JP2016013497A - Acoustic wave acquisition apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve operation efficiency by improving complication of the setting operation of a user when designating a plurality of regions of interest and performing measurement with an acoustic wave probe.SOLUTION: The acoustic wave acquisition apparatus includes: a probe for measuring an acoustic wave propagating from a subject; scanning means for moving the probe; region designation means for receiving the designation of a plurality of regions of interest in the subject; and trajectory determination means for determining a plurality of designation measurement regions that are regions in which the probe measures the acoustic wave on the basis of the positions of the regions of interest, and determining a trajectory when the probe moves by the scanning means on the basis of the positions of the plurality of designation measurement regions.

Description

  The present invention relates to an acoustic wave acquisition apparatus and an acoustic wave acquisition method.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ultrasonic measurement apparatus that images an internal structure by transmitting an ultrasonic wave to a living body and analyzing the reflected ultrasonic wave has been operated in a medical field. In the ultrasonic measurement apparatus, when ultrasonic waves are transmitted to a living body, the reflection of the ultrasonic waves occurs at the boundary surfaces having different acoustic impedances in the living body. By analyzing this reflected wave, boundary surfaces with different acoustic impedances are imaged as morphological information in the living body.
Also, in recent years, by irradiating a living body with laser light, an acoustic wave (photoacoustic wave) resulting from laser irradiation is generated from within the living body, and by analyzing this photoacoustic wave, the surface of the living body and the internal structure / A technique for analyzing the situation has been devised (see Patent Document 1). This technique is also called photoacoustic wave measurement, and since non-invasive examination can be performed, there is a movement to divert medical care for examination inside the human body.

In both of the above-described two systems, an acoustic wave probe is mounted to receive ultrasonic waves (photoacoustic waves). The configuration of the device using an acoustic probe as a detector includes a handy type that is used by pressing against the skin near the region of interest for which the user wants to acquire information, or a mechanical scanning mechanism, and the skin surface of the living body. There are things that mechanically scan the top. Thus, the region of interest is measured by providing the apparatus with manual or automatic scanning means.
With current acoustic wave probes, it is difficult to produce a large aperture sensor such as an X-ray imaging apparatus because of production yield and cost. For this reason, it is common to use an acoustic probe having a size smaller than the required inspection target area and to cover the inspection target area by scanning automatically or manually.

  A measuring apparatus that automatically scans an acoustic wave probe has an input setting unit for setting a region of interest by a user. The input setting unit includes, for example, a button input device such as a keyboard, and a pointing device such as a mouse and a touch pen. The input setting unit can input detailed measurement settings using a keyboard and can specify a measurement position using a pointing device such as a mouse. Some of the above-mentioned devices can specify the scanning trajectory of the probe finely by the user by using a touch pen (see Patent Document 2).

US Pat. No. 5,843,0023 JP 2006-000185 A

  As an example of scanning trajectory designation in a conventional apparatus, there is a method in which a user operates a pointing device such as a touch pen while referring to an image of a subject displayed on a display device to designate a scanning trajectory. There are various methods for setting the scanning trajectory, for example, it is possible to draw a trajectory for moving the acoustic probe with a line, or to set the scanning trajectory by specifying a plurality of coordinates of the movement destination It has become. The apparatus side performs measurement while moving the acoustic probe so as to trace the designated scanning trajectory.

Especially when there are multiple regions of interest, the user needs to be aware of moving the acoustic probe so that all regions of interest are included in the region to be measured when pointing to the scan trajectory. The setting operation was complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and when performing measurement using an acoustic probe by designating a plurality of regions of interest, the complexity of the user's setting operation is improved and the operation efficiency is improved. It aims at providing the technology for making it happen.

  The present invention employs the following configuration. That is, a probe that measures an acoustic wave propagating from a subject, a scanning unit that moves the probe, a region designation unit that receives designation of a plurality of regions of interest in the subject, and a plurality of regions of interest Based on the position, a plurality of designated measurement areas, which are areas where the probe measures acoustic waves, are determined, and a trajectory when the probe moves by the scanning means is determined in the plurality of designated measurement areas. And an orbit determination unit that determines the position based on the position.

