JP2010207343A - Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and probe - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To optimize the direction of electronic scanning by automatically recognizing the direction of a hand holding a probe in an ultrasonic diagnosis. <P>SOLUTION: The probe 10 is provided with a contact detector 18 at the exterior of its case 16. The contact detector 18 is a planar sensor outputting a two-dimensional image indicating a contact region of the hand 36. The respective processes of a connection process, a line-thinning process, an end specification process and a thumb specification process are performed with respect to the two-dimensional image to recognize a position indicating the thumb and the direction of the thumb, thereby determining the thumb traveling direction as holding direction information. The electronic scanning direction on an array vibrator is automatically determined based thereon. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and a probe, and more particularly to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus including a probe held by a hand.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is roughly divided into an apparatus main body and a probe (ultrasonic probe) connected thereto. In general, the probe is used in contact with the body surface, and is held by the hand of the examining doctor or the examining technician. As an electronic scanning method applied to the probe, electronic linear scanning (including electronic convex scanning), electronic sector scanning, and the like are known. Recently, a probe having a 2D array transducer instead of the 1D array transducer has been put into practical use. Further, a mechanical scan 3D probe that mechanically scans the 1D array transducer has been put into practical use (see Patent Document 1).

  A protruding probe mark is usually provided on the case side surface of the probe. This is for visually confirming or touching the starting end of electronic scanning. In general, the user confirms the position of the probe mark when holding the probe, and then performs ultrasonic diagnosis, that is, probe operation. A probe mark image is displayed along with the tomographic image. For example, a round image is displayed near the top of the fan-shaped tomographic image. By looking at it, the start end of electronic scanning can be recognized in the coordinate system in which the tomographic image is displayed. When the probe mark is not confirmed when the probe is held, for example, when the probe mark is held in a reverse direction (a direction rotated by 180 degrees) from the medical point of view, the back surface is displayed as a tomographic image. In that case, the probe itself is rotated 180 degrees and is gripped again, or the image is inverted and an operation is performed so that the front (front) surface is obtained. In that case, the front side can be displayed by reversing the start end of the electronic scanning, but the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is not equipped with a switching function of the front and back surfaces in such a method, and is simple. It only has an image reversal function.

JP 2004-81808 A JP 2006-187589 A

  When holding a probe, as described above, the probe mark must be confirmed. If the probe mark is neglected, an operation such as image inversion may be required, which is inconvenient. . In other words, it is not user-oriented and the user needs to meet the request on the device side. Patent Document 2 discloses providing a sensor for detecting that a hand is in contact with a probe. The sensor outputs a probe selection signal. However, Patent Document 2 does not describe the determination of the direction of the hand.

  An object of the present invention is to improve the operability of the probe.

  Another object of the present invention is to enable a user to display on the screen a surface necessary for ultrasonic examination (a normal surface, not a reverse surface) without being aware of the start end of electronic scanning.

  An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention is a probe held by an inspector's hand, an ultrasonic transducer for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, a case containing the ultrasonic transducer, and a case A probe having a contact detector provided; a holding direction information calculating unit that calculates holding direction information indicating a direction of a hand relative to the probe based on a signal output from the contact detector; and the holding direction. Control means for controlling the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus based on the information.

  According to the above configuration, since the contact detector is provided in the case of the probe, a signal indicating the hand holding state can be obtained therefrom, and the holding direction information can be generated based on the signal. The holding direction information represents the direction of the hand holding the probe when viewed from the probe. For example, paying attention to specific parts such as the fingertip of the thumb, the portion between the base of the thumb and the base of the index finger, and the gap between the fingertip of the thumb and the index finger, the area (side surface) to which such specific part belongs and its The holding direction information may be obtained by calculating the azimuth (the azimuth around the center axis of the probe) in which such a specific portion exists, and by identifying whether the holding hand is the right hand or the left hand. In any case, it is desirable that the holding direction information is information indicating the holding state of the hand on the probe. If such holding direction information is obtained, it can be used for operation control of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus (main body) to set operating conditions suitable for the holding state. It is possible to eliminate or reduce the burden on the user who has to be particularly conscious of the orientation of the probe. For operation control according to the direction of the hand, setting of a reference end (start end) of electronic scanning on the 1D array transducer, definition of the first and second scanning directions on the 2D array transducer, and image forming conditions Settings, etc. are included. If determination of the right hand and the left hand can be performed, operation control for the convenience of the user can be performed using the determination result.

