JP2008183184A - Wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the receiving sensitivity of the wireless transmission between an ultrasonic probe and a device body. <P>SOLUTION: Radio signals transmitted from the ultrasonic probe 100 are received by a receiving antenna 202 of the device body 200. The radio signals preamplified by a preamplifier 204 are outputted to an antenna direction control part 240, and the antenna direction control part 240 controls the receiving direction of the receiving antenna 202 based on the receiving power of the radio signals. The antenna direction control part 240 controls the receiving direction of the receiving antenna 202 based on the detected receiving power by changing the receiving direction of the receiving antenna 202. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that transmits and receives radio signals between an ultrasonic probe and an apparatus main body.

  There is known a wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that wirelessly transmits echo data or the like obtained by an ultrasonic probe to the apparatus main body (see Patent Documents 1 to 3).

  In a conventional wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a transmission antenna is attached to an ultrasonic probe, and a radio signal modulated by an ultrasonic signal or the like is transmitted into the space from the transmission antenna. Then, the radio signal is received by a receiving antenna provided in the apparatus main body, and the received signal is demodulated in the apparatus main body to perform image processing and the like.

  The wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is expected to dramatically improve the operability of the ultrasonic probe by eliminating the probe cable that connects the ultrasonic probe and the apparatus main body. However, it is a fact that there are some problems to be overcome in realizing the wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

JP 2004-141328 A JP 55-151952 A JP-A-53-108690

  As problems to be overcome in the realization of the wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, for example, a problem associated with a radio wave state of a signal wirelessly transmitted between the ultrasonic probe and the apparatus main body can be cited. For example, when actually diagnosing a patient or the like, the ultrasonic probe is used in various positions and directions, the direction of the transmission antenna provided on the ultrasonic probe changes, and the main body of the apparatus according to the direction of the transmission antenna There may be a situation in which the receiving antenna cannot receive a signal with sufficient reception sensitivity.

  The present invention has been made in such a background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for improving reception sensitivity of wireless transmission transmitted and received between an ultrasonic probe and an apparatus main body.

  In order to achieve the above object, a wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a preferred aspect of the present invention is a wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that transmits and receives a radio signal between an ultrasonic probe and the apparatus main body. A transmission / reception unit that transmits / receives an ultrasonic wave to / from an object to acquire an echo signal, and a wireless transmission unit that transmits a radio signal generated based on the echo signal to the apparatus main body. The main body receives a radio signal transmitted from the ultrasonic probe and reproduces an echo signal, and a radio signal in the radio reception unit based on reception power detected by changing the reception direction of the radio signal A reception direction control unit that controls the reception direction of the image signal, and an ultrasonic image forming unit that forms an ultrasonic image based on an echo signal reproduced by the wireless reception unit.

  According to the above aspect, since the reception direction of the radio signal is controlled based on the reception power detected by changing the reception direction of the radio signal, for example, the reception direction is controlled so that the detected reception power is increased. By doing so, the reception sensitivity of a radio signal can be improved.

  In a preferred aspect, the reception direction control unit controls the reception direction of a radio signal in a direction in which reception power is maximum among a plurality of reception directions.

  In a preferred aspect, the reception direction control unit changes the reception direction of the radio signal in the radio reception unit over a wide area based on a change in reception power detected by minutely changing the reception direction.

  In a preferred aspect, the reception direction control unit is characterized in that the reception direction is changed over a wide area so that a periodic change in reception power accompanying a periodic minute change in the reception direction becomes small.

  In a preferred aspect, the reception direction control unit compares the phase of the periodic minute change in the reception direction with the phase of the periodic change of the reception power accompanying the minute change, thereby changing the wide range of the reception direction. It is characterized by determining the direction of the.

  In a preferred aspect, the radio reception unit includes a plurality of reception antennas that receive radio signals transmitted from the ultrasound probe, and the reception direction control unit controls the reception direction of the radio signal for each reception antenna. It is characterized by that.

  In a preferred aspect, the reception direction control unit searches the reception direction of the radio signal based on the received power detected by changing the reception direction of the radio signal in a wide range, and changes the reception direction of the radio signal in a narrow range. The reception direction of the radio signal is tracked based on the received power detected.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve reception sensitivity of wireless transmission transmitted and received between the ultrasonic probe and the apparatus main body.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of a wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the overall configuration thereof. The wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present embodiment includes an ultrasonic probe 100 and an apparatus main body 200, and echo data acquired by the ultrasonic probe 100 is transmitted to the apparatus main body 200 by radio waves through various signal processes. .

