JP2010233609A - Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and method of determining contact state - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and a method of determining the contact state, capable of measuring the contact state such as inclination to a diagnostic region of an ultrasonic probe, and capable of obtaining a high-quality echo image without deteriorating the diagnostic capability. <P>SOLUTION: The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes the ultrasonic probe for ultrasonic diagnosis for transmitting ultrasonic waves from a contact surface to the diagnostic region and receiving the ultrasonic echo from the diagnostic region; an image generating part for generating the ultrasonic echo image of the diagnostic region based on the ultrasonic echo; and a display part for displaying the generated ultrasonic echo image. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus further includes a first pressure measuring means for measuring a first contact pressure on the diagnostic region at a first position on the contact surface; a second pressure measuring means for measuring a second contact pressure on the diagnostic region at a second position different than the first position on the contact surface; and an abnormality determining means for determining an abnormality if the difference in pressure between the first contact pressure and the second contact pressure is out of a prescribed range. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and a contact state determination method, and more particularly, an ultrasonic wave capable of measuring a contact state with a diagnostic part by providing a pressure measuring unit in an ultrasonic probe that contacts the diagnostic part of a subject. The present invention relates to a diagnostic device.

  In the medical field, various imaging techniques have been developed in order to perform diagnosis by observing the inside of a subject (subject). In particular, ultrasonic imaging that acquires internal information of a subject by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves can perform image observation in real time, and can also be used for other medical applications such as X-ray photographs and RI (radio isotopic) scintillation cameras. Unlike imaging technology, there is no radiation exposure. Therefore, ultrasonic imaging is used as a highly safe imaging technique in a wide range of fields including gynecological, circulatory, and digestive systems as well as fetal diagnosis in the obstetrics field.

  The principle of ultrasonic imaging is as follows. Ultrasound is reflected at the boundary between regions having different acoustic impedances, such as the boundary between structures in the subject. Therefore, an ultrasonic beam is transmitted into a subject such as a human body, an ultrasonic echo generated in the subject is received, and a reflection position and a reflection intensity at which the ultrasonic echo is generated are obtained. The contour of an existing structure (for example, a viscera or a diseased tissue) can be extracted.

  In such an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, an ultrasonic probe is directly brought into contact with a diagnosis site of a subject (patient) to emit ultrasonic waves to the patient and receive the ultrasonic echoes. The reception level of the ultrasonic echo depends on the contact state between the ultrasonic probe and the diagnostic site. That is, unless the contact state between the ultrasonic probe and the diagnostic part is good, a good ultrasonic echo cannot be obtained, and a high-quality echo image cannot be displayed.

  Therefore, various configurations have been proposed in which pressure detection means is provided in the ultrasonic probe, and the contact state between the ultrasonic probe and the diagnostic site is detected by the pressure detection means (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 8). .

International Publication No. 2006/040967 JP 2007-222605 A JP 2005-66041 A JP 2006-238913 A JP 2002-224105 A JP 2003-230560 A JP 2003-225239 A JP-A-8-33623

  However, the configuration disclosed in each of the above patent documents simply detects the contact pressure between the ultrasonic probe and the diagnostic site, displays the pressure value itself, or gives a warning based on the pressure value itself. It may not be possible to detect whether the contact state between the two is good. For example, even if the contact pressure value itself is within a specified range, it cannot be said that the contact state is good when the ultrasonic probe is tilted greatly and is in contact with the diagnostic site. However, those disclosed in the above patent documents cannot detect the degree of inclination of the ultrasonic probe.

  If the contact pressure between the ultrasound probe and the diagnostic part is outside the specified range, the detection result is displayed in the form of detection data or distribution data, or a warning is issued. It will be redone, and this will be a factor in reducing diagnostic ability.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and can measure a contact state such as an inclination of an ultrasonic probe with respect to a diagnostic part and obtain a high-quality echo image without degrading a diagnostic ability. It is an exemplary problem to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and a contact state determination method capable of performing the above.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus as an exemplary aspect of the present invention has a contact surface that is brought into contact with a diagnostic region of a subject, and transmits ultrasonic waves from the contact surface to the diagnostic region. An ultrasonic probe for ultrasonic diagnosis that receives an ultrasonic echo from the diagnostic site, an image generator that generates an ultrasonic echo image of the diagnostic site based on the ultrasonic echo, and the generated ultrasonic echo image An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a display unit for displaying, wherein the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus further includes a first pressure measuring unit configured to measure a first contact pressure with respect to a diagnostic part at a first position on the contact surface; Abnormal when the pressure difference between the first contact pressure and the second contact pressure is not within a predetermined range, and the second pressure measuring means for measuring the second contact pressure for the diagnostic part at the second position different from the first position on the surface Abnormal judgment to judge It has a stage, a.

  The first pressure measuring means has two pressure measuring means for measuring respective contact pressures at two different positions on the contact surface, and the second pressure measuring means is at two different positions on the contact surface. It has two pressure measuring means for measuring each contact pressure, the first contact pressure is the total value of the contact pressures by the two pressure measuring means in the first pressure measuring means, and the second contact pressure is The total value of the contact pressures by the two pressure measuring means in the second pressure measuring means may be used.

  An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to another exemplary aspect of the present invention includes a contact surface that is brought into contact with a diagnostic site of a subject, transmits ultrasonic waves from the contact surface to the diagnostic site, and performs ultrasound from the diagnostic site. An ultrasonic probe for ultrasonic diagnosis that receives a sound echo, an image generation unit that generates an ultrasonic echo image of a diagnostic region based on the ultrasonic echo, and a display unit that displays the generated ultrasonic echo image An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: a first pressure measuring means for measuring a first contact pressure with respect to a diagnostic site at a first position on the contact surface; and a first position on the contact surface. A second pressure measuring means for measuring a second contact pressure with respect to a diagnostic part at a different second position, a pressure difference between the first contact pressure and the second contact pressure, and a distance between the first position and the second position. The pressure gradient, which is the ratio, is within the specified range. Having, an abnormality judgment means for judging an abnormality when.

  In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, when the first contact pressure is not within the predetermined first pressure range, the second contact pressure is not within the predetermined second pressure range, and the total value of the first contact pressure and the second contact pressure is the first value. The abnormality determination means may determine an abnormality in at least one of the cases where the pressure is not within the three pressure range. Moreover, you may further have an abnormality notification means which alert | reports abnormality in the case of abnormality determination. Based on the first contact pressure and the second contact pressure, at least one of the image portion corresponding to the first position and the image portion corresponding to the second position in the ultrasonic echo image may be gain-corrected.

  You may further have a position setting means to set at least any one of a 1st position and a 2nd position based on the reception intensity | strength of an ultrasonic echo. Further, the first pressure measuring unit and the second pressure measuring unit may be configured to include a piezoelectric element. At least one of the first pressure range and the second pressure range may be variable.