  Preferably, the contact detector is a planar sensor provided so as to surround at least all or a part of the side surface of the outer surface of the case, and the contact detector has a two-dimensional distribution of the contact region. Output two-dimensional data to represent. As a contact detector, it is desirable to obtain necessary information by image analysis (two-dimensional analysis) using such a detector representing a two-dimensional distribution. In addition to a method of physically detecting contact, a method of detecting a contact state thermally, optically, or electrically may be employed. It is desirable that the contact detector be provided over the entire circumference of the side surface of the case so as to surround the probe center axis. In that case, the vertical width (sensitive width) may be set to such an extent that the holding direction can be determined. A planar sensor may be wound around the entire side surface, or small sensors may be arrayed individually and in an array on each side surface.

  Preferably, the holding direction information calculation unit calculates the holding direction information by analyzing a contact position and a contact direction of a specific part of the hand based on the two-dimensional data. The specific part is preferably the fingertip of the thumb, but is not limited thereto. In any case, it is desirable that it is a characteristic part representing the hand. In a situation where the probe is held by hand, although depending on the size of the probe, generally, the thumb is in contact with one side when viewed from the probe, and one or more fingers are in contact with the opposite side. In other words, the tendency that the thumb is isolated and present alone is recognized. Also, it is recognized that the thumb is usually thicker than the other fingers. Such a tendency may be used to identify the thumb from the distribution image. Of course, other parts may be specified. It is desirable to determine in which direction the thumb extends after identifying the fingertip of the thumb. The latter corresponds to the distinction between right and left hands. In an embodiment to be described later, the directionality from the base side of the thumb to the fingertip is determined, and thereby the type of hand and the direction of the hand are analyzed.

  Preferably, the holding direction information calculation unit specifies a plurality of endpoints for a plurality of lines included in the thinned image, and a thinning processing unit that forms the thinned image by thinning the two-dimensional data. An end point specifying unit and an end point corresponding to the fingertip of the thumb as the specific part are specified from among the plurality of end points, the position of the end point and the direction of the line extending from the end point are specified, thereby the holding direction information A calculation unit for calculating.

  The thinning process corresponds to a process of extracting a center axis line of each finger or a curve indicating its form. The plurality of lines correspond to a plurality of fingers or fingertips. The thumb line (end point and the direction of the line extending therefrom) as a specific part is determined from among them, and holding direction information is calculated based thereon. For example, when one line is recognized on one side as viewed from the probe and a plurality of lines are recognized on the other side, that is, when the thumb can be easily specified, the above configuration is adopted (applied). desirable. When one line is recognized on one side as viewed from the probe and one line is recognized on the other side, two thumb line candidates are generated, so the thickness of the finger is used. It is desirable to adopt the following configuration.

  Preferably, the holding direction information calculation unit specifies a plurality of endpoints for a plurality of lines included in the thinned image, and a thinning processing unit that forms the thinned image by thinning the two-dimensional data. In the two-dimensional data, in the two-dimensional data, a horizontal width calculation unit that calculates a horizontal width for a plurality of contact areas corresponding to a plurality of lines extending from the plurality of end points, and a plurality of horizontal widths calculated by the horizontal width calculation unit Based on the above, the contact area corresponding to the fingertip of the thumb as the specific part is identified from among the plurality of contact areas included in the two-dimensional data, and the position of the end point with respect to the contact area and the line extending therefrom A calculation unit that specifies the direction and thereby calculates the holding direction information.