  The present invention also employs the following configuration. That is, the probe measures the acoustic wave propagating from the subject, the scanning means moves the probe, and the region designation means receives a plurality of regions of interest in the subject. And a trajectory determining means determines a plurality of designated measurement areas, which are areas where the probe measures acoustic waves, based on the positions of the plurality of regions of interest, and the scanning means And determining a trajectory for movement based on the positions of the plurality of designated measurement regions.

  Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technique for improving the operational efficiency by improving the complexity of a user's setting operation when performing measurement using an acoustic wave probe by designating a plurality of regions of interest. it can.

The block diagram of the photoacoustic measuring device and photoacoustic system operating device which concern on this invention. The figure which shows an example of a region-of-interest setting screen. The flowchart which concerns on the Example of this invention. The schematic diagram of a several region of interest setting. The schematic diagram of the inclusion field concerning the example of the present invention. The figure which shows an example of the stripe which concerns on the Example of this invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of scanning area determination according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. In principle, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. In the following description, a photoacoustic apparatus is taken as an example of the acoustic wave acquisition apparatus of the present invention, but the application target of the present invention is not limited to this. Any apparatus that scans an acoustic probe in accordance with a region of interest designated by a user can be applied. For example, an ultrasonic wave is transmitted to a subject, and an ultrasonic echo received by reflection is received and used. Measurement devices are also applicable.

<Example>
(Configuration and function of photoacoustic apparatus)
First, the configuration of the photoacoustic apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. A photoacoustic apparatus is an apparatus that acquires information inside a subject. Further, it may be configured as a photoacoustic imaging apparatus that images the acquired information inside the subject. When the subject is a living body, the photoacoustic apparatus enables imaging of subject information for the purpose of diagnosing malignant tumors, vascular diseases, etc., and monitoring the progress of chemical treatment. In the apparatus using the photoacoustic effect as in this embodiment, the “subject information” is a source distribution of acoustic waves generated by light irradiation, and the initial sound pressure distribution in the living body or light energy absorption derived therefrom. The density distribution is shown. Also included are substance concentration distributions such as oxygen saturation distribution and oxidized / reduced hemoglobin concentration distribution. On the other hand, the object information in the ultrasonic measuring apparatus using the ultrasonic echo is information reflecting the difference in acoustic impedance of the tissue inside the object.

  The photoacoustic apparatus includes a photoacoustic measuring apparatus 100 and a photoacoustic system operating apparatus 200 as main hardware configurations. The photoacoustic measurement apparatus 100 includes a laser light source 101, an optical system 102, an acoustic wave probe 104, an apparatus control unit 107, and a camera 108 as hardware configurations. The photoacoustic measurement apparatus 100 further includes a probe driving unit 105, a light source driving unit 106, and a signal processing unit 109. The photoacoustic system operating device 200 includes an area specifying unit 201, an image generating unit 202, an image display unit 203, and a system control unit 204. Hereinafter, measurement of the subject will be described. An information processing apparatus such as a PC can also be used as the photoacoustic system operation apparatus. However, the arrangement of each block is not limited to the example in this figure, and for example, all the components may be formed integrally.

  A subject (not shown) such as a living body is fixed to plates 103a and 103b that compress and fix the object from both sides. These are sometimes called compression plates. The pulsed light from the laser light source is guided to the surface of the plate 103a by an optical system 102 such as a lens, a mirror, or an optical fiber, for example, and becomes diffused pulsed light and irradiated on the subject. When a part of the energy of light propagating through the subject is absorbed by a light absorber such as a blood vessel, an acoustic wave is generated from the light absorber by thermal expansion. That is, the temperature of the light absorber rises due to the absorption of the pulsed light, the volume expansion occurs due to the temperature rise, and an acoustic wave is generated. This phenomenon is called photoacoustic effect. An acoustic wave is a kind of elastic wave, and includes what is called a sound wave, an ultrasonic wave, an acoustic wave, a photoacoustic wave, and an optical ultrasonic wave.

  The acoustic wave probe 104 for detecting acoustic waves is a detector including a plurality of receiving elements that detect acoustic waves. The detector detects an acoustic wave generated and propagated in the subject and converts it into an electrical signal that is an analog signal. The detection signal acquired from this detector is referred to as a “photoacoustic signal”.