  According to still another exemplary aspect of the present invention, a contact state determination method includes a contact surface that is brought into contact with a diagnostic site of a subject, transmits ultrasonic waves from the contact surface to the diagnostic site, and outputs from the diagnostic site. A contact state determination method for determining a contact state between an ultrasonic probe for ultrasonic diagnosis that receives an ultrasonic echo and the diagnostic part, wherein the first contact pressure is applied to the diagnostic part at a first position on the contact surface. A first pressure measuring step for measuring the second contact pressure, a second pressure measuring step for measuring a second contact pressure with respect to the diagnostic part at a second position different from the first position on the contact surface, a first contact pressure and a second contact pressure. An abnormality determination step of determining an abnormality when the pressure gradient, which is the ratio of the pressure difference between the first position and the distance between the first position and the second position, is not within a predetermined range.

  Further objects and other features of the present invention will become apparent from the preferred embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  According to the present invention, the contact state is determined based on the difference between the contact pressures at a plurality of positions, not the absolute value of the contact pressure between the ultrasonic probe and the diagnostic part (contact abnormality is detected). Abnormality detection can be performed including not only information on whether the value is high or low, but also the degree of inclination of the ultrasonic probe. As a result, a higher quality ultrasonic echo image can be obtained as compared with the conventional case.

  Further, the contact abnormality determination based on the pressure gradient that is the ratio of the pressure difference (ΔP) and the distance (ΔL) at a plurality of locations, or the contact abnormality determination based on both the contact pressure difference and the contact pressure absolute value, The acquisition of quality ultrasonic echo images is realized. In addition, the operator can grasp the contact abnormality at an early stage by the notification in the case of a contact abnormality, or a good echo image is displayed without re-receiving the ultrasonic echo by the gain correction of the image at the time of the contact abnormality. Can be.

1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of the overall configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block block diagram which shows the outline of the internal structure of the ultrasonic diagnosing device shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the 1st structural example of the transmission / reception part shown in FIG. It is a wave form diagram which shows the sampling by ADC shown in FIG. It is a wave form diagram which shows sampling by the sampling part shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the 2nd structural example of the transmission / reception part shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the 3rd structural example of the transmission / reception part shown in FIG. It is a wave form diagram for demonstrating operation | movement of the orthogonal sampling part shown in FIG. It is a block block diagram which shows the outline of the internal structure of the ultrasonic probe which concerns on the modification 1 in embodiment of this invention. It is a block block diagram which shows the outline of the internal structure of the ultrasonic probe which concerns on the modification 2 in embodiment of this invention. It is the front view which looked at the ultrasonic probe concerning Embodiment 1 of the present invention from the contact surface side. It is a data structure figure which shows the outline of the data structure of the pressure regulation database stored in the storage part shown in FIG. It is a data structure figure which shows the outline of the data structure of the pressure regulation database which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the contact pressure of a piezoelectric element, and the brightness | luminance of an ultrasonic echo image. It is a graph which shows a mode that contact pressure changes linearly from a 1st position to a 2nd position. It is an ultrasonic echo image image | photographed with the ultrasonic diagnosing device which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention, Comprising: (a) is an ultrasonic echo image image | photographed as a proper contact state, (b) is an image right side. (C) is an ultrasonic echo image when gain correction is performed on the ultrasonic echo image of (b). is there. It is a flowchart about the contact state judgment procedure and gain correction in Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the other example about the contact state judgment procedure and gain correction in Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is the external view which looked at the ultrasonic probe which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention from the contact surface side. It is a figure which shows the contact state of the ultrasonic probe shown in FIG. 18, and a diagnostic site | part. It is the front view which looked at the ultrasonic probe which concerns on the other example of this invention from the contact surface side.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same referential mark is attached | subjected to the same component and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of the overall configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus S according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram showing an outline of an internal configuration of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus S. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus S is roughly configured to include an ultrasonic probe (ultrasonic probe) 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention and an apparatus main body 2. .

  The electrical configuration of the ultrasonic probe 1 and the apparatus main body 2 and mutual signal transmission / reception will be described first, and then the configuration related to contact pressure measurement in the ultrasonic probe 1 will be described.

  The ultrasonic probe 1 may be an external probe such as a linear scan method, a convex scan method, or a sector scan method, or an ultrasonic endoscope probe such as a radial scan method. As shown in FIG. 2, the ultrasonic probe 1 includes a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10 constituting a one-dimensional or two-dimensional transducer array, a plurality of channels of transmission / reception units 20, a serialization unit 30, and a probe-side control unit. 40 and a transmission circuit 50.

  The plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10 transmit ultrasonic waves according to a plurality of applied driving signals, receive propagating ultrasonic echoes, and output a plurality of reception signals. Each ultrasonic transducer is, for example, a piezoelectric ceramic represented by PZT (lead zirconate titanate: Pb (lead) zirconate titanate) or a polymer piezoelectric element represented by PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride). It is constituted by a vibrator in which electrodes are formed at both ends of a piezoelectric material (piezoelectric body).

  When a pulsed or continuous wave voltage is applied to the electrodes of such a vibrator, the piezoelectric body expands and contracts. By this expansion and contraction, pulsed or continuous wave ultrasonic waves are generated from the respective vibrators, and an ultrasonic beam is formed by synthesizing these ultrasonic waves. Each vibrator expands and contracts by receiving propagating ultrasonic waves and generates an electrical signal. These electrical signals are output as ultrasonic reception signals.

  The multi-channel transmitting / receiving unit 20 generates a plurality of drive signals under the control of the probe-side control unit 40 and supplies the drive signals to the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10. Sample data obtained by subjecting a plurality of output reception signals to orthogonal detection processing or the like is supplied to the serialization unit 30.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a first configuration example of the transmission / reception unit illustrated in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the transmission / reception unit 20 of each channel includes a transmission circuit 21, a preamplifier 22, a low-pass filter (LPF) 23, an analog / digital converter (ADC) 24, an orthogonal detection processing unit 25, Sampling units 26a and 26b and memories 27a and 27b are included. Here, the transmission circuit 21 to the quadrature detection processing unit 25 constitute signal processing means.

  The transmission circuit 21 is configured by, for example, a pulser, generates a drive signal under the control of the probe-side control unit 40, and supplies the generated drive signal to the ultrasonic transducer 10. The probe-side control unit 40 shown in FIG. 2 controls the operation of the transmission circuit 21 for a plurality of channels based on the scanning control signal output from the transmission circuit 50. For example, the probe-side control unit 40 selects one pattern from a plurality of delay patterns according to the transmission direction set by the scanning control signal, and drives the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10 based on the pattern. The delay time given to each signal is set. Alternatively, the probe-side control unit 40 may set the delay time so that ultrasonic waves transmitted at a time from the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10 reach the entire imaging region of the subject.

