JP3099900B2 - Ultrasound diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[Object of the invention]

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a medical ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and, more particularly, to annotation such as the name of each part, a measurement result, and a marker on a diagnostic image formed based on an echo wave of an ultrasonic signal. The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a mechanism for overwriting and displaying data such as data.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the application of ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses to the medical field has been remarkable, and is often used in daily medical treatment. For this reason, it is important how the diagnostic images obtained on the TV monitor can be recorded and filed quickly and without waste. Therefore, when a diagnostic image is obtained on a TV monitor, it is usually convenient to overwrite the image with data such as annotations and measurement results from the beginning, and take the overwritten diagnostic image on a photograph or a video printer.

To perform this overwriting, a frame memory (also referred to as an image memory) and a character memory having a storage area corresponding to each pixel of the TV monitor on a one-to-one basis are provided as memories for supplying image signals to the TV monitor. It has a memory (also called a graphic memory). An image signal of an echo image obtained from an echo wave of an ultrasonic wave radiated toward a diagnosis target of a living body is stored in a frame memory corresponding to each pixel of the TV monitor, and is output based on an operator's request. Further, an image signal of overwriting data such as an annotation, a marker, and auto data is stored in a character memory. Then, the data of both memories is added for each corresponding memory address and then sent to a TV monitor for display.

[0005]

However, in the above-described prior art, the display state of the image at the same diagnostic position is changed from the state in which annotation or the like is overwritten on the echo image of the TV monitor (specifically, Zoom in, zoom out,
In addition to the movement, the diagnostic depth, the display position on the monitor screen, etc. are changed), the position of the overwrite data is maintained at the original position on the screen. I will. To explain this problem specifically, when only the echo image is reduced and moved from the state where the annotation (RV, LV, AO, LA) is overwritten on the echo image of the heart part as shown in FIG. As a result, a displacement of the annotation occurs as shown in FIG. For this reason, it is necessary to change the position of the overwrite data in the changed monitor image, and there is a problem that the trouble of rewriting is very troublesome and the efficiency of recording the diagnostic image is reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem of the prior art, and even when the display state of an echo image is changed from the state in which annotation or the like is overwritten,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of efficiently recording a monitor image by preventing a position of an overwrite display on an echo image from shifting.

[Configuration of the Invention]

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an ultrasonic image obtained by ultrasonic echo waves reflected from a living body and an annotation corresponding to the ultrasonic image are digitally recorded. In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that superimposes by a typical signal processing and displays the superimposed image on a display means, at least one of enlargement, reduction, and movement of the display state of the ultrasonic image is changed. Display state changing means, and data changing means for changing the display position of the annotation displayed superimposed on the display means to a position corresponding to the display state of the image based on an input to the display state changing means. Converting the digital data obtained by superimposing the annotation and ultrasonic image changed by the data changing means into an analog signal and outputting the analog signal. Characterized by comprising a digital / analog converter. According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that superimposes an ultrasonic image obtained by an ultrasonic echo wave reflected from a living body and an annotation corresponding to the ultrasonic image and displays the superimposed image on a display unit. , An image memory for storing the ultrasonic image, a character memory for storing annotation information, and a display state for changing at least one of enlargement, reduction, and movement of the display state of the ultrasonic image Change means; means for performing at least one of enlargement, reduction, and movement of the image in the image memory based on an input to the display state change means; and input means for the display state change means. Data change means for changing the display position of the annotation stored in the character memory to a position corresponding to the display state of the ultrasonic image. Characterized in that it was.

[0009]

As described above, when superimposing data such as the name of a diagnosis target is superimposed on an image obtained by an ultrasonic echo wave and displayed, the display state of enlargement, reduction, and movement of a target portion of the image is changed. If there is, the display position of the overwrite data is also changed based on this change result, so that there is no shift between the image obtained by the ultrasonic echo wave and the superimposition position of the overwrite data. Further, the labor for rewriting the overwrite data as in the conventional case is eliminated, the operation labor of the operator is remarkably reduced, and the recording of the diagnostic image is extremely easy and efficient.

