JP2633564B2 - Ultrasound diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Purpose of the Invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention is an improvement of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus used in the field of medical diagnosis, particularly, an improvement in a method of displaying patient information and the like. The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

(Prior Art) Some conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses include, when displaying patient information on a monitor, an edge of a monitor image and an image for preventing the patient information from overlapping an ultrasonic image. Some are displayed in an area that does not overlap with the area. On the other hand, in the case of video recording of a VTR, every time a patient changes, patient information or the like is written in the center of the VTR screen as a title relating to the patient, and this written information is used as a means for patient identification. I have.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having the former display format, for example, if the edge of the screen is chipped when the VTR is reproduced, the patient information is accordingly generated. Is caused to disappear. Also,
In a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that uses the title displayed at the center of the VTR screen as a means for identifying a patient, the title overlaps the ultrasound image at the center of the screen, and the character has the same size as a normal character. However, since the characters constituting the title are difficult to see, it is difficult to identify the patient information. Therefore, there is a need for improvement measures for these disadvantages.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a novel ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of displaying only patient information and the like on a monitor and enlarging display characters as necessary. And

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) A structure of the present invention for achieving this object is to provide an ultrasonic image in which input information from an ultrasonic probe is imaged and ultrasonic image information is output. Generating means, an input operation unit for inputting character information, a character display control unit for converting an input signal from the input operation unit into an image and outputting character image information, and expanding the character image information to enlarge character image information A character enlargement unit that outputs a character information, a patient information etc. generating unit having a changeover switch for selectively outputting the character image information and the enlarged character image information, and character image information or enlarged characters output from the patient information etc. generating unit. There is provided a display unit for superimposing and displaying the image information and the ultrasonic image information, and an image blanking unit for interrupting the transfer of the ultrasonic image information to the display unit.

(Operation) An effect of the present invention based on this configuration is that when only input information such as patient information is displayed, signal transmission from the ultrasonic image generating means to the display means is interrupted. In addition, the display characters can be enlarged as needed.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on one embodiment shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is an appropriate ultrasonic probe, 2 is an ultrasonic image generator (means) for generating an ultrasonic image based on a received signal from the probe 1, and 3 is a monitor as a display means. It is configured such that a user can realize a known ultrasonic image display function.
Reference numeral 4 denotes an image blanking unit as an image blanking means provided between the ultrasonic image generating unit 2 and the monitor 3.
A switch is used to turn off signal transmission from the ultrasonic image generator 2 when displaying patient information described later.

5 is an input operation unit for inputting character information such as patient information including a title, for example, and 6 is a character display control unit as a patient information etc. generating unit for imaging processing of an input signal from the operation unit 5. Appropriate means is provided so that the input signal can be displayed on the monitor 3 as a character image having a normal character size, for example. Reference numeral 7 denotes a character magnifier for processing the character image information from the control unit 6 into enlarged character information. Reference numeral 8 denotes an appropriate changeover switch which can be manually switched. The output from the character display control unit 6 and the character enlargement unit 7 And the output from the monitor 3 can be selectively introduced to the monitor 3 via the connector 9. Reference numeral 10 denotes an input buffer unit connected to the character display control unit 6, which holds character information from the control unit 6 or holds character information and the like prepared in advance, and for example, stores character information and the like in a normal manner. It is configured to be able to switch and display from the display position to the center position of the screen.

Next, the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having this configuration will be described.

In the normal use state, the image blanking switch 4 is in the ON state and the changeover switch 8 is connected to the character display control unit 6 as shown in FIG.
Is displayed in a state where the ultrasonic image from the ultrasonic image generator 2 and the character image of the normal size from the character display controller 6 are displayed in a superimposed manner (normal patient information display mode).

When only the patient information is to be displayed, the image blanking switch 4 is turned off (blanking state).
To shift to a state where only the character image is displayed on the monitor screen. In this state, if the input operation unit 5 is operated to input target patient information and the like, the input information is image-processed in the character display control unit 6 and is displayed alone on the monitor 3 as a normal size character image. Will be. In this case, if the changeover switch 8 is connected to the character enlarging section 7 in advance, an enlarged character image can be displayed. Incidentally, when character information is held in the input buffer unit 10, the character image is enlarged by an appropriate means in advance so that the character image can be displayed at the center of the monitor screen with priority given thereto. And

As described above, in the present invention, when displaying character information or the like, an ultrasonic image is not displayed on a monitor, so that character information or the like can be read clearly. In this case, if the display characters are enlarged and displayed, this effect is doubled. Furthermore, in the embodiment in which the character information to be displayed is displayed at the center of the monitor screen, even if the "shift" phenomenon of the screen at the time of recording / playback occurs, it is not affected by the phenomenon. Effect can be expected. In addition, since these operations can be performed by a simple operation of switching a switch, the operability is also improved.

Although one embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, information input from the input operation unit is not limited to character information, and may be, for example, a figure, an instruction mark, or the like.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, when the present invention is used, only the patient information and the like can be displayed on the monitor, and the displayed characters can be enlarged as necessary, so that the character information and the like can be clearly read. It is possible to realize a novel ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of performing the above.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ultrasonic probe, 2 ... Ultrasonic image generation part, 3 ... Monitor, 4 ... Image blanking switch, 5 ... Input operation part, 6 ... Character display control part, 7 ... Character enlargement Section, 8: Changeover switch, 10: Input buffer.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ultrasonic image generating means for imaging input information from an ultrasonic probe to output ultrasonic image information, an input operation unit for inputting character information, and an input signal from the input operation unit A character display control unit for converting the character image information into an image and outputting the character image information, a character enlargement unit for enlarging the character image information and outputting the enlarged character image information, and selectively outputting the character image information and the enlarged character image information Means for generating patient information or the like having a changeover switch; display means for superimposing and displaying the character image information or enlarged character image information output from the patient information or the like generation means and the ultrasonic image information; An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: an image blanking unit that can interrupt transfer of ultrasonic image information. 2. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said patient information generating means includes an input buffer for storing patient information and the like.