  Based on the transmission delay pattern selected by the probe-side control unit 40, the multiple-channel transmission circuit 21 generates a plurality of drive signals so that the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the multiple ultrasonic transducers 10 form an ultrasonic beam. A plurality of drive signals are supplied to a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10 by adjusting the delay amount, or a plurality of drive signals are transmitted so that ultrasonic waves transmitted at a time from the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10 reach the entire imaging region of the subject. The ultrasonic transducer 10 is supplied.

  The preamplifier 22 amplifies the reception signal (RF signal) output from the ultrasonic transducer 10, and the LPF 23 limits the band of the reception signal output from the preamplifier 22, thereby preventing aliasing in A / D conversion. To do. The ADC 24 converts the analog reception signal output from the LPF 23 into a digital reception signal. For example, if the ultrasonic frequency is about 5 MHz, a sampling frequency of 40 MHz is used. In that case, if the sound speed in the living body is about 1530 m / sec, the in-vivo distance corresponding to one sample is about 0.038 mm. Therefore, in consideration of the round trip of ultrasonic waves, data up to a depth of about 15.7 cm can be obtained by acquiring 8192 samples.

If the number of ultrasonic transducers 10 in the reception aperture is 64, and 100 ultrasonic reception lines (sound rays) are required for one frame of the ultrasonic diagnostic image, the image of one frame is displayed. The necessary data amount is 8192 × 64 × 100≈52 × 10 ⁶ , and in order to display an image of 10 frames per second, data transfer of about 520 × 10 ⁶ / sec is required. Here, since the resolution required for the ultrasonic diagnostic image is usually about 12 bits for one piece of data, a transmission bit rate of about 6240 Mbps is required to transmit the above data.

  Thus, when data is serialized with an RF signal as it is, the transmission bit rate becomes extremely high, and the communication speed and the operation speed of the memory cannot keep up with it. On the other hand, if data is serialized after beam forming processing for combining RF signals from a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10 and matching the phase of the beam, the transmission bit rate can be reduced. However, the circuit for reception focus processing is large in scale, and it is difficult to incorporate it into an ultrasonic probe. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the transmission bit rate is reduced by performing orthogonal detection processing or the like on the received signal to reduce the frequency band of the received signal to the baseband frequency band and then serializing the data. Yes.

The quadrature detection processing unit 25 performs quadrature detection processing on the received signal to generate a complex baseband signal (I signal and Q signal). As shown in FIG. 3, the quadrature detection processing unit 25 includes mixers (multiplication circuits) 25a and 25b and low-pass filters (LPF) 25c and 25d. The mixer 25a multiplies the received signal converted into a digital signal by the ADC 24 with the local oscillation signal cosω ₀ t, and the LPF 25c applies a low-pass filter process to the signal output from the mixer 25a, thereby representing the real component. A signal is generated. On the other hand, the mixer 25b multiplies the received signal converted into the digital signal by the ADC 24 with the local oscillation signal sin ω ₀ t rotated in phase by π / 2, and the LPF 25d applies the low-pass filter to the signal output from the mixer 25b. By performing the processing, a Q signal representing an imaginary component is generated.

  The sampling units 26 a and 26 b sample (resample) the complex baseband signals (I signal and Q signal) generated by the quadrature detection processing unit 25 to generate 2-channel sample data, respectively. The generated 2-channel sample data is stored in the memories 27a and 27b, respectively.

  Here, if the baseband signal is sampled at a frequency twice the baseband frequency band, the signal information is retained. Therefore, a sampling frequency of 5 MHz is sufficient. As a result, the sampling frequency is reduced from 40 MHz to 5 MHz as compared with the case of serializing data with an RF signal as it is, so the data amount becomes 1/8 and the number of samples up to a depth of about 15.7 cm is reduced. There will be 1024 pieces. However, in order to maintain signal information by envelope detection, it is necessary to maintain phase information. Therefore, it is necessary to generate complex baseband signals (I signal and Q signal) by quadrature detection processing, etc. The number of channels is doubled.

Therefore, the amount of data necessary to display an image of one frame is 1024 × 64 × 100 × 2≈about 13.1 × 10 ^{6. In} order to display an image of 10 frames per second, the resolution is 12 As a bit, a transmission bit rate of about 1572 Mbps is required. If the sampling frequency is 2.5 MHz, the number of samples up to a depth of about 15.7 cm is 512, and the amount of data can be further reduced by half, so that the transmission bit rate can be reduced to about 786 Mbps. it can.

  4A and 4B are waveform diagrams showing a comparison between sampling by the ADC shown in FIG. 3 and sampling by the sampling unit. FIG. 4A shows three channels Ch. 1-Ch. 3 shows sampling by the ADC 24, and FIG. 4B shows three channels Ch. 1-Ch. 3, sampling by the sampling unit 26a is shown. Compared with the case where the sample data is transmitted by sampling the RF signal as shown in FIG. 4A, the transmission bit rate is greatly increased by sampling the baseband signal and transmitting the sample data as shown in FIG. 4B. Can be reduced.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a second configuration example of the transmission / reception unit illustrated in FIG. 2. In the second configuration example shown in FIG. 5, a time-division sampling unit 26c is provided in place of the sampling units 26a and 26b in the first configuration example shown in FIG. 3, and the memory 27c is used instead of the memories 27a and 27b. Is provided.

The time division sampling unit 26c generates two series of sample data by alternately sampling (resampling) the I signal and the Q signal generated by the quadrature detection processing unit 25 in a time division manner. For example, time-division sampling unit 26c performs sampling in synchronization with the I signal to the phase of the cos .omega ₀ t, sampled synchronously with the Q signal to the phase of sin .omega ₀ t. The generated two series of sample data is stored in the memory 27c. Thereby, a memory circuit can be made into one system.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a third configuration example of the transmission / reception unit illustrated in FIG. 2. In the third configuration example shown in FIG. 6, an orthogonal sampling unit 25e is provided instead of the mixers 25a and 25b in the second configuration example shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a waveform diagram for explaining the operation of the orthogonal sampling unit shown in FIG. Quadrature sampling unit 25e is a received signal converted to a digital signal in synchronization with the phase of the cos .omega _{0 t} to generate a first signal sequence by sampling by ADC 24, synchronizes the received signal to the phase of sin .omega _{0 t} To generate a second signal sequence.

  Further, the LPF 25c performs low-pass filter processing on the first signal sequence output from the orthogonal sampling unit 25e, thereby generating an I signal representing a real component, and the LPF 25d is output from the orthogonal sampling unit 25e. A Q signal representing an imaginary component is generated by performing low-pass filter processing on the signal series. Thereby, the mixers 25a and 25b shown in FIG. 5 can be omitted.

