JP2010088698A - Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and method of analyzing failure of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus configured to analyze failure using the time zone in which the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is not used for the medical examination of patients, and a method of analyzing failure. <P>SOLUTION: The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes a program storage part storing a failure analysis program, a detection part for detecting the time in which the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is not used for the medical examination of patients, and a failure analysis part for executing the failure analysis based on the failure analysis program in response to the result of detection by the detection part. The failure analysis part stops the failure analysis if the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is used for the medical examination during the failure analysis, and executes the failure analysis using the period in which the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is not used for the medical examination. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a fault diagnostic function and a fault diagnostic method for an ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus, and enables fault diagnosis of hardware and software of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

  Conventionally, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is used as a medical apparatus. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus can be connected to various modalities such as an X-ray CT apparatus (X-ray computed tomography apparatus) and an MRI apparatus (magnetic resonance imaging apparatus) via a hospital network. Medical image data and examination information are exchanged with other medical devices.

  By the way, when a public network such as a hospital network or the Internet is used, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus may be infected with a computer virus. On the other hand, hardware in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, such as a storage device, may also be abnormal and may not function normally. For this reason, there is an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a failure diagnosis function as a service / maintenance function.

  As a general failure diagnosis, there is a method in which when a service person visits a hospital for maintenance work, a failure diagnosis program is executed to detect a sign of failure. Further, Patent Document 1 describes an example in which diagnosis of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is automatically performed by a preset sequence program. This example also describes an example in which the sequence program is operated from a remote location via a communication line.

  In Patent Document 2, the test operation of each circuit in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is performed, the normal operation content (information on the scheduled operation content) and the operation result of the test operation are compared, and the comparison result is displayed on the screen. Examples of such are described.

  Further, Patent Document 3 describes an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that generates a test drive signal when power is turned on, detects a rotation / stop characteristic of a scanning probe, and sets a motor for driving the probe to optimum parameters. ing.

  However, when a service person visits a hospital to perform failure diagnosis, it takes time and money, and if the interval between failure diagnosis becomes longer, the chance of finding a sign of failure is reduced. In addition, the method of performing fault diagnosis remotely using a network does not function when the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is not connected to the network. This tendency is particularly strong when the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is moved and used in a hospital.

  In addition, a fault diagnosis program that can be executed in a short time can execute fault diagnosis immediately after the device is started. However, if a fault diagnosis program that takes a long time or multiple fault diagnosis programs is used, Increases the time spent on fault diagnosis, which hinders patient examination.

For this reason, failure diagnosis of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is scheduled in a time zone that the user does not use for diagnosis such as midnight, but it is necessary to ensure energization for a long time at midnight, and it takes time to prepare There was a problem.
JP 2001-231780 A JP-A-9-38080 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-1888836

  In the conventional failure diagnosis, when the service person performs the failure diagnosis, there is a disadvantage that the chance of finding the failure is reduced. Further, the method of executing the fault diagnosis program remotely does not function when the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is not connected to the network. Further, when it is necessary to execute a failure diagnosis program that requires a long time or several failure diagnosis programs, there is a problem in that the time spent for failure diagnosis becomes longer, which hinders patient examination.

  In view of the above circumstances, the present invention can perform failure diagnosis without hindering patient examination by performing failure diagnosis using a time zone when the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus is not used for patient examination. An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and a failure diagnosis method.

  The present invention according to claim 1 is an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a fault diagnosis function, wherein a program storage unit storing a fault diagnosis program and a time during which the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is not used for patient examination are detected. And a failure diagnosis unit that executes a failure diagnosis by the failure diagnosis program in response to a detection result of the detection unit, and the failure diagnosis unit includes the ultrasonic wave during the execution of the failure diagnosis. When the diagnosis device is used for diagnosis, the failure diagnosis is stopped, and the failure diagnosis is performed by using the interval when the ultrasonic diagnosis device is not used for the diagnosis.

