JP2011239813A - Medical image diagnostic apparatus and control program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a medical image diagnostic apparatus for reducing a burden on an operator by selecting a graph on which an analysis result is shown and displaying a segment shown by the selected graph in a position where the operator easily views, and to provide a control program.SOLUTION: The medical image diagnostic apparatus 1 generates and displays a plurality of images having diverse indication forms based on tissue motion information on moving tissues, and generates and displays the graph showing the amount of the tissue motion for each tissue segment. When one of the graphs displayed for each segment is newly selected, a displayed image processing part 10 exchanges the existing displayed image into an image corresponding to the selected graph to display the image on a display part 1g.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a medical image diagnostic apparatus and a control program that generate and display an image related to tissue motion information.

  Among medical image diagnostic apparatuses, for example, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus uses, for example, a technique for generating and displaying a moving image related to motion information of heart tissue (see Patent Document 1 below).

  In this technique, for example, a probe (oscillation probe) that performs ultrasonic scanning by oscillating a plurality of ultrasonic transducers arranged in a row, and a probe in which a plurality of ultrasonic transducers are arranged in a two-dimensional matrix Time-series volume data of the subject's heart is acquired using a (two-dimensional array probe) or the like. The acquired time-series volume data is used to track a local region of the myocardium using pattern matching or the like, and tissue motion information (for example, myocardial movement vector or strain (distortion)) is calculated from the tracking result. This calculation result is displayed as a moving image by superimposing it on the corresponding position of the MPR image and three-dimensional image (volume rendering image etc.) reconstructed from the volume data of the heart. In the display, in addition to representing the movement of the whole heart, for example, the analysis region can be displayed in a divided state (segment display).

  An operator such as a doctor can observe the dynamics of the heart tissue movement by observing the MPR image displayed in a moving image, the three-dimensional image for each segment, or the like. In addition, the amount of tissue movement can be displayed on a graph.

JP 2010-42151 A

  However, in the display method shown in Patent Document 1 described above, a scene that is difficult for an operator to use can occur.

  For example, when a specific graph is selected from the displayed graphs, a segment corresponding to the selected graph may not be displayed in the MPR image or the three-dimensional image. For example, in a three-dimensional image, the segment indicated by the selected graph is on the back of the solid, that is, the selected segment is displayed at a position that does not appear on the screen that the operator is currently viewing. Is the case.

  In such a state, the operator changes the position of the displayed cross section to display the selected segment and displays it again as an MPR image, or displays the selected segment. It was necessary to move the 3D image again.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to select a graph showing an analysis result and simultaneously display a segment indicated by the selected graph at a position easy for an operator to see. Thus, it is to provide a medical image diagnostic apparatus and a control program that can reduce the operation burden on the operator.

  The feature according to the embodiment of the present invention is to generate and display a plurality of images having different display forms based on the tissue motion information of the moving tissue, and to generate and display a graph indicating the tissue motion amount for each segment of the tissue. In the medical image diagnostic apparatus capable of displaying, when one of the graphs displayed for each segment is newly selected, the image corresponding to the selected graph is displayed on the display unit instead of the image displayed so far. A display image processing unit.

It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the medical image diagnostic apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the display image process part in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure which changes the display image in embodiment of this invention. It is an example of a screen which shows the various images and graphs which are displayed on the display part in embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a medical image diagnostic apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is taken as an example of the medical image diagnostic apparatus 1. However, the medical diagnostic apparatus is not limited to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and may be an X-ray CT (computed tomography) apparatus. It is also possible to apply in the modality.

  A medical diagnostic imaging apparatus (ultrasound diagnostic apparatus) 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1a, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 1b, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 1c, and an input / output interface 1d connected via a bus 1e. Has been. The input / output interface 1d includes an input unit 1f, a display unit 1g, a communication control unit 1h, a storage unit 1i, a transmission / reception unit 1j, an image generation unit 1k, a movement vector processing unit 1l, and a motion information calculation unit. 1 m and the display image processing unit 10 are connected.

