JP2009077788A - Ultrasonic diagnostic system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an improved technique to display elapsed time from dosage. <P>SOLUTION: A time counter 26 counts the elapsed time from dosage time to current time based on time data for the dosage time. As an instruction for starting counting is received, the time counter 26 reads the time data for the dosage time stored in a data storage part 24, and adds differential time between the counting action started time and the dosage time to the counted value. For example, the differential time between the start time and the dosage time is set for a counting started value, and counting action of the time counter is started. The counted value is thus provided to correspond to the elapsed time from the dosage time to the current time. The counted value obtained by the time counter 26 is outputted to a display image processing part 16, and the elapsed time from the dosage time to the current time is displayed on a display part 18. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and more particularly to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus used for diagnosis using a contrast agent or a drug.

  A contrast agent containing bubbles or the like becomes a suitable reflector of ultrasound, and is used for forming an ultrasound contrast image. For example, by imaging a contrast agent administered into a blood vessel or the like, it is possible to form a contrast image that clearly shows blood flow or the like as compared with a normal ultrasonic diagnosis that does not use a contrast agent.

  The contrast agent is also used for diagnosis of in vivo tissues such as the liver. For example, a contrast agent that reaches a tissue such as the liver after a predetermined time after being administered to a living body is imaged and used for image diagnosis of the liver or the like. When making a diagnosis after a predetermined time since the contrast medium was administered to the living body, it is desirable that the elapsed time from the time when the contrast medium was administered can be easily confirmed.

  Under such circumstances, ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses that display the elapsed time from the administration time when the contrast medium was administered have been proposed (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP 2004-148015 A JP 2001-178717 A

  Some contrast agents and drugs exhibit an effect after a long time since being administered to a living body. For example, the ultrasound diagnosis of the liver may be performed after about 10 to 20 minutes have passed after the contrast medium is administered. In such a time-consuming diagnosis, for example, if another subject can be diagnosed after the contrast medium is administered to one subject, the diagnosis can be efficiently advanced with one ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. It becomes possible. However, in order to perform diagnosis of a plurality of subjects in parallel, a technique for displaying different elapsed times for each subject is required. In addition, when a contrast medium is administered to a subject outside a laboratory and diagnosis is performed using an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus placed in the laboratory, a technique for displaying the elapsed time on the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is required. Become.

  Under such circumstances, the inventor of the present application has repeatedly researched and developed a technique for displaying the elapsed time from the administration time.

  The present invention has been made in the course of research and development, and an object thereof is to provide an improved technique for displaying the elapsed time from the administration time.

  In order to achieve the above object, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a probe for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to a living body to which a contrast medium or a drug is administered, and a living body by controlling the probe. A transmission / reception unit that acquires echo data, an image forming unit that forms image data of an ultrasonic image based on the acquired echo data, and a counting unit that starts a counting operation in response to an instruction to start counting The correction count value corresponding to the elapsed time from the administration time to the current time is displayed by correcting the count value of the counting unit based on the administration time when the contrast agent or the drug is administered to the living body.

  According to the above aspect, since the corrected count value corresponding to the elapsed time from the administration time to the current time is displayed, the elapsed time can be confirmed as compared with the case where the elapsed time is grasped by comparing the administration time with the current time. Becomes easy and accurate.

  In a desirable mode, the correction count value is obtained by adding the difference between the start time when the counting unit starts the counting operation and the administration time to the count value of the counting unit.

  In a desirable mode, it further has a data storage part which memorizes time data of administration time, and time data of administration time is memorized in the 1st period immediately after administering contrast agent or medicine to a living body, and contrast agent or medicine is living body The time data of the administration time is read out and used for correction of the count value in the second period after a predetermined time from the administration.

  In a desirable mode, the data storage unit stores the image data of the ultrasonic image obtained in the first period and the time data of the administration time in association with each other, and the image data is read when the image data is read out in the second period. The time data of the administration time associated with is read out.

  The present invention provides an improved technique for displaying the elapsed time from the administration time. For example, according to a preferred aspect of the present invention, since the correction count value corresponding to the elapsed time from the administration time to the current time is displayed, compared with the case where the elapsed time is grasped by comparing the administration time with the current time. Thus, the elapsed time can be easily and accurately confirmed.

  FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the overall configuration thereof. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is suitable for forming an image using a contrast agent including a contrast bubble (microbubbles such as microbubbles and nanobubbles). A contrast agent is administered to the subject. It should be noted that other drugs or the like may be administered to the subject instead of the contrast medium or together with the contrast medium.

  The probe 10 transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to the subject to whom the contrast agent is administered. The probe 10 includes a plurality of vibration elements that transmit and receive ultrasonic waves. The plurality of vibration elements are transmission-controlled by the transmission / reception unit 12 and the transmission beam is scanned. In addition, the plurality of vibration elements receive the ultrasonic waves reflected from the body of the subject, and signals obtained thereby are output to the transmission / reception unit 12, and the transmission / reception unit 12 forms a reception beam to receive the reception signals. get.

