JP3904653B2 - Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is an ultra-sound capable of transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves in a subject, displaying an ultrasonic tomographic image or a blood flow image for a diagnostic part of the subject, and communicating data relating to the diagnosis of the subject to the outside. More particularly, the present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of prompt and appropriate diagnosis and treatment by transmitting and receiving instruction contents in communication with the outside.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus has been proposed by the present applicant in Japanese Patent Application No. 8-301497. As shown in FIG. 2, a probe 1 for transmitting / receiving ultrasonic waves in a subject, and the probe An ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 2 that drives the child 1 to generate ultrasonic waves and processes the received reflected echo signal, records a plurality of frames of signals from the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 2 in time series, and reads the read data A scan converter 3 that writes image data for each scanning line of an ultrasonic beam, an image display device 4 that displays an output signal from the scan converter 3 as an image, and a control unit 5 that controls each of the above components The input device 6 that inputs an operation command to the control unit 5 connected to the control unit 5 and the data that is connected to the control unit 5 and communicates data to the outside via the control unit 5. Control And Shin controller 7, consisted communicator 8 which communicates data from the control unit 5 is connected to the communication control device 7 and outside. Reference numeral 9 denotes an external communication device installed outside the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and transmits and receives data to and from the communication device 8.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in such a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, since there is no means for identifying and controlling the instruction content related to diagnosis in the data fetched by the control unit 5, the external communication apparatus 9 and the communication apparatus Instruction contents could not be sent to and received from 8. Therefore, for example, when the above-described ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is mounted on an ambulance and the external communication device 9 is installed and used in a hospital, an emergency crew member who has boarded the ambulance will receive a doctor's judgment and instruction such as atrial defibrillation, for example. Necessary care could not be taken, and prompt and appropriate treatment could not be performed.
[0004]
Accordingly, the present invention provides an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can deal with such problems and can perform prompt and appropriate diagnosis and treatment by transmitting and receiving instructions regarding diagnosis in communication with the outside. With the goal.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention includes a probe that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves in a subject, generates ultrasonic waves by driving the probe, and receives reflected echoes. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: an ultrasonic transmission / reception unit that processes a signal; an image display unit that displays a signal output from the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit as an image; and a control unit that controls each of the components described above. It is connected to the control unit, input means for inputting an operation command, and communication means for communication with external communication means predetermined data, data input by said input means and the first instruction contents and other data was identified, transmits the data of the first instruction contents to Kigaibu communication means, the identifying data entered by the external communication unit and a second instruction content and other data, the second the image display instruction contents It is obtained by a instruction content control unit for displaying on.
[0006]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention. This ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is capable of transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves in a subject, displaying an ultrasonic tomographic image or a blood flow image for a diagnostic region of the subject, and communicating with an external communication device. It has a toucher 1, an ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 2, a scan converter 3, an image display device 4, a control unit 5, an input device 6, a communication control device 7, and a communication device 8. A control device 10 is provided.
[0007]
The probe 1 mechanically or electronically performs beam scanning to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves in the subject. Although not shown in the figure, the probe 1 is a source of ultrasonic waves and from inside the living body. One or a plurality of transducers for receiving the reflected echo. The ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 2 drives the probe 1 to generate ultrasonic waves and processes the received reflected echo signals, and forms an ultrasonic beam to be transmitted from the probe 1 into the subject. A known transmission pulser and transmission delay circuit, a reception amplifier that amplifies the reflected echo signal received by each transducer of the probe 1, and the phase of each received reflected echo signal are added together. A receiving delay circuit for forming a receiving ultrasonic beam and a phasing circuit including an adder.
[0008]
The scan converter 3 converts a signal from the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit into image data . For example, the scan converter 3 converts the signal into B-mode tomographic image data. The image display device 4 displays an output signal from the scan converter 3 as an image, and includes, for example, a television monitor that inputs and displays B-mode tomographic image data. The control unit 5 controls the operation of each of the above constituent elements, and has a central processing unit (CPU) therein, and stores various control data and control software.
[0009]
