JP2008136701A - Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for three-dimensionally receiving a user operation. <P>SOLUTION: A three-dimensional (3D) operation device 20 includes: a track pad for detecting the movement of a finger of a user on a surface, based on an electrostatic capacity; and pressure-sensitive rubber laid on the lower side of the track pad and detecting the pressure of the operation by the user. The two-dimensional movement of the finger on the surface of the 3D operation device 20, i.e., two-dimensional manipulated variable in the xy-plane of an operation coordinate system is detected by the track pad. Through the use of the pressure-sensitive rubber, the manipulated variable in the depth direction of the track pad and the manipulated variable in the z-direction of the operation coordinate system are detected. The respective manipulated variables in the xyz-directions of the operation coordinate system are associated with the respective xyz-directions of a monitor coordinate system shown in figure. The XY plane of the monitor coordinate system corresponds to the surface of a monitor 18, and the z-direction of the monitor coordinate system corresponds to a substantially vertical direction with respect to the surface of the monitor 18. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and more particularly to an operation device for an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

  Conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses include, for example, a trackball, a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, and the like as operation devices that receive user operations. In particular, when a three-dimensional image formed by an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is moved or rotated on a monitor, a pointing device such as a trackball or a mouse is used.

  Incidentally, various techniques related to operation devices have been proposed in fields other than the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP 2005-141102 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-50120

  Although the three-dimensional image formed by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus originally has three-dimensional information, it is displayed on a monitor having a two-dimensional display function. A conventional operation device such as a trackball or a mouse has a configuration suitable for a two-dimensional user operation corresponding to a two-dimensional monitor.

  Therefore, for example, when changing the display mode of a three-dimensional image on a monitor, for example, when moving a three-dimensional image in the depth direction with respect to the monitor surface, a conventional two-dimensional operation device is used by a user. It was difficult to reflect the intention directly on the movement.

  Against such a background, the inventors of the present application have been researching and developing a new operation device of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

  The present invention has been made in the course of research and development, and an object thereof is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that three-dimensionally accepts user operations.

  In order to achieve the above object, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a preferred aspect of the present invention includes a transmission / reception unit that obtains an echo signal by transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic wave, and an ultrasonic image based on the echo signal. An ultrasonic image forming unit, a display image forming unit that forms a display image based on image data of the ultrasonic image, and an operation device that receives a user operation for changing a display mode of the display image, The operation device includes a pad that is touched by a user and a pressure sensor that detects a pressure of an operation by the user, detects a two-dimensional operation amount on the pad surface via the pad, and the pressure sensor By detecting the operation amount in the depth direction substantially perpendicular to the pad surface through the user, the user operation is detected three-dimensionally.

  In the above configuration, the pad is operated in a contact manner by the user tracing the surface using a finger or a pen-like instrument, for example. According to the above configuration, in addition to the two-dimensional operation on the pad surface, an operation in the depth direction with respect to the pad surface is also possible. For example, an operation in the depth direction can be associated with a movement or rotation in the depth direction with respect to the monitor surface.

  In a preferred aspect, the operation device includes, as the pad, an electrostatic pad that detects the movement of the user's finger on the pad surface based on the electrostatic capacitance, and changes the electrostatic capacitance detected by the electrostatic pad. The direction of the operation amount in the depth direction is determined according to the number of finger contacts by detecting the number of user finger contacts.

  According to the present invention, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that accepts a user operation three-dimensionally is provided. For example, according to a preferable aspect of the present invention, in addition to a two-dimensional operation on the pad surface provided in the operation device, an operation in the depth direction with respect to the pad surface can be performed.

  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 diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a monitor 18 and an operation table 40 of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention.

  On the operation table 40, various user operation devices for the user to operate the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus are arranged. For example, the user inputs characters and numbers using the keyboard 42 and performs setting operations for the apparatus using the dial 44 and the switch 46.

  In the present embodiment, the 3D operation device 20 is further provided on the operation table 40. For example, the 3D operation device 20 receives a user operation for changing the display mode of the three-dimensional ultrasonic image 19 displayed on the monitor 18. That is, for example, when the ultrasonic image 19 is moved vertically and horizontally along the surface of the monitor 18, when the ultrasonic image 19 is moved in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the monitor 18, or when the ultrasonic image 19 is rotated. For example, the 3D operation device 20 is used.

  The 3D operation device 20 can receive a user operation three-dimensionally. The 3D operation device 20 is laid on a track pad that detects the movement of the user's finger on the surface based on the capacitance and the back side (lower side) of the track pad, and detects the pressure of the operation by the user. It is composed of pressure sensitive rubber.