  Referring to FIG. 2 again, the serialization unit 30 converts the parallel sample data generated by the plurality of channels of the transmission / reception unit 20 into serial sample data. For example, the serialization unit 30 converts 128-channel parallel sample data into 1-4 channel serial sample data. Thereby, compared with the number of the ultrasonic transducers 10, the number of transmission channels is significantly reduced.

  The transmission circuit 50 receives the scanning control signal from the apparatus main body 2, outputs the received scanning control signal to the plurality of transmission / reception units 20, and transmits the serial sample data converted by the serialization unit 30 to the apparatus main body 2. Send. Signal transmission between the ultrasonic probe 1 and the apparatus main body 2 includes, for example, ASK (Amplitude Shift Keying), PSK (Phase Shift Keying), QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying), and 16QAM (16 Quart Mod Qua quat This is done wirelessly using a method. When using ASK or PSK, it is possible to transmit one channel of serial data with one system. When using QPSK, it is possible to transmit two channels of serial data with one system. When 16QAM is used, four channels of serial data can be transmitted in one system.

  The power supply voltage of the ultrasonic probe 1 is supplied from the apparatus main body 2 when signal transmission between the ultrasonic probe 1 and the apparatus main body 2 is performed in a wired manner, and between the ultrasonic probe 1 and the apparatus main body 2. When signal transmission is performed wirelessly, it is supplied by a battery or the like. When the power supply voltage of the ultrasonic probe 1 is supplied from the apparatus main body 2, phantom power supply may be performed using a signal line connected between the ultrasonic probe 1 and the apparatus main body 2.

  In the above, the quadrature detection processing unit 25 (FIG. 3), the sampling units 26a and 26b (FIG. 3), the time division sampling unit 26c (FIG. 5), the quadrature sampling unit 25e (FIG. 6), the LPFs 25c and 25d (FIG. 6), And the serialization part 30 may be comprised by digital circuits, such as FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array: The field programmable gate array), and performs various processing to a central processing unit (CPU) and CPU You may comprise by the software (program) for making it.

  When an FPGA, which is a general-purpose circuit, is used, even if the circuit scale is reduced, the number of built-in electronic components is not significantly affected. However, if the circuit scale is reduced, the capacity of the FPGA can be reduced, so that smaller electronic components can be used, which greatly affects the mounting area. Alternatively, the ADC 24 may be omitted by configuring the quadrature detection processing unit 25 with an analog circuit. In that case, A / D conversion of the complex baseband signal is performed by the sampling units 26a and 26b or the time division sampling unit 26c.

  2 includes a transmission circuit 60, a scanning control unit 70, a reception focus processing unit 80, a B-mode image signal generation unit 90, a display unit 100, an operation unit 110, and a control unit. 120 and a storage unit 130.

  The scanning control unit 70 sequentially sets the transmission direction of the ultrasonic beam and generates a scanning control signal. The transmission circuit 60 transmits the scanning control signal generated by the scanning control unit 70 to the ultrasonic probe 1 and receives serial sample data from the ultrasonic probe 1. The scanning control unit 70 sequentially sets the reception direction of the ultrasonic echoes and controls the reception focus processing unit 80.

  The reception focus processing unit 80 performs a reception focus process on the sample data received from the ultrasonic probe 1 to generate a sound ray signal along the ultrasonic reception direction. The reception focus processing unit 80 includes a memory 81 and a phasing addition unit 82. The memory 81 sequentially stores serial sample data received from the ultrasonic probe 1. The phasing addition unit 82 selects one pattern from a plurality of reception delay patterns based on the reception direction set in the scanning control unit 70, and is represented by sample data based on the reception delay pattern. A reception focus process is performed by adding a delay to the complex baseband signal. By this reception focus processing, a baseband signal (sound ray signal) in which the focus of the ultrasonic echo is narrowed is generated.

  The B-mode image signal generation unit 90 generates a B-mode image signal that is tomographic image information regarding the tissue in the subject based on the sound ray signal formed by the reception focus processing unit 80. The B-mode image signal generation unit 90 includes an STC (sensitivity time control) unit 91 and a DSC (digital scan converter) 92. The STC unit 91 corrects attenuation with respect to the sound ray signal formed by the reception focus processing unit 80 according to the depth of the reflection position of the ultrasonic wave. The DSC 92 converts the sound ray signal corrected by the STC unit 91 into an image signal in accordance with a normal television signal scanning method (raster conversion), and performs necessary image processing such as gradation processing to obtain a B-mode image. Generate a signal. The display unit 100 includes a display device such as an LCD, for example, and displays an ultrasound diagnostic image based on the B-mode image signal generated by the B-mode image signal generation unit 90.

  The control unit 120 controls the scanning control unit 70 and the like according to the operation of the operator using the operation unit 110. In the present embodiment, the scanning control unit 70, the phasing addition unit 82, the B-mode image signal generation unit 90, and the control unit 120 cause the central processing unit (CPU) and the CPU to perform various processes. Although configured by software (program), they may be configured by a digital circuit or an analog circuit. The software (program) is stored in the storage unit 130. As a recording medium in the storage unit 130, a flexible disk, MO, MT, RAM, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or the like can be used in addition to the built-in hard disk.

  FIG. 8 is a block configuration diagram showing an outline of an internal configuration of an ultrasonic probe according to Modification 1 of the embodiment of the present invention. In the ultrasonic probe 1a shown in FIG. 8, a switching circuit for switching the connection relationship between the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10 provided in the ultrasonic probe and the transmitting / receiving unit 20 with respect to the ultrasonic probe 1 shown in FIG. 11 has been added.

  In general, in an ultrasonic probe of a linear scan method or a convex scan method, a subject is scanned while the apertures in transmission and reception are sequentially switched. When the number of ultrasonic transducers provided in the ultrasonic probe 1a is N and the number of ultrasonic transducers used at the same time is M (M <N), the switching circuit 11 includes N ultrasonic transducers. M ultrasonic transducers are selected, and the selected M ultrasonic transducers are connected to the M transmitting / receiving units 20, respectively. Thereby, compared with the ultrasonic probe 1 shown in FIG. 2, the number of the transmission / reception parts 20 can be reduced.

  FIG. 9 is a block configuration diagram illustrating an outline of an internal configuration of an ultrasonic probe according to the second modification of the embodiment of the present invention. In the ultrasonic probe 1b shown in FIG. 9, an addition circuit 12 that adds reception signals output from the two ultrasonic transducers 10 at the time of ultrasonic reception is added to the ultrasonic probe 1a shown in FIG. Yes. At the time of ultrasonic transmission, the addition circuit 12 supplies the drive signal supplied from the transmission / reception unit 20 to the two ultrasonic transducers 10 in parallel.