  In the above configuration, the thumb line is specified based on mutual comparison of the respective lateral widths (finger widths) from among the plurality of thumb line candidates. Since the width of the thumb is usually larger than the width of the other fingers, the thumb line is specified using this.

  Desirably, the control means determines the direction of the electronic scanning direction of the ultrasonic transducer based on the holding direction information. According to this configuration, when the probe is held, an electron suitable for the inspector's way of holding (not disappointing the inspector's expectation) without being particularly conscious of the electronic scanning reference end or the probe mark indicating it. The scanning reference end can be set automatically. Therefore, the burden on the inspector can be reduced and misidentification at the time of image observation can be prevented. Alternatively, the operation of image inversion can be made unnecessary. This is based on the probe-oriented concept that humans used to match the absolute coordinates of the probe until now, and the human-oriented concept that automatically sets the relative coordinate system that fits the probe even in a free direction. Renewed. The holding direction information can be used in various ways other than the above control.

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic transducer that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves in a probe that is detachably attached to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus body and is held by an inspector's hand, and a case that houses the ultrasonic transducer. A planar contact detector provided to cover a holding region on the outer surface of the case, and the contact detector is a plurality of contacts generated by contact of a plurality of fingers in the inspector's hand Two-dimensional distribution data representing a region is output to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body.

  According to the present invention, the operability of the probe can be improved. Alternatively, according to the present invention, it is possible to set an operation condition suitable for the holding state of the probe. Alternatively, according to the present invention, even if the inspector is not aware of the starting end of electronic scanning, a surface necessary for ultrasonic inspection (a normal surface, not a reverse surface) can be displayed on the screen.

1 is a conceptual diagram showing an overall configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the probe provided with the contact detector. It is a figure which shows the other example of the probe provided with the contact detector. It is a figure which shows the output image (image showing a right hand) of a contact detector. It is a figure which shows the output image (image showing a left hand) of a contact detector. It is a figure which shows the process steps (A)-(C) of a contact detection image. It is a figure which shows the process steps (D) and (E) of a contact detection image. It is a figure showing the content of the determination table. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1.

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

  FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the overall configuration of the apparatus. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present embodiment is roughly divided into an apparatus main body 12 and a probe 10 that is detachably attached thereto. In FIG. 1, the probe 10 is illustrated conceptually.

  In this embodiment, the probe 10 is an ultrasonic probe that is brought into contact with the surface of a living body. The probe 10 has a case 16, and a vibrator 14 is provided inside the case 16. Specifically, the vibrator 14 is provided inside the acoustic lens forming the bottom. The vibrator 14 is a 1D array vibrator composed of a plurality of vibration elements in the present embodiment. Of course, other vibrators such as a 2D array vibrator may be arranged inside the case 16. Incidentally, an ultrasonic beam is formed by the 1D array transducer, and the ultrasonic beam is electronically scanned. As the electronic scanning method, electronic linear scanning, electronic sector scanning, and the like are known.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a contact detector 18 is provided on the outer surface of the case 16. As will be described later with reference to FIG. 2 and the like, the contact detector 18 is a planar sensor provided over the entire side surface of the case 16, and more specifically, the contact detector 18 is a single large area type. Or a plurality of planar sensors. The contact detector 18 detects the contact state of the hand holding the probe 10, and is specifically a detector that outputs a distribution image including one or a plurality of contact regions. Examples of the detection method include those using pressure, those using capacitance, and the like, and sensors of other methods may be used.