  The present invention according to claim 10 is an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a fault diagnosis function, wherein a program storage section storing a plurality of fault diagnosis programs, an operation section for operating the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and the operation A detection unit for detecting a time when the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is not used for diagnosis of the patient based on an operation result of the unit; and a failure diagnosis by the plurality of failure diagnosis programs in response to the detection result of the detection unit A fault diagnosis unit that cyclically executes a fault diagnosis unit, and a display unit that displays a result of fault diagnosis by the fault diagnosis unit. When it is used, the failure diagnosis is stopped, and the failure diagnosis is sequentially performed by using the interval where the ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus is not used for the examination of the patient.

  Furthermore, the present invention according to claim 11 is a failure diagnosis method for performing a failure diagnosis of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a failure diagnosis program, wherein the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus detects a time when the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is not used for a patient's examination, In response to the detection result, failure diagnosis by a failure diagnosis program is performed using a time when the ultrasound diagnosis device is not used for the diagnosis, and the ultrasound diagnosis device is used for diagnosis when the failure diagnosis is executed. If it is detected that the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is not used for diagnosis next time, the fault diagnosis is restarted from the position where the previous fault diagnosis was stopped or immediately before the fault diagnosis. The diagnostic result is displayed on the display unit.

  According to the present invention, failure diagnosis can be executed sequentially using a time period in which the user does not use the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for diagnosis, so that the patient diagnosis is not hindered.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

 FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 1, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 performs ultrasonic scanning on an object by driving an ultrasonic probe 11 that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from a subject (not shown). A transmission / reception unit 12 and a data generation unit 13 that processes reception signals obtained by the transmission / reception unit 2 to generate image data such as B-mode image data and Doppler image data are provided.

 In addition, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 receives the image data processing unit 14 that generates two-dimensional image data based on the image data output from the data generation unit 13, and the image data generated by the image data processing unit 14. An image memory 15 that collects and stores the image data, and an image data storage unit 16 that stores the image data stored in the image memory 15 for a long period of time are provided. Further, a display unit 17 for displaying the image data generated by the image data processing unit 14 is provided.

 The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 further includes a system control unit 18 that controls the entire apparatus, an operation unit 19 that inputs various command signals, an application unit 20 that stores software that executes various applications, and an ultrasonic diagnosis. A network interface 21 for connecting the apparatus 10 to the network 100 is provided. Reference numeral 22 denotes a bus line connecting the system control unit 18 and each circuit unit.

 The ultrasonic probe 11 performs ultrasonic wave transmission / reception by bringing its tip surface into contact with the body surface of the subject, and has, for example, a plurality (N) of piezoelectric vibrators arranged one-dimensionally. ing. The piezoelectric vibrator is an electroacoustic transducer, and has a function of converting an ultrasonic drive signal into a transmission ultrasonic wave during transmission and converting a reception ultrasonic wave from a subject into an ultrasonic reception signal during reception. Yes.

 The transmission / reception unit 12 includes a transmission unit 121 that generates an ultrasonic drive signal and a reception unit 122 that processes an ultrasonic reception signal obtained from the ultrasonic probe 1. The transmission unit 121 generates an ultrasonic drive signal and outputs the ultrasonic drive signal to the ultrasonic probe 11, and the reception unit 122 performs phasing addition of the N-channel ultrasonic reception signals from the piezoelectric vibrator and collects the data as one. Output to the generator 13.

 The data generation unit 13 includes a B-mode data generation unit 131 that generates B-mode image data and a Doppler data generation unit 132 that generates Doppler image data from the phased and added signal output from the reception unit 122. ing.

 The B-mode data generation unit 131 performs envelope detection on the phasing-added signal, then performs logarithmic conversion, converts the logarithmically converted signal into a digital signal, generates B-mode image data, and performs image data processing. To the unit 14.