In general, in a linear scan type or convex scan type ultrasonic probe, the transmission / reception direction is perpendicular to the arrangement plane of the ultrasonic transducers, and therefore the delay in transmission / reception is symmetric with respect to the ultrasonic beam. Therefore, in the transmission / reception aperture formed by the M ultrasonic transducers, the delay amount is the same for the first ultrasonic transducer and the Mth ultrasonic transducer, so that the reception signal R ₁ and the reception signal R _M Can be added. Similarly, since the delay amount is the same for the second ultrasonic transducer and the (M−1) th ultrasonic transducer, it is possible to add the received signal R ₂ and the received signal R _(M−1). it can. Thereby, compared with the ultrasonic probe 1a shown in FIG. 7, the number of transmission / reception units 20 can be halved, and the transmission bit rate between the ultrasonic probe 1b and the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus body 2 can be reduced. Can be halved.

<Description of configuration related to measurement of contact pressure of ultrasonic probe>
[Embodiment 1]
FIG. 10 is a front view of the ultrasonic probe 1 according to the first embodiment when viewed from the contact surface 3 side. The contact surface 3 is a surface that directly contacts the diagnosis site of the subject. The contact surface 3 and the diagnostic part of the subject are in close contact with each other, and a good ultrasonic echo image of the diagnostic part can be obtained.

  On the contact surface 3, end surfaces of the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10 are arranged in a row. Piezoelectric elements S1, S2, S3 and S4 are arranged at the four corners surrounding the ultrasonic transducer 10. Here, the arrangement position of the piezoelectric element (first pressure measuring means) S1 is the first position L1, the arrangement position of the piezoelectric element (second pressure measuring means) S2 is the second position L2, and the piezoelectric element ( The arrangement position of the third pressure measuring means) S3 is the third position L3, and the arrangement position of the piezoelectric element (fourth pressure measuring means) S4 is the fourth position L4.

  The piezoelectric elements S <b> 1 to S <b> 4 are elements for measuring the contact pressure of the contact surface 3 to the diagnostic part. The piezoelectric elements S1 to S4 convert the contact pressures (first contact pressure P1 to fourth contact pressure P4) at the respective arrangement positions into voltages, respectively, and digitize (AD convert) the voltage values to probe-side control units. 40. For example, when the contact pressure is a static pressure, the pressure is converted into a bias voltage, and the voltage value is digitized and transmitted to the probe-side control unit 40. The probe-side control unit 40 sends the measured values of the received contact pressure (first contact pressure P1 to fourth contact pressure P4) to the control unit 120 on the apparatus body 2 side via the serialization unit 30 and the transmission circuits 50 and 60. And send.

A pressure regulation database D is stored in the storage unit 130 of the apparatus main body 2. FIG. 11 is a data structure diagram showing an outline of the data structure of the pressure regulation database D. This pressure regulation database D includes the prescribed pressure ranges D1, D2, D3, D4 of the first contact pressure P1, the second contact pressure P2, the third contact pressure P3, and the fourth contact pressure P4, and the prescribed value D5 of the pressure difference ΔPt. Has been built. Here, the pressure difference ΔPt is, for example,
ΔPt = | (P1 + P2) − (P3 + P4) |
Defined by These specified values D1 to D5 serve as determination criteria when the control unit 120 determines an abnormality in the contact state between the ultrasonic probe 1 and the diagnostic region based on the first contact pressure P1 to the fourth contact pressure P4. .

  The control unit 120 functions as an abnormality determination unit, and determines an abnormality in the contact state between the ultrasonic probe 1 and the diagnostic part. That is, the received first contact pressure P1 to fourth contact pressure P4 and the specified pressure range D1 to D4 stored in the specified pressure database D in the storage unit 130 are compared, and the first contact pressure P1 is the specified pressure range. Whether D1 is outside (that is, P1 <5 kPa or 25 kPa <P1), second contact pressure P2 is outside specified pressure range D2, third contact pressure P3 is outside specified pressure range D3, or fourth contact When the pressure P4 is outside the specified pressure range D4, an abnormality in the contact state is determined.

  When the first contact pressure P1 to the fourth contact pressure P4 are all within the specified pressure range D1 to D4, the abnormality determination is not performed on the assumption that the contact state between the ultrasonic probe 1 and the diagnostic region is good. When any one of the first contact pressure P1 to the fourth contact pressure P4 falls outside the corresponding specified pressure range D1 to D4, the control unit 120 (at any contact position, the ultrasonic probe). 1 and an abnormality signal is transmitted to the abnormality notification means 140 (assuming that the contact pressure between 1 and the diagnosis site is too low or too high). The abnormality notifying unit 140 sounds the notification buzzer 150 to notify the abnormality, and displays a warning message “probe contact state is poor (insufficient pressure / excessive pressure)” toward the display unit 100.

  Furthermore, even when the first contact pressure P1 to the fourth contact pressure P4 are all within the specified pressure range D1 to D4, when the pressure difference ΔPt is not less than the specified pressure difference value D5, the control unit 120 ( An abnormality in the contact state is determined (assuming that the contact of the ultrasonic probe 1 with the diagnosis site is inclined). Even when it is determined that the contact state is abnormal, the control unit 120 transmits an abnormality signal to the abnormality notification unit 140, and the abnormality notification unit 140 sounds the notification buzzer 150 to notify the abnormality. Then, the abnormality notifying unit 140 displays a warning message “probe contact state is bad (tilt)” on the display unit 100.

  In this way, by determining the contact abnormality based not only on the absolute values of the contact pressures P1 to P4 at the respective positions L1 to L4 on the contact surface 3, but also on the pressure difference ΔPt between the contact pressures, Even if it is within the permissible range, it can be detected that the contact state is defective due to the inclination of the ultrasonic probe 1. Further, based on the function of the abnormality notifying means 140, a contact state failure based on the absolute values of the contact pressures P1 to P4 being out of the specified pressure range or a contact based on the pressure difference ΔPt being equal to or greater than the specified pressure difference value. Whether the state is defective or not can be easily determined by the display on the display unit 100.

  Of course, the order of determination may be any of the following. That is, even if it is determined whether the pressure difference ΔPt between the contact pressures is within the allowable range after determining whether the absolute values of the contact pressures P1 to P4 are within the allowable range, After determining whether or not the pressure difference ΔPt between the pressures is within the allowable range, it may be determined whether or not the absolute values of the contact pressures P1 to P4 are within the allowable range.

  In the above description, the pressure regulation database D has one pressure difference regulation value D5, and the degree of inclination of the ultrasonic probe 1 is determined based on the pressure difference ΔPt and the pressure difference regulation value D5. However, for example, the pressure regulation database D has a pressure difference | P1-P2 |, | P2-P3 |, | P3-P4 between two piezoelectric elements (S1-S2, S2-S3, S3-S4, S4-S1). There may be four pressure difference prescribed values respectively corresponding to | and | P4-P1 |, and the degree of inclination of the ultrasonic probe may be determined based on each pressure difference and the corresponding pressure difference prescribed value. Accordingly, the degree of inclination between two positions, such as the inclination between the first position L1 and the second position L2, and the inclination between the second position L2 and the third position L3, can be individually determined.