[0010]

[0011]

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is used in contact with a living body 1, and has a probe 2 having a piezoelectric vibrator, an electric pulse transmitted to the probe 2, and a signal transmitted from the probe 2 to the probe 2. And a switch panel 4 connected to the device main body 3 and a CRT 5 as a TV monitor.

The switch panel 4 includes various switches that are manually operated by an operator, and includes switches related to image display such as a normal mode, an enlargement mode, a reduction mode, and a movement mode, including driving and stopping of the apparatus. A signal SS and a switch signal CR relating to overwriting data (including position data of overwriting) such as annotations can be output.

The apparatus main body 3 includes a main CPU (central processing unit) 10 which receives the switch signal SS from the switch panel 4 and performs the processing shown in FIG. And the transmission / reception circuit 11
A / D (analog / digital) converter 1
2. It has a structure in which a digital scan converter 13, an echo image display control circuit 14, and a frame memory 15 are sequentially connected. The transmission / reception circuit 11 includes a CP
Under the control of U10, the probe 2 is electronically scanned, for example, by a sector method. For this reason, an ultrasonic pulse signal related to sector scanning is emitted from the probe 2 toward the diagnosis target portion of the living body 1, and an echo wave reflected from the target portion is converted into an electric signal and supplied to the transmission / reception circuit 11. Is done. The transmission / reception circuit 11 converts the input echo wave electric signal into an A / D signal.
Digital scan converter 13 via converter 12
To supply.

The digital scan converter 13 has a C
Under the control of the PU 10, a digital output signal of the A / D converter 12, that is, an image signal of a sector scanning system is converted into an image signal of an interlace scanning system, for example. 14 is output. The echo image display control circuit 14 has a function of a local CPU, receives a control signal DF for image display such as screen enlargement, reduction, and movement supplied from the CPU 10, and outputs an image signal in accordance with the control signal DF. After processing, the processed image signal is output to the frame memory 15. The frame memory 15 stores one pixel for each pixel of the CRT 5.
Since it has a memory configuration corresponding to one-to-one, an echo image can be formed on the CRT 5 with its stored contents as it is.

The apparatus main body 3 includes a switch panel 4
A character generator 16 for inputting the switch signal CR from the
Are connected to a character display control circuit 17 and a character memory 18. Character generator 16
Outputs overwrite data cr including font data such as characters and symbols corresponding to the switch input signal CR to the character display control circuit 17. The character display control circuit 17 has a circuit configuration functioning as one local CPU 17, and receives echo image change data D (described later) from the main CPU 10.
C is input via the bus, and the processing of FIG. 4 described later is performed.
That is, the control circuit 17 performs the processing of FIG. 4 so that when the change data DC is off, the overwriting data c
r is written in the designated position of the character memory 18 and formatted. On the other hand, when the change data DC is input, the position where the overwrite data cr should be stored is calculated again in accordance with the data content, and the character memory 18 is rewritten. Is rewritten. The character memory 18 has a frame memory.
Like the memory 15, each pixel of the CRT 5 has a one-to-one memory configuration.

Further, the apparatus main body 3 has an adder circuit 19 for reading out the contents of both the frame memory 15 and the character memory 18 individually and adding them for each data corresponding to each pixel of the CRT 5, and an adder circuit 19. A D / A converter 20 for D / A (digital / analog) conversion of the 19 added data is provided, and the output of the converter 20 is sent to the CRT 5. For this reason, the CRT 5 has the two memories 1
5 and 18 can be displayed in a superimposed state.

Here, the processing performed by the main CPU 10 will be described with reference to FIG. This process is performed by a timer interrupt at fixed time intervals.

