JP4090664B2 - Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and in particular, can form a three-dimensional image of a subject using an ultrasonic probe (hereinafter referred to as a two-dimensional probe) incorporating a two-dimensional array transducer. The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Ultrasound diagnostic devices, which use an ultrasound probe in which a plurality of transducers are arranged in an array (hereinafter referred to as a one-dimensional probe), are still mainstream, but recently other modalities For example, as the recognition of the usefulness of three-dimensional image diagnosis in the field of X-ray CT apparatus and MRI apparatus increases, in the field of ultrasonic image diagnosis, an apparatus for displaying and displaying the inside of a subject as a three-dimensional image is being researched. Has been developed. An ultrasonic beam scanning method for obtaining a three-dimensional image in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is a method in which a one-dimensional probe is moved manually or mechanically on the body surface of a subject in a direction crossing the scanning direction of the ultrasonic beam. And a method of electronically three-dimensionally scanning the inside of the subject with an ultrasonic beam, and the former is a body surface of an uneven subject for three-dimensional measurement. It is difficult to manually or mechanically move the probe while contacting the body surface, and the latter is considered promising.
[0003]
The two-dimensional probe has a structure in which the elongated rod-shaped transducer element of the conventional one-dimensional array probe is divided into a plurality of parts in the length direction. When this two-dimensional probe is used for actual medical diagnosis, About 64 × 64 vibrators are required. In this case, the number of vibrators is 4,096. When the inside of a subject is three-dimensionally measured by the sector scan method with this two-dimensional probe, all 4,096 transducers are driven to form one beam. Therefore, it is necessary to provide delay circuits for all 4,096 vibrators. For this reason, the apparatus becomes large and the apparatus becomes expensive. For this reason, a method has been proposed in which 4,096 transducers are thinned and transmitted / received by 256 transducers.
[0004]
In order to reduce the number of delay circuits (synonymous with the number of channels of the phasing circuit), the transducers of the two-dimensional probe are concentrically formed into a plurality of transducer groups. It has been proposed to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves with the same delay time every time. This is called the Fresnel ring bundling method, and is effective for the linear scan method.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The sector scan type probe often used for the examination of the heart transmits and receives an ultrasonic beam from between the ribs of the living body toward the heart, and therefore the transmission / reception area of the probe cannot be increased. The two-dimensional probe is naturally smaller in size of the transducer element than the one-dimensional probe in which the transducers are arranged in an array.
[0006]
Therefore, if the transducer is thinned and used to reduce the delay circuit, the sensitivity of the probe is lowered, the S / N of the obtained signal is lowered, and the image quality is also lowered. For this reason, the delay circuit cannot simply be reduced.
[0007]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above, and a first object of the invention is to provide an ultrasonic capable of sector scanning that can obtain an image with a good S / N using a two-dimensional probe even if the number of delay circuits is small. It is to provide a diagnostic device.
[0008]
A second object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of performing a three-dimensional sector scan inside a subject using a two-dimensional probe.
[0009]
A third object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of performing a three-dimensional sector scan in a subject at high speed using a two-dimensional probe.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an ultrasonic probe in which a plurality of ultrasonic transducers for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves are two-dimensionally arranged. When , Multiple ultrasonic transducers in concentric rings choose With selection means to The above Ultrasonic transducer Forming ultrasonic beams for transmission / reception with different delay times for each group, and forming ultrasonic images from received signals Image forming means and display means for displaying the ultrasonic image as an image In ultrasonic diagnostic equipment, Means for changing the transmission / reception direction of the ultrasonic wave for each ultrasonic transmission / reception; Depending on the beam direction of the transmission and reception Ultrasonic transducer Means to change group selection pattern And It is characterized by having.