[Embodiment 2]
In the second embodiment, the configuration of the ultrasonic probe 1 is the same as that in the first embodiment, but the pressure regulation database D in the storage unit 130 on the apparatus main body 2 side has a prescribed pressure as shown in FIG. In addition to the ranges D1 to D4, the second specified pressure ranges D11 to D14 are provided. The second specified pressure ranges D11 to D14 are specified pressure ranges corresponding to the first contact pressure P1 to the fourth contact pressure, respectively, but are more relaxed than the specified pressure ranges D1 to D4. . For example, the specified pressure range D1 is set to 5 kPa ≦ P1 ≦ 25 kPa, whereas the second specified pressure range D11 is set to 3 kPa ≦ P1 ≦ 30 kPa.

  Here, for example, when the first contact pressure P1 is outside the specified pressure range D1 and 3 kPa ≦ P1 <5 kPa, the control unit 120 determines that the contact state is abnormal as in the case of the first embodiment. Then, an abnormality signal is transmitted to the abnormality notification unit 140. However, when the first contact pressure P1 further falls outside the second specified pressure range D11 and P1 <3 kPa, the control unit 120 also functions as a gain correction unit. The control unit 120 transmits an abnormality signal to the abnormality notification unit 140 and transmits a gain correction signal to the B-mode image signal generation unit (image generation unit).

  The gain correction is performed based on the graph shown in FIG. FIG. 13 is a graph showing the relationship between the contact pressure of the piezoelectric element (that is, the contact pressure with respect to the diagnostic region of the contact surface 3) and the luminance of the ultrasonic echo image. As shown in FIG. 13, when the contact pressure is less than the critical pressure Pc, the brightness of the ultrasonic echo image is drastically lowered, and the image is severely deteriorated. Therefore, when the contact pressure of the piezoelectric element becomes less than the critical pressure Pc, it is necessary to perform gain correction based on the gain correction signal and increase the luminance of the ultrasonic echo image of the portion corresponding to the position of the piezoelectric element. is there.

  For example, when the first contact pressure P1 due to the piezoelectric element S1 arranged at the first position L1 is less than 3 kPa, the gain of the ultrasonic echo image corresponding to a certain region including the first position L1 is corrected, and the image It is effective to prevent deterioration. When the brightness B1 at the first contact pressure P1 is about ½ of the saturation brightness Bs corresponding to the contact pressure equal to or higher than the critical pressure Pc, the gain of the ultrasonic echo image corresponding to the first position L1 is about doubled. It is necessary to correct.

  Further, for example, a pressure change from the second contact pressure P2 measured by the piezoelectric element S2 arranged at the second position L2 to the first contact pressure P1 measured by the piezoelectric element S1 arranged at the first position L1. Accordingly, gain correction may be performed. For example, as shown by a graph in FIG. 14, it is assumed that the pressure is linearly changed from the first contact pressure P1 at the first position L1 to the second contact pressure P2 at the second position L2. The estimated contact pressure Pi at the specific position Li between the two positions L2 is estimated, luminance information Bi corresponding to the estimated contact pressure Pi is obtained from the graph shown in FIG. 13, and gain is obtained from the ratio between the luminance Bi and the saturated luminance Bs. A correction amount may be calculated.

  A linear probe (L10-5, manufactured by Fuji Film Co., Ltd., sectional area 4.5 cm × 0.8 cm), a phantom (Model 539, manufactured by ATS), and a pressure sensor (WGA-) as the first to fourth pressure measuring means. 650B, manufactured by KYOWA Co., Ltd., an ultrasonic echo image (FIG. 15A) taken with the probe in an appropriate contact state, and an ultrasonic echo image taken with the contact pressure partially insufficient (FIG. 15 ( The contact pressure of the right part of the image in b) is insufficient.) Each of the ultrasonic echo images (FIG. 15C) when gain correction is performed on the ultrasonic echo image of FIG. Show. As is apparent from FIGS. 15A to 15C, even if the probe contact pressure is partially insufficient, a gain image can be used to obtain a good image that is substantially the same as an image photographed with an appropriate contact pressure. it can.

  In the above description, the contact pressure P1 of the piezoelectric element S1 at the first position L1 has been mainly described. However, the contact pressures P2 to P4 of the piezoelectric elements S2 to S4 at the other positions L2 to L4 are the second values. The same applies to the case where the pressure is outside the specified pressure range D12 to D14. In addition, the gain correction in the case where the contact pressure of the piezoelectric element is insufficient and is outside the second specified pressure range has been described. However, the case where the contact pressure is excessive and outside the second specified pressure range is described. May perform gain correction to reduce the luminance according to the situation, or may perform only abnormality notification without performing gain correction.

  In addition, in FIG. 16, the flowchart about the contact state judgment procedure and gain correction in this Embodiment 2 is shown. The operator brings the ultrasonic probe 1 into contact with the diagnosis site of the patient (S.1). Then, the piezoelectric elements S1 to S4 measure the contact pressures P1 to P4 (S.2). The pressure difference ΔPt and the pressure difference specified value D5 are compared (S.3). If ΔPt ≧ D5, it is determined that the inclination of the ultrasonic probe 1 is strong, and the control unit 120 determines abnormality (S. 4). Then, the abnormality notification unit 140 sounds the notification buzzer 150 (S.5), and displays a warning message “probe contact state is bad (tilt)” on the display unit 100 (S.6).

  When ΔPt <D5, the contact pressures P1 to P4 and the specified pressure range D1 to D4 are respectively compared (S.7). If the contact pressure is within the specified pressure range, the control unit 120 is abnormal. No determination is made (S.8). Therefore, abnormality notification in the notification buzzer 150 and the display unit 100 is not performed. On the other hand, when the contact pressure is outside the specified pressure range (S.7), the contact pressures P1 to P4 and the second specified pressure range D11 to D14 are further compared (S.9). When the contact pressure is within the second specified pressure range, the control unit 120 determines that there is an abnormality (S.10), and the abnormality notification unit 140 sounds the notification buzzer 150 (S.11). A warning message “Probe contact state is poor (pressure insufficient / pressure excessive)” is displayed on part 100 (S.12).

  However, when the contact pressure is outside the second specified pressure range (S.9), the control unit 120 performs gain correction together with the abnormality determination (S.13) (S.14), and sets the gain correction signal to B Transmission is performed toward the mode image signal generation unit 90. At this time, the abnormality notification unit 140 may perform abnormality notification on the notification buzzer 150 or the display unit 100, or gain correction by the control unit 120 may be performed without performing abnormality notification.