  The CPU 1a reads and executes a boot program for starting the medical image diagnostic apparatus 1 from the ROM 1b based on an input signal from the input unit 1f, and reads various operating systems stored in the storage unit 1i. The CPU 1a controls various devices based on an input signal from an external device not shown in FIG. 1 via the input unit 1f and the input / output interface 1d. Further, the CPU 1a reads out the program and data stored in the RAM 1c, the storage unit 1i, etc. and loads them into the RAM 1c, and based on the command of the program read out from the RAM 1c, a two-dimensional image based on exercise information or the like, or This is a processing device that realizes a series of processes such as generation of a three-dimensional image and calculation or processing of data.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the input unit 1 f is configured by an input device such as a keyboard and a dial through which an operator of the medical image diagnostic apparatus 1 inputs various operations. An input signal is input based on the operation of the observer. It is created and transmitted to the CPU 1a via the bus 1e. In addition, the medical image diagnostic apparatus 1 may be provided with a dedicated operation panel in addition to a keyboard or the like. In this case, an operation screen can be operated via an input device on the operation panel. . The display unit 1g is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and is a unit that receives an output signal from the CPU 1a via the bus 1e, for example, and displays an image generated based on the tissue motion information, a processing result of the CPU 1a, and the like.

  The communication control unit 1h is a means such as a LAN card or a modem, and is a means that enables the medical image diagnostic apparatus 1 to be connected to a communication network such as the Internet or a LAN. Data transmitted / received to / from the communication network via the communication control unit 1h is transmitted / received to / from the CPU 1a via the input / output interface 1d and the bus 1e as an input signal or an output signal.

  The storage unit 1i is composed of a semiconductor or a magnetic disk, and stores programs and data executed by the CPU 1a.

  The transmission / reception unit 1j includes a transmission unit and a reception unit, and a probe P is connected to the transmission / reception unit 1j. The probe P includes a plurality of piezoelectric vibrators that generate ultrasonic waves based on the drive signal from the transmission unit and convert reflected waves (echoes) from the subject into electrical signals. The transmission unit is provided with, for example, a delay circuit (not shown). A drive signal is applied from the transmitter to each transducer of the probe P so that an ultrasonic beam is formed toward a predetermined scan line at a predetermined timing. On the other hand, an amplifier circuit or the like (not shown) is provided in the receiving unit. The reflected wave transmitted from the probe P is amplified for each channel, and after a delay time for determining the reception directivity is given, addition processing is performed. Thereby, an ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to a predetermined scan line is generated.

  The ultrasonic echo signal is transmitted from the transmission / reception unit 1j to the image generation unit 1k. In the image generation unit 1k, first, envelope detection processing is performed, and a B-mode signal corresponding to the amplitude intensity of the ultrasonic echo is generated. On the other hand, volume data corresponding to each time phase is generated from the ultrasonic image data for each time phase regarding a predetermined region of the subject obtained by swing scanning or three-dimensional scanning using the probe P. Volume data is a set of received signals having three-dimensional position information (having spatial information).

  After that, the image generation unit 1k generates a B-mode ultrasound image representing a two-dimensional distribution related to a predetermined slice of the B-mode signal. Furthermore, as described later, by mapping the tissue motion information calculated by the motion information calculation unit 1m to various images such as MPR images and three-dimensional images, two-dimensional images or three-dimensional images related to tissue motion information Is generated. The generated two-dimensional image or three-dimensional image is displayed on the display unit 1g. It is also possible to display the image divided into a plurality of areas. Each of the divided areas is called a “segment”. For example, a heart represented by a three-dimensional image is divided into approximately 16 regions.

  The image generation unit 1k also generates a graph to be displayed using a parameter indicating tissue motion information, for example, a movement amount. In this graph, various parameters are arranged on the vertical axis and time is arranged on the horizontal axis, and the amount of change for each segment is represented. Specifically, for example, the values of a plurality of vertices existing in the segment (the vertices each have a value) are averaged, and changes in the average value are represented in time series. In the following, both the display mode itself indicating the movement amount and the like in the display unit 1g and the change amount for each segment shown in the display mode are both expressed as “graphs”.