  The ultrasonic probe 100 includes a plurality of transducers 102 that transmit and receive ultrasonic waves to and from a subject. An ultrasonic transmission circuit (not shown) is connected to each transducer 102, and ultrasonic pulses are transmitted from the plurality of transducers 102 toward the subject in accordance with signals output from the transmission circuit. The Then, a plurality of transducers 102 receive reflected waves (echoes) obtained from the subject.

  An amplifier 104 and an analog-digital converter (ADC) 106 are provided corresponding to each of the plurality of vibrators 102. Each amplifier 104 amplifies the reception result of the corresponding transducer 102 and outputs it to the corresponding ADC 106. As a result, the received signal obtained from each transducer 102 is digitized and output from the plurality of ADCs 106 to the digital beam former 108.

  The digital beam former 108 is a circuit that performs reception beam forming by phasing and adding reception data obtained from a plurality of ADCs 106. In the present embodiment, the digital beam former 108 performs a first-stage phasing addition process. That is, for a plurality of transducers 102, for example, 64 transducers 102, the phasing addition processing is performed for each transducer group including eight adjacent transducers 102. Then, phasing addition processing is performed for each of the eight transducer groups, and the phasing addition result of each transducer group is set as one channel, and phasing addition data of a total of eight channels is output from the eight transducer groups.

  Incidentally, the second-stage phasing addition processing is performed in the digital beam former 218 in the apparatus main body 200 described later, and the received data obtained from all the transducers 102 are collected as one beam data. Note that a configuration in which one beam data is formed by one beam forming in the ultrasonic probe 100 may be adopted, or a configuration in which one beam data is formed by one beam forming in the apparatus main body 200. It may be adopted.

  The PS conversion unit 110 receives the 8-channel phasing addition data formed in the digital beamformer 108 as parallel data, and converts the received 8-channel parallel data into serial data arranged in a line in the time axis direction. In this way, the phasing addition data for eight channels converted into serial data is output from the PS conversion unit 110.

  The digital beam former 108 performs phasing addition processing on the reception data output one after another for each reception beam. Therefore, the phasing addition results for the plurality of reception beams are output one after another from the digital beam former 108, and the phasing addition data for the plurality of reception beams are output one after another in time series from the PS conversion unit 110. In this process, synchronization data of each reception beam is inserted into a series of serial data output from the PS conversion unit 110, and a segment for each reception beam is provided in the serial data.

  The modulator 116 performs digital modulation processing such as PSK (Phase Shift Keying) based on the serial data output from the PS conversion unit 110. Instead of PSK, digital modulation processing such as ASK (Amplitude Shift Keying) and FSK (Frequency Shift Keying) may be used. Then, the signal modulated by the digital signal in modulator 116 is amplified in power amplifier 118 and transmitted as a radio signal from transmitting antenna 120. The transmission antenna 120 is a planar antenna, for example.

  In this way, the radio signal modulated by the digital echo signal collected in one channel is transmitted. For example, a one-channel radio signal having a transmission carrier frequency of 60 GHz and a band of about 1 GHz is transmitted.

  The radio signal transmitted from the ultrasonic probe 100 is received by the receiving antenna 202 of the apparatus main body 200, amplified by the power amplifier 208 via the preamplifier 204, and then sent to the demodulator 212. The demodulator 212 performs demodulation processing on a radio signal that has been subjected to digital modulation processing such as PSK. Thereby, the data before being modulated by the modulator 116 of the ultrasonic probe 100, that is, the serial data output from the PS conversion unit 110 is reproduced (restored).

  The SP conversion unit 214 converts the 8-channel phasing addition data included in the reproduced serial data into parallel data. At that time, the data is converted into parallel data of 8 channels using the synchronization data of the reception beam included in the serial data.

  Thus, parallel data corresponding to the data formed by the digital beam former 108 of the ultrasonic probe 100 is stored in the memory 216. The data stored in the memory 216 is read at a timing corresponding to the subsequent processing of the memory 216. As the memory 216, for example, a first input first output (FIFO) type device is used.