First, in step 101, the CPU 10 reads the switch signal SS, stores the contents thereof, and performs the processing of step 102. In step 102, the CPU 1
0 determines whether or not to change the display state of the echo image based on the read content of step 101 (whether or not the mode is the normal mode). This process also determines the timing for changing the display format of the overwrite data such as annotation, and the specific criteria are enlargement, reduction,
This is based on the change of the depth of diagnosis, the change of the image format (switching of image mode, etc.), including the movement of the display position. If the determination in step 102 is NO, the normal mode is designated, and it is recognized that there is no need to change the position or the like of the overwrite data, and the processing in steps 103 and 104 is performed. In step 103, a write position of an image signal in the frame memory 15 in the normal mode is calculated, and in step 104, a write control signal DF based on the calculation information in step 103 is converted into an echo image display control circuit 14. Send to Therefore, the display control circuit 14
Writes a normal mode image signal to the frame memory 15.

On the other hand, if YES in step 102, the display mode desired by the operator is determined from the switch signal SS in step 105, and further, in step 106, the writing change to the frame memory 15 corresponding to the desired display mode is performed. Data is calculated.

Next, the CPU 10 executes steps 107, 1
08 is output. In step 107,
A write control signal DF based on the operation data DC in step 106 is output to the echo image display control circuit 14. As a result, the image signal is written into the frame memory 15 in response to the display change command from the operator. In step 108, the operation data DC in step 106 is transferred to the character display control circuit 17 as echo image change data.

Further, the processing performed by the character display control circuit 17 will be described with reference to FIG. This process is also executed by a timer interrupt at fixed time intervals.

The character display control circuit 17 first executes step 1
At 21, the echo image change data DC from the main CPU 10 is read, and the routine proceeds to step 122. In step 122, the read data DC in step 121 is read.
It is determined from the presence or absence of whether or not the position, size, etc. of the overwrite display should be changed, and if YES, the process proceeds to step 123.

In step 123, the overwriting data cr displayed at that time is read. Thereafter, in step 124, it is determined whether or not the overwriting display is performed based on the presence or absence of the read data in step 123.

If the determination in step 124 is YES, the process proceeds to step 125, where the control circuit 17 determines whether the input data DC in step 121, that is, the frame memory 1
Based on the change data relating to the writing in step 5, change data such as position information for rewriting the overwrite data cr in the character memory 18 is calculated. Then step 1
The process proceeds to step S26, where the contents stored in the character memory 18 are rewritten according to the calculation data in step S125. On the other hand, if NO in step 124, it means that the operator has erased the overwrite display by operating the switch on the switch panel, or the operator has not yet performed the overwrite display. And return to the main program.

On the other hand, if the determination in step 122 is NO, it is recognized that the display position of the overwrite data is not to be changed, and the processing from step 127 is performed.
The processing after step 127 is for overwriting annotations or the like normally. First, step 127
And overwrite data c from character generator 16
Then, it is determined whether or not overwriting is performed by inputting r and determining whether or not the overwriting data cr has been input in step 128. When the determination is NO, the process returns to the main program, but when the determination is YES, the processes of steps 129 and 130 are performed. In step 129, the display position of the overwrite data cr is calculated from the input data and formatted. In step 130, the overwrite data cr is written in the character memory 18 based on the formatted position data.

As described above, the character display control circuit 17 performs a step 12 instead of the overwrite processing in the steps 127 to 130.
The process of changing the display position of 1-126 is prioritized.

In this embodiment, the overwriting data for controlling the display format by the character display control circuit 17 includes character data such as markers, measurement results, measurement marks, and auto data in addition to the annotation of the diagnostic part. included.

[0030]

Next, the overall operation of this embodiment will be described. An example in which overwritten data is an annotation will be described.

Now, as shown in FIG. 5A, the probe 2
The image signal of the heart tomography obtained by operating
The memory 15 stores the annotation data cr of each part as overwrite data in the character memory 18 by operating the switch panel 4. The data stored in the memories 15 and 18 are added to the addition circuit 19 and It is assumed that the display is superimposed on the CRT 5 via the D / A converter 20. The annotations in FIG. 5 are the same as those in FIG.

In this state, it is assumed that the operator operates a switch related to "enlargement and movement" in the switch panel 4 in order to enlarge a target portion of the image and display the enlarged image at a position closer to the right. By this switch operation, the CPU 10 causes steps 101, 102, 10 of FIG.
The process of step 5 is performed, and the process reaches step 106. In step 106, data DC indicating how much the image is enlarged and moved is calculated. Since the echo image display control circuit 14 operates based on the calculation data DC (step 10).
7) The data stored in the frame memory 15 is rewritten for each pixel according to the desired enlargement and movement of the image.