  The movement vector processing unit 11 tracks the movement position of the tissue using pattern matching processing between two volume data having different time phases, and the movement amount and speed of each tissue based on the obtained movement position for each time phase. Ask for. For example, for a region of interest in one volume data, a corresponding region in the other volume data with the highest similarity is obtained. The amount of movement of the tissue can be obtained by obtaining the distance between the region of interest and the corresponding region. Further, the moving speed of the tissue can be obtained by dividing this moving amount by the time difference between the volumes. By performing this processing volume by volume at each position on the volume, it is possible to acquire displacement (movement vector) of each tissue or spatio-temporal distribution data relating to tissue displacement.

  The motion information calculation unit 1m generates tissue motion information for each time phase based on the spatiotemporal distribution data sent from the movement vector processing unit 11. Here, the tissue motion information is, for example, physical information that can be acquired regarding displacement, displacement rate, strain, strain rate, moving distance, speed, velocity gradient, and other tissue motions in a predetermined direction of a predetermined tissue such as a heart wall. is there.

  The display image processing unit 10 manages display change processing of the image generated by the image generation unit 1k and displayed on the display unit 1g. For example, the MPR image in which the segment corresponding to the newly selected graph is displayed instead of the MPR image displayed so far is displayed on the display unit 1g. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the display image processing unit 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The display image processing unit 10 includes a reception unit 11, a confirmation unit 12, a calculation unit 13, an instruction creation unit 14, and a transmission unit 15.

  In the medical image diagnostic apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the display image processing unit 10 is configured by a circuit, but is stored as a display image processing program in the storage unit 1i or in a storage medium such as a removable disk. It may be stored. In this case, the display image processing program is read and executed by the CPU 1a of the medical image diagnostic apparatus 1, whereby the display image processing unit is mounted on the medical image diagnostic apparatus 1.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, as described above, an example in which the display image processing unit 10 is mounted on the medical image diagnostic apparatus 1 will be described below. However, the display image processing unit 10 exists independently from the medical image diagnostic apparatus 1 and may be connected to the medical image diagnostic apparatus 1 via a communication network connected to the communication control unit 1h. good. In this case, the medical image diagnostic apparatus 1 and the display image processing unit 10 further include, for example, a hospital information management system (HIS), a radiation department information management system (RIS), a medical image management system. It may be used in combination with various management systems built in medical institutions such as (PACS: Picture Archiving Communication System).

  Next, the procedure for changing the display image will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 and various screens displayed on the display unit shown in FIG. In the procedure for changing the display screen, the operation of each unit of the display image processing unit 10 shown in FIG. 2 will also be described.

  First, based on the tissue motion information, basic settings, etc. acquired by the medical image diagnostic apparatus (ultrasound diagnostic apparatus) 1, MPR images and motion information computation sections 1m A three-dimensional image is generated. In addition, a graph indicating the amount of movement for each segment is also generated and displayed on the display unit 1g together with a plurality of images having different display forms, such as MPR images (ST1). Normally, images necessary for the operator are displayed in this state. Therefore, the operator performs diagnosis or the like based on the image displayed on the display unit 1g.

  FIG. 4 is a screen example showing the display unit 1g. In the screen example shown in FIG. 4, the screen is roughly divided into three zones, and a three-dimensional image is displayed on the left side. An MPR image that is a two-dimensional image is displayed on the right side. The left three of the MPR images show a state where the part displayed in the three-dimensional image is cut so as to be horizontal (screen horizontal direction) on the screen. On the other hand, the two MPR images on the right side show a state where a portion displayed in the three-dimensional image is cut so as to be perpendicular to the screen (vertical direction in the screen). Further, a graph is displayed below the area where the MPR image is displayed. As described above, this graph is shown so that the amount of movement and the like can be grasped for each segment.

  Note that the screen example of FIG. 4 is merely an example, and the layout and display contents can be arbitrarily set and changed. In addition, originally, various tabs and buttons that can be operated by the operator are displayed on the display unit 1g. However, in FIG. 4, various displays unnecessary for the embodiment of the present invention are shown for convenience of explanation. It is omitted. Therefore, for example, a graph is also displayed for each segment, but only the graph corresponding to three segments is shown here.

  Depending on the amount of movement for each segment displayed in the graph, the operator may want to see a segment other than the currently displayed segment in the course of diagnosis or the like. At this time, the display image processing unit 10 enters a standby state whether or not a graph indicating another segment is selected by the operator (ST2).