[0011]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an ultrasonic probe in which a plurality of ultrasonic transducers that transmit and receive ultrasonic waves are two-dimensionally arranged. When , Multiple ultrasonic transducers in concentric rings choose With selection means to The above Ultrasonic transducer Forming ultrasonic beams for transmission / reception with different delay times for each group, and forming ultrasonic images from received signals Image forming means and display means for displaying the ultrasonic image as an image In ultrasonic diagnostic equipment, Ultrasound When sending and receiving, Ultrasound From the focus point of the transmitted or received wave located on the ultrasonic beam line in the direction inclined with respect to the transducer array surface Ultrasonic transducer array surface The vertical line down Ultrasonic transducer array surface At the point where To be the center of concentric rings Concentric ring shape Ultrasound Means for selecting a vibrator group; The receiving focus point With the movement of Concentricity Ring shape Ultrasound And a means for moving the selected center of the transducer group.
[0012]
Furthermore, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an ultrasonic probe in which a plurality of ultrasonic transducers that transmit and receive ultrasonic waves are two-dimensionally arranged. When , Multiple ultrasonic transducers in concentric rings choose With selection means to The above Ultrasonic transducer Forming ultrasonic beams for transmission / reception with different delay times for each group, and forming ultrasonic images from received signals Image forming means and display means for displaying the ultrasonic image as an image In ultrasonic diagnostic equipment, the direction of ultrasonic transmission and reception Ultrasound Means for fixing in a predetermined position on the array transducer surface and setting in a three-dimensional direction; Ultrasound When sending and receiving, Ultrasound From the focus point of the transmitted or received wave located on the ultrasonic beam line in the direction inclined with respect to the transducer array surface Ultrasonic transducer array surface The vertical line The ultrasonic transducer array surface Concentric ring shape at the time of wave transmission / reception with the point intersecting with the center of the concentric ring Ultrasound Means for selecting a group of transducers and movement of a receiving focus point on the ultrasonic beam line together with the ring shape; Ultrasound And a means for moving the selected center of the transducer group.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for carrying out the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a two-dimensional probe having M and N, that is, M × N, two-dimensional array transducers 20 in two orthogonal directions. Are housed in the omitted case, and a switching circuit unit 30 for switching and selecting the two-dimensional array transducer 20 for each ultrasonic beam transmission / reception cycle is housed in the case. A switch control unit 40 supplies a signal for selecting a vibrator to the switching circuit 30.
[0014]
50 is a transmission / reception separation circuit that changes the direction of signal transmission between transmission and reception, and 60 is a wave transmission unit for supplying a drive signal to an ultrasonic transducer in order to transmit ultrasonic waves into the subject. To a known pulse generation circuit, amplification circuit, and transmission delay circuit. Reference numeral 70 denotes a wave phasing unit for inputting a signal obtained by converting a reflected wave (echo) reflected in the subject by the ultrasonic wave emitted into the subject into an electrical signal (echo signal) by the ultrasonic transducer. Then, an ultrasonic beam signal is formed and output as received from a predetermined direction, and this is also composed of a conventionally known delay circuit and addition circuit. A signal processing unit 80 performs logarithmic conversion processing, filter processing, γ correction, and the like as preprocessing for imaging the echo signal output from the wave phasing unit 70.
[0015]
Reference numeral 90 denotes a signal output from the signal processing unit 80 for each scanning of the ultrasonic beam, digitized and stored as necessary to form image data, and output in accordance with the scanning of the image display device. This is a scan converter that performs scan conversion between ultrasonic scanning and display scanning, and has been well known as a digital scan converter (DSC) in this field.
[0016]
Reference numeral 100 denotes a display device that D / A converts the image data output from the digital scan converter 90 to convert it into a luminance signal and displays it as an image, and usually has a CRT monitor. Reference numeral 200 denotes a central processing unit (CPU) that directly or indirectly controls the above-described constituent elements to perform transmission / reception of ultrasonic waves and image display.