The input device 6 is for an operator to input an arbitrary operation command to the control unit 5, and is, for example, a keyboard or a mouse. The communication control device 7 controls communication of data in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus to the outside, selects data to be communicated from data in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and transmits the data wirelessly or wiredly. Is converted into data that can be transmitted and received. The communication device 8 communicates data from the control unit 5 with the outside wirelessly or by wire via the communication control device 7. For example, the communication device 8 communicates with a wireless system such as a mobile phone or a PHS (Personal Handy-phone System). It consists of a communicator using a wired system such as a machine or coaxial cable, optical fiber or Ethernet. As a result, the data in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus can be transmitted / received to / from other apparatuses via the communication control apparatus 7 and the communication device 8, and the external communication apparatus 8 at a remote location is provided. Data of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus can be transmitted and received between the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and the communication terminal.
[0010]
Here, in the present invention, the instruction content control device 10 is connected to the control unit 5. The instruction content control device 10 identifies and controls the instruction content in the data processed by the control unit 5, and transmits the instruction content input by the input device 6 to the outside via the control unit 5. At the same time, the contents of instructions from the outside are received and displayed on the image display device 4 via the control unit 5. Therefore, for example, when an ambulance crew member who is on an ambulance inputs an instruction content to the input device 6, the instruction content is transmitted to the external communication device 9 in the hospital, and a doctor in the hospital instructs the external communication device 9. When the content is transmitted, the instruction content is received by the communication device 8 and displayed on the image display device 4 via the control unit 5. By displaying the instruction content on the image display device 4, the ambulance crew in the ambulance can take quick and appropriate treatment based on the displayed instruction.
[0011]
Next, the use of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention configured as described above will be described. First, the operator of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus at a certain location starts communication using the communication device 8, calls the external communication device 9 at another location, and connects the communication line. In this state, diagnostic result data such as image data or electrocardiographic waveform data to be communicated is selected, and a procedure for transmitting these data together with the instruction content input by the input device 6 is performed. Then, the data other than the instruction content is transmitted via the communication control device 7 and the communication device 8, and the instruction content is identified by the instruction content control device 10 as to whether or not the instruction content is to be transmitted. It is transmitted via the control device 7 and the communication device 8 and received by the external communication device 9.
[0012]
Then, the operator of the external communication device 9 performs a procedure for selecting the instruction contents to be transmitted and other data based on the received data and the instruction contents and transmitting them to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. This transmission data is received by the communication device 8 of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and is taken into the control unit 5 via the communication control device 7. The data captured by the control unit 5 is sent to the instruction content control device 10 to be identified as instruction content and other data. The identified instruction content is displayed on the image display device 4 via the control unit 5. The As a result, when data is transmitted / received to / from the external communication device 9 located away from the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the contents of the instruction can be transmitted / received, and instructions can be given to each operator. The external communication device 9 may be any communication terminal capable of transmitting and receiving various types of data, but may be the same type of device as the ultrasonic diagnostic device described in the above embodiment.
[0013]
【The invention's effect】
Since the present invention is configured as described above, the instruction content input by the input device is transmitted to the outside through the control unit to the control unit that controls each component, and the instruction from the outside is provided. By connecting an instruction content control device that controls content reception and display on the image display device via the control unit, it is possible to send and receive the instruction content to a device at a remote location, and it is quick and appropriate Diagnosis and treatment can be performed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Probe 2 Ultrasonic wave transmission / reception part 3 Scan converter 4 Image display apparatus 5 Control part 6 Input apparatus 7 Communication control apparatus 8 Communication device 9 External communication apparatus 10 Instruction content control apparatus

Claims (1)

A probe that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves in the subject, an ultrasonic transmission and reception unit that drives the probe to generate ultrasonic waves and processes received reflected echo signals, and outputs from the ultrasonic transmission and reception unit In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising an image display unit that displays a signal to be processed as an image, and a control unit that controls each of the above components
Connected to said control unit, an input means for inputting an operation command, the communication means and the data input by said input means first instruction contents and other data communicated to the external communication means predetermined data And transmitting the data of the first instruction content to the external communication means, and identifying the data input by the external communication means as the second instruction content and other data, An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus , comprising: an instruction content control unit that displays the instruction content on the image display unit.

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