includes reference image forming means for forming a reference image by synthesizing the diagnostic support information with the ultrasonic image, and the image providing means includes a main display for displaying the ultrasonic image; An auxiliary display for displaying the reference image to the examiner. Preferably, the main display is a main display installed above the apparatus main body of the ultrasonic inspection system, and the auxiliary display is a head mounted display (HMD) provided on the examiner's head. is there. As such a device, it is desirable to use a see-through type head mounted display in order to secure a field of view. When there are a plurality of examiners, each person may be provided with an HMD and a reference image may be provided to those persons.

  The main display can easily observe the display screen from the surroundings, and it is generally possible for the subject to see the image displayed on the display, depending on the posture of the subject. . Therefore, if the diagnostic support information is displayed indiscriminately there is a risk that the above problem will occur. On the other hand, according to the HMD, only the person wearing it can observe the image, and if diagnostic support information is displayed there, the diagnostic support information is surely provided to the examiner without being seen by the subject. it can. Since the diagnosis support information is displayed in relation to the ultrasonic image, the position of the abnormal candidate part can be particularly easily specified. When the HMD is used, the image displayed on the main display can be observed simultaneously with the observation of the image displayed on the HMD, so that the tissue can be observed in detail with the latter image. Moreover, according to HMD, since a tester's movement is not restrained exceptionally, a diagnostic act can be performed smoothly. That is, it is possible to operate the probe with one hand and operate the operation panel with the other hand in the HMD mounted state.

  Preferably, the reference image is displayed at a corner position in the field of view of the inspector on the image projection surface of the head mounted display. Preferably, the corner position is an upper right corner position in the visual field range of the inspector. In general, since the bed on which the subject is placed is installed on the right side of the apparatus body, the device appears on the left side of the field of view of the examiner, and the subject appears on the lower right side of the field of view (of course, inspection). Depending on the posture of the patient and the posture of the patient). Under such a premise, there is a high possibility that an empty space is generated at the upper right side of the visual field range of the HMD. If an ultrasonic image or diagnosis support information is displayed there, the effective field of view is unnecessarily narrowed by the display. Can be avoided. However, it is desirable to configure so that the inspector can change the display position, display size, etc. of the reference image.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the subject can undergo an ultrasonic examination with peace of mind without causing unnecessary confusion in the subject. In particular, the diagnosis support information can be prevented from being seen by the subject, and it can be provided to the examiner with certainty.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of an ultrasonic inspection system according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration thereof. The ultrasonic inspection system according to the present embodiment is configured as an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus as shown in FIG. However, the ultrasonic diagnostic system can also be configured by an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and a computer connected thereto.

  In FIG. 1, a probe 10 is an ultrasonic probe that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves and captures echo data. The probe 10 is used in contact with the body surface or inserted into a body cavity. In the probe 10, an array transducer composed of a plurality of transducer elements is provided. An ultrasonic beam is formed by the array transducer, and the scanning surface of each frame is formed by electronic scanning of the ultrasonic beam. Electronic linear scanning, electronic sector scanning, and the like are known as ultrasonic beam electronic scanning methods. It is also possible to provide the probe 10 with a 2D array transducer.

  The transmission / reception unit 12 functions as a transmission beam former and a reception beam former. That is, a plurality of transmission signals are supplied from the transmission / reception unit 12 to the plurality of vibration elements in the probe 10. As a result, a transmission beam is formed. On the other hand, the plurality of reception signals output from the plurality of vibration elements are subjected to phasing addition processing in the transmission / reception unit 12, whereby a reception signal after phasing addition corresponding to the reception beam is obtained. The received signal is output to the signal processing unit 14.

  For example, when forming a B-mode image (two-dimensional tomographic image), the signal processing unit 14 performs processing such as detection and logarithmic conversion. Beam data (echo data string) obtained by this processing is output to a digital scan converter (DSC) 16. The DSC 16 performs coordinate conversion, interpolation processing, and the like on the echo data, thereby forming an ultrasound image. The image data is output to the display processing unit 18. The cine memory 15 temporarily stores data output from the signal processing unit 14. In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present embodiment, as will be described later, an image including diagnosis support information can be provided to an examiner during real-time operation, but data stored on the cine memory 15 is used. In the freeze state, the stored data can be read to display the previously displayed ultrasonic image again, and the diagnosis support information can also be displayed at that time.

  The display processing unit 18 performs processing for image display, and includes a first display processor 20 and a second display processor 22 in the present embodiment. The first display processor 20 executes display processing for the main display 24. The second display processor 22 executes display processing for the HMD 26 in this embodiment. The main display 24 is composed of a display such as a CRT, for example, and an ultrasonic image is displayed there. As will be described later, the HMD 26 is mounted on the examiner's head and the like, and a reference image created by the second display processor 22 is displayed on the projection surface of the HMD 26. In the present embodiment, the reference image is obtained by synthesizing diagnosis support information on an ultrasound image, and particularly includes marking information that identifies an abnormal candidate site on the ultrasound image. This will be described in detail later. An image storage unit 19 is connected to the display processing unit 18, and an ultrasonic image and diagnosis support information can be stored on the image storage unit 19.