  In FIG. 1, the apparatus main body 12 basically has the same configuration as that of a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, except that the control unit 32 performs operation control based on a signal output from the contact detector 18. It is different from the conventional device. More specifically, the transmission unit 20 functions as a transmission beamformer, and the reception unit 22 functions as a reception beamformer. That is, a plurality of transmission signals are supplied from the transmission unit 20 to the vibrator 14 at the time of transmission. As a result, a transmission beam is formed. On the other hand, at the time of reception, a plurality of reception signals output from the transducer 14 are input to the reception unit 22, and phasing addition processing is executed in the reception unit 22. As a result, a reception beam is formed. The reception signal after the phasing addition, that is, the beam data is output from the reception unit 22 to the signal processing unit 24.

  The signal processing unit 24 includes a radio wave circuit, a logarithmic compression circuit, and the like, and performs necessary processing on the beam data. The processed beam data is sent to the coordinate conversion unit 26. The coordinate conversion unit 26 is configured by a digital scan converter (DSC) in the present embodiment, and a two-dimensional tomographic image or the like is configured based on a plurality of beam data. The image data, that is, B-mode tomographic image data is sent to the display unit 30 via the display processing unit 28. An ultrasonic image such as a B-mode tomographic image is displayed on the display unit 30. As such an ultrasonic image, a two-dimensional color Doppler image, a three-dimensional ultrasonic image, or the like may be displayed.

  The control unit 32 performs operation control of each component shown in FIG. An input unit 34 constituted by an operation panel is connected to the control unit 32. The input unit 34 includes a keyboard, a trackball, and the like. In the present embodiment, the control unit 32 analyzes the signal output from the contact detector 18, specifically the distribution image, and represents the orientation of the hand holding the probe as viewed from the probe. A function for calculating holding direction information, a function for determining the direction of electronic scanning based on such holding direction information, and the like are provided. This will be described in detail below.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the probe 10 shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the probe 10 has an enlarged lower portion 10L and an upper portion 10H as a grip portion connected thereto. The probe 10 has four sides or four regions around its central axis, where the four regions are indicated by A, B, C, and D. The upper portion 10H as the grip portion is held by the hand 36. More specifically, the thumb 34 is located on one side when viewed from the probe 10, and other fingers, that is, the index finger 40 and the middle finger 42 are present on the other side. ing. That is, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the upper portion 10 </ b> H is gripped so that the upper portion 10 </ b> H is inserted between the thumb 38 and the index finger 40. There is a gap between the fingertip of the thumb 38 and the fingertips of the other fingers 40 and 42. There are various ways of holding the probe 10, and in addition to the case shown in FIG. 2, the probe 10 may be held by two fingers, the thumb 38 and the index finger 40. Image analysis, which will be described later, is executed so that the orientation of the hand can be accurately determined based on such various aspects. In FIG. 2, the X direction represents the arrangement method in the 1D array transducer, which is the electronic scanning direction. However, the starting end of electronic scanning is not uniquely determined, and in this embodiment, the end suitable for the hand according to the orientation of the hand of the inspector is set as the starting end of electronic scanning. In this regard, the probe mark similar to the conventional one may be attached to the probe 10. The Y direction is another horizontal direction orthogonal to the X direction, and the Z direction is the direction of the probe center axis, which is the transmission / reception direction or the contact direction.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a planar contact detector 18 is provided on the case 16. Specifically, the contact detector 18 is provided so as to surround the probe 10 over substantially the entire holding region of the probe 10 or over the main part thereof. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the detection surface extends over both the upper part 10H and the lower part 10L. However, the spread of the detection surface in the vertical direction can be arbitrarily determined as long as the orientation of the hand can be determined. Instead of using such a fairly wide surface detector, a plurality of small sensors may be arranged in an array. In any case, it is desirable to arrange the detector so as to obtain information on which direction or direction the hand is present when viewed from the probe around the center axis of the probe. In the present embodiment, as described above, a signal representing the distribution state of the contact area as a two-dimensional image is output.

  FIG. 3 shows another probe 44. In such a probe 44 as well, it is desirable to provide a contact detector 48 outside the case 46. That is, the probe 44 has four regions A, B, C, and D corresponding to four side surfaces, and it is desirable to provide a planar contact detector 48 over them, that is, so as to surround the probe. Here, a contact detector may be individually provided for each of the regions A, B, C, and D.

