JP3745712B2 - Ultrasonic image forming device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an ultrasonic image forming apparatus that displays a tomographic image in a cross section arbitrarily set in a three-dimensional space.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Research and development of ultrasonic three-dimensional image forming technology is underway. One of image display methods using an ultrasonic three-dimensional image forming technique is arbitrary cross-sectional display.
[0003]
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an arbitrary cross-section display screen by a conventional ultrasonic image forming apparatus. A wire frame 82 and an ultrasonic tomographic image 84 are displayed on the screen 80. The wire frame 82 is a spatial image that three-dimensionally displays a three-dimensional space in the subject through which ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received. In the wire frame 82, a cut surface cursor 88 which is a cut surface image representing a stereoscopic image and a cut surface of the tissue 86 in the subject is provided. The cutting plane cursor 88 is set at an arbitrary inclination and position by the user. Further, an ultrasonic tomographic image 84 of the tissue 86 is displayed next to the wire frame 82. The surface on which the ultrasonic tomographic image 84 is formed corresponds to the cut surface represented by the cut surface cursor 88, and the user uses the cut surface cursor 88 to select which cut surface in the wire frame 82 the ultrasonic tomographic image 84 is. You can visually grasp whether it is formed.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional arbitrary cross-sectional display, it is difficult to grasp from which direction of the cut surface the ultrasonic tomographic image is viewed. That is, in FIG. 6, whether the ultrasonic tomographic image 84 is a tomographic image viewed from the front of the cutting plane cursor 88 (surface in the direction of arrow A) or a tomographic image viewed from the back (surface in the direction of arrow B). It was difficult to judge. Alternatively, it is difficult to determine the correspondence between the four corners of the cutting plane cursor 88 and the four corners of the ultrasonic tomographic image 84, that is, the correspondence between the top, bottom, left, and right.
[0005]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic image forming apparatus capable of visually recognizing the correspondence between the direction of a cut surface and the direction of an ultrasonic tomographic image.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, an ultrasonic image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a cutting plane setting unit that sets a cutting plane for a three-dimensional space in a subject to which ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received, and the three-dimensional Based on a reference image forming means for forming a reference image obtained by synthesizing a cut surface image representing the cut surface with respect to a spatial image representing the space in three dimensions, and a reception signal obtained by transmitting and receiving the ultrasonic wave, A tomographic image forming means for forming a tomographic image corresponding to the cut surface, and a correspondence relationship between the direction of the cut surface image and the direction of the tomographic image on the screen on which the reference image and the tomographic image are displayed to the user Display information generating means for displaying correspondence information to be visually recognized.
[0007]
According to the above configuration, it is possible to visually recognize the correspondence relationship between the orientation of the cut surface image and the direction of the tomographic image, for example, the correspondence relationship between the top, bottom, left and right, front and back, based on the correspondence relationship information.
[0008]
Desirably, the correspondence information includes a cut surface marker attached to the cut surface image and a tomographic image marker attached to the tomographic image. Thereby, it is possible to recognize the correspondence between the direction of the cut surface image and the direction of the tomographic image with a simple display such as the cut surface marker and the tomographic image marker.
[0009]
Preferably, the cut surface marker specifies one side of the cut surface image, and the tomographic image marker specifies whether the tomographic image corresponds to one side or the other side of the cut surface image. It shall be.
[0010]
Preferably, the tomographic image marker is displayed in a basic mode when the tomographic image corresponds to one side of the cut surface image, and the tomographic image marker when the tomographic image corresponds to the other side of the cut surface image. It is assumed that it is displayed in a modified form different from the basic form. Thereby, it is possible to recognize whether the tomographic image is an image on the front or back side of the cut surface image.
[0011]
Preferably, the aspect of the cut surface marker is the same as the basic aspect of the tomographic image marker, and the deformation aspect of the tomographic image marker is an aspect in which a watermark expression process is performed on the basic aspect. By making the deformation mode into a watermark expression process, that is, an expression when the tomographic image marker is viewed from the back side of the tomographic image, the front / back relationship with the basic mode can be recognized more appropriately.
[0012]
Preferably, the cut surface marker is displayed at a specific part in the cut surface image, and the tomographic image marker is displayed at a part corresponding to the specific part on the tomographic image. Thereby, it is possible to recognize the correspondence between the cut surface image and the direction of the tomographic image from the display position relationship between the cut surface marker and the tomographic image marker.
[0013]
Preferably, the specific part is a specific side or a specific corner in the cut surface image. As a result, for example, the tomographic image marker can be displayed while avoiding overlapping with the tissue image displayed at the center of the tomographic image.