  When it is desired to see the display related to another segment, the operator selects a graph displaying the corresponding segment using the input unit 1f. When the display image processing unit 10 detects that the graph has been selected (a signal to that effect is received by the reception unit 11) (YES in ST2), the confirmation unit 12 confirms and grasps the selected graph (ST3). ). The graph is associated with the segment displayed by the graph, and the corresponding segment can be grasped if the graph selected by the confirmation unit can be grasped. If this graph is not selected (NO in ST2), a standby state is entered.

  Next, the calculation unit 13 calculates the position of the segment corresponding to the selected graph (ST4). As described above, the displayed graph is associated with the segment represented by the graph. Therefore, when a graph is selected, the position of the corresponding segment is calculated. In the example screen shown in FIG. 4, an MPR image and a three-dimensional image are displayed. Since the display method is different between the MPR image and the three-dimensional image, they will be described separately below.

  First, the MPR image will be described. When the currently displayed MPR image is replaced with an MPR image that displays a segment corresponding to the newly selected graph, the segment indicated by the corresponding graph is calculated by the calculation unit 13, and thus the calculated position It will be changed to.

  By the way, regarding the cross-section to be specifically displayed, a plurality of vertices (also referred to as control points or analysis points) whose parameters are calculated exist in the first place. On the other hand, the position of the displayed cross section of the segment is, for example, a position passing through the minimum point or the maximum point of the parameter, or a position passing through the vertex indicating the center position of the corresponding segment. Can be defined. Furthermore, even with this definition alone, even if it passes through a vertex indicating the center position of the corresponding segment, for example, it is unclear what inclination the cross section is displayed on. Therefore, for example, with respect to the center position, normal line, etc. of the cross section used as another reference, the reference determined when generating (analyzing) the display image shown in step ST1 is used. As this reference | standard, the cross section showing a long axis or the cross section showing a short axis can be mentioned, for example.

  In this way, the MPR image relating to the segment corresponding to the newly selected graph is determined and displayed on the display unit 1g based on the instruction to the display unit 1g created by the instruction creating unit 14 (ST5). In the screen example shown in FIG. 4, a graph indicated by a thick line is selected (in FIG. 4, the arrow cursor points to the bold line graph). By selecting the graph indicated by the bold line, the corresponding segment is also shown in the MPR image displayed on the graph display area.

  That is, in the image (the left side of the display area of the MPR image) showing the state where the part displayed in the three-dimensional image is cut so as to be horizontal (horizontal direction of the screen) on the screen, it is displayed at the bottom. A segment corresponding to the newly selected graph is shown in the image. Here, the outline of the corresponding segment is shown on a rectangle, and the vertices in the segment are also indicated by circles. On the other hand, in the MPR image (right side of the display area of the MPR image) showing a state in which the portion displayed in the three-dimensional image is cut so as to be perpendicular to the screen (vertical direction of the screen), it is newly selected in the left image The corresponding segment is shown in the graph. In addition, the corresponding segment is enclosed on a rectangle, and the vertex is indicated by a circle.

  Next, display of a three-dimensional image will be described. As described in step ST4, the calculation unit 13 calculates the position of the segment corresponding to the selected graph. At this time, the segment corresponding to the selected graph may not be visible on the three-dimensional image. For example, a segment corresponding to the back of the screen is hidden and is not displayed on the screen and is not visible to the operator. In this state, the segment corresponding to the selected graph cannot be displayed at a position that is easy for the operator to see. Therefore, the three-dimensional image is displayed at a position that is easy for the operator to see on the screen by moving, rotating, or enlarging or reducing it.

  Specifically, it is displayed as follows. As a premise, the center of gravity is defined in the three-dimensional image. Therefore, the center of gravity is used to move the 3D image. First, the movement is performed so that the center of gravity of the 3D image overlaps the center position of the area where the 3D image is displayed on the screen. For example, when the operator moves the position in various ways in order to make the segment easy to see with respect to the three-dimensional image that has been displayed so far, the segment corresponding to the selected graph cannot be seen at that position, or It may be difficult to see. Movement is effective when there is a three-dimensional image in such a state.