  The track pad detects a two-dimensional finger movement on the surface of the 3D operation device 20, that is, a two-dimensional operation amount in the xy plane of the illustrated operation coordinate system. Thus, the operation amount in the depth direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the track pad, that is, the operation amount in the z direction of the illustrated operation coordinate system is detected.

  Each of the operation amounts in the xyz direction of the operation coordinate system is associated with each of the XYZ directions in the illustrated monitor coordinate system. The XY plane of the monitor coordinate system corresponds to the surface of the monitor 18, and the Z direction of the monitor coordinate system corresponds to a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the monitor 18 (depth direction of the monitor 18).

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the overall configuration of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention. The 2D array transducer 10 includes a plurality of vibration elements. The plurality of vibration elements constituting the 2D array transducer 10 are, for example, arranged in a lattice shape, and controlled by the transmission / reception unit 12 to scan the ultrasonic beam three-dimensionally.

  The transmission / reception unit 12 outputs a transmission signal to each of the plurality of vibration elements constituting the 2D array transducer 10. Thereby, a transmission beam is formed. In addition, the transmission / reception unit 12 performs reception processing on reception signals obtained from each of the plurality of vibration elements. Thereby, a reception beam is formed. Thus, the transmission / reception unit 12 functions as a transmission beamformer and a reception beamformer.

  The ultrasonic image forming unit 14 forms a three-dimensional ultrasonic image based on echo data (received signal after reception processing) obtained by the transmission / reception unit 12. For example, a volume rendering image in which the target tissue is three-dimensionally displayed is formed based on echo data in the volume space obtained by three-dimensionally scanning an ultrasonic beam. Of course, a three-dimensional image of an image forming process different from the volume rendering image may be formed by the ultrasonic image forming unit 14.

  The display image forming unit 16 forms a display image based on the three-dimensional ultrasonic image (image data) formed in the ultrasonic image forming unit 14. The display image formed in this way is displayed on the monitor 18.

  The 3D operation device 20 includes a track pad 22 and a pressure sensitive rubber 24. The track pad 22 has, for example, a substantially rectangular surface (corresponding to the xy plane of the operation coordinate system in FIG. 1) and is formed in a plate shape. In the track pad 22, a plurality of electrode lines are provided in a lattice shape along the xy plane. Based on the capacitance detected by the plurality of electrode lines, the contact of the user's finger on the track pad 22, the position of the finger, and the like are detected.

  The pressure-sensitive rubber 24 is a plate-like member having substantially the same shape as the track pad 22 and is installed on the lower surface side of the track pad 22. The pressure sensitive rubber 24 detects the pressure exerted on its surface. That is, the pressure of the user's finger is transmitted to the pressure sensitive rubber 24 via the track pad 22. Thus, the pressure-sensitive rubber 24 detects pressure in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the track pad 22 (z direction in the operation coordinate system of FIG. 1).

  The xy encoder 26 calculates the contact position of the user's finger on the track pad 22 and the amount of movement of the finger based on the electrostatic capacitance detected by the track pad 22. That is, the contact position and the movement amount in the xy plane of the operation coordinate system are calculated. The z encoder 28 calculates the pressure value by the user's finger based on the signal output from the pressure sensitive rubber 24. That is, the contact pressure in the z direction of the operation coordinate system is calculated.

  Note that the 3D operation device 20 may be operated using a pen-shaped pointing device instead of the user's finger.

  The control unit 30 corresponds to each axial direction of the monitor coordinate system (see FIG. 1) based on the movement amount in the xy plane calculated by the xy encoder 26 and the pressure value in the z direction calculated by the z encoder 28. The amount of operation performed is calculated. That is, each operation amount in the xyz direction of the operation coordinate system is associated with each of the XYZ directions of the monitor coordinate system.

  Thus, the user operation is detected three-dimensionally, and the display image forming unit 16 is controlled in accordance with the calculated operation amount in each axial direction, and an ultrasonic image displayed on the monitor 18 (reference numeral 19 in FIG. 1). The display mode such as the display position and the rotation angle is changed.

  For example, the position of the three-dimensional ultrasonic image on the surface of the monitor 18, that is, the XY plane of the monitor coordinate system is changed based on the position in the xy direction and the movement amount of the operation coordinate system detected by the track pad 22. Further, based on the pressure value in the z direction of the operation coordinate system detected by the pressure sensitive rubber 24, the position of the three-dimensional ultrasonic image in the Z direction of the monitor coordinate system is changed. Note that the three-dimensional ultrasonic image may be rotated in the monitor coordinate system according to the operation amount in the xyz direction of the operation coordinate system.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation amount detection processing in the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 will be described step by step. The portions (configurations) already shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described using the reference numerals in FIGS. 1 and 2.