[0014]
Desirably, the specific part is plural.
[0015]
Preferably, there are a plurality of cut surfaces, and further, there are a plurality of cut surface images representing the respective cut surfaces and a plurality of tomographic images corresponding to the respective cut surfaces, and a plurality of cut surfaces attached to the respective cut surface images. The markers have different shapes, and each tomographic image marker attached to each of the plurality of tomographic images is the same as the cut surface marker attached to the cut surface corresponding to the tomographic image to which the tomographic image marker is attached. Shape. By making the plurality of cut surface markers distinguishable from each other in different shapes, for example, different shapes and colors, it is possible to recognize the corresponding relationships between the plurality of tomographic images and the plurality of cut surfaces.
[0016]
Preferably, the reference image includes a tissue image that three-dimensionally represents the tissue in the three-dimensional space.
[0017]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0018]
FIG. 1 is a view showing an arbitrary cross-sectional display image by an ultrasonic image forming apparatus as an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention. An arbitrary cross-section display image 10 shown in each of FIGS. 1A and 1B includes a reference image 12 and a single tomographic image 13. The reference image 12 includes a wire frame 14 that is a spatial image that three-dimensionally represents a three-dimensional space, a cut surface cursor 16 that is a cut surface image that represents a cut surface, and a tissue image 18 that three-dimensionally represents the tissue. Thus, an ultrasonic tomographic image of the tissue at the cutting plane specified by the cutting plane cursor 16 is displayed as the tomographic image 13. The tomographic image 13 in FIG. 1A is a tomographic image obtained by viewing the cut surface cursor 16 from the direction of arrow A, and the tomographic image 13 in FIG. 1B is a tomographic image obtained by viewing the cut surface cursor 16 from the direction of arrow B. Respectively.
[0019]
A cutting plane marker 20 and a tomographic image marker 22 are attached to the cutting plane cursor 16 and the tomographic image 13, respectively. The cut surface marker 20 is provided at the corner of the cut surface cursor 16 and identifies the front side of the cut surface cursor 16 (the surface viewed from the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1). The tomographic image marker 22 is provided at a position corresponding to the position of the cutting plane marker 20 in the cutting plane cursor 16, that is, at each corner of the tomographic image 13.
[0020]
The tomographic image marker 22 attached to the tomographic image 13 in FIG. 1A is displayed in the same form and the same display manner as the cut surface marker 20. On the other hand, the tomographic image marker 22 attached to the tomographic image 13 in FIG. 1B has the same shape as the cut surface marker 20, but has a different display mode, that is, a watermark process that can be recognized from the back side. It is displayed in the form which gave. Thereby, it is visually easy that the tomographic image 13 in FIG. 1A is a tomographic image viewed from the direction of arrow A, and the tomographic image 13 in FIG. 1B is a tomographic image viewed from the direction of arrow B. Can be recognized.
[0021]
Various examples of the insertion positions and shapes of the tomographic image marker 22 and the cut surface marker 20 are conceivable. These will be described in detail later with reference to FIGS.
[0022]
FIG. 2 shows a preferred embodiment of an ultrasonic image forming apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration thereof.
[0023]
The transmission / reception unit 30 transmits ultrasonic waves to the three-dimensional space in the subject 26 via the probe 28, and acquires received wave data based on the reflected waves from the probe 28. The received data is subjected to phasing addition processing to form a reception signal and output to the signal processing unit 32. The signal processing unit 32 performs signal processing for acquiring information necessary for image display on the received signal. The signal processing unit 32 forms so-called voxel data for each minute space element in the three-dimensional space as the data after the signal processing. Each voxel data is given an address corresponding to a coordinate in the three-dimensional space, and is written in the 3D memory 34. Note that the voxel data written to the 3D memory 34 may be acquired from an external device (not shown), for example. That is, voxel data already recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk in an external device may be used. Based on the voxel data written in the 3D memory 34, the 3D image forming unit 36 and the tomographic image forming unit 38 form a predetermined ultrasonic image. The formed ultrasonic image is subjected to display processing by the display processing unit 40 and displayed on the display 42.
[0024]
The wire frame forming unit 44 forms a wire frame that is a spatial image. The wire frame visualizes a three-dimensional space in which ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received, and is represented as a cube, for example, as indicated by reference numeral 14 in FIG. The shape of the wire frame is not limited to a cube, and may be another solid that replicates a three-dimensional space in which ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received.