[0017]
Next, the operation of the apparatus having the above configuration will be briefly described. The two-dimensional probe 10 is brought into contact with the body surface of the examination site of the subject, scan parameters such as a transmission focus depth are input from an operation panel (not shown), and then an ultrasonic scan start command is input. Then, the CPU 200 controls each unit and starts ultrasonic scanning. First, the CPU 200 outputs to the switch control unit 40 and the transmission unit 60 a command for selecting a transducer in the first transmission, a drive pulse output command, and a command for setting a delay time corresponding to the transmission focus depth. . When these commands are executed, a driving pulse is supplied from the wave transmission unit 60 to the two-dimensional probe 10 via the wave transmission delay circuit. The switching circuit 30 in the two-dimensional probe 10 connects a transmission delay circuit and a driving pulse input line of the vibrator so as to form a concentric ring-shaped vibrator group, which will be described later, according to a command from the CPU 200. When a drive pulse is input, the oscillating vibrator vibrates at a predetermined frequency, and sequentially transmits ultrasonic waves into the subject.
[0018]
A part of the ultrasonic wave transmitted into the subject is reflected by a surface having different acoustic impedances of tissues and organs in the living body and reflected as an echo toward the probe 10. In order to receive this echo, the CPU 200 controls the receiving system. First, at the end of transmission, the switching circuit 30 is switched to make contact with the transducer for reception and the reception rectifier. This transducer selection for reception also forms a concentric ring-shaped transducer group as in the case of transmission, the details of which will be described later. Along with this transducer switching selection, control of the reception delay time for the wave receiving / shaping unit 70 is performed.
[0019]
As a result, the echo generated as the ultrasonic wave propagates from the shallow part to the deep part in the subject is received, and the echo signal output from each reception delay circuit is added by the adder circuit of the wave receiving and rectifying unit 70. The echo signal of the received beam is output to the signal processing unit 80. The signal processing unit 80 performs the above-described processing on the input echo signal and outputs the processed signal to the DSC 90. The DSC 90 stores the input signal in the memory, and reads and outputs the stored content to the display device 100 in response to the display synchronization signal. When the above operations are completed, the CPU 200 changes the ultrasonic transmission / reception direction, changes the ultrasonic transmission / reception direction sequentially, such as second, third,...
[0020]
In repetition of this transmission / reception, the ultrasonic beam is changed in many directions so that it always becomes a base point so that a predetermined position on the array transducer surface is a vertex of the cone. As a result, the ultrasonic beam scans the subject within a three-dimensional sector.
[0021]
Next, the transducer selection state at the time of ultrasonic transmission / reception in the present invention will be described in detail. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for forming a transmission / reception ultrasonic beam at the center of a two-dimensional array transducer 20 built in the two-dimensional probe 10. The concentric circles shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B indicate that the concentric transducers are selected as a group. That is, the same delay time is given to the transducer groups existing in the region sandwiched between the concentric circles with the concentric circles as boundaries. In FIG. 3A, the fan-shaped straight line group is a state where the ultrasonic waves radiated from each ring-shaped transducer group selected in a ring shape converge at the point F (focus point), and the ultrasonic waves reflected from the point F are reflected. A state toward each ring-shaped vibrator group is shown. In FIG. 3B, the number of two-dimensional array transducers is shown as 7 × 7 = 49 in the orthogonal X and Y directions, but for diagnosis, 64 × 64 in both the vertical and horizontal directions. = 4,096 elements are arranged, and the element group selected in a ring shape draws many concentric circles more finely. The distance from the point F to each transducer forming one ring is slightly different between the distance to the transducer located on the inner circumference of the ring and the distance to the transducer located on the outer circumference of the ring. Arise. Therefore, in order to give the same delay time to the vibrator located on the inner circumference of the ring and the vibrator located on the outer circumference of the ring, it is preferable to set a limit on the difference between the inner and outer diameters of the ring. Will be obtained.
[0022]
If the difference between the inner and outer diameters of the ring is large, the problem of the phase of the ultrasonic wave will be highlighted. In other words, since the input / output lines of a plurality of vibrators forming the ring-shaped vibrator are bundled by the switching circuit (common connection), if the ring width of the ring-shaped vibrator is wide, the transmission focus is reduced, In addition, a cancellation phenomenon of the received echo occurs. That is, the accuracy of phasing decreases. In particular, when echoes from within the subject return from the oblique direction to the transducer surface during reception, there is a phase difference between the received echoes in the ring inner circumference side transducer and ring outer circumference side transducer. When the ring width is such that the echo has an opposite phase, the outputs of those transducers are bundled and added to cause a reduction in the echo signal. In order to reduce this influence, the width of the ring should be at least 1/4 wavelength of the echo signal, more preferably about 1/8 wavelength.