  The digital beam former 218 reads the parallel data stored in the memory 216 and executes the second-stage phasing addition process. That is, the parallel data corresponding to the data formed by the digital beamformer 108 is read from the memory 216, the phasing addition process is executed based on the read parallel data for eight channels, and received from all the transducers 102. The wave data is collected to form one beam data. The beam data is sequentially formed for each reception beam and output to the image forming unit 220.

  The image forming unit 220 forms image data of ultrasonic images such as a B-mode image, an M-mode image, and a Doppler image based on beam data that is sequentially formed for each reception beam. Then, an ultrasonic image corresponding to the formed image data is displayed on the display unit 222. The main body control unit 230 controls each unit in the apparatus main body 200 according to, for example, a user operation.

  As described above, the echo data acquired by the ultrasonic probe 100 is transmitted to the apparatus main body 200 by a radio signal, and an ultrasonic image corresponding to the echo data is formed by the apparatus main body 200 that has received the radio signal.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the reception direction of the radio signal is controlled based on the reception power of the radio signal received by the reception antenna 202 of the apparatus main body 200. That is, the radio signal preamplified by the preamplifier 204 is output to the antenna direction control unit 240, and the antenna direction control unit 240 controls the reception direction of the reception antenna 202 based on the reception power of the radio signal.

  Therefore, control of the reception direction in this embodiment will be described. In addition, about the part (structure) shown in FIG. 1, the code | symbol of FIG. 1 is utilized in the following description.

  FIG. 2 shows an antenna unit 201 provided in the apparatus main body 200 of FIG. The apparatus main body 200 is formed by a main body portion and an antenna unit 201. The main unit includes, for example, a display unit 222, an image forming unit 220, a main unit control unit 230, and the like. The antenna unit 201 includes, for example, a preamplifier 204, a power amplifier 208, a demodulator 212, a demodulator 212, and the like in addition to the receiving antenna 202. An antenna direction control unit 240 is provided. The power amplifier 208, the demodulator 212, and the antenna direction control unit 240 may be provided in the main body unit.

  The antenna unit 201 is connected to the main body via a cable 213. Since the antenna unit 201 and the main body are separate, the antenna unit 201 can be installed at a desired position, for example, on the main body or on the bed on which the subject lies.

  The antenna unit 201 includes a head unit 206 provided with a receiving antenna 202 and an antenna driving unit 205 that drives the head unit 206. The antenna drive unit 205 changes the reception direction of the reception antenna 202 between the elevation direction (vertical direction) and the azimuth direction (horizontal direction) according to control by the antenna direction control unit 240.

  That is, the antenna drive unit 205 mechanically drives the head unit 206 to change the direction, thereby changing the direction of the reception antenna 202 between the elevation direction and the azimuth direction. Note that the reception direction may be controlled by electronic control instead of mechanical control. For example, a receiving antenna 202 is formed by a plurality of antenna elements arranged two-dimensionally, and a phased array method is used in which each antenna element is subjected to delay processing and the like to form a receiving beam. It may be controlled electronically.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an aspect 1 of the antenna direction control unit 240 of FIG. The antenna direction control unit 240 illustrated in FIG. 3 controls the reception direction of the radio signal in the direction in which the reception power is maximized among the plurality of reception directions.

  For example, the antenna direction control unit 240 changes the reception antenna 202 by a small angle at a low speed, and receives radio signals at a plurality of angles (directions), for example, at two to three angles. The radio signal received for each angle is preamplified by the preamplifier 204 and then output to the antenna direction control unit 240. The antenna direction control unit 240 detects the reception power of the radio signal at each angle, finds the angle at which the reception power is maximum among a plurality of angles, and controls the reception direction of the reception antenna 202 to be the angle. .

  The antenna direction controller 240 controls the angle for each of the elevation direction and the azimuth direction (see FIG. 2). That is, the elevation angle control unit 240E changes the reception antenna 202 in the elevation direction by a small angle at a low speed, receives a radio signal at a plurality of angles, and the angle at which the reception power is maximum among the plurality of angles. And the receiving antenna 202 is controlled in the elevation direction so that the angle is obtained. Further, the azimuth angle control unit 240A changes the receiving antenna 202 in the azimuth direction at a low speed at a low speed, receives a radio signal at a plurality of angles, and searches for an angle at which the reception power is maximum among the plurality of angles. The receiving antenna 202 is controlled in the azimuth direction so that the angle is obtained.