  The signal processing unit 109 acquires information inside the subject from the photoacoustic signal. The signal processing unit 109 amplifies the photoacoustic signal acquired from the acoustic wave probe 104 by a reception amplifier, and converts it into a photoacoustic signal as a digital signal by an A / D converter. That is, the photoacoustic signal is a concept including an analog signal detected by an acoustic probe and a digital signal subjected to processing by a signal processing unit. The photoacoustic signal as a digital signal is transmitted to the photoacoustic system operating device 200 through communication between the device control unit 107 and the system control unit 204 via a communication line.

  The image generation unit 202 performs arithmetic processing on the three-dimensional information by image reconstruction processing on the photoacoustic signal, and generates an image in the subject. The image display unit 203 displays the generated image (photoacoustic image) of the subject. The system control unit 204 and the image generation unit 202 of the photoacoustic system operation apparatus 200 can be configured as a program that operates using CPU resources or a dedicated circuit, for example. The same applies to the apparatus control unit 107 and the signal processing unit 109 of the photoacoustic measurement apparatus.

The camera 108 of the photoacoustic measurement apparatus 100 captures an image of the subject and provides it when the user designates a region of interest for the subject. The provision to the user can be performed, for example, by display on the image display unit 203.
The area designating unit 201 of the photoacoustic system operating device 200 is a unit that accepts designation of a region of interest by a user who has viewed an image captured by the camera 108.

Next, main components and each part that needs detailed description will be sequentially described.
(Laser light source 101)
When the subject is a living body, the light source emits light having a specific wavelength that is absorbed by a specific component among components constituting the living body. As the light source, a pulse light source capable of generating pulsed light on the order of several nanometers to several hundred nanoseconds is preferable. A laser is preferable as the light source, but a light emitting diode or the like may be used instead of the laser. As the laser, various lasers such as a solid laser, a gas laser, a dye laser, and a semiconductor laser can be used.
In the present embodiment, an example of a single light source is shown, but a plurality of light sources may be used. In the case of a plurality of light sources, a plurality of light sources that oscillate the same wavelength may be used in order to increase the irradiation intensity of the light irradiating the living body, and in order to measure the difference in the optical characteristic value distribution depending on the wavelength, the oscillation wavelengths are different. A plurality of light sources may be used. If a oscillating wavelength-convertable dye or OPO (Optical Parametric Oscillators) can be used as the light source, it is possible to measure the difference in the optical characteristic value distribution depending on the wavelength.

Regarding the wavelength used by the laser light source, a wavelength region of 700 nm to 1100 nm, which is less absorbed in the living body, is preferable. However, when obtaining the optical characteristic value distribution of the living tissue relatively near the surface of the living body, it is also possible to use a wavelength region having a wider range than the above wavelength region, for example, a wavelength region of 400 nm to 1600 nm.
In addition, the irradiation frequency of the laser light source is usually determined. This is determined as a design value in order to continuously irradiate pulsed light of a desired intensity, but since the irradiation frequency affects the number of photoacoustic measurements that can be performed per unit time, the higher the irradiation frequency, preferable. In this embodiment, the irradiation frequency of the laser light source is 10 Hz.

(Acoustic wave probe 104)
An acoustic wave probe is a detector that detects acoustic waves and converts them into electrical signals. The photoacoustic wave generated from the subject is an ultrasonic wave of 100 KHz to 100 MHz. Therefore, a detector capable of receiving the above frequency band is used for the acoustic wave probe 104. Any detector that can detect an acoustic wave signal, such as a transducer using a piezoelectric phenomenon, a transducer using optical resonance, or a transducer using a change in capacitance, may be used. The acoustic wave probe 104 according to the present embodiment preferably has a plurality of receiving elements arranged two-dimensionally. By using such a two-dimensional array element, acoustic waves can be detected at a plurality of locations at the same time, so that the detection time can be shortened and the influence of vibration of the subject can be reduced. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the receiving element pitch is 2 mm, the receiving element arrangement is 5 elements in the main scanning direction, and 5 elements are arranged in the sub-scanning direction. The main scanning direction is a direction in which the acoustic probe moves while receiving an acoustic wave from the subject, and the sub-scanning direction is a direction in which the acoustic probe is moved, which is orthogonal to the main scanning direction. is there. However, there is an area that does not need to receive an acoustic wave, such as a moving area described later.