 The Doppler data generation unit 132 detects the Doppler shift frequency for the phased and added signal and converts it to a digital signal, and then extracts only blood flow information and performs autocorrelation processing on the extracted Doppler signal. Do. Then, based on the autocorrelation processing result, an average blood flow velocity value, a dispersion value, and the like are calculated to generate Doppler image data, and output to the image data processing unit 14.

 The image data processing unit 14 generates two-dimensional image data using the B-mode image data, Doppler image data, and the like output from the data generation unit 13. The image data processing unit 14 includes a DSC (Digital Scan Converter), scans the generated image data, and converts the image data into an ultrasonic image that can be displayed on the display unit 17.

 The image data processing unit 14 includes an image memory 15, stores the image data generated in the image memory 15, and allows the image data read from the image memory 15 to be output to the display unit 17. Furthermore, the image data storage unit 16 includes a storage device such as an HDD, and can store the image data stored in the image memory 15 for a long period of time.

 The operation unit 19 includes an operation panel 191 and an input unit 192. The input unit 191 includes input devices such as various switches, a keyboard, a trackball, and a mouse, and can input subject information such as a subject ID and a name. In addition, it is possible to input operations such as an imaging condition setting operation, an inspection start operation, and an inspection end operation.

 The application unit 20 includes various applications, for example, examination start and examination end processing, medical image list and patient list creation processing, created medical image list and patient list display processing, medical image and patient information medical server Software for executing the transfer processing to the server is stored. Thereby, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 can execute various processes according to the software of the application unit 20.

 Furthermore, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 can be connected to the network 100 via the network interface 21 and can store image data acquired by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 in an external medical server 101. The network 100 is connected to a medical image diagnostic apparatus 102 such as an MRI apparatus or an X-ray CT apparatus.

 Further, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is provided with a failure diagnosis unit 30, and performs a failure diagnosis of software and hardware in the apparatus 10 under the control of the system control unit 18. The failure diagnosis unit 30 includes various failure diagnosis programs, and executes failure diagnosis according to these failure diagnosis programs.

 FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the failure diagnosis unit 30 that is a feature of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the failure diagnosis unit 30 includes a control unit 31 that controls failure diagnosis processing, and a detection unit 32 that detects a time during which the user (doctor, engineer, etc.) is not using the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 10 for diagnosis. A program storage unit 33 that stores various failure diagnosis programs and a storage unit 34 are provided.

 The control unit 31 is connected to the display unit 17 and the storage unit 34, and the detection unit 32 is connected to the operation unit 19 and the application unit 20. A plurality of programs (for example, diagnostic program 1 to diagnostic program 5) are stored in the program storage unit 33, and the control unit 31 sequentially executes software and hardware failure diagnosis according to the diagnostic programs 1 to 5. .

 Examples of the failure diagnosis target 40 include an HDD 41 used for the image data storage unit 16 and the like, and substrates 42 to 44 on which various circuits (including software) are mounted.

 Next, an outline of the operation of the failure diagnosis unit 30 in FIG. 2 will be described.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 includes an operation unit 19 that is operated by a user for medical examination of a patient. The operation unit 19 is also referred to as a console unit. For example, when the operation unit 19 is operated, the detection unit 32 detects whether or not the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is being used for a patient's examination.

  A plurality of independent diagnostic programs 1 to 5 are installed in the program storage unit 33 in order to diagnose hardware and software failures. Each of the diagnostic programs 1 to 5 is controlled by the control unit 31. Failure diagnosis is executed for each piece of software and hardware that is the target of failure diagnosis.

  The control unit 31 monitors which diagnostic program is currently being executed, and stores a diagnostic program that is currently being diagnosed in the storage unit 34. The control unit 31 notifies the user when a failure is found. The notification of the diagnosis result is displayed on the display unit 17, for example.

  These fault diagnoses are performed during the period when the user does not use the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 for patient examination. The detection unit 32 determines whether or not the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is used for a patient's examination, and detects a time that is not used for the patient's examination. The detection unit 31 is used by the user for the examination. When the time is detected, the control unit 31 is notified, and the control unit 31 executes the diagnostic programs 1 to 5 in order. In addition, the control unit 31 stores information indicating how far the diagnosis has been made in the storage unit 34 as needed by the currently executed diagnostic program.