[0023]
Next, a case where an ultrasonic beam is shaken in an oblique direction with respect to the transducer surface will be described. The example of FIG. 4 shows a selection state of the element group when the ultrasonic beam is shaken in an oblique direction with respect to the array transducer surface. The concentric circles shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B indicate that the transducers on the concentric circles are selected as a group. The same delay time is given to the transducer groups existing in the region sandwiched between the concentric circles with each concentric circle as a boundary. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the center ring is located in the array transducer surface. However, when the angle formed by the ultrasonic beam with the transducer surface is increased, the center of the ring is arranged in the array transducer as shown in FIG. The ring-shaped vibrator group is selected so as to protrude from the end face of the surface or the array vibrator surface.
[0024]
Giving the maximum delay time to the transducer group at the position of the perpendicular line from the focus point F to the two-dimensional array transducer surface, sequentially giving a delay time shorter than the maximum delay time to the transducer group located on the outer periphery, When the delay time corresponding to the distance between the focus point F and the array transducer surface is controlled for each of the transducer groups, an ultrasonic beam can be formed in a direction perpendicular to the transducer surface. Therefore, linear scanning can be performed by moving the ultrasonic beam for each ultrasonic transmission / reception cycle, and the concentric transducer selection state is changed between the X direction and the Y direction on the two-dimensional array transducer surface. By sequentially moving in two directions, the ultrasonic beam can be two-dimensionally scanned, and thereby the inside of the subject can be three-dimensionally linearly scanned.
[0025]
3 (b) and FIG. 4 (b), the number of concentric circles is different. Therefore, the number of phasing circuits (number of channels) for setting or controlling the delay time is set as the concentric circles to be set. Requires the same number as the maximum number of.
[0026]
Next, the transmission / reception principle of the sector scan in this embodiment will be described next. Normally, sector scans look like fan bones with multiple beams spread out. FIG. 1 shows a case where an ultrasonic beam is formed in the direction of the center line of the fan, that is, FIG. 2 is viewed from the side. As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the ultrasonic beam is transmitted through a predetermined point on a straight line BL1 that passes through a transducer at the center of a concentric circle of the two-dimensional array transducer 20 and is perpendicular to the two-dimensional array transducer surface. An ultrasonic wave is transmitted by giving a predetermined delay time to each element group on each concentric circle so as to be the focus point Ft. Then, ultrasonic waves are sequentially emitted from each transducer group so as to reach the focus point Ft in the same phase. In the course of propagation of ultrasonic waves in the body, if there are tissues with different acoustic impedances, part of the ultrasonic waves are reflected and returned as reflected waves (echoes) toward the probe. This echo is received by a plurality of concentric transducer groups as shown in FIG. At the time of this reception, the selection state of the ring-shaped transducer is fixed, and the output signal (echo signal) of each transducer group is deep from the shallow position on the straight line BL1 located at the center of the fan by the wave receiving phasing unit 70. The delay time is dynamically changed so that the reception focus point Fr is sequentially moved to the position. During this reception, the delay time is controlled so that the reception focus point Fr moves in the direction of increasing depth on the straight line BL1. Further, as described above, it is naturally necessary to swing the ultrasonic beam into a sector shape in order to perform sector scanning. Inclination of this ultrasonic beam with respect to the transducer array surface is handled by moving the selection pattern of concentric circles as described below.
[0027]
Transmission / reception when the beam is deflected from the center of the fan will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2A, a delay time is given to each transducer group so that the ultrasonic waves reach the transmission focus point Ft located at a position shifted from the center of the array transducer at the same time (in the same phase). Is the same as above, but the selection of the concentric transducer group is different from the above. That is, in this case, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), a concentric transducer group is formed with the position where the perpendicular line L extending from the transmission focus point Ft to the array transducer surface intersects the array transducer surface. select. At this time, depending on the position of the focus point Ft, the perpendicular line extending from the focus point Ft to the array transducer surface may deviate from the array transducer as indicated by L1. As a result, the ultrasonic waves radiated from each transducer group simultaneously reach the transmission focus point Ft.