At the same time, the character display control circuit 17
By performing the processing of steps 121 and 122 in FIG. 4, it is determined whether or not the display state of the echo image is changed (in this case, enlarged or moved). Then, when the echo image is changed, it is further determined by the processing of steps 123 and 124 whether or not the annotation is displayed. If the annotation is displayed in this determination, it is naturally recognized that the movement or the like is necessary. For this reason, the control circuit 17 calculates the enlargement of the target part of the echo image and the change data (position and size) of the annotation corresponding to the movement data DC (step 12).
5) Then, the data stored in the character memory 18 is rewritten for each pixel by the changed data (step 126).

Therefore, a composite image on the CRT 5 on which the contents stored in the memories 15 and 18 are superimposed is shown in FIG. 5B. That is, the annotation (RV, LV, AO,
LA) also moves, and the display position of the annotation is always optimally controlled. This optimal control is the same when the image is reduced or when the image is simply moved.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the position and size of overwrite data such as annotations are always automatically controlled optimally in response to the change of the echo image. Is significantly reduced as compared with the related art, and the recording time of the diagnostic image is also significantly reduced.

In the above embodiment, the main CP
The processing allotment of the U10 and the character display control circuit 17 is not necessarily limited to those shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, but may be another appropriate allotment.

FIG. 6B shows an M-mode image / image obtained by changing the image format from the B-mode image shown in FIG.
Another example in which a B-mode image is simultaneously displayed is shown, in which the position change control of the annotation is applied to the B-mode image.

[0039]

According to the present invention, it is possible to display an ultrasonic image obtained based on an ultrasonic echo signal by superimposing an annotation such as a name of a diagnostic part on an ultrasonic image. In addition, when the ultrasonic image is enlarged, reduced, or moved, the display position of the annotation is also changed in accordance with the change, so that a shift between the ultrasonic image and the annotation can be prevented. This makes it possible to clearly identify a diagnosis site, and to easily and efficiently record a diagnosis image.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram corresponding to a claim according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart illustrating a processing example of a main CPU.

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart illustrating a processing example of a character display control circuit.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are explanatory diagrams showing display examples on a screen according to the embodiment.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are explanatory diagrams showing display examples on a screen according to another embodiment.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are explanatory diagrams showing display examples on a screen according to the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 probe 3 device body 4 switch panel 5 CRT 10 CPU 11 transmission / reception circuit 12 A / D converter 13 digital scan converter 14 echo image display control circuit 15 frame memory 16 character generator 17 character display control circuit 18 character・ Memory 19 Addition circuit 20 D / A converter

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-50-104986 (JP, A) JP-A-2-23950 (JP, A) JP-A-57-182164 (JP, U)

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ultrasonic image obtained by an ultrasonic echo wave reflected from a living body and an annotation corresponding to the ultrasonic image are superimposed by digital signal processing.
In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that displays the superimposed image on a display unit, a display state change unit for changing at least one of enlargement, reduction, and movement of the display state of the ultrasonic image, based on the input to the display state change means, and a data changing means for changing the display position of the annotation to be displayed superimposed on said display means at positions corresponding to the display state of the image is changed by the data changing means With annotations
Digital data with superimposed ultrasound images
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: digital / analog conversion means for converting a signal into a signal and outputting the converted signal . 2. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus which superimposes an ultrasonic image obtained by an ultrasonic echo wave reflected from a living body and an annotation corresponding to the ultrasonic image and displays the superimposed image on a display means, wherein: An image memory for storing information, a character memory for storing annotation information, a display state changing means for changing at least one of enlargement, reduction, and movement of the display state of the ultrasonic image, and the display Means for performing at least one of enlargement, reduction, and movement of the image in the image memory based on an input to the state changing means; and a character memory based on an input to the display state changing means. Data changing means for changing the display position of the stored annotation to a position corresponding to the display state of the ultrasonic image. And the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.