  Next, image processing performed by the control unit 32 illustrated in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. The image processing generates holding direction information.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a two-dimensional image (two-dimensional data) output from the contact detector, and the two-dimensional image 50 shown in FIG. 4 represents the contact region 52 when held by the right hand. Is. The two-dimensional image 50 has a ring-shaped data structure. In this example, the two-dimensional image 50 is represented as a developed distribution. In the two-dimensional image 50, the entire azimuth direction is represented by reference numeral 100, and the four regions or sections corresponding to the four side surfaces described above are represented by A, B, C, and D. Image portions belonging to the respective areas are represented by reference numerals 50A, 50B, 50C, and 50D.

  Incidentally, FIG. 5 shows a two-dimensional image 50 obtained when holding by the left hand, and the two-dimensional image 50 represents the contact area 54 of the left hand. An area other than the contact area 54 is an exposed area. The two-dimensional image 50 is also composed of four image portions 50A, 50B, 50C, and 50D corresponding to the four regions.

  In determining the orientation of the hand using the two-dimensional images shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, image processing as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is executed in this embodiment.

  In the step shown in FIG. 5A, a connection process is applied to the two-dimensional images shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, that is, the mutual image portions 50A, 50B, 50C, and 50D shown in FIGS. The development process of each partial image that eliminates the gaps between them is applied to form a newly developed two-dimensional image 56. The two-dimensional image 56 is a rectangular (annular belt-shaped) image. By performing such processing, image processing can be easily performed, and contact areas that are generated in a distributed manner are connected to correspond to the finger. A contact area having a form can be constructed. In FIG. 6, the individual independent contact areas are denoted by reference numerals 58A, 58B, and 58C. 58A is a contact image of the thumb, 58B is a contact image of the index finger, and 58C is a contact image of only the fingertip portion of the middle finger. Of course, the manner of such contact distribution can vary considerably depending on how it is held.

  (B) shows a thinning process. When the thinning process is performed after the binarization process is applied to the two-dimensional image 56 shown in (A), a thinned image 60 is obtained. The thinned image 60 is a process of raising the center line of each contact area, and can be easily generated by applying a predetermined thinning filter. By such a thinning process, three lines 62A, 62B, and 62C corresponding to the three contact areas are generated.

  Next, in the end specifying step shown in (C), the ends 64A, 64B, and 64C in each line 62A, 62B, and 62C are specified. The identification of each end can be realized by using several methods. In this case, it is desirable to perform processing so that only the end corresponding to the fingertip of each finger is extracted. That is, for example, as described below, the lowest position in each line may be determined as an end. When such an end cannot be accurately determined, an error may be output.

  Here, when attention is focused on the two-dimensional image 60 shown in (C), the region C is a single-end containing region containing only one end 64A. Region B is a multi-end containing region containing two ends 64B and 64C. In consideration of the fact that the fingertip of the thumb is present alone or isolated on one side of the probe and at the same time one or more fingertips are applied to the other side, in the case as shown in FIG. Can recognize a single end containing region as a thumb end containing region. That is, when there is no other single-end containing region, it is possible to recognize one single-end containing region that currently exists as a region to which the thumb belongs. Therefore, even if the end 64A can be specified as the end representing the fingertip of the thumb, it is possible to easily recognize the running direction of the thumb from the direction of the line 62A extending from the end 64A. However, in this embodiment, the direction from the base side of the thumb to the tip side of the thumb is used as the holding direction information. This will be described later.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7D, when the region C is a single-end containing region and the region B is also a single-end containing region, it is immediately determined which region contains the thumb. Can not. That is, it is difficult to specify the thumb from the viewpoint of the number of lines. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the thumb is specified by further considering the thickness of the finger as described below.