  The probe 10 is, for example, a convex electronic scan probe, and an ultrasonic beam (a transmission beam and a reception beam) is electronically scanned in a fan shape in a two-dimensional plane. Of course, as the probe 10, a linear electronic scan probe or another electronic scan probe may be used, or a probe that mechanically scans the beam may be used. Furthermore, a three-dimensional probe that scans an ultrasonic beam three-dimensionally may be used.

  The ultrasonic image forming unit 14 forms image data of an ultrasonic image such as a B-mode image, for example, based on a reception signal obtained for each reception beam, that is, for each scanning direction. The image data is formed for each time phase over a plurality of time phases. The ultrasonic image forming unit 14 extracts a harmonic component (for example, a second harmonic component) included in the received signal, and forms image data from echo data corresponding to the harmonic component. Since the harmonic component mainly includes the reflection component from the contrast agent (bubble), the image data of the contrast mode image mainly showing the contrast agent clearly is obtained by using the harmonic component. It is formed.

  The data storage unit 24 is a storage device such as a hard disk drive. The data storage unit 24 stores image data formed in the ultrasonic image forming unit 14. The data storage unit 24 also stores time data on the administration time when the contrast medium or drug is administered to the subject.

  The time counter 26 counts the elapsed time from the administration time to the current time based on the time data of the administration time. The elapsed time counting operation in this embodiment will be described in detail later (see FIG. 2). The time counter 26 is controlled by the control unit 20. The control unit 20 intensively controls each unit in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to, for example, a user operation input via the operation device 22. The operation device 22 is, for example, a touch panel, a keyboard, a mouse, or the like.

  The display image processing unit 16 forms a display image based on the image data of the ultrasonic image forming unit 14 and the count value of the time counter 26. The image data stored in the data storage unit 24 may be provided to the display image processing unit 16 via the ultrasonic image forming unit 14. For example, the display image processing unit 16 forms a display image indicating a count value (elapsed time) on a B-mode image formed from image data. The display image formed in the display image processing unit 16 is displayed on a display unit 18 such as a monitor.

  In this embodiment, the elapsed time from the administration time to the current time is counted based on the time data of the administration time. The operation will be described below. In addition, about the part (structure) shown in FIG. 1, the code | symbol of FIG. 1 is utilized in the following description.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an elapsed time counting operation in the present embodiment. FIG. 2 shows a sequence in a case where diagnosis for two subjects (subjects A and B) is performed in parallel using only one ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of FIG. Each subject is administered a contrast agent suitable for diagnosis of the target tissue (for example, liver). For example, about 10 to 20 minutes after being administered, the contrast agent is accumulated in the target tissue of each subject, and an ultrasound image (contrast image) is formed using the reflected waves from the accumulated contrast agent. Is done.

  First, a contrast medium is administered to the first subject A at time T1. At this time, the inspector inputs time data of time T1 using the operation device 22, for example. The inspector, for example, inputs date: hour: minute: second etc. as numerical values as time data. Further, a clock function may be mounted on the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and the time of the clock at that time may be recorded as time data by an inspector instructing the apparatus at the timing of time T1. The time data is stored in the data storage unit 24 by the control unit 20.

  The examiner diagnoses the subject A using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the early phase of a period of, for example, about 2 to 3 minutes after the contrast medium is administered to the subject A. For example, an ultrasonic image including the liver as a target tissue is formed and the image is observed. At time T2, the image data of the ultrasonic image is recorded in the data storage unit 24. Note that the time data at time T1 may be recorded together with the image data at the timing (time T2) when the image data is recorded. When recording time data in association with image data, for example, a tag defined in DICOM, which is a medical digital image recording format, may be used. Further, an ID for specifying the subject A may be recorded together with the image data and time data.

  When the contrast medium is administered to the subject A and the diagnosis in the early phase is completed, the diagnosis regarding the subject A is performed until the administered contrast medium reaches a target tissue such as the liver (for example, about 10 to 20 minutes). Is interrupted. In the present embodiment, the diagnosis for the next subject B is started during this interruption period.

  That is, the contrast medium is administered to the next subject B at time T3, and time data at time T3 is input. The input of time data is the same as in the case of the inspector A. Further, the examiner diagnoses the subject B using an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in an early phase after the contrast agent is administered to the subject B. Thus, the image data of the ultrasonic image is recorded in the data storage unit 24 at time T4. Note that the time data at time T3 may be recorded together with the image data at the timing (time T4) when the image data is recorded. Further, an ID for specifying the subject B may be recorded together with the image data and time data.