(Camera 108)
In the photoacoustic apparatus according to the present embodiment, a camera is installed to provide an image to be referred to when a region of interest for performing photoacoustic measurement is designated. The camera is installed in a line-of-sight direction substantially orthogonal to a holding plate that compresses and holds the subject, and a captured image is transmitted to the photoacoustic system operating device. The field of view of the camera is preferably installed at a viewing angle that allows a list of photoacoustic measurement possible ranges. It is installed so as to observe the subject held under pressure, and the user can designate the region of interest while observing the subject held under pressure. However, even when the imaging direction of the camera is not substantially orthogonal to the holding plate due to apparatus limitations, it is possible to display the entire subject so that the user can observe the entire subject by image correction or the like.

(Area specifying unit 201)
The photoacoustic apparatus of the present embodiment has means for the user to specify a region of interest. The user designates a region of interest with an input means such as a mouse while referring to an observation image of the subject held by compression displayed on the display device. The input means is not limited to a mouse or keyboard, but may be a pen tablet type or a touch pad attached to the surface of the display device. In this embodiment, it is possible to specify a plurality of regions of interest.

  In the photoacoustic measurement, since the photoacoustic wave propagated from the inside of the subject is acquired as a signal, not only a two-dimensional slice image but also a three-dimensional body can be imaged. However, in this embodiment, the user designates a two-dimensional rectangle. In this embodiment, a rectangular range is designated for easy understanding, but the shape is not limited to this. The user sets a place corresponding to the position where the photoacoustic measurement is to be performed in a two-dimensional rectangle on the image plane while referring to an observation image from a specific direction of the subject. Thus, the two-dimensional rectangular range in which the user gives a measurement instruction based on the region of interest is called a measurement instruction region. In other words, the user refers to the observation image from the specific direction with respect to the subject, and sets the measurement instruction area while imagining that the depth portion inside thereof is measured and imaged.

As a method for designating the measurement area, coordinate designation by keyboard input may be performed. The coordinate instruction method at this time may specify the center coordinates of a measurement area of a predetermined size in order to specify the measurement area, or may be measured by specifying a plurality of vertex coordinates on the reference image plane. An instruction area may be set. The vertex coordinates may be designated by specifying two points on the diagonal line in the case of a rectangular range. In either case, the measurement instruction area can be set as a two-dimensional rectangular area on the reference image plane.
The photoacoustic apparatus that receives the instruction from the user converts the image coordinate system of the captured image of the camera from the image coordinate system to the apparatus coordinate system based on the measurement instruction area. Then, the probe and the laser light source (measurement system) are moved on the actual subject under the control of the probe driving unit 105 and the light source driving unit 106. The probe driving unit corresponds to the scanning unit of the present invention.

  FIG. 2 shows a screen image of area designation in this embodiment. In the figure, 301 is an observation image from a specific direction with respect to the subject, and 302 is a measurement instruction region designated by the user while referring to the observation image. The measurement instruction area 302 can be designated with a preset size. In addition, by inputting a rectangle with a pointing device, it is possible to specify a measurement region of any size. It also has a function for designating a plurality of measurement instruction areas. For example, there is a method in which a plurality of selection buttons are provided, and a plurality of measurement instruction areas selected while the plurality of selection buttons are pressed are stored when a measurement instruction area is specified while the plurality of selection buttons are pressed. As another method, a menu such as “select next area” may be prepared on the menu screen, and the area of interest may be sequentially specified by designating this menu each time the measurement instruction area is designated. . In any method, it is preferable to provide means for canceling the designation of a part or all of the designated measurement instruction area.

(Measurement flow)
The actual measurement will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This flow is based on the premise that the measurement instruction area is designated by the user, and is started with a photoacoustic measurement start instruction as a trigger.
First, the designated measurement instruction area will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, 401, 402, and 403 are measurement instruction areas designated by the user via the area designation unit 201. At this time, measurement conditions for photoacoustic measurement can also be set. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the number of photoacoustic data acquisition per pixel (the number of times of integration) is set to 10 times of integration. The effect of improving the SN ratio of the acquired subject information can be obtained according to the number of integrations.
After setting the measurement instruction area, the system control unit 204 of the photoacoustic measurement system control apparatus 200 communicates with the apparatus control unit 107 of the photoacoustic measurement apparatus 100 using a measurement start instruction from the user as a trigger, and photoacoustics A measurement start is requested.