[0028]
The echo generated by this transmission is received as shown in FIG. The direction of the reception beam is set to be inclined to the array transducer surface as a straight line BL2 connecting the reception focus point Fr and the center of the two-dimensional array transducer 20, and the reception focus point Fr is dynamically set on the reception beam line BL2. Move to. Now, assuming a receiving focus point Fr at the position of FIG. 2B, the selection of the concentric transducer group formed to receive the echo reflected from the receiving focus point Fr is as follows. This is performed around the point where the perpendicular L1 descending from Fr to the transducer surface intersects the transducer surface. As the transmitted ultrasonic wave travels in the subject, the reception focus point moves in the deep direction on the reception beam line BL2, but the reception beam line BL2 is inclined with respect to the array transducer surface. The point where the perpendicular line from the receiving focus point Fr to the array transducer surface intersects the transducer surface moves to the right in the drawing on the transducer surface, and the perpendicular also moves as indicated by L3. As the receiving focus point Fr moves, the selection of the concentric ring transducer group is also moved. In this way, by moving the reception focus point Fr, one reception beam in the sector scan oblique direction is formed. Then, sector scanning can be performed by changing the direction of the reception beam by a predetermined angle for each transmission / reception cycle. In addition, if the ultrasonic scanning is performed with the central direction of the fan and the inclination direction set in many directions within the solid angle of the top of the cone, the inside of the subject can be sector-scanned three-dimensionally. .
[0029]
When a two-dimensional probe is used to three-dimensionally scan a subject, the number of ultrasonic beams is extremely large in order to obtain a three-dimensional image that can be used for diagnosis. For this reason, it takes a long measurement time to obtain one three-dimensional image. The measures adopted by the present invention to shorten the measurement time will be described next. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the connection between the transducer and the reception phasing unit in the present invention. In the drawing, the configuration for only one row of vibrators is shown, but in actuality, it is configured two-dimensionally.
[0030]
In FIG. 5, reference numeral 20 denotes the above-described two-dimensional array vibrator, in which M × N vibrators are arrayed in two orthogonal directions, and 30-1 and 30-2 denote switching circuits, which are connected to the vibrator and receive wave adjustment 70-1 and 70-2 are a receiving phasing part A and a receiving phasing part B, and are M × N units for turning on / off the connection with the phasing circuit in the phase part and switching the connection destination. An echo signal from the inside of the subject received by the transducer is input, and each forms and outputs an ultrasonic beam signal in a predetermined direction.
[0031]
Here, the switching circuits 30-1 and 30-2 are configured so that each of the switching circuits 30-1 and 30-2 forms one multi-ring-shaped transducer group with respect to the two-dimensional array transducer 20, and the wave receiving phasing unit A, Selective connection with B. The two multiple ring transducer groups selected are separated by a small distance in the center. Therefore, there are a large number of vibrators commonly connected to both the wave receiving phasing portions A70-1 and B70-2. Then, the two phasing parts of the wave phasing part A70-1 and the wave phasing part B70-2 are arranged in each circuit so that each forms an ultrasonic beam in a slightly different direction with respect to the other party. Delay time is set and controlled. Here, the received wave phasing part A70-1 and the received wave phasing B70-2 are respectively No. 1-No. Z (Z channel) delay circuits up to Z are provided. Z is a number equal to the maximum number of concentric circles from which the two-dimensional array transducer is selected.
[0032]
In each of the switching circuits 30-1 and 30-2, switching elements SW1n and SW2n as shown in FIG. 5B are provided in an M × Z matrix, and M × N two-dimensional array transducers are provided. Each can be connected to any one of the phasing circuits 1 to Z in the phasing circuit A or the 1 to Z channel in the phasing circuit B.