  Reference numeral 28 represents an arithmetic processing unit. The arithmetic processing unit 28 is incorporated in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in this embodiment, but it can be replaced as a function on a computer. In the present embodiment, the arithmetic processing unit 28 includes an image analysis unit 30, a control unit 32, a graphic image forming unit 34, and the like that realize software functions.

  As will be described later, the image analysis unit 30 performs image analysis on the ultrasonic image based on the CAD method described above, and thereby identifies a portion having a possibility of abnormality. Coordinate information about the part is output to the control unit 32. In the present embodiment, the image analysis unit 30 performs image analysis on the ultrasonic image of each frame during the real-time operation. As described above, image analysis may be performed on the image read from the cine memory 15.

  The control unit 32 controls the operation of each component shown in FIG. 1, and in particular controls the operation of the graphic image forming unit 34 described below. Information specifying a portion having a possibility of abnormality passed from the image analysis unit 30 is passed to the graphic image forming unit 34 via the control unit 32.

  The graphic image forming unit 34 has a function of generating a graphic image as diagnosis support information. In particular, as will be described later, a graphic image including a mark to be combined with an ultrasonic image is generated. The mark identifies a part that may be abnormal. The graphic image data generated by the graphic image forming unit 34 is output to the display processing unit 18.

  The operation panel 36 includes a keyboard, a trackball, and the like, and the inspector can select an operation mode and set operation conditions by operating the operation panel 36. The second display processor 22 described above has a function of composing the graphic image with an ultrasonic image (for example, a two-dimensional tomographic image), thereby forming a reference image. On the other hand, the first display processor 20 has a function of synthesizing a general graphic image, but does not synthesize a graphic image having diagnosis support information into an ultrasonic image.

  That is, the main display 24 is installed above the operation panel 36, and the examiner can see the display screen. At the same time, the subject (patient) can also see the display screen. If a mark indicating a portion having a possibility of abnormality is displayed as diagnosis support information there, there is a possibility of giving anxiety to the subject. Therefore, on the main display 24, the ultrasonic image is displayed as it is as in the prior art. On the other hand, in the HMD 26, only the examiner wearing the HMD 26 can observe the image displayed there, and an ultrasonic image including diagnosis support information, that is, a reference image is displayed there. Thereby, the examiner can obtain an accurate diagnosis by obtaining diagnosis support information and can simultaneously observe the display screen of the main display 24 when performing detailed observation of the tissue.

  Next, the operation contents in the image analysis unit 30 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. Various types of image processing for CAD are already known, and the processing contents shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 are merely examples.

  In FIG. 2, an ultrasonic image for one frame is input in S101. In S102, a smoothing process or the like is executed on the ultrasonic image, thereby removing image noise. In addition to this, various types of preprocessing can be given. In this embodiment, an ultrasound diagnosis is performed on the breast, and a breast region is extracted on the ultrasound image in S103. That is, in the next S104, a range for extracting lesion shadow candidates is determined. The breast region extraction process in S103 can be realized by using various methods. For example, a breast region can be extracted by performing edge detection or region extraction processing.

  In S104, lesion shadow candidate detection processing is performed on the extracted breast region. In S105, a process of deleting false positives from one or more extracted lesion shadow candidates is executed.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the processing contents. When deleting false positives, multifaceted analysis such as area, position, concentration value, circularity, etc. of each region is performed, and it is discriminated whether it is a mass or a false positive part. It will be.

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, a plurality of false positive deletion processes 50, 52, 54, and 56 are applied, that is, a process of excluding false positive parts from a plurality of viewpoints is performed on the ultrasound image. Examples of objects to be deleted by the false positive deletion processes 50, 52, 54, and 56 are indicated by reference numerals 51, 53, 55, and 57 in FIG. As is well known, there are noises or artifacts unique to an ultrasonic image, and the process of excluding the influence of such noise is also included. In that case, the state of the echo inside and outside each area, the value of the echo, and the like are referred to. Various types of processing contents are conventionally known.

  Returning to FIG. 2, in S <b> 106, after the false positive deletion process is performed, an identification process is executed for each remaining area, that is, a lesion shadow candidate, whether it is benign or malignant. In this case, for example, texture analysis can be used. Of course, other methods may be used. In any case, a candidate for an abnormal part is specified by executing each step shown in FIG. Of course, it is the examiner who finally determines whether it is normal or abnormal. When the inspector is not a doctor, that is, when an ultrasonic diagnosis is performed by an inspection engineer, the diagnosis is performed by the doctor who has received the inspection data.

  FIG. 4 shows a schematic view of the state during ultrasonic diagnosis. Reference numeral 100 represents an apparatus main body of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and the main display 24 exists above the operation panel 36 as described above. An ultrasonic image 108 is displayed on the display screen of the main display 24.