[0025]
The cut surface cursor forming unit 46 forms a cut surface cursor that is a cut surface image. The cutting plane cursor is a visualization of the cutting plane set by the cutting plane setting unit 48 (the cutting plane setting unit will be described in detail later). For example, as shown by reference numeral 16 in FIG. The surface is expressed as a plate. The shape is not limited to a quadrangle, but is expressed by various polygons along the extension of the wire frame as the orientation of the cut surface (the position of the cut surface in the wire frame and the direction of the normal line) changes. May be. Of course, the cut surface cursor may protrude from the wire frame.
[0026]
The reference image forming unit 50 serving as a reference image forming unit combines the wire frame formed by the wire frame forming unit 44 and the cut surface cursor formed by the cut surface cursor forming unit 46 to form a reference image. The reference image is, for example, the one indicated by reference numeral 12 in FIG. The reference image formed by the reference image forming unit 50 is output to the display processing unit 40. For example, the reference image is combined with the ultrasonic images output from the 3D image forming unit 36 and the tomographic image forming unit 38 and displayed on the display 42.
[0027]
A cutting plane setting unit 48 serving as a cutting plane setting unit sets a cutting plane within a three-dimensional space where ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received. The cut surface is determined in response to a user setting instruction via a user interface such as a drag ball (not shown). As described above, since the cut surface cursor corresponding to the cut surface is synthesized in the reference image and displayed on the display 42, the user can see the cut surface while looking at the display 42, that is, while watching the movement of the cut surface cursor in the wire frame. You can set the tilt and position.
[0028]
A tomographic image forming unit 38 which is a tomographic image forming unit forms an ultrasonic tomographic image on the cutting plane set by the cutting plane setting unit 48. That is, voxel data corresponding to the set cut plane is acquired from the 3D memory 34, and tomographic image data is formed based on the acquired voxel data. The tomographic image is not necessarily limited to a two-dimensional plane, and may be an image having a thickness perpendicular to the line-of-sight direction, for example. The formed tomographic image data is output to the display processing unit 40 and displayed on the display 42.
[0029]
The 3D image forming unit 36 forms ultrasonic three-dimensional image data based on the voxel data in the 3D memory 34, outputs it to the display processing unit 40, and displays it on the display 42. The ultrasonic three-dimensional image displayed on the display 42 may be displayed as a three-dimensional image alone, or may be synthesized with another image and output. For example, it may be output as a tissue image synthesized in the wire frame of the reference image.
[0030]
The cut surface marker forming unit 52 and the tomographic image marker forming unit 54 generate and display correspondence information for causing the user to visually recognize the correspondence between the direction of the cut surface cursor and the direction of the tomographic image. It functions as information generation means. The cut surface marker forming unit 52 forms a cut surface marker on the cut surface cursor. That is, the cut surface marker is superimposed on the cut surface cursor or in the vicinity of the cut surface cursor. In addition, the tomographic image marker forming unit 54 forms a tomographic image marker on the tomographic image. That is, the tomographic image marker is superimposed on the tomographic image or attached in the vicinity of the tomographic image. The user can visually recognize the correspondence between the directions of the cut plane cursor and the tomographic image based on the correspondence between the markers attached in this way. Specific examples of the cut surface marker and the tomographic image marker are those indicated by reference numerals 20 and 22 in FIG.
[0031]
3 to 5 are diagrams showing other specific examples of the cut surface marker and the tomographic image marker. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the component already demonstrated in FIG. 1, and duplication description is avoided.
[0032]
The cut surface marker 20 in FIG. 3 is formed on the side of the cut surface cursor 16, and is formed by a solid line on the vertical side and a broken line on the horizontal side. The tomographic image marker 22 is formed by a solid line and a broken line on the vertical side and the horizontal side, respectively, corresponding to the cut surface marker 20. That is, the sides of the tomographic images a and b corresponding to the sides indicated by the solid line of the cutting plane cursor 16 are indicated by solid lines, and the sides of the tomographic images a and b corresponding to the sides indicated by the broken line of the cutting plane cursor 16 are indicated by broken lines. Form. As a result, the correspondence between the upper and lower sides and the left and right sides of the cut plane cursor 16 and the tomographic images a and b can be recognized. Therefore, the correspondence between the cut plane cursor 16 and the tomographic images a and b can be recognized.
[0033]
The cut surface marker 20 in FIG. 4 is formed at the corner of the cut surface cursor 16, and is formed with a circle in the upper left portion of the figure and a star in the upper right portion. The tomographic image marker 22 is formed with a circle at a position corresponding to the position of the circle and a star at a position corresponding to the position of the star corresponding to the cut surface marker 20. As a result, the correspondence between the cut surface cursor 16 and the corners of the tomographic images a and b can be recognized. Therefore, the correspondence between the cut surface cursor 16 and the tomographic images a and b can be recognized.