  Here, it is first determined whether or not the pressure difference ΔPt is equal to or less than the specified pressure difference value D5 (S.3), and then whether or not the contact pressures P1 to P4 are within the specified pressure range D1 to D4. Determination (S.7) and determination (S.9) whether or not the contact pressures P1 to P4 are within the second specified pressure range D11 to D14 are performed. However, it is first determined whether or not the contact pressures P1 to P4 are within the specified pressure range D1 to D4 (S.7), and then whether or not the contact pressures P1 to P4 are within the second specified pressure range D11 to D14. (S.9), and thereafter, it may be determined whether the pressure difference ΔPt is equal to or less than the specified pressure difference value D5 (S.3).

  Since the determination based on the absolute values of the contact pressures P1 to P4 is performed before the determination based on the pressure difference ΔPt, it is not necessary to perform the calculation process of the pressure difference ΔPt in all the contact pressure data, which contributes to the improvement of the calculation processing speed. can do.

  In addition, the procedure of performing the determination based on the absolute values of the contact pressures P1 to P4 before the determination based on the pressure difference ΔPt is illustrated in the flowchart of FIG. In the procedure shown in FIG. 16, when ΔPt ≧ D5 (S.3), a warning message “probe contact state is bad (tilt)” is always displayed on the display unit 100 ( S.6), in the procedure according to another example shown in FIG. 17, when the contact pressures P1 to P4 are within the specified pressure range D1 to D4 (S.7) and ΔP ≧ D5 (S.3). ), A warning message “Probe contact state is bad (tilt)” is displayed on the display unit 100 (S.6). That is, even if ΔP ≧ D5, if the contact pressures P1 to P4 are outside the specified pressure range D1 to D4 (S.7), whether the gain correction is performed (S.14), the display unit 100 Is displayed with a warning message “Probing contact state is poor (insufficient pressure / excessive pressure)” (S.12).

[Embodiment 3]
FIG. 18 is an external view of the ultrasonic probe 1 according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention as viewed from the contact surface 3 side. The ultrasonic probe 1 is a convex scan type probe, and the contact surface 3 has a convex shape. A piezoelectric film 4 is provided on the contact surface 3. The piezoelectric film 4 is an aggregate of film-like piezoelectric sensors, and a known one can be applied. By providing the piezoelectric film 4 on the contact surface 3, the contact pressure at each coordinate position on the contact surface 3 can be measured. The position data and the contact pressure data from the piezoelectric film 4 are transmitted to the control unit 120 on the apparatus main body 2 side via the probe side control unit 4. It is possible to grasp which position on the surface 3 is at what level of contact pressure.

  Therefore, the distance ΔL between two different points (first position L1 and second position L2) on the contact surface 3, the first contact pressure P1 at the first position L1, and the second contact pressure P2 at the second position L2. The pressure gradient Ps (= ΔP / ΔL) can be calculated by the control unit 120 based on the pressure difference ΔP = | P1−P2 |. The pressure gradient Ps includes not only the pressure difference ΔP but also information on the distance ΔL between the two points, and therefore more accurately reflects the tilt state of the ultrasonic probe 1. If the pressure regulation database D has the pressure slope regulation value D6, the calculated pressure slope Ps can be compared with the pressure slope regulation value D6. If Ps ≧ D6, the controller 120 is abnormal. Judgment can be made.

  In this ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus S, echo images are displayed on the display unit 100 based on reception of ultrasonic echoes from a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10 arranged on the contact surface 3. If the state of contact with the diagnostic region is not good, reception of ultrasonic echoes from some ultrasonic transducers 10 may not be possible, or the reception intensity may be very weak.

  In this case, the control unit (position setting unit) 120 may set positions (first position and second position) at which the contact pressure is measured based on the reception intensity of the ultrasonic echo. For example, as shown in FIG. 19, the convex scan type ultrasonic probe 1 and the diagnostic site T may not be in contact with each other on the entire contact surface 3 but only in the vicinity of the central portion W. In this case, the contact is good in the vicinity W of the central portion, and the contact pressure is measured as approximately 0 by the piezoelectric film 4 in the vicinity X of both ends of the contact surface 3 even if the ultrasonic diagnosis is properly performed. .

  Therefore, in the ultrasonic probe 1, the contact pressure is not measured at the position corresponding to the position of the ultrasonic transducer 10 where the reception intensity of the ultrasonic echo is less than a certain intensity (X near both ends). The contact pressure is measured at a position (X near the central portion) corresponding to the position where the ultrasonic transducer 10 has an echo reception intensity of a certain intensity or higher. By grasping the first position L1 and the second position L2 for measuring the contact pressure in the vicinity of the central portion X, the contact state of the ultrasonic probe 1 in the portion that is actually in contact with the diagnostic region T is grasped. Can do.

  Of course, for example, in a linear scan type ultrasonic probe, it is conceivable to set the first position and the second position at positions corresponding to the arrangement positions of the ultrasonic transducers where the reception intensity of the ultrasonic echo is less than a certain value. Thereby, in the substantially flat contact surface 3, it is possible to determine contact abnormality based on pressure measurement at a position where the contact state is not good and the reception state of the ultrasonic echo is not good.

  As mentioned above, although preferable embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to these, A various deformation | transformation and change are possible within the range of the summary.

  For example, the set values such as the specified pressure ranges D1 to D4, the second specified pressure ranges D11 to D14, the pressure difference specified value D5, and the pressure gradient specified value D6 stored in the pressure specification database are the operations from the operation unit 110. May be appropriately changed based on the above. Thereby, it is possible to set appropriate specified values in different diagnostic modes, such as in the case of B-mode diagnosis and elastography mode. In addition, depending on the diagnostic skill of the operator, there are cases where the close contact between the ultrasonic probe 1 and the diagnostic site T can be satisfactorily performed, and there are cases where it is not, so the pressure regulation value is appropriately changed depending on such diagnostic skill. It is desirable to be possible.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 20, the contact surface 3 of the ultrasonic probe 1 is divided into four regions A1 to A4 (shaded portions in the figure), and the first to fourth pressure sensors s1 to s4 are provided in each region. , And based on the measured values from the first to fourth pressure sensors s1 to s4, the inclination of the longitudinal direction (Xa direction in the drawing) of the contact surface 3 and the orthogonal direction (Ya direction in the drawing) and the overall pressure The quality of (total pressure) may be determined.