  Specifically, as shown in (D), after the ends 64A and 64B are specified for the respective lines 62A and 62B (shown by broken lines in the figure), the region C to which these ends 64A and 64B belong. , B, straight lines 70A and 70B representing the general directions of the respective lines 62A and 62B are drawn. These straight lines 70A and 70B can be defined as straight lines connecting the ends 64A and 64B and the points 66A and 66B on the boundary line between the regions. Alternatively, the straight lines 70A and 70B may be generated using a known method such as pattern fitting. These angles are represented by φ1 and φ2 in FIG.

  As described above, when the straight lines 70A and 70B representing the respective lines 62A and 62B are drawn, next, as shown in (E), the thickness in the direction orthogonal to the respective straight lines 70A and 70B, that is, the finger width A search is performed. Such a search can be performed by shifting search orthogonal lines along the straight lines 70A and 70B. However, such a search is performed with reference to the two-dimensional image 56 shown in FIG. 6A before the thinning process. In (E), the contact area of each finger is represented by reference numerals 58A and 58B.

  Once the maximum finger widths 72A, 72B are identified for each finger, they are compared with each other and the one with the larger finger width 72A is identified as the thumb. Specifically, the line 62A represented by the straight line 70A is specified as the thumb line, and the end 64A thereof is specified as the thumb end. Therefore, if the thumb end 64A can be specified, the holding direction information can be calculated from the region C to which the thumb end 64A belongs and the direction in which the line from the end 64A extends.

  FIG. 8 shows a determination table included in the control unit 32 shown in FIG. This determination table is a table for identifying the hand holding the probe from the thumb running direction as the holding direction information and further determining the electronic scanning direction on the X axis. Here, the thumb running direction, that is, the holding direction information is specified by two adjacent area names indicating the directionality from the base side of the thumb to the fingertip of the thumb. For example, in the first term, the contents from D to A indicate the thumb running direction. Is given as a direction. For example, in the state shown in FIG. 6C, the thumb travel direction is specified from D to C, and this is the same as in the case shown in FIG.

  If the thumb running direction is specified, it can be easily determined from there whether the hand holding the probe is the right hand or the left hand. At the same time, the direction in which electronic scanning should be performed on the X axis from the thumb running direction is selectively specified. The scanning direction 1 or the scanning direction 2 is selected as the scanning direction. Such automatic selection of the scanning direction allows the user to automatically set the electronic scanning direction most suitable for the hand by holding the probe appropriately, and the user has the probe when the user observes the screen. The image content expected from the hand and the image content that is actually displayed can be matched to eliminate the user's confusion, or the burden that had to be reversed in the past can be eliminated. With such automatic support, the user does not need to be particularly conscious of the probe mark, and there is an advantage that the probe can be directly moved to the ultrasonic diagnosis from an arbitrary direction in an arbitrary posture.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. Each step shown in FIG. 9 is executed by the control unit 32 shown in FIG. In S101, the two-dimensional image output from the contact detector is input. As long as the orientation of the hand can be determined, one-dimensional information instead of a two-dimensional image may be input. In S102, as shown in FIG. 6A, a process for generating a connected image, that is, a belt-like two-dimensional image, is performed by processing each image portion. In S103, the thinning process shown in FIG. 6B is executed. In S104, each end shown in FIG. 6C is detected.

  In S105, the number of edges is inspected for each area, and it is determined whether or not a combination of the multiple edge containing area and the single edge containing area has occurred. When such a specific combination occurs, the process proceeds to S106 because the single-end containing region can be recognized as the thumb-end containing region.