  In the middle of the failure diagnosis, for example, when the user operates the operation unit 19 to examine the patient, in response thereto, the control unit 31 stops the currently executed failure diagnosis program, and immediately starts the ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus 10. Make it available for examination. At this time, the location where the failure diagnosis is stopped is stored in the storage unit 34.

  Next, when the detection unit 32 detects that the user is not using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10, the detection unit 32 notifies the control unit 31, and the control unit 31 starts again from the stop location stored in the storage unit 34. Follow the steps below to start failure diagnosis. When all the diagnostic programs (1 to 5) prepared in this way are executed, the process returns to the first diagnostic program 1 and repeatedly performs fault diagnosis.

  When a failure is found by executing the failure diagnosis, the diagnosis program displays an error on the display unit 17 directly or via the control unit 31.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of display on the display unit 17. For example, “Error detected as a result of failure diagnosis” or “Possible error has occurred” is displayed on the display screen. . In addition, a display indicating “error occurrence location” is performed. Further, an additional message such as “Please contact a service person” may be displayed. Thereby, the user can know that a failure has occurred, and can take measures against it.

  In addition, when no error occurs as a result of failure diagnosis, nothing is displayed, or even if it is displayed, failure diagnosis by all diagnosis programs (1 to N) is performed in order to avoid frequent display. You may make it display "an error was not detected" at every round.

  In addition to displaying the error on the display unit 17, the error notification may be sent to a user terminal (not shown) connected to the network 100 via the network interface 21, or an MO (Magnetic Optical Disk). Alternatively, the notification may be output to an external storage medium.

  Next, an example of a failure diagnosis program will be described. Examples of the failure diagnosis program include the following a to g. Both are generally known programs.

a. Computer virus scan,
b. HDD bad cluster detection,
c. HDD fragmentation detection,
d. Anomaly detection of ROM and RAM prepared on each board,
e. Response signal analysis by inspection signal input to each board register,
f. Detecting abnormal responsiveness of each hardware,
g. Analysis of the image obtained by the dummy signal.

  For example, computer virus search includes a method of collecting specific data indicating the possibility of virus occurrence, defining information indicating the characteristics of the virus, and searching for viruses from image data files based on this information. is there. When a computer virus is detected, and there is predetermined anti-virus software, the virus is deleted or removed. Alternatively, the user may be notified that a computer virus has been detected, and the user may be encouraged to implement virus countermeasures.

  In addition, as an abnormality detection of a memory such as ROM or RAM, for example, test data is written to all addresses of the memory to be diagnosed, data is then read from all addresses, and the write data and read data are compared with each other to There is a method to determine whether or not is normal.

  Next, the details of the failure diagnosis processing of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

  FIG. 4 shows an example in which failure diagnosis is performed in order according to the diagnosis programs 1 to 5 in the program storage unit 33, and when the last diagnosis program 5 is completed, the failure diagnosis is performed again by returning to the first diagnosis program 1.

  FIG. 5 shows a flow of failure diagnosis by one of the diagnosis programs (1 to 5) of FIG. In FIG. 5, step S <b> 0 is a failure diagnosis start step, for example, a failure diagnosis start step by the diagnosis program 1.

  In the next step S1, it is determined whether or not the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is used for patient examination. It is detected by the detection unit 32 whether or not it is used for medical examination. When the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is used for patient examination, the examination is continued in step S2.

  If it is determined in step S2 that the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is not used for patient examination, information on how far the diagnostic diagnosis has been completed in the diagnostic program 1 is read from the storage unit 34 in step S3. If the failure diagnosis of the diagnostic program 1 has not been performed yet, the information in the storage unit 34 is in an initial state, and the diagnosis is executed from the beginning of the diagnostic program 1.