  The antenna direction control unit 240 selects, for example, control in the elevation direction and control in the azimuth direction in accordance with an instruction from the main body control unit 230. For example, first, after detecting the angle of the maximum received power in the elevation direction and driving the receiving antenna 202 to that angle, the control is switched to the control in the azimuth direction, and the angle of the maximum received power in the azimuth direction is detected. The receiving antenna 202 is driven at an angle. By selecting the elevation direction control and the azimuth direction control alternately and continuously, it is possible to track the direction where the maximum reception power is reached and control the reception direction of the reception antenna 202 in that direction. Become.

  Note that the reception antenna 202 may be mechanically driven to change the reception direction, or may be electronically controlled to change the reception direction. Further, for example, mechanical control and electronic control may be combined, such as mechanically driven in the azimuth direction and electronically controlled in the elevation direction. Further, the receiving antenna 202 may be controlled one-dimensionally only in the azimuth direction, for example.

  Incidentally, the radio signal pre-amplified by the pre-amplifier 204 is also output to the power amplifier 208, and then used for ultrasonic image forming processing through demodulation processing and the like as described above. (See FIG. 1).

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an aspect 2 of the antenna direction control unit 240 of FIG. The antenna direction control unit 240 shown in FIG. 4 changes the reception direction of the radio signal by the reception antenna 202 over a wide area based on a change in reception power detected by minutely changing the reception direction.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the principle of control by the antenna direction control unit 240 shown in FIG. FIG. 5A is a graph showing a correspondence relationship between the antenna angle and the antenna reception power, where the horizontal axis indicates the antenna angle and the vertical axis indicates the antenna reception power. As shown in FIG. 5A, the antenna reception power becomes maximum at the position of the antenna angle P, and the antenna reception power gradually decreases as the angle is away from the antenna angle P.

  In this aspect, control is performed based on a change in received power detected by minutely changing the antenna angle. In FIG. 5, a minute antenna driving angle 300 indicates a minute change in the antenna angle. A waveform 310 shows a minute change in the antenna angle at the position of the antenna angle S, a waveform 320 shows a minute change in the antenna angle at the position of the antenna angle P, and a waveform 330 shows the antenna angle at the position of the antenna angle L. It shows a small change.

  Further, in FIG. 5, a received power change 400 indicates a change in received power accompanying a minute change in antenna angle. A waveform 420 shows a change in received power due to a minute change in the antenna angle (change in the waveform 320) at the position of the antenna angle P, and a waveform 410 shows a minute change in the antenna angle (change in the waveform 310) at the position of the antenna angle S. ), And a waveform 430 shows a change in received power due to a minute change in antenna angle (change in waveform 330) at the position of the antenna angle L.

  FIG. 5B is a graph showing a correspondence relationship between the antenna angle and the antenna output minute voltage. The horizontal axis represents the antenna angle, and the vertical axis represents the antenna output minute voltage. The antenna output minute voltage corresponds to the amplitude of each waveform of the received power change 400. In FIG. 5B, the positive direction and the negative direction on the vertical axis correspond to whether the phase described later is in phase or out of phase.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the amplitude of the waveform 420 indicating the change in the received power is small at the position of the antenna angle P where the received power is maximum (peak), whereas the antenna angles S, The amplitudes of the waveforms 410 and 430 indicating changes in received power at the position L are large. That is, in FIG. 5B, the absolute value of the antenna output minute voltage is small at the position of the antenna angle P, and the absolute value of the antenna output minute voltage is large at the positions of the antenna angles S and L. Therefore, in this aspect, control is performed to change the antenna angle over a wide area so that a change in received power accompanying a minute change in the antenna angle becomes small.

  That is, for example, at the position of the antenna angle S, the antenna angle is periodically changed minutely according to the waveform 310 to detect a change in received power (waveform 410), and the received power change is changed while periodically changing the antenna angle. The antenna angle is moved over a wide area toward the position of the angle P so that the amplitude of. On the other hand, even when the antenna is directed to the angle L, the antenna angle is periodically changed minutely according to the waveform 330 to detect a change in received power (waveform 430), and the antenna angle is periodically changed slightly. The antenna angle is moved over a wide area toward the position of the angle P so that the amplitude of the change in the received power becomes small.