(Scanning speed calculation process for measurement)
Upon receiving the measurement start request message, the apparatus control unit 107 first calculates a scanning speed for measurement (step S1 in FIG. 3). Here, it is assumed that the number of elements in the main scanning direction of the acoustic wave probe is Enx, the element pitch is Ep (mm), the photoacoustic measurement is integrated Mn times, and the emission frequency of the laser light source is LHz (Hz). In order to simplify the explanation, it is assumed that the integration number Mn is a multiple of the element number Enx. At this time, the scanning speed Vx (mm / sec) in the main scanning direction of the measurement system (acoustic wave probe and laser light source) is calculated by Equation (1), and the number of scans Sn is calculated by Equation (2).
Vx = Ep × LHz (1)
Sn = Mn / Enx (2)

In the case of the present embodiment, the number of elements Enx in the main scanning direction of the acoustic wave probe 104 is 5 elements, and the cumulative number Mn is set to 10 times. When the element is moved element by element, the number of scanning times Sn is calculated as 2 from the equation (2). That is, if the acoustic wave probe is reciprocated once, integration can be performed 10 times. Further, since the element pitch Ep is 2 mm and the light emission frequency LHz of the laser light source is 10 Hz, the scanning speed Vx of the measurement system at the time of measurement is 20 (mm / sec) from Equation (1).
The scanning speed Vx and the number of times of scanning Sn obtained as described above are used in calculation of a scanning area and determination of a measurement order, which will be described later. The apparatus control unit at this time corresponds to the speed calculation means of the present invention.

  If the target is an ultrasonic measurement device rather than a photoacoustic device, the scanning speed and the number of scans in the main scanning direction for realizing the number of integrations are determined according to the beam forming ability rather than the light emission frequency. good. That is, the scanning speed of the probe can be calculated based on the driving frequency and the element pitch of the acoustic wave probe.

In more complicated conditions, for example, when the number of times of integration Mn is smaller than the number of elements Enx in the main scanning direction, or when it is a multiple of a value smaller than Enx, the number of times of accumulation per round trip of the probe becomes smaller. In this case, when the amount of movement of the acoustic probe is determined, the scanning speed can be set high if scanning is performed while shifting by two pixels or more per unit time. The moving speed of the acoustic probe is not limited to the method exemplified in this embodiment, and various algorithms for adjusting the scanning speed can be applied depending on the measurement conditions and the apparatus configuration.
Since the purpose of the scanning speed calculation function in this embodiment is to obtain the probe moving speed for measurement, the reference parameters and algorithms are not limited to those described in this case.

(Calculation of inclusion area)
Subsequently, the apparatus control unit 107 calculates an inclusion area that includes all of the specified measurement instruction areas (step S2). Among the plurality of measurement instruction areas, a measurement instruction area located in the outermost shell is specified, and a rectangle circumscribing the measurement instruction area of the outermost shell is obtained as an inclusion area.
FIG. 5 shows an image of the inclusion area. In FIG. 5, a rectangle 504 is an inclusion area calculated from the measurement instruction areas 401, 402, and 403. In this way, when the measurement instruction area is rectangular, each side of all measurement instruction areas is extended, and the outermost side in each of the upper, lower, left, and right sides is selected to form a rectangle.

(Processing for each stripe)
Next, the apparatus control unit 107 divides the inclusion region into stripes (step S3). Here, the stripe refers to an area where photoacoustic measurement is performed by moving an acoustic probe and a laser light source (also referred to as a measurement system) in the main scanning direction. In this embodiment, the size at which the photoacoustic signal can be acquired by one laser emission is the size of the entire element region of the acoustic wave probe. Actually, the area where the photoacoustic measurement is performed is a three-dimensional area including the depth direction, but unless otherwise specified, the plane where the area where the photoacoustic measurement is performed is cut out in a plane parallel to the scanning of the measurement system. Is expressed as a stripe.
FIG. 6 shows an example of area division based on the stripe size. Reference numerals 601a and 601b are divided regions in stripe units of the inclusion region 504, respectively.

Next, an area that must be measured (designated measurement area) is necessarily detected to include the measurement instruction area designated by the user for each area cut out in stripe units (step S4). At this time, contact determination between the target stripe and the measurement instruction area is performed, and a portion where both overlap is determined to be the designated measurement area.
Furthermore, at this time, even if the part where the target stripe is in contact with the measurement instruction area is a part of the total width area (stripe height) in the sub-scanning direction of the stripe, the area corresponding to the stripe height is specified and measured. It is determined as an area. For example, in FIG. 6, the stripe 601a and the measurement instruction area 401 overlap only in the height of the measurement instruction area 401, and is lower than the height of the stripe 601a. However, even in this case, the height of the designated measurement region is the height of the stripe 601a. Further, a range that is not included in the inclusion area, such as the lower part of the stripe 601b, may enter the designated measurement area.