[0033]
A control signal is supplied from the control unit 200 shown in FIG. 8 to the reception phasing unit A70-1 and the reception phasing unit B70-2, whereby the delay time setting or delay time control of each channel is performed. A control signal is input from the switch control unit 40 to the switching circuits 30-1 and 30-2 based on a control signal from the control unit 200, and the transducers are selectively connected to the wave receiving phasing unit concentrically. Here, the delay time control pattern and the transducer selection pattern are set by data stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) built in the control unit 200 in advance.
[0034]
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a receiving operation with the configuration described in FIG. FIG. 6 shows a portion having a specific diameter or less extracted from each of the two ring-shaped vibrators. That is, the ring-shaped vibrator TR1 that forms the receiving focus Fr1 and the ring-shaped vibrator Tr2 that forms the receiving focus Fr2 are selected close to each other, and the output of the ring-shaped vibrator TR1 is the received wave phasing section A70-. 1 and the output of the ring-shaped vibrator TR2 is output to the wave receiving phasing unit B70-2. The reception focus Fr1 and Fr2 are dynamically moved in the same manner as described with reference to FIG.
[0035]
The present embodiment is based on a known technical idea that the time required for ultrasonic scanning can be reduced if a plurality of reception beams are obtained by one transmission. The problem due to the sector scanning by selectively forming the ring vibrator group is solved as follows. In order to obtain a plurality of reception beams by one transmission, two ring-shaped transducer groups are selectively formed as described above. At this time, transducers included in both rings are selected. All the vibrators forming one ring are connected in common because they are given the same delay time. However, if even one vibrator is included in two rings in common, this commonly selected vibration is used. All the vibrator groups forming the two rings are commonly connected via the child.
[0036]
FIG. 7 shows a circuit configuration for preventing this. FIG. 7 is a simplified diagram for explaining connection of vibrators selected in common for two rings. If it is assumed that the transducer elements 101 and 102 are in the positions shown in FIG. 7B in the two rings A201 and B202, the transducer element 101 is included in both the ring A201 and the ring B202, and vibration The child element 102 is included only in the ring B. Therefore, the output of the transducer element 101 must be output, for example, to both of the wave receiving phasing units A70-1 and B70-2, and the output of the transducer element 102 must be output only to the wave receiving phasing unit B70-2. Don't be. FIG. 7A shows a circuit configuration for connecting the vibrator and the phasing circuit for this output. In FIG. 7A, 301a, 302a, 303a, and 304a are electronic switches, 301b, 302b, 303b, and 304b are diodes, and an on / off signal for the electronic switches is supplied from the CPU 200.
[0037]
As shown in FIG. 7B, when two ultrasonic waves are received and two reception beams are formed at a certain time at the time of reception, the CPU 200 detects both the ring A 201 and the ring B 202. A signal for closing the electronic switches 301a and 302a connected to the output line of the transducer element 101 included in the ring is output to each switch, and the electrons connected to the output line of the transducer element 102 included only in the ring B202. A signal for closing the switch 303a is output. As a result, the echo signal from the transducer element 101 is input from the circuit of the electronic switch 301a and the diode 301b to the wave receiving phasing unit A701, and from the circuit of the electronic switch 302a and the diode 302b to the wave receiving phasing unit B702. On the other hand, an echo signal from the transducer element 102 is input from the circuit of the electronic switch 303a and the diode 303b to the wave receiving phasing unit B702.
[0038]
The present invention has been described with reference to typical embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, when there are M × N two-dimensional array transducers, not all the transducers are used, but as shown in FIG. May be selected and driven. By performing this thinning, the number of switches can be reduced. In the description of the above embodiment, the width of the ring is the same, but the present invention is not limited to this. Further, although the embodiment of obtaining two reception beams for one transmission has been described above, it goes without saying that the number of reception beams can be further increased.
