JP2690750B2 - Ultrasound diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and particularly to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of obtaining a good tomographic image for an organ having a fast-moving part such as a heart. Regarding the device.

(Prior art)

The conventionally known scan correlation circuit (SCC) of the ultrasonic diagnostic equipment feeds back the data one phase earlier to the current phase at a uniform rate for each pixel of the display image. It created a smooth, easy-to-see image. Specifically, the current phase data is Dnew,
When the data one phase before is Dold, the data D is expressed in the form of D = aDnew + bDold / a + b in the case of the ratio of Dnew: Dold = a: b.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the scan correlation circuit of the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, for an organ having a fast-moving part,
Since the data of the previous phase and the data of the current phase are mixed,
There was a problem that the image of the fast-moving part was blurred or doubled.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems.

An object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of smoothly and well connecting to an organ having a fast-moving portion, and moreover clearly displaying an image of the fast-moving portion.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention are as follows.
It will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a probe that emits an ultrasonic wave into a living body and converts the reflected wave into an electric signal, and a received electric signal received by the probe. A reflection echo detection unit for detecting, an analog / digital converter for converting the detected electric signal into a digital signal, and a scan correlation circuit for processing the digital signal so that it looks like a well-connected and easy-to-see image when displayed, An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus including an image display memory, a display circuit for converting a digital signal into a signal suitable for a display monitor, and a display monitor for displaying the signal is effective for a fast-moving organ. The main feature is that a scan correlation circuit is provided in which the proportion of scan correlation changes depending on the difference in signal level.

[Action]

According to the above-described means, the values of the data of the current phase and the data of the previous phase are compared at any time, and if the difference is larger than a certain reference value, only the current phase data is output without feedback and the reference value is output. When it is smaller than the value, feedback is applied, and the current phase data and the data one phase before are added at a certain ratio and output. Thereby, the signal obtained from the fast moving part of the organ having the fast moving part, that is,
Signals having a large difference in data for each time phase are displayed with the current time phase data, so that the image is not blurred or doubled. In addition, regarding a signal obtained from a slow-moving part of the organ, that is, a signal with a small difference in data for each temporal phase, the data of the current temporal phase is mixed with the data of the preceding temporal phase, so that it is smooth and easy to see. The image is displayed.
Due to the function of the scan correlation circuit (SCC) of the comparison type at any time, it is possible to display clearly and clearly the fast-moving part and the slow-moving part in a smooth and easy-to-view manner with respect to an organ having a fast-moving part. Becomes

(Example of the invention)

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

In all the drawings for describing the embodiments, components having the same function are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their repeated description will be omitted.

[Example I]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic circuit configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a scan correlation circuit according to a first embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 2 shows a ROM (Read On) in the scan correlation circuit of FIG.
It is a figure which shows an example of the data conversion table currently written in ly Memory.

In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having the scan correlation circuit according to the present embodiment I, as shown in FIG. 1, the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave received by the probe 1 is detected by the reflected echo detecting section 2 and analog / digital ( It is converted into a digital signal by the A / D) converter 3 and stored in the image memory 5.

In this embodiment I, a scan correlation circuit 4 is provided in the preceding stage of the image memory 5, and the scan correlation circuit 4 receives the output of the image memory 5 and a new input, and receives the data before the temporary phase at the same position on the tomographic image. And the current data are correlated.

The range of the data value of the scan correlation circuit 4 is from O to F (10
If there is a difference of 4 or more between the data before the temporary phase and the data of the current phase, it is assumed that the data change is rapid (organ movement is fast). Area α
In the part corresponding to, there is no difference of 4 or more between the data before the temporary phase (old data) and the data at the current phase (new data), so it is assumed that the movement of organs is slow and the old data is a certain ratio to the new data. To feed back and output. In the area β, since there is a difference of 4 or more between the old data and the new data, the new data is output as it is, assuming that the organ moves fast. As a result, an image that is easy to see can be obtained even for a fast-moving organ.

(Example II)

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic circuit configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a scan correlation circuit according to Example II of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having the scan correlation circuit of the present Example II is provided with a plurality of scan correlation circuits 4 of the above Example I. Scan correlation circuit
Reference numerals 4a to 4d are ROMs in which various scan correlation conversion tables are recorded, and perform correlation between the data before the temporary phase and the current data at the same position on the tomographic image. Then, the control unit 8 selects any one of the scan correlation circuits 4a to 4d.

Here, the data conversion table of the scan correlation circuit 4a feeds back all data at a constant rate, and the scan correlation circuit 4b does not feed back when there is a difference of 5 or more, but does not feed back to the portion below it. Only the one that feeds back at a constant rate, the scan correlation circuit 4c does not feed back when the data difference is 10 or more, and the one that feeds back at a certain rate only to the portion below it, the scan correlation circuit 4d If the data is output as it is without any feedback, the data conversion table can be selected according to the tomographic image to be displayed, and the display that is easiest to see and suitable for diagnosis can be obtained.