[0034]
FIG. 5 shows an example in which a plurality of cut planes are set, that is, two cut plane cursors 60 and 62 are set, and tomographic images 68 and 70 corresponding to the respective cut planes are displayed. The cut surface cursor 60 is provided with a cut surface marker 64 of round marks and triangle marks, and the cut surface cursor 62 is provided with a cut surface marker 66 of star marks and square marks. In addition, a tomographic image 68 corresponding to the cut surface cursor 60 is provided with a tomographic image marker 72 with a circle mark and a triangle mark, and a tomographic image 70 corresponding to the cut surface cursor 62 is provided with a tomographic image with a star mark and a square mark. A marker 74 is attached. Thereby, the correspondence between the plurality of cut surface cursors 60 and 62 and the tomographic images 68 and 70 corresponding to them can be recognized by the difference in the shape of the marker. Furthermore, the correspondence between the front and back sides can be recognized from the positional relationship of the markers.
[0035]
The shape of the marker shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 is not limited to the above, and it can be easily understood that the marker may be identifiable by another shape, for example, a different shape or color. Moreover, you may attach | subject a some cutting surface marker to each cutting surface cursor of FIG. 5 like FIG. 3, FIG.
[0036]
In the description of FIGS. 3 to 5, the reference image and the two tomographic images are displayed on the same display at the same time. However, as illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, as illustrated in FIGS. One tomographic image may be displayed simultaneously. In addition, for example, the tomographic image is displayed on the main display, the reference image is displayed on the sub display, and the tomographic image is displayed after the reference image is displayed and the cut surface is set. It is also possible to have a configuration for displaying it alone.
[0037]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the ultrasonic image forming apparatus according to the present invention can visually recognize the correspondence between the direction of the cut surface and the direction of the ultrasonic tomographic image.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an arbitrary cross-sectional display image by an ultrasonic image forming apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a preferred embodiment of an ultrasonic image forming apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of a cut surface marker and a tomographic image marker.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating specific examples of a cut surface marker and a tomographic image marker.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating specific examples of a cut surface marker and a tomographic image marker.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an arbitrary cross-sectional display image by a conventional ultrasonic image forming apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Arbitrary slice display image, 12 Reference image, 13 Tomographic image, 14 Wire frame, 16 Cutting plane cursor, 20 Cutting plane marker, 22 Tomographic image marker, 38 Tomographic image formation part, 44 Wire frame formation part, 46 Cutting plane cursor formation , 48 cutting plane setting section, 50 reference image forming section, 52 cutting plane marker forming section, 54 tomographic image marker forming section.

Claims (3)

A cutting plane setting means for setting a cutting plane for a three-dimensional space in the subject through which ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received;
A reference image forming unit that forms a reference image obtained by synthesizing a cut surface image representing the cut surface with a spatial image that three-dimensionally represents the three-dimensional space;
A tomographic image forming means for forming a tomographic image corresponding to the cut surface based on a reception signal obtained by transmitting and receiving the ultrasonic wave;
Display information generating means for displaying correspondence information for allowing a user to visually recognize the correspondence between the orientation of the cut surface image and the orientation of the tomographic image on a screen on which the reference image and the tomographic image are displayed;
Have a,
The correspondence relationship information is attached to the cut surface image to specify one surface of the cut surface image, and the cut surface image is attached to the tomographic image, and the tomographic image corresponds to one surface of the cut surface image. Or a tomographic image marker for identifying whether it corresponds to the other side,
The tomographic image marker is displayed in a basic mode when the tomographic image corresponds to one side of the cut surface image, and the basic mode when the tomographic image corresponds to the other side of the cut surface image. Are displayed in different variants,
The aspect of the cut surface marker is the same as the basic aspect of the tomographic image marker,
The deformation mode of the tomographic image marker is a mode in which a watermark expression process is performed on the basic mode.
An ultrasonic image forming apparatus. The ultrasonic image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The cut surface is a plurality, and further, a cut surface image representing each cut surface and a plurality of tomographic images corresponding to each cut surface,
The plurality of cut surface markers attached to the respective cut surface images have different shapes from each other,
Each tomographic image marker attached to each of the plurality of tomographic images has the same shape as a cut surface marker attached to a cut surface corresponding to the tomographic image to which the tomographic image marker is attached.
An ultrasonic image forming apparatus. The ultrasonic image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The ultrasonic image forming apparatus, wherein the reference image includes a tissue image that three-dimensionally represents a tissue in the three-dimensional space.

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