Next, the apparatus control unit 107 divides the stripe of interest into three types of scanning regions according to the type of scanning (step S5). At this time, a determination process is performed to determine which of the following three types of scanning areas is within the stripe. Each scanning region is a unit for performing photoacoustic measurement or movement processing uniformly.
(1) The first is a continuous scanning region in which photoacoustic measurement is performed while continuously scanning the measurement system.
(2) The second is a movement area that only moves the measurement system.
(3) The third is a fixed measurement area in which measurement is performed with the measurement system stopped.

  At the time of determination, it is determined whether the specified measurement region is measured by continuous scanning or by repeating fixed measurement. If there are a plurality of designated measurement areas, it is determined whether the area between the designated measurement areas is a moving area or a continuous scanning area. The criterion is the time required for each method, and the region is determined so that the time required for the measurement and movement processing of the target stripe is shortened. The continuous scanning time is calculated from the continuous scanning speed Vx and the scanning distance, the fixed scanning time is calculated from the number of integrations and the laser irradiation frequency, and the simple movement time is calculated from a predetermined design value. The apparatus control unit at this time corresponds to the trajectory determining means of the present invention.

  An example of the determination result of the region division processing in the target stripe is shown in FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 701 denotes a target stripe. Reference numerals 702, 703, and 704 denote areas that are in contact with the target stripe 701 among the measurement instruction areas 401, 402, and 403 specified by the user. In this case, as an example of dividing the stripe, in the main scanning direction, only 702 overlaps with the stripe, 702 and 703 overlap, 703 only overlaps, none overlap, and only 704 overlaps. be able to. Or, simply, in the main scanning direction, it can be divided into a part where any measurement instruction area overlaps and a part where no measurement instruction area overlaps. In any of the division methods, the height of the designated measurement area is the stripe height.

In the example of this figure, for the designated measurement area including the measurement instruction areas 702 and 703, the continuous scanning area in which the continuous scanning is performed at one time by comparing the time when the continuous scanning is performed and when the fixed measurement is repeated. 705. Here, in the case of repeating the fixed measurement, in addition to the photoacoustic measurement time corresponding to the set number of times of integration, the movement time between the fixed measurement regions is also required. In addition, since the width of the fixed measurement region is constant, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that a portion (for example, a moving region) that is not included in the designated measurement region may be measured.
On the other hand, the designated measurement area including the right measurement instruction area 704 is a fixed measurement area 706. As illustrated, based on the width of the acoustic probe, the width of the region 704 in the main scanning direction is included in the width of the fixed measurement region 706 (in other words, the width of the element surface of the acoustic probe). There is no need for continuous scanning.
The remaining portion that is not included in the continuous scanning region 705 or the fixed measurement region 706 is a moving region.
The processes in steps S4 and S5 are repeated for all stripes, and the entire inclusion area is divided.

(Determination of scanning trajectory)
After completing the area dividing process for all the stripes, the apparatus control unit 107 determines the measurement execution order for each of the divided scanning areas (step S6). The criterion for determination is a reduction in the total measurement time. Specifically, the execution order is determined so that the movement distance of the measurement system, particularly the movement distance other than the measurement, is shortened. For example, the distance between the designated measurement areas detected in step S4 may be obtained, and the measurement may be performed in ascending order of the movement distance. For example, when the measurement is started from the upper left in the inclusion region of the embodiment, the scanning is first started from the continuous scanning region 705 and the scanning region close to the end point of 705 is measured next.

Next, a list of measurement trajectories is created according to the execution order. In the measurement trajectory list, at least measurement start coordinates, measurement information (whether continuous scanning measurement or fixed measurement), and information on the scanning distance in the case of continuous scanning are stored as one set and information listed in the order of measurement execution is stored. .
The photoacoustic apparatus refers to the measurement trajectory list determined in the above procedure, acquires the acoustic wave while moving the measurement system under the control of the light source driving unit 106 and the probe driving unit 105, and executes the measurement (step) S7).