  The direction of change when changing the antenna angle over a wide area, that is, whether to increase or decrease the antenna angle, depends on the phase of the periodic minute change of the antenna angle and the periodic change of the received power accompanying the minute change. It is determined by comparing with the phase. That is, it is determined by comparing the phases of the waveforms 310, 320, and 330 with the phases of the waveforms 410, 420, and 430 corresponding to each of the waveforms.

  For example, when the waveform 310 and the corresponding waveform 410 are compared, these phases coincide with each other. That is, when the waveform 310 increases, the waveform 410 also increases, and when the waveform 310 decreases, the waveform 410 also decreases. On the other hand, when comparing the waveform 330 and the corresponding waveform 430, these phases differ from each other by 180 degrees. That is, when the waveform 330 increases, the waveform 430 decreases, and when the waveform 330 decreases, the waveform 430 increases.

  From such a phase correspondence between the minute antenna driving angle 300 and the received power change 400, for example, when the phases of the corresponding waveforms match, the antenna angle (for example, angle S) is determined. If it is determined that there is an antenna angle (for example, angle P) that maximizes the received power in the direction in which the angle is increased, and the phases of the corresponding waveforms differ by 180 degrees, the antenna angle (for example, angle L) It is determined that there is an antenna angle (for example, angle P) that maximizes the received power in the direction in which the angle is decreased.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the antenna direction control unit 240 controls the reception direction of the reception antenna 202 according to the principle described above. The operation of each unit in the antenna direction control unit 240 will be described below.

  The sine wave oscillator 243 outputs a sine wave signal corresponding to a minute antenna driving angle (reference numeral 300 in FIG. 5). The sine wave signal output from the sine wave oscillator 243 is used in the angle control unit 245, and the angle control unit 245 periodically changes the reception direction (angle) of the reception antenna 202 minutely according to the sine wave signal.

  The radio signal received by the receiving antenna 202 is preamplified by the preamplifier 204 and then output to the antenna direction control unit 240. The band pass filter 241 passes only the frequency band necessary for the subsequent processing of the signal output from the preamplifier 204. Since the receiving antenna 202 periodically changes the angle minutely, the power (reception power) of the received radio signal slightly changes with the minute change (reference numeral 400 in FIG. 5).

  The phase detector 242 compares the phase of the signal output from the bandpass filter 241 (reference numeral 400 in FIG. 5) with the phase of the signal output from the sine wave oscillator 243 (reference numeral 300 in FIG. 5). Judge whether in phase or out of phase.

  The angle setting unit 244 sets an angle change amount for changing the reception direction (angle) of the reception antenna 202 over a wide area based on the determination result of the phase detector 242. For example, when the phase detector 242 determines that the phase is in phase, an angle change amount that increases the antenna angle over a wide area is set, while the phase detector 242 determines that the phase is in reverse phase. If so, an angle change amount that reduces the antenna angle over a wide area is set.

  The phase detector 242 may detect the magnitude of the amplitude of the received power change (reference numeral 400 in FIG. 5) in addition to the phase comparison determination. In this case, the angle setting unit 244 determines the magnitude of the angle change amount according to the magnitude of the amplitude of the received power change. For example, when the amplitude of the received power change is large, it is determined that the received power is greatly deviated from an angle at which the received power reaches a peak (for example, the angle P in FIG. 5), and the angle change amount is set to a large value. On the other hand, when the amplitude of the received power change is small, it is determined that the received power is in the vicinity of an angle (for example, the angle P in FIG. 5), and the angle change amount is set to a small value.

  Based on the wide-range angle change amount set by the angle setting unit 244 and the sine wave signal for periodic minute change output from the sine wave oscillator 243, the angle control unit 245 is configured to Control the receiving direction (angle). As a result, the angle of the receiving antenna 202 is feedback-controlled with the angle (for example, the angle P in FIG. 5) at which the received power reaches a peak, with periodic minute changes.

  Note that the reception antenna 202 may be mechanically driven to change the reception direction, or may be electronically controlled to change the reception direction. Also, with the configuration shown in FIG. 4, for example, angle control along the azimuth direction (see FIG. 2) and angle control along the elevation direction (see FIG. 2) are executed alternately to receive the reception antenna 202. The direction may be controlled two-dimensionally.