  When the contrast medium is administered to the subject B and the diagnosis in the early phase is completed, the diagnosis regarding the subject B is interrupted. During the interruption period, a diagnosis for another subject (not shown) may be started. In the following description, it is assumed that the diagnosis of the subject A is returned after the diagnosis in the early phase for the subject B.

  When returning to the diagnosis of the subject A, the examiner inputs an instruction to start counting using the operation device 22, for example. When receiving the count start instruction, the time counter 26 reads the time data of the time T1 stored in the data storage unit 24 at the time T5, and adds the difference time between the time T5 and the time T1 to the count value. For example, the count operation of the timer is started using the difference time between time T5 and time T1 as the count start value. Thereby, the count value of the time counter 26 becomes a time obtained by adding the time from the time T1 to the time T5 and the time from the time T5 to the current time. That is, a count value corresponding to the elapsed time A from the administration time A to the current time is obtained.

  The count value obtained in the time counter 26 is output to the display image processing unit 16, and the elapsed time A from the administration time A related to the subject A to the current time is displayed on the display unit 18. The examiner makes a diagnosis related to the target tissue such as the liver of the subject A in the later phase while referring to the elapsed time A displayed on the display unit 18. For example, an image diagnosis related to a liver tumor is performed.

  Note that when the diagnosis of the subject A in the late phase is started, the image data of the early phase of the subject A stored in the data storage unit 24 may be read out. In this case, time data at time T1 is read together with the image data. For example, the time counter 26 starts counting simultaneously with the reading of the image data and the time data, and the early phase ultrasound of the subject A The image and the elapsed time A are displayed on the display unit 18.

  Further, when the ID of the subject A is stored in addition to the image data and the time data, the examiner inputs the ID of the subject A via the operation device 22 and corresponds to the ID. The obtained image data and time data may be read out, and the ultrasonic image of the early phase of the subject A and the elapsed time A may be displayed on the display unit 18.

  When the diagnosis of the subject A is completed (time T6), the examiner inputs an instruction to start counting for the subject B. Upon reception of the count start instruction, the time counter 26 reads the time data at time T3 stored in the data storage unit 24 at time T7, and uses the difference time between time T7 and time T3 as the count start value. Start the count operation. Thereby, the count value of the time counter 26 becomes a time obtained by adding the time from the time T3 to the time T7 and the time from the time T7 to the current time. That is, a count value corresponding to the elapsed time B from the administration time B to the current time is obtained.

  The count value obtained in the time counter 26 is output to the display image processing unit 16 and the elapsed time B from the administration time B related to the subject B to the current time is displayed on the display unit 18. The examiner makes a diagnosis related to the target tissue such as the liver of the subject B in the later phase while referring to the elapsed time B displayed on the display unit 18.

  As in the case of the subject A, the image data of the early phase of the subject B stored in the data storage unit 24 may be read out. In this case, time data at time T3 is read together with the image data. For example, the time counter 26 starts a count operation simultaneously with the reading of the image data and the time data, and the ultrasonic wave in the early phase of the subject B is detected. The image and the elapsed time B are displayed on the display unit 18.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of the present invention was described, according to the above-mentioned embodiment, even when performing diagnosis for a plurality of subjects in parallel using only one ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, The elapsed time corresponding to the subject is displayed for each subject, and the elapsed time can be easily and accurately confirmed. In addition, since diagnosis for a plurality of subjects is performed with a single device, diagnosis can be advanced efficiently.

  In addition, embodiment mentioned above and its effect are only illustrations in all the points, 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 an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the count operation | movement of elapsed time.

Explanation of symbols

  10 probe, 12 transmission / reception unit, 14 ultrasonic image forming unit, 20 control unit, 24 data storage unit, 26 time counter.

Claims (4)

A probe that transmits and receives ultrasound to and from a living body to which a contrast agent or drug is administered;
A transmission / reception unit for acquiring echo data from a living body by controlling a probe;
An image forming unit that forms image data of an ultrasonic image based on the acquired echo data;
A count unit that starts a count operation in response to a count start instruction;
Have
By correcting the count value of the count unit based on the administration time when the contrast agent or drug was administered to the living body, a corrected count value corresponding to the elapsed time from the administration time to the current time is displayed.
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1,
The difference between the start time when the counting unit starts counting and the administration time is added to the count value of the counting unit to obtain the corrected count value,
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
A data storage unit for storing time data of administration time;
Time data of administration time is stored in the first period immediately after the contrast agent or drug is administered to the living body,
The time data of the administration time is read out and used for correction of the count value in the second period after a predetermined time has elapsed since the contrast agent or drug was administered to the living body
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3.
The data storage unit stores image data of an ultrasound image obtained in the first period and time data of administration time in association with each other,
When image data is read in the second period, time data of administration time associated with the image data is read.
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

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