As described above, the photoacoustic apparatus according to the present embodiment divides the measurement target so as to include all the plurality of designated measurement areas on the reference image, and automatically moves the measurement system (measurement execution). Order) and make photoacoustic measurements. This provides an improved device so that the user does not need to be aware of the scan trajectory and can concentrate on the region of interest specification.
Further, the photoacoustic apparatus of the present embodiment calculates the continuous scanning speed based on the measurement condition setting, divides the scanning region using the time required for measurement as the determination condition, and sets the moving distance other than the measurement as the determination condition. Calculate the scanning trajectory. This makes it possible to calculate a trajectory that can be efficiently scanned based on the measurement instruction areas designated at a plurality of locations, and to shorten the measurement time.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100: Photoacoustic measuring device, 104: Acoustic wave probe, 105: Probe drive part, 107: Apparatus control part, 109: Signal processing part, 200: Photoacoustic system operation apparatus, 201: Area | region designation | designated part

The present invention relates to an acoustic wave acquiring equipment.

The present invention employs the following configuration. That is, a probe that measures an acoustic wave propagating from a subject, a scanning unit that scans the probe, a region designation unit that receives designation of a plurality of regions of interest in the subject, and a plurality of regions of interest based on the position, an acoustic wave acquisition apparatus characterized by having a decision control means and the type of track with the scanning of time of scanning the probe by prior Symbol scanning means.

Claims (10)

A probe for measuring an acoustic wave propagating from the subject;
Scanning means for moving the probe;
Region designation means for receiving designation of a plurality of regions of interest in a subject;
Based on the positions of the plurality of regions of interest, determine a plurality of designated measurement regions that are regions where the probe measures acoustic waves, and the trajectory when the probe moves by the scanning means, Orbit determination means for determining based on the positions of a plurality of designated measurement areas;
An acoustic wave acquisition apparatus comprising: The acoustic wave acquisition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a region included in the plurality of regions of interest is included in any of the plurality of designated measurement regions. The scanning unit is configured to move the probe in a main scanning direction and a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction in an inclusion region that is a region including all of the plurality of regions of interest.
The trajectory determining means divides a stripe, which is a rectangular region formed by movement of the probe in the main scanning direction, into a region including the region of interest and a region not including the region of interest, and the region including the region of interest is subjected to the designated measurement. The acoustic wave acquisition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acoustic wave acquisition apparatus is an area.   The designated measurement area includes a continuous scanning area in which the acoustic wave is measured while moving the probe by the scanning unit, and a fixed measurement area in which the acoustic wave is measured by stopping the probe. The acoustic wave acquisition apparatus according to claim 3. The trajectory determination means shortens a measurement time consisting of a time required for movement and measurement in the continuous scanning region, a time required for measurement in the fixed measurement region, and a time required for movement between the plurality of designated measurement regions. Thus, the acoustic wave acquisition apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the trajectory is determined. The trajectory determining means determines an order of measuring the plurality of designated measurement regions so that a moving distance of the probe is shortened, and determines the trajectory using the order. 5. The acoustic wave acquisition device according to 5. Based on at least information related to the element of the probe, further comprising a speed calculating means for calculating a moving speed of the probe in the continuous scanning region,
The acoustic wave acquisition apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the trajectory determination unit obtains a time required for movement and measurement in the continuous scanning region using the calculated speed. The acoustic wave propagating from the subject is a photoacoustic wave generated from the subject irradiated with light,
The acoustic wave acquisition apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the speed calculation unit calculates the moving speed from a frequency of the light and an element pitch in a main scanning direction of the probe. The acoustic wave propagating from the subject is a reflection of the acoustic wave transmitted from the probe to the subject,
The acoustic wave acquisition apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the speed calculation unit calculates the moving speed from a driving frequency of the probe and an element pitch in a main scanning direction of the probe. A probe measuring an acoustic wave propagating from the subject;
Scanning means for moving the probe;
A region designation means receiving designation of a plurality of regions of interest in the subject;
When trajectory determining means determines a plurality of designated measurement areas, which are areas where the probe measures acoustic waves, based on the positions of the plurality of regions of interest, and the probe moves by the scanning means Determining a trajectory of the plurality of designated measurement areas based on the positions of the plurality of designated measurement areas;
An acoustic wave acquisition method comprising:

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