  The arrangement positions of the first to fourth pressure sensors s1 to s4 are the first to fourth positions L1 to L4, respectively, and the first to fourth positions L1 to L4 substantially correspond to the respective vertical angles of the rectangle. It is arranged at the position to do. Here, the first pressure sensor s1 and the fourth pressure sensor s4 constitute a first pressure measuring means, and the second pressure sensor s2 and the third pressure sensor s3 constitute a second pressure measuring means. Can be conceptualized as

For example, in the case where the measured values of the first to fourth pressure sensors s1 to s4 shown in FIG. 20 are the first to fourth contact pressures P1 to P4,
Total pressure AP = P1 + P2 + P3 + P4
Pressure difference ΔPxa = | (P2 + P3) − (P1 + P4) |
Pressure difference ΔPya = | (P1 + P2) − (P3 + P4) |
Pressure difference ΔPxy = | (P1 + P3) − (P2 + P4) |
When the total pressure AP is defined, the total pressure AP is the sum of the pressing pressures on the diagnostic part of the contact surface 3, the pressure difference ΔPxa is the inclination in the Xa direction with respect to the diagnostic part of the contact surface 3, , ΔPxy represents the degree of inclination of the contact surface 3 in an oblique direction with respect to the diagnosis site (that is, from the region A1 to the region A3 or from the region A2 to the region A4). Therefore, the pressure regulation database D has the prescribed values for the total pressure AP and the pressure differences ΔPxa, ΔPya, ΔPxy (where the prescribed value for the total pressure AP is the third pressure range). For example, whether the contact state of the ultrasonic probe 1 is good or bad (whether a warning is displayed or not, and whether or not a gain is corrected) is compared by comparing each specified value with these total pressures AP and pressure differences ΔPxa, ΔPya, ΔPxy. Or the like).

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that performs imaging of an organ or the like in a living body by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves and generates an ultrasonic diagnostic image used for diagnosis.

A1 to A4: Area AP: Total pressure (total pressure)
B1: Luminance Bi at the first contact pressure: Luminance Bs corresponding to the estimated contact pressure Pi: Saturation luminance D: Pressure regulation database D1 to D4: Specified pressure range D5: Pressure difference regulation value D6: Pressure gradient regulation value D11 to D14: Second specified pressure range L1 to L4: First to fourth positions P1 to P4: First to fourth contact pressures Pc: Critical pressure Pi: Estimated contact pressure Ps: Pressure gradient ΔP, ΔPt: Pressure differences ΔPxa, ΔPya, ΔPxy: pressure difference S: ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses S1 to S4: piezoelectric elements (first to fourth pressure measuring means)
s1 to s4: First to fourth pressure sensors T: Diagnostic site W: Near central portion X: Near both ends Xa: Longitudinal direction Ya: Longitudinal direction 1: Ultrasonic probe (ultrasonic probe)
2: Device body 3: Contact surface 4: Piezoelectric film (first and second pressure measuring means)
10: ultrasonic transducer 11: switching circuit 12: addition circuit 20: transmission / reception unit 21: transmission circuit 22: preamplifier 23: LPF
24: ADC
25: Quadrature detection processing unit 25a, 25b: Mixer 25c, 25d: LPF
25e: orthogonal sampling units 26a, 26b: sampling unit 26c: time-division sampling units 27a to 27c: memory 30: serialization unit 40: probe side control unit 50: transmission circuit 60: transmission circuit 70: scanning control unit 80: reception focus Processing unit 81: Memory 82: Phased addition unit 90: B-mode image signal generation unit (image generation unit)
91: STC
92: DSC
100: Display unit 110: Operation unit 120: Control unit (abnormality determination means, position setting means)
130: Storage unit 140: Abnormality notification means 150: Notification buzzer

Claims (10)

An ultrasonic probe for ultrasonic diagnosis, which has a contact surface to be brought into contact with a diagnostic region of a subject, transmits ultrasonic waves to the diagnostic region from the contact surface, and receives ultrasonic echoes from the diagnostic region; ,
An image generating unit that generates an ultrasonic echo image of the diagnostic site based on the ultrasonic echo;
A display unit for displaying the generated ultrasonic echo image, and the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus further comprises:
First pressure measuring means for measuring a first contact pressure for the diagnostic region at a first position on the contact surface;
Second pressure measuring means for measuring a second contact pressure with respect to the diagnostic region at a second position different from the first position on the contact surface;
An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus comprising: an abnormality determination unit that determines an abnormality when a pressure difference between the first contact pressure and the second contact pressure is not within a predetermined range. The first pressure measuring means has two pressure measuring means for measuring respective contact pressures at two different positions on the contact surface, and the second pressure measuring means is different on the contact surface. Having two pressure measuring means for measuring the contact pressure at each of the two positions;
The first contact pressure is a total value of the contact pressures obtained by the two pressure measuring means in the first pressure measuring means, and the second contact pressure is obtained by the two pressure measuring means in the second pressure measuring means. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, which is a total value of each contact pressure. An ultrasonic probe for ultrasonic diagnosis, which has a contact surface to be brought into contact with a diagnostic region of a subject, transmits ultrasonic waves from the contact surface to the diagnostic region, and receives ultrasonic echoes from the diagnostic region; ,
An image generating unit that generates an ultrasonic echo image of the diagnostic site based on the ultrasonic echo;
A display unit for displaying the generated ultrasonic echo image, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus further comprising:
First pressure measuring means for measuring a first contact pressure for the diagnostic region at a first position on the contact surface;
Second pressure measuring means for measuring a second contact pressure with respect to the diagnostic region at a second position different from the first position on the contact surface;
An abnormality determination for determining an abnormality when a pressure gradient that is a ratio of a pressure difference between the first contact pressure and the second contact pressure and a distance between the first position and the second position is not within a predetermined range. And an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. The abnormality determination means
When the first contact pressure is not within the predetermined first pressure range, the second contact pressure is not within the predetermined second pressure range, and the total value of the first contact pressure and the second contact pressure is the third pressure. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an abnormality is determined in at least one of cases that are not within the range.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising abnormality notifying means for notifying abnormality when the abnormality is determined.   A gain correction is performed on at least one of an image portion corresponding to the first position and an image portion corresponding to the second position in the ultrasonic echo image based on the first contact pressure and the second contact pressure. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.   5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a position setting unit configured to set at least one of the first position and the second position based on a reception intensity of the ultrasonic echo. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus as described.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first pressure measuring unit and the second pressure measuring unit include a piezoelectric element.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 4, wherein at least one of the first pressure range and the second pressure range is variable. An ultrasonic probe for ultrasonic diagnosis, which has a contact surface to be brought into contact with a diagnostic region of a subject, transmits ultrasonic waves to the diagnostic region from the contact surface, and receives ultrasonic echoes from the diagnostic region; A contact state determination method for determining a contact state with the diagnostic site,
A first pressure measuring step for measuring a first contact pressure with respect to the diagnostic part at a first position on the contact surface;
A second pressure measuring step for measuring a second contact pressure with respect to the diagnostic region at a second position different from the first position on the contact surface;
An abnormality determination for determining an abnormality when a pressure gradient that is a ratio of a pressure difference between the first contact pressure and the second contact pressure and a distance between the first position and the second position is not within a predetermined range. And a contact state determination method.