(Example III)

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic circuit configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a scan correlation circuit according to Example III of the present invention.

The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having the scan correlation circuit of the present Example III, as shown in FIG. 4, subtracts the old data from the new data by the subtractor 8a to detect the difference component of the data,
An image correction value (corresponding to the above-mentioned feedback amount) is set by the ROM 9 based on the difference component obtained by the subtracter 8a. The adder 8b adds both the new data and the output of the ROM 9. The result obtained by the adder 8b is stored in the image memory 5 as the data subjected to the scan correlation (SCC) process and is displayed on the display monitor 7.

With such a configuration, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

(Example IV)

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic circuit configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a scan correlation circuit according to Example IV of the present invention,
6 and 7 are diagrams for explaining the scan correlation processing of the present embodiment IV.

In the above-described embodiment, the embodiment of the scan correlation processing of new data 1 pixel (pixel) is described with respect to the pixel 1 pixel (pixel) after the scan correlation (SCC) processing is performed.

In this Example IV, an example of the scan correlation process using pixel data of multiple points is shown.

In FIG. 5, the image memory 5a is an image memory that does not perform image processing and stores new data. Image memory 5b
Is an image memory that stores scan-correlated data, that is, old data.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a scan correlation image weighting controller that weights scan correlation images for new data and old data at the same location on the tomographic image. The output of the scan correlation image weighting controller 10 is stored in the image memory 5b as the data subjected to the scan correlation process and, at the same time, is displayed on the monitor 7 via the display circuit 6.

In the display screen 11 of FIG. 6, when the scan correlation processing of one pixel 12 shown by the diagonal lines is performed, the correlation processing is performed using the pixel data of 3 × 3 around the pixel. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, 9 pixels (display pixels) 13 subjected to scan correlation processing
When the difference between the new data and the old data is small between the new data and the new data of 9 pixels, that is, the movement of the living body is considered to be slow, and the old data (a) and the new data as shown in (a) of FIG. The data (b) is weighted, and both are displayed on the display monitor 7, and the image memory 5
Write data to

Also, when the difference between the old data (a) and the new data (b) is large, that is, when the movement of the living body is considered to be fast,
As shown in FIG. 7B, the old data (a) and the new data (b) are weighted. That is, blurring can be reduced by reducing the influence of the old data (a) and increasing the proportion of the new data (b).

As can be seen from the above description, according to Example IV,
By using the method of scan correlation processing using multipoint data, it is possible to obtain a two-dimensionally better connected image.

The specific description has been given above based on the embodiments of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments,
It goes without saying that various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

For example, the size of the data conversion table according to the present invention can be changed according to the data of the display image, and further, the value of the difference between the data that determines whether the movement is fast or slow can be changed. Needless to say.

In addition, there are two levels of feedback amount, 3 depending on the difference of data.
It is also possible to change to a step and several steps.

Furthermore, the present invention is not only effective for smoothing a normal tomographic image, but also effective for a Doppler tomographic image that two-dimensionally displays the movement of blood flow.

Further, in the embodiment IV of the present invention, the scan correlation processing using the data of 9 pixels is described, but it is expected to be effective when the scan correlation processing is performed for more pixels or pixels in a concentric circle. To be done.

Furthermore, since the present invention is simple, SCC using ROM
Only the processing was explained, but this is RAM (Random Acce
It is also possible to perform scan correlation (SCC) processing using ss Memory) and CPU (Central Processing Unit).

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a smooth diagnostic image without blurring even for a fast-moving organ.

Further, since it is possible to display a fast-moving portion clearly and clearly and an slow-moving portion in a smooth and easy-to-view manner with respect to an organ having a fast-moving portion, it is possible to provide an image suitable for diagnosis.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic circuit configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a scan correlation circuit according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a ROM (Read On) in the scan correlation circuit shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic circuit configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a scan correlation circuit according to Example II of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic circuit configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a scan correlation circuit according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic circuit diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a scan correlation circuit according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. Block diagrams showing the configuration, FIGS. 6 and 7 are diagrams for explaining the IV scan correlation processing of the present embodiment. In the figure, 1 ... Probe, 2 ... Reflected echo detector, 3 ...
A / D converter, 4, 4a-4d ... Scan correlation processing circuit, 5, 5a,
5b ... Image memory, 6 ... Display circuit, 7 ... Display monitor, 10 ... Scan correlation image weighting controller.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A probe which emits ultrasonic waves into a living body and converts the reflected wave into an electric signal, and a reflection echo detector which detects the electric signal of the received wave received by the probe, An analog-to-digital converter that converts the detected electrical signal to a digital signal, a scan correlation circuit that processes the digital signal so that it looks like a well-connected image when it is displayed, a memory for image display, and a digital display A display circuit that converts a signal into a signal suitable for a display monitor,
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus consisting of a display monitor for displaying the signal is provided with a scan correlation circuit that is effective for fast-moving organs and that changes the scan correlation ratio depending on the signal level difference. And ultrasonic diagnostic equipment.