  In the next step S4, failure diagnosis processing is executed, and how far the diagnosis has been completed is stored in the storage unit 34 as needed according to the progress of the failure diagnosis. Step S5 is a step for determining whether or not the failure diagnosis by the diagnosis program 1 has ended. If the failure diagnosis has not ended, the process returns to step S1.

  When the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is used for a patient examination in the middle of the fault diagnosis, the fault diagnosis is interrupted, and the process proceeds to step S2 and waits until the examination ends. If it is determined again that the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is not being used for patient examination, in step S3, information is read from the storage unit 34, and failure diagnosis is resumed from the interrupted location.

  In this way, the diagnosis is executed until the failure diagnosis by the diagnosis program 1 is completed using the time when the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 10 is not used for the patient examination. When failure diagnosis is stopped and diagnosis is restarted, if there is inconvenience in performing failure diagnosis from the stop location, the diagnosis may be performed again immediately before the stop location (head position).

  If it is determined in step S5 that the failure diagnosis by the diagnostic program 1 has been completed, the information in the storage unit 34 is cleared and returned to the initial state in step S6. In step S7, a failure diagnosis result is displayed. An example of the diagnosis result is shown in FIG.

  In the next step S8, if there are N diagnostic programs, it is determined whether or not all the fault diagnosis by the diagnostic programs 1 to N has been completed. If there is a diagnostic program for which the failure diagnosis has not been completed, the process proceeds to step S9, and a failure diagnosis by the next diagnosis program is executed. When the failure diagnosis by all the diagnosis programs 1 to N is completed, the process proceeds to step S10, and the failure diagnosis by the diagnosis program 1 is executed again.

  The failure diagnosis may be executed cyclically according to the flow of FIG. 3 while the power of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 is turned on, or the failure diagnosis by the diagnostic programs 1 to N every time the power is turned on. You may make it go around.

  Next, the detection operation in the detection unit 32 will be described. In FIG.5 S1, the time when the user is not using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 for a medical examination is a time slot | zone like the following ac, for example, and the detection part 32 is based on the operation result of the operation part 19. FIG. Based on this, such a time is detected and notified to the control unit.

  a. The time from when the application unit 20 is activated and when the detection unit 32 is notified of activation completion until the user operates the operation unit 19 for the first time.

  b. The time from when the operation unit 19 or the application unit 20 notifies the detection unit 32 of the end of the inspection until the user operates the operation unit 19 next time.

  c. When there is no user input to the operation unit 19 for a certain period of time, that is, the time from when the certain time has elapsed since the last operation of the operation unit 19 until the user operates the operation unit 19 next time.

  Therefore, in the present invention, since the failure diagnosis can be executed using the interval in which the user does not use the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 10 for the diagnosis, the apparatus does not interfere with the diagnosis and does not call a service person. Can automatically run diagnostic programs.

  Further, since the apparatus determines the execution time of the diagnostic program, the failure diagnostic program can be executed without conscious scheduling. In addition, since failure diagnosis is performed at times not used by the user, even if it is a short time, even if it is a long-term failure diagnosis program due to the accumulation of unused times, Even a diagnostic program can execute fault diagnosis. Furthermore, the diagnostic program can be automatically executed without the infrastructure for remote diagnosis.

Therefore, the failure diagnosis program can be executed at high frequency in any environment, and the detection rate of failure signs can be improved. The failure diagnosis program is not limited to the examples 1 to 5 described above, and other There may be a fault diagnosis program. The present invention can be variously modified without departing from the scope of the claims.