  A sub display 40 is provided on the operation panel 36, and an ultrasonic image 109 or a menu screen can be displayed on the display screen of the sub display 40. When displaying diagnosis support information on the display screen of the sub-display 40, it is desirable to attach a viewing angle limiting filter or a polarization filter so that only the examiner can see it.

  The HMD 26 is mounted on the head of the inspector 102. The HMD 26 has a transparent screen member provided in front of both eyes, and an image is projected onto the screen member. As described above, the image is a reference image, and by referring to the diagnosis support information included in the reference image, specifically, a mark indicating a part that may be abnormal, the position of the part is clearly defined. Can be recognized.

  A bed 104 is installed on the right side of the apparatus main body 100, and a subject 106 who is a patient lies on the bed 104. The probe 10 is held by one hand of the inspector 102, and the operation panel 36 is operated by the other hand of the inspector 102.

  As is clear from the positional relationship shown in FIG. 4, the subject 106 can observe the display screen of the main display 24. There, no diagnostic support information is displayed, and the diagnostic support information is displayed in an image displayed by the HMD 26.

  FIG. 5 shows a schematic view of an inspector wearing the HMD 26. Reference numeral 110 denotes a screen (projection plane) in the HMD 26. The screen is transparent, and the apparatus main body 100 and the patient 106 can be observed through the screen 110. Reference numeral 102A represents the hand of the examiner himself holding the probe.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the reference image 112 is projected and displayed on the screen 110. The reference image 112 has an ultrasonic image 114 and a mark 116 as diagnosis support information synthesized therewith. A portion having a possibility of abnormality identified as a result of the image analysis described above can be recognized by the mark 116. As shown in FIG. 5, the reference image 112 is displayed at the upper right corner of the user's field of view. That is, considering the general arrangement of the apparatus main body 100 and the bed 104, the apparatus main body 100 appears on the left side in the visual field range, and the patient 106 appears on the lower right side. Therefore, the reference image 112 is displayed at the remaining upper right corner position. It is displayed. According to such a configuration, even if the reference image 112 is displayed, the effective visual field is not unnecessarily narrowed. Of course, it is desirable that the inspector can freely change the display position and display size of the reference image 112. As shown in FIG. 5, the examiner can observe the ultrasonic image 108 displayed on the main display 24 at the same time while observing the reference image 112. Therefore, after identifying a portion having a possibility of abnormality on the reference image 112, detailed observation of the portion can be performed using the ultrasonic image 108.

  In the above embodiment, only one HMD 26 is provided. However, when there are a plurality of examiners, the HMD 26 may be attached to each person and a reference image may be provided for each. . In that case, the same reference image may be provided between the examiners, but the reference image is provided only for some of the examiners, and other images or other information is provided to the remaining examiners. You may make it provide. In the present embodiment, since a reference image can be displayed by performing image analysis during real-time operation, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, at that time while performing ultrasonic diagnosis by operating a probe. There is an advantage that diagnosis support information can be obtained. Therefore, it is easy to use especially in group screening, and there is an advantage that screening efficiency can be extremely enhanced.

It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the whole system of the ultrasonic inspection system which concerns on this invention. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the image analysis unit shown in FIG. 1. It is a figure for demonstrating the process example of the false positive deletion process shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram showing a mode that ultrasonic diagnosis is performed. It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode in an inspector's visual field range.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Probe, 12 Transmission / reception part, 18 Display processing part, 20 1st display processing part, 22 2nd display processing part, 24 Main display part, 26 Head mounted display (HMD), 28 Arithmetic processing part, 30 Image analysis part, 32 Control unit, 34 Graphic image forming unit.

Claims (5)

Ultrasonic image forming means for forming an ultrasonic image based on data obtained by transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves;
Image analysis means for analyzing the ultrasonic image and determining a portion having a possibility of abnormality;
Information generating means for generating diagnosis support information for identifying a portion having the possibility of abnormality on the ultrasonic image;
Image providing means for providing the ultrasound image and the diagnosis support information to an examiner, and restricting the provision of the diagnosis support information to a subject in the vicinity of the examiner; ,
An ultrasonic inspection system comprising: The system of claim 1, wherein
Furthermore, a reference image forming unit that forms a reference image by combining the diagnostic support information with the ultrasonic image,
The image providing means includes
A main display for displaying the ultrasonic image;
An auxiliary display for displaying the reference image to the inspector;
An ultrasonic inspection system comprising: The system of claim 2, wherein
The main display is a main display installed above the apparatus main body of the ultrasonic inspection system,
The auxiliary indicator is a head mounted display provided on the examiner's head.
An ultrasonic inspection system characterized by that. The system of claim 3, wherein
The reference image is displayed at a corner position in the field of view of the inspector on the image projection surface in the head mounted display.
An ultrasonic inspection system characterized by that. The system of claim 4, wherein
The corner position is the upper right corner position in the field of view of the inspector.
An ultrasonic inspection system characterized by that.