  First, the control unit 30 confirms whether or not the track pad 22 has been operated (S301). For example, based on the change in the capacitance of the track pad 22, it is determined whether or not the user's finger or pointing device has contacted the track pad 22. If the track pad 22 is not operated, the confirmation is repeated until the operation is performed.

  When the track pad 22 is operated, the control unit 30 performs XY register processing (S302). That is, the control unit 30 corresponds to the position of the three-dimensional ultrasonic image in the XY plane of the monitor coordinate system based on the contact position and the movement amount in the xy plane of the operation coordinate system calculated by the xy encoder 26. Update registers. As a result, the position of the three-dimensional ultrasonic image in the XY plane of the monitor coordinate system is determined.

  Next, the control unit 30 initializes the Z value conversion coefficient and resets the Z timer (S303). Further, the number of fingers of the user operating the track pad 22 is confirmed based on the capacitance of the track pad 22 (S304, S306).

  If the number of the user's fingers is one, Zdir indicating the direction in the Z-axis direction is set to “+1” (S305). If the number of user's fingers is two or more, Zdir indicating the direction in the Z-axis direction is set to “−1” (S307). If the number of operations is not one or more than two, the process returns from S306 to S301, and the operation of the track pad 22 is reconfirmed.

  When the direction in the Z-axis direction is set in S305 or S307, the control unit 30 acquires the pressure value from the z encoder 28 (S308), and calculates the value of the register value Z in the Z-axis direction based on the pressure value and the like. Then, the Z register is updated with the calculated register value Z (S310). The register value Z is updated by adding dZ to the value Z before update.

  The value of dZ used in S309 is “dZ = Zdir × pressure value × conversion coefficient”. Here, Zdir is a value indicating the direction in the Z-axis direction, and is set to “+1” or “−1” in S305 or S307. That is, the sign of dZ is determined according to the direction in the Z-axis direction. The pressure value is a value obtained from the z encoder 28, and the Z value conversion coefficient is a coefficient initialized in S303.

  By updating the Z register in S310, the position of the three-dimensional ultrasonic image in the Z direction of the monitor coordinate system is determined. Note that since the direction (Zdir) in the Z-axis direction is reflected in the calculation of dZ in S309, for example, if Zdir is “+1”, an ultrasonic wave is generated in the positive direction side of the Z-axis in the monitor coordinate system. If the image moves and Zdir is “−1”, the ultrasonic image moves to the negative side of the Z axis of the monitor coordinate system.

  When the Z register is updated, the control unit 30 checks whether or not the user continues to press the track pad 22 (S311). If the track pad 22 is not pressed, the process returns to S301, and the operation of the track pad 22 is reconfirmed.

  If the track pad 22 continues to be pressed, the control unit 30 updates the Z timer (S312), and further checks whether the pressure value obtained from the z encoder 28 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (S313). . If the pressure value is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the conversion coefficient is increased according to the updated Z timer value (S314), and the processes after S308 are executed again.

  As described above, when the operation of pressing the track pad 22 is continued at a predetermined pressure value or more, the conversion coefficient is increased in S314, so the value of dZ in S309 also increases, and the Z-axis direction is increased. Acceleration occurs in the movement and rotation of the image. If the pressure value is not greater than or equal to the predetermined value in S313, the processing after S308 is executed again without increasing the conversion coefficient. Thereby, for example, the movement and rotation of the image in the Z-axis direction can be performed at a constant speed.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described, embodiment mentioned above is only a mere illustration in all the points, and does not limit the scope of the present invention. The present invention includes various modifications without departing from the essence thereof.

It is a figure which shows the monitor and operation table of the ultrasonic diagnosing device which concerns on this invention. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an overall configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the detection process of the operation amount in this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  14 ultrasonic image forming unit, 16 display image forming unit, 20 3D operation device, 22 track pad, 24 pressure sensitive rubber, 30 control unit.

Claims (2)

A transmission / reception unit for obtaining an echo signal by transmitting / receiving an ultrasonic wave;
An ultrasonic image forming unit that forms an ultrasonic image based on an echo signal;
A display image forming unit that forms a display image based on image data of an ultrasonic image;
An operation device for receiving a user operation for changing a display mode of the display image;
Have
The operating device is:
A pad that is touch-operated by the user;
A pressure sensor for detecting the pressure of the operation by the user;
With
User operation is detected in three dimensions by detecting a two-dimensional operation amount on the pad surface via a pad and detecting an operation amount in a depth direction substantially perpendicular to the pad surface via a pressure sensor. To
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1,
The operation device includes, as the pad, an electrostatic pad that detects the movement of the user's finger on the pad surface based on the capacitance,
Determining the direction of the operation amount in the depth direction according to the number of contact of the finger by detecting the number of contact of the user's finger based on the change in capacitance detected by the electrostatic pad;
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

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