[0039]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of ring-shaped transducers are formed on the two-dimensional transducer array of the probe, and transmission / reception is performed by giving the same delay time to each ring-shaped transducer. Therefore, sector scanning can be performed with a small number of phasing circuits, and all the transducers contribute to transmission and reception, so that an image with good S / N can be obtained. According to the present invention, a three-dimensional sector scan can be performed using a two-dimensional probe. Further, since a plurality of reception beams are obtained for one transmission, a three-dimensional sector scan can be performed at a high speed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an operation explanatory diagram for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves in a direction of a center line of a fan according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory diagram for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves in a direction away from the center of a fan according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a selection state of a ring-shaped vibrator when transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves in the direction of the center line of a fan according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a selection state of a ring-shaped vibrator when transmitting / receiving ultrasonic waves in a direction deviating from the direction of the center line of a fan according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a main configuration of an apparatus according to an embodiment that obtains a reception beam in a plurality of directions by one reception.
6 is a diagram for explaining a reception operation in the configuration shown in FIG. 5;
7 is a diagram for explaining connection between a vibrator and a wave receiving phasing unit when a vibrator included in common in two ring vibrators is generated in FIG. 6; FIG.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a selection state of a vibrator according to another embodiment of the invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 ... 2D probe
20 ... 2D array transducer
30 ... Switching circuit
40 ... Switch control section
70: Received wave phasing section
Ft: Transmission focus point
Fr: Received focus point

Claims (3)

An ultrasonic probe in which a plurality of ultrasonic transducers are arranged two-dimensionally for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, said plurality of ultrasonic transducer groups in a concentric ring-shaped from a two-dimensional arrayed plurality of ultrasonic transducers A selection means for selecting, an image forming means for forming a transmission / reception ultrasonic beam by giving a different delay time for each ultrasonic transducer group, and forming an ultrasonic image from a received signal, and an image of the ultrasonic image In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising display means for displaying ,
An ultrasonic diagnosis comprising: a means for changing a transmission / reception direction of the ultrasonic wave for each transmission / reception of ultrasonic waves; and a means for changing a selection pattern of the ultrasonic transducer group according to a beam direction of the transmission / reception. apparatus. An ultrasonic probe in which a plurality of ultrasonic transducers are arranged two-dimensionally for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, said plurality of ultrasonic transducer groups in a concentric ring-shaped from a two-dimensional arrayed plurality of ultrasonic transducers A selection means for selecting, an image forming means for forming a transmission / reception ultrasonic beam by giving a different delay time for each ultrasonic transducer group, and forming an ultrasonic image from a received signal, and an image of the ultrasonic image In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising display means for displaying ,
During ultrasonic transmission and reception, the ultrasonic transducer array surface perpendicular to beat transmitting or from the focus point of reception to the ultrasonic transducer array surface located on the ultrasonic beam line of a direction inclined with respect to said ultrasonic vibration Means for selecting the concentric ring-shaped ultrasonic transducer group so that the point intersecting the child array plane becomes the center of the concentric ring; and the selection center of the concentric ring-shaped ultrasonic transducer group along with the movement of the receiving focus point And a means for moving the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. An ultrasonic probe in which a plurality of ultrasonic transducers are arranged two-dimensionally for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, said plurality of ultrasonic transducer groups in a concentric ring-shaped from a two-dimensional arrayed plurality of ultrasonic transducers A selection means for selecting, an image forming means for forming a transmission / reception ultrasonic beam by giving a different delay time for each ultrasonic transducer group, and forming an ultrasonic image from a received signal, and an image of the ultrasonic image In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising display means for displaying ,
Means for changing the transmission / reception beam direction by a predetermined angle for each transmission / reception cycle, and a transmission or reception focus point located on the ultrasonic beam line in a direction inclined with respect to the ultrasonic transducer array surface during ultrasonic transmission / reception means for selecting said concentric ring-shaped ultrasonic transducer group at transducing a point where the is perpendicular to beat to the ultrasonic transducer array surface intersecting the ultrasonic transducer array surface as the center of concentric rings from the An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: means for moving a selection center of the ring-shaped ultrasonic transducer group together with movement of a reception focus point on an ultrasonic beam line.

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