The block diagram which shows the structure of one Embodiment of the ultrasonic diagnosing device of this invention. The block diagram which shows the structure of the failure diagnosis part in the same embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display of the failure diagnosis result in the same embodiment. The flowchart which shows the whole process of the failure diagnosis in the same embodiment. The flowchart which shows the detail of the failure diagnosis process in the embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 11 ... Ultrasonic probe 12 ... Transmission / reception part 13 ... Data generation part 14 ... Image data processing part 15 ... Image memory 16 ... Image data storage part 17 ... Display part 18 ... System control part 19 ... Operation part 20 ... Application unit 21 ... Network interface 22 ... Bus line 30 ... Fault diagnosis unit 31 ... Control unit 32 ... Detection unit 33 ... Program storage unit 34 ... Storage unit 40 ... Hardware / software for fault diagnosis

Claims (13)

An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a fault diagnosis function,
A program storage unit storing a fault diagnosis program;
A detection unit for detecting a time when the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is not used for medical examination of a patient;
A failure diagnosis unit that performs failure diagnosis by the failure diagnosis program in response to the detection result of the detection unit, and
The fault diagnosis unit stops the fault diagnosis when the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is used for diagnosis during the execution of the fault diagnosis, and uses the interval when the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is not used for the diagnosis. Then, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that performs failure diagnosis. The failure diagnosis program has a plurality of diagnosis programs for diagnosing software and hardware failures of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus,
2. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the failure diagnosis unit sequentially executes failure diagnosis of the software and hardware according to the plurality of diagnosis programs.   The fault diagnosis unit stops the fault diagnosis last time when the detection unit detects that the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is not used for the diagnosis after the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is used for the diagnosis and then stopped. 2. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the failure diagnosis is restarted from the place or the place immediately before the place.   When there are a plurality of the failure diagnosis programs, the failure diagnosis unit cyclically performs failure diagnosis from the first program to the last program by using a time when the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is not used for the examination of the patient. 2. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is executed. An operation unit for operating the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus;
The detection unit detects a time when the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is not used for the examination of the patient based on an operation result of the operation unit and notifies the failure diagnosis unit, and the failure diagnosis unit detects the time 2. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein failure diagnosis is performed using time.   The detection unit detects a time until a new operation is performed after a predetermined time has elapsed after the user operates the operation unit, and notifies the failure diagnosis unit. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus as described.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the detection unit detects a time from when the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is activated until the operation unit is operated, and notifies the failure diagnostic unit.   The super detector according to claim 5, wherein the detection unit detects a time until the operation unit is operated next after completion of the diagnosis by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and notifies the failure diagnosis unit. Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit that displays the failure diagnosis result. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a fault diagnosis function,
A program storage unit storing a plurality of fault diagnosis programs;
An operation unit for operating the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus;
A detection unit for detecting a time when the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is not used for diagnosis of the patient based on an operation result of the operation unit;
In response to a detection result of the detection unit, a failure diagnosis unit that cyclically executes a failure diagnosis by the plurality of failure diagnosis programs;
A display unit for displaying a result of failure diagnosis by the failure diagnosis unit,
The fault diagnosis unit stops the fault diagnosis when the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is used for diagnosis during the execution of the fault diagnosis, and the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is not used for the patient diagnosis. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized in that failure diagnosis is sequentially performed using A failure diagnosis method for performing a failure diagnosis of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a failure diagnosis program,
Detecting the time when the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is not used for patient examination;
In response to the detection result, a failure diagnosis by a failure diagnosis program is performed using a time when the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is not used for the diagnosis,
If the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is used for diagnosis when performing fault diagnosis, stop the fault diagnosis,
Next, when it is detected that the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is not used for diagnosis, the fault diagnosis is restarted from the previous time or the position immediately before the fault diagnosis was stopped,
A failure diagnosis method for an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, wherein the failure diagnosis result is displayed on a display unit. A plurality of diagnostic programs for diagnosing software and hardware failures of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus;
12. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus failure diagnosis method according to claim 11, wherein failure diagnosis of the software and hardware is sequentially executed according to the plurality of diagnosis programs. An operation unit for operating the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus;
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus failure diagnosis method according to claim 11, wherein a time during which the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is not used for the examination of the patient is detected based on an operation result of the operation unit.

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