JP2015128532A - Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce power consumption of ultrasonic diagnostic equipment.SOLUTION: Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment includes: a power source unit for supplying power to a unit that constitutes the ultrasonic diagnostic equipment; acquisition means for acquiring information related to the unit; and power source control means for executing control to stop or limit the power supply to the unit by the power source unit based on the information acquired by the acquisition means.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that acquires biological information of a subject by transmitting an ultrasonic wave into the subject using an ultrasonic probe and receiving a reflected wave thereof.

  In recent years, the development of next-generation ultrasound diagnostic devices has progressed, and digital beam forming technology that performs A / D conversion on multiple channels of received signals obtained from the living body and adds and synthesizes the digitized received signals in phase. 2D array probes and the like are newly put into practical use, and it is possible to collect three-dimensional ultrasonic image information in real time.

JP 2012-143296 A Japanese Patent No. 3396518

  Along with the practical application of the above-mentioned digital beam forming technology and 2D array probe technology, it is necessary to provide the number of channels corresponding to the number of transducers in the transmission circuit and the reception circuit, so that much power is consumed. It was.

  However, in the ultrasonic inspection, all units are not fully operated, and the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is designed to always supply a predetermined voltage regardless of the use state of each unit. Therefore, extra power is consumed, unnecessary heat is generated, and it is difficult to reduce the size.

  An object of the present embodiment is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can reduce power consumption.

  One aspect of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a power supply unit that supplies power to each unit constituting the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, an acquisition unit that acquires information about the unit, and information acquired by the acquisition unit And a power control means for controlling to stop or limit the power supply to the unit by the power unit.

The figure which shows the structural example of the ultrasonic diagnosing device which concerns on this embodiment. The figure which shows the detailed structure of a receiving circuit. The flowchart which shows the power supply control process of an ultrasonic diagnosing device.

  Hereinafter, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes an ultrasonic probe 1, a probe mounting terminal 2, a transmission circuit 3, a reception circuit 4, an image processing unit 5, an image display unit 6, a system control unit 7, a power supply unit 10, and a high voltage probe power source. A unit 11 is included.

  The ultrasonic probe 1 is detachably connected to the probe mounting terminal 2. The ultrasonic probe 1 includes a 1D probe in which ultrasonic vibration elements are arranged one-dimensionally, a 2D probe in which ultrasonic vibration elements are arranged two-dimensionally in a grid pattern, and an ultrasonic wave of a 2D probe arranged in one dimension. There is a mechanical 4D probe that swings a vibration element array using a motor or the like. Furthermore, the number of ultrasonic vibration elements in the 1D probe, the number of channels that are the total number of signals that can be transmitted simultaneously to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and the frequency of ultrasonic waves transmitted and received from the ultrasonic vibration elements, etc. There are multiple 1D probes with different characteristics. The voltage required for driving differs depending on the type of each ultrasonic probe 1. For example, a higher voltage is required for a 2D probe to which a large number of ultrasonic vibration elements are connected as compared to a 1D probe. Similarly, a 1D probe having a large number of ultrasonic vibration elements and a 1D probe having a large number of simultaneously driven elements, that is, a large number of channels, require a higher voltage than a 1D probe that does not.

  The transmission circuit 3 generates a pulse signal having a preset frequency, delays based on predetermined delay data, converts the delayed pulse signal into a predetermined voltage, and generates ultrasonic waves from the ultrasonic probe 1. Apply to vibrator.

  The receiving circuit 4 receives the reflected signal output from each channel of the ultrasonic probe 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the reception circuit 4 includes an ADC 41, a phase correction unit 42, and an addition unit 43. The received reflection signal of each channel is converted into a digital signal by the ADC 41, and the phase is adjusted by the phase correction unit 42. The addition unit 43 adds the values.

  The image processing unit 5 converts the reflected signal output from the receiving circuit 4 into ultrasonic image data and outputs the ultrasonic image data to the image display unit 6.

  The image display unit 6 is composed of a CRT, a liquid crystal display, or the like, and displays the ultrasonic image data generated by the image processing unit 5.

  The system control unit 7 controls the operation of each unit of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus based on the transmission / reception mode (B mode / PWD mode / SCW mode, etc.). The transmission / reception mode is switched based on an instruction signal input via an input device (not shown). In the B mode, a tomographic image configured based on a signal based on a difference in reflection intensity can be obtained. In the PWD mode, Doppler measurement is performed on each measurement point to be imaged, and a color Doppler image obtained by color coding blood flow information obtained at each measurement point can be obtained. In the SCW mode, as shown in FIG. 2, an ultrasonic transducer is separated into a transmission-dedicated element and a reception-dedicated element using a control switch SW, and a transmission wave is continuously transmitted from the transmission-dedicated element connected to the transmission circuit 3. The Doppler signal can be obtained by performing signal processing on the received signal sampled in time series from the dedicated receiving element connected to the receiving circuit 4.

  The power supply unit 10 is a regular power supply unit as an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and includes a system information acquisition unit 8 and a power supply control unit 9. The system information acquisition unit 8 acquires information of each unit of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus via the system control unit 7. For example, the type and transmission / reception mode of the ultrasonic probe 1 connected to the probe mounting terminal 2 are acquired. Based on the information acquired by the system information acquisition unit 8, the power supply control unit 9 controls the power supply unit 10 that supplies power to each unit and the high-voltage probe power supply unit 11.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing power supply control processing of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

  The system information acquisition unit 8 is connected to the probe attachment terminal 2 when the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus is activated or when the transmission / reception mode is set via the input device and scanning based on the transmission / reception mode is started. Probe information such as the type of the acoustic probe 1 is acquired (step S1). The probe information is, for example, information on the type of probe such as whether the ultrasonic probe 1 is a 1D probe, a 2D probe, or a mechanical 4D probe, and the ultrasonic wave that the connected ultrasonic probe 1 has. The information includes information such as the number of vibration elements, the number of channels, and the frequency transmitted and received by the ultrasonic vibration element. The system control unit 7 receives information of the ultrasonic probe 1 and acquires a voltage value necessary for driving the connected ultrasonic probe 1. The acquisition of the voltage value is performed based on a table that associates the probe information with the voltage value stored in the storage unit of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. In addition to the method using a table, the voltage value may be obtained by recording the probe information together with a voltage value necessary for driving and reading the voltage value included in the probe information by the system control unit 7. Absent. Next, transmission / reception mode information is acquired from the system control unit 7 (step S2).