  In S106, as described above, the single end containing region is recognized as the thumb end containing region, and the position of the end and the running direction of the line in the thumb end containing region are calculated. That is, the combination of the two areas as the thumb running direction shown in FIG. 8 is determined.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S105 that the combination is a combination of two single-end containing regions, the process proceeds to S107. Incidentally, error processing is executed when an unexpected situation occurs, such as when a plurality of single-end containing regions are generated in S105. Or the normal operation | movement according to the electronic scanning direction asserted by the probe mark is performed. In S107, a straight line indicating each line is formed for each of the two single end-containing regions. This is shown in FIG. In S108, the maximum finger width (maximum width) is searched by drawing a vertical line orthogonal to each straight line in each region and moving the vertical line along the line. In S109, the larger maximum width of the two specified maximum widths is specified, and the region where such maximum width is recognized is regarded as the thumb-end-containing region. Then, the thumb travel direction is calculated from the end and the line travel direction in the region.

  In S110, the control based on the holding direction information called the thumb running direction indicating the holding direction of the hand is executed. Such control includes control of which direction is determined as the electronic scanning direction in the 1D array transducer, that is, which end is the reference point of electronic scanning.

  In this way, if an image is formed after appropriately setting the electronic scanning direction, an image in a direction that matches the user's sense can be displayed, and the operability of the probe can be dramatically improved. Incidentally, it is also possible to determine the electronic scanning start end or electronic scanning direction on the 2D array transducer based on the thumb running direction. In this case, the determination of which direction is determined as the electronic scanning direction from the two directions on the X axis and the Z axis is included. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, since the type of the hand holding the probe can be determined from the thumb running direction, the layout of the touch sensor on the operation panel is changed based on such a determination result. It is also possible to employ other image processing conditions different from those described above.

  10 probe, 12 apparatus main body, 14 transducer, 16 case, 18 contact detector.

Claims (7)

A probe that is held by an inspector's hand and includes an ultrasonic transducer that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves, a case that accommodates the ultrasonic transducer, and a contact detector that is provided in the case. A probe,
Based on the signal output from the contact detector, holding direction information calculating means for calculating holding direction information representing the direction of the hand with respect to the probe;
Control means for controlling the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus based on the holding direction information;
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: The apparatus of claim 1.
The contact detector is a planar sensor provided so as to surround at least all or part of the side surface of the outer surface of the case.
The contact detector outputs two-dimensional data representing a two-dimensional distribution of the contact area;
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. The apparatus of claim 2.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, wherein the holding direction information calculation means calculates the holding direction information by analyzing a contact position and a contact direction of a specific part of the hand based on the two-dimensional data. The apparatus of claim 3.
The holding direction information calculation means includes:
A thinning processing unit for thinning the two-dimensional data to form a thinned image;
An end point specifying unit for specifying a plurality of end points for a plurality of lines included in the thinned image;
A calculation unit that specifies an end point corresponding to a fingertip of the thumb as the specific part from the plurality of end points, specifies a position of the end point and a direction of a line extending therefrom, and thereby calculates the holding direction information; ,
Ultrasonic diagnostic measures characterized by comprising. The apparatus of claim 3.
The holding direction information calculation means includes:
A thinning processing unit for thinning the two-dimensional data to form a thinned image;
An end point specifying unit for specifying a plurality of end points for a plurality of lines included in the thinned image;
In the two-dimensional data, a lateral width calculation unit that calculates a lateral width for a plurality of contact areas corresponding to a plurality of lines extending from the plurality of end points;
Based on a plurality of widths calculated by the width calculation unit, a contact area corresponding to the fingertip of the thumb as the specific part is identified from among a plurality of contact areas included in the two-dimensional data, and the contact area The position of the end point and the direction of the line extending therefrom, thereby calculating the holding direction information,
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: The apparatus of claim 1.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, wherein the control means determines the direction of the electronic scanning direction in the ultrasonic transducer based on the holding direction information. In the probe that is detachably attached to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body and is held by the hand of the examiner,
An ultrasonic transducer that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves;
A case containing the ultrasonic transducer;
A planar contact detector provided over the holding area on the outer surface of the case;
Have
The probe according to claim 1, wherein the contact detector outputs two-dimensional distribution data representing a plurality of contact areas generated by contact of a plurality of fingers in the examiner's hand to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body.

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