  Incidentally, the radio signal pre-amplified by the pre-amplifier 204 is also output to the power amplifier 208, and then used for ultrasonic image forming processing through demodulation processing and the like as described above. (See FIG. 1).

  Further, the range and speed for changing the receiving direction of the receiving antenna 202 may be switched. For example, immediately after the control of the reception direction is started, the reception direction of the reception antenna 202 is changed at a high speed in a wide range, and the reception direction in which the reception power is maximized is searched based on the detected reception power. Then, starting from the searched reception direction, the reception direction of the reception antenna 202 is changed at a low speed in a narrow range, and the reception direction in which the reception power is maximized is traced. As a result, it is possible to quickly search for a direction in which the received power is maximized, and then trace the direction in which the received power is maximized with high accuracy.

  When switching the speed at which the reception direction is changed, for example, a broadband low-pass filter and a narrow-band low-pass filter are provided after the phase detector 242. Immediately after the control of the reception direction is started, a broadband low-pass filter is selected, and a reception direction in which the reception power is maximized is searched at a high speed. Track the direction of maximum power with high accuracy.

  Furthermore, the reception direction control described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5 can be combined with a diversity method.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a diversity-type wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus including a plurality of receiving antennas 202. FIG. 6 shows only the receiving antenna 202 (1) and the receiving antenna 202 (n) among the n receiving antennas 202 (1) to (n).

  In FIG. 6, each receiving antenna 202 is provided with a preamplifier 204, a power amplifier 208, and an antenna direction control unit 240 corresponding thereto. For example, a radio signal (received signal) received by the receiving antenna 202 (1) is amplified by the preamplifier 204 (1) and the power amplifier 208 (1) and then sent to the antenna direction control unit 240 (1). Is output. Note that the received signal may be output from the preamplifier 204 (1) to the antenna direction control unit 240 (1).

  The antenna direction control unit 240 (1) controls the reception direction of the reception antenna 202 (1) based on the reception power of the radio signal (reception signal). The antenna direction control unit 240 (1) shown in FIG. 6 has the same configuration as the antenna direction control unit 240 shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. And the antenna direction control part 240 (1) shown in FIG. 6 controls the receiving direction of the receiving antenna 202 (1) by the control demonstrated using FIG. 3 or FIG.

  Also, the antenna direction control unit 240 (n) shown in FIG. 6 has the same configuration as the antenna direction control unit 240 shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4, and the control described with reference to FIG. 3 or FIG. Thus, the reception direction of the reception antenna 202 (n) shown in FIG. 6 is controlled. Similarly, other receiving antennas 202 not shown in FIG. 6 are controlled by the antenna direction control unit 240 corresponding to the receiving antenna 202.

  As described above, the reception direction of each of the n reception antennas 202 (1) to (n) is controlled for each reception antenna 202. The received signals received by each receiving antenna 202 are amplified by preamplifier 204 and power amplifier 208 corresponding to the receiving antenna 202 and output to received signal combining section 210.

  Reception signal combining section 210 combines n reception signals corresponding to n reception antennas 202 (1) to (n), and outputs the result to demodulator 212 shown in FIG. After that, as described above, the received signal is used for the ultrasonic image forming process through a conversion process from serial data to parallel data (see FIG. 1).

  In the reception signal combining unit 210, for example, the reception signal having the maximum reception power is selected from the n reception signals corresponding to the n reception antennas 202 (1) to (n), and the selected reception signal is selected. Only the signal may be output to the demodulator 212.

  FIG. 7 shows a plurality of antenna units 201 in the diversity method. The antenna unit 201 (1) shown in FIG. 7 includes the receiving antenna 202 (1), the preamplifier 204 (1), the power amplifier 208 (1), and the antenna direction control unit 240 (1) shown in FIG. The antenna direction control unit 240 (1) controls the reception direction of the reception antenna 202 (1). The antenna direction control unit 240 (1) may be provided in the main body connected to the cable 213.

  The antenna unit 201 (2) shown in FIG. 7 also includes a reception antenna, a preamplifier, a power amplifier, and an antenna direction control unit, and the reception direction is controlled by the antenna direction control unit.