  Based on the acquired probe information and transmission / reception mode information, the power supply control unit 9 determines the presence / absence of a power-controllable unit (step S3). If there is no unit capable of power control in this determination, normal operation is performed (step S4). The unit presence / absence is determined based on the probe information and transmission / reception mode information stored in advance in the storage unit of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, which unit can stop power supply, or which unit can limit power supply. This is performed based on a table for associating these.

  In the determination in step S3, when there is a unit capable of power control, the power supply control unit 9 determines whether to stop the unit (step S5). If the unit can be stopped, the unit is stopped (step S6). If the unit cannot be stopped, power supply is limited (step S7). The power supply controller 9 repeats the above process until the main power supply of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is turned off (step S8).

  Hereinafter, an example of specific processing contents of the power supply control processing will be described according to each embodiment.

Example 1
As described above, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus performs A / D conversion on the received signal from the transducer constituting the ultrasonic probe, and performs digital correction on the obtained signal to perform phase correction by digital arithmetic processing. have. In the B mode, the PWD mode, and the like, each driven vibrator transmits and receives ultrasonic waves. On the other hand, in the SCW mode, transmission / reception is performed by separating the ultrasonic transducer into two types, a transmission-only element and a reception-only element. The received signal received through the reception-only element is subjected to signal processing by delay addition. The beam forming process for extracting the reception signal for each depth is not performed on the reception signal in the SCW mode. Therefore, unlike the B mode and the PWD mode that extract the reception signal for each depth, the beam former is not used.

  Therefore, when the transmission / reception mode information acquired in step S2 of FIG. 3 is the SCW mode, the power supply control unit 9 determines that the power control of the system-side power supply is possible to drive the receiving circuit 4 (step S3). In step S5, it is determined that the power source for driving the beamformer can be stopped, and the power supply unit 10 is controlled so as to stop the power supply to the beamformer.

(Example 2)
As shown in FIG. 1, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus may be provided with a high voltage probe power supply unit 11. The power supply unit for the high voltage probe is a power supply unit that works as an auxiliary to the power supply unit 10, and when a 2D probe that requires a higher driving voltage than the ultrasonic probe 1 such as a 1D probe used in normal diagnosis is connected. In addition, the drive voltage is supplied to the ultrasonic probe 1. In general, the high-voltage probe power supply unit 11 is in an ON state regardless of whether or not the high-voltage probe is connected. In this case, power is consumed even when not in use.

  Therefore, the power supply control unit 9 determines whether or not the high voltage probe is connected based on the probe information acquired in step S1 of FIG. 3. If the high voltage probe is not connected to the probe mounting terminal 2, It determines with the power supply unit 11 for voltage probes being able to control electric power (step S3). In step S5, it is determined that the high voltage probe power supply unit 11 can be stopped, and the output of the high voltage probe power supply unit 11 is turned off (step S6).

  Further, only when the high voltage probe is connected to the probe mounting terminal 2 and the system control unit 7 recognizes the high voltage probe, the output of the high voltage probe power supply unit 11 is controlled to be switched to the ON state. When the high voltage probe is connected, it is recognized on the system side that the high voltage probe is connected. Therefore, in step S1 in FIG. 3, when the probe information that the high voltage probe is connected is obtained, the system control unit 7 controls the high voltage probe power supply unit 11 to be in the ON state ( Step S4).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the power consumption of the entire apparatus can be suppressed, and therefore the capacity of the power supply unit can be reduced by reducing the power consumption. Further, since heat generation in each part of the system can be suppressed by reducing power consumption, it is possible to reduce or reduce the air cooling fan and the heat radiating plate, which have been required in the past, and it is possible to reduce the size of the apparatus and to suppress noise.

  Although several embodiments have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ultrasonic probe, 2 ... Probe attachment terminal, 3 ... Transmission circuit, 4 ... Reception circuit, 5 ... Image processing part, 6 ... Image display part, 7 ... System control part, 8 ... System information acquisition part, 9 ... Power supply Control unit, 10 ... power supply unit, 11 ... high-voltage probe power supply unit.

Claims (4)

A power supply unit for supplying power to each unit constituting the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus;
Obtaining means for obtaining information about the unit;
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: power supply control means for controlling to stop or limit power supply to the unit by the power supply unit based on information acquired by the acquisition means. The unit includes beam former means for performing phase correction on the reception signal of the ultrasonic probe,
The acquisition means acquires information including a transmission / reception mode for processing the received signal,
2. The super power unit according to claim 1, wherein when the transmission / reception mode acquired by the acquisition unit is a continuous wave mode, the power source control unit stops power supply to the beam former unit by the power source unit. Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment. A power supply unit for the high voltage probe;
The acquisition means acquires information on the type of probe,
The ultrasonic power according to claim 1, wherein the power control unit stops the output of the power unit for the high voltage probe when the type of the probe acquired by the acquisition unit is not a high voltage probe. Diagnostic device.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control circuit or a control switch for stopping or limiting power supply to the unit capable of controlling the source.

Images