  Then, the three-dimensional image is rotated so that the center position of the segment corresponding to the selected graph and the center of gravity of the segment overlap with each other when viewed from the operator. That is, the line connecting the center position of the segment and the center of gravity is rotated so as to be perpendicular to the screen of the display unit 1g. By rotating in this way, the operator can see the center position of the segment corresponding to the selected graph that has not been seen so far, in front of that line of sight (the operator's eyes see the center position of the segment). First, you can see the center of gravity of the 3D image. By displaying in this way, the segment corresponding to the selected graph is displayed on the front of the screen.

  Furthermore, enlargement or reduction is performed so that the outline of the displayed three-dimensional image fits within the display area, for example. The movement, rotation, enlargement, and reduction of the three-dimensional image are performed to move the corresponding segment to a position that is easy for the operator to see. Accordingly, the movement is performed as necessary, or a combination thereof is performed. These calculation results are sent from the calculation unit 13 to the instruction creation unit 14, and further the instructions from the instruction creation unit 14 are sent to the display unit 1g and displayed (ST6). In the screen example shown in FIG. 4, the segment corresponding to the selected graph is shown on the three-dimensional image surrounded by a rectangle.

  As another display method of the three-dimensional image, for example, a segment other than the segment corresponding to the selected graph may be deleted, and only the corresponding segment may be displayed. Further, in order to display the entire outline of the organ to be displayed and other segments, for example, the outline and other segments can be indicated by a broken line or the like. Furthermore, if the display segment is colored based on the parameters, only the segment corresponding to the selected graph is colored, and the other segments are not colored. A method is also possible.

  As described above, the display of the MPR image and the display of the three-dimensional image have been described separately. However, these display changes are performed at the same time, and the display of the MPR image and the display of the three-dimensional image are performed by the operator selecting a graph. In either case, the screen transitions to a screen representing a segment corresponding to the selected graph instead of the image displayed so far.

  As described above, the medical burden can be reduced by selecting the graph showing the analysis result and displaying the segment indicated by the selected graph at a position that is easy for the operator to view. An image diagnostic apparatus and a control program can be provided.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, you may combine the component covering different embodiment suitably.

1 Medical diagnostic imaging equipment (ultrasound diagnostic equipment)
1a CPU
1b ROM
1c RAM
1d input / output interface 1e bus 1f input unit 1g display unit 1h communication control unit 1i storage unit 1j transmission / reception unit 1k image generation unit 1l movement vector processing unit 1m motion information calculation unit 10 display image processing unit 11 reception unit 12 confirmation unit 13 calculation unit 14 instruction creation unit 15 transmission unit P probe

Claims (6)

In a medical image diagnostic apparatus capable of generating and displaying a plurality of images having different display forms based on tissue movement information of a moving tissue, and generating and displaying a graph indicating the amount of tissue movement for each segment of the tissue,
When one of the graphs displayed for each segment is newly selected, a display image processing unit that displays the image corresponding to the selected graph on the display unit instead of the image displayed so far A medical image diagnostic apparatus comprising:   One of the plurality of images having different display forms is an MPR image, and the image processing unit displays an MPR in which a segment corresponding to the selected graph is represented instead of the MPR image displayed so far. The medical image diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an image is displayed.   One of the plurality of images having different display forms is a three-dimensional image, and the image processing unit displays a segment corresponding to the selected graph in place of the three-dimensional image displayed so far. The medical image diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a three-dimensional image is displayed.   The image processing unit represents a segment corresponding to the selected graph by moving, rotating, enlarging or reducing the three-dimensional image displayed so far alone or in combination. The medical image diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a three-dimensional image is displayed.   When displaying the three-dimensional image representing the segment corresponding to the selected graph, the image processing unit leaves only the three-dimensional image representing the corresponding segment, The medical image diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the displayed three-dimensional image is erased and the three-dimensional image in which the segment is expressed is emphasized. A computer provided in the medical image diagnostic apparatus generates and displays a plurality of images having different display forms based on tissue motion information of a moving tissue, and generates and displays a graph indicating the amount of tissue motion for each segment of the tissue. In a control program characterized by
Display image processing step of causing the display unit to display the image corresponding to the selected graph instead of the image displayed so far when one of the graphs displayed for each segment is newly selected Is executed by a computer included in the medical image diagnostic apparatus.

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