  The antenna unit 201 (1) and the antenna unit 201 (2) each have the same configuration as the antenna unit 201 shown in FIG. That is, as described with reference to FIG. 2, for example, the head unit is mechanically driven to change the reception direction of the reception antenna between the elevation direction (vertical direction) and the azimuth direction (horizontal direction). Further, the reception direction may be controlled by electronic control.

  In FIG. 7, the antenna unit 201 (1) and the antenna unit 201 (2) are each connected to the combiner 211 via a cable 209. The synthesizer 211 includes the received signal synthesizer 210 shown in FIG. Then, the received signals of the antenna unit 201 (1) and the antenna unit 201 (2) in FIG. 7 are output to the combiner 211, and the two received signals are combined (or selected) by the combiner 211, and the cable 213 is connected. To the main body. In this manner, the received signal is used for the ultrasonic image forming process through the demodulation process and the like in the main body (see FIG. 1).

  In FIG. 7, two antenna units 201 (1) and 201 (2) are shown, but three or more antenna units 201 may be provided. Moreover, it is desirable that the antenna units 201 are installed at different positions. For example, one of the plurality of antenna units 201 may be installed on the main body, and the other one may be installed on a bed on which the subject lies.

  As described above, the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described. However, according to the above-described embodiment, for example, even when the position or direction of the ultrasonic probe changes depending on the diagnosis situation, the reception direction by the reception antenna of the apparatus main body can be changed. It becomes possible to direct to the transmitting antenna of the ultrasonic probe, the radio signal reception sensitivity is improved, and a good ultrasonic image can be obtained. Further, by improving the reception sensitivity by controlling the reception direction, it is possible to reduce the transmission power of the radio signal transmitted from the ultrasonic probe while keeping the ultrasonic image in a relatively good state.

  The above-described embodiments and the effects associated therewith are merely examples in all respects, and do not limit the scope of the present invention. The present invention includes various modifications without departing from the essence thereof.

1 is a functional block diagram showing an overall configuration of a wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows the antenna unit with which an apparatus main body is provided. It is a figure which shows the aspect 1 of an antenna direction control part. It is a figure which shows the aspect 2 of an antenna direction control part. It is a figure for demonstrating the principle of control by an antenna direction control part. It is a figure for demonstrating the wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus provided with the several receiving antenna. It is a figure showing a plurality of antenna units.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Ultrasonic probe, 200 Apparatus main body, 220 Image formation part, 240 Antenna direction control part.

Claims (7)

In a wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that transmits and receives radio signals between an ultrasonic probe and the apparatus body,
The ultrasonic probe is
A transmission / reception unit that transmits / receives ultrasonic waves to / from a subject to acquire echo signals;
A wireless transmission unit for transmitting a wireless signal generated based on the echo signal to the apparatus body;
Have
The apparatus main body is
A radio reception unit that receives a radio signal transmitted from the ultrasonic probe and reproduces an echo signal;
A reception direction control unit that controls the reception direction of the radio signal in the radio reception unit based on the received power detected by changing the reception direction of the radio signal;
An ultrasonic image forming unit that forms an ultrasonic image based on an echo signal reproduced by the wireless reception unit;
Having
A wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. The wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1,
The reception direction control unit controls a reception direction of a radio signal in a direction in which reception power is maximized among a plurality of reception directions.
A wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. The wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1,
The reception direction control unit changes the reception direction of the wireless signal in the wireless reception unit widely based on a change in reception power detected by minutely changing the reception direction,
A wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. The wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
The reception direction control unit changes the reception direction over a wide area so that a periodic change in reception power accompanying a periodic minute change in the reception direction becomes small.
A wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. The wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 4,
The reception direction control unit determines the direction of the wide-range change in the reception direction by comparing the phase of the periodic minute change in the reception direction with the phase of the periodic change in the reception power accompanying the minute change. To
A wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. The wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1,
The wireless receiving unit includes a plurality of receiving antennas for receiving wireless signals transmitted from the ultrasonic probe,
The reception direction control unit controls the reception direction of a radio signal for each reception antenna.
A wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. The wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1,
The reception direction control unit searches for the reception direction of the radio signal based on the received power detected by changing the reception direction of the radio signal in a wide range, and is detected by changing the reception direction of the radio signal in a narrow range. Track the direction of radio signal reception based on the received power
A wireless ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

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