JP4567844B2 - Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and more particularly to easily realizing suitable condition settings for ultrasonic diagnosis.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In order to achieve accurate diagnosis using an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, it is required to adjust various parameters and set them to suitable conditions according to, for example, the acoustic properties of the subject, the diagnostic site, and the like. . For example, in order to create a B-mode image, there are cases where about 10 items of image quality adjustment functions such as gain, contrast, acoustic power, and AGC are prepared on the apparatus. The user controls these various functions to create a high-quality B-mode image.
[0003]
For example, when the subject is thin, since ultrasonic waves are easy to pass through, adjustments such as setting the gain lower or lowering the acoustic power are performed. On the other hand, when the subject is fat, since ultrasonic waves are difficult to pass, adjustments such as increasing the gain and contrast are performed.
[0004]
Conventionally, the image quality is adjusted by a user operating a dial, a changeover switch, or the like prepared for each of these various parameters.
[0005]
There is also an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that provides a parameter preset function. In this preset function, a set of parameters is prepared as a preset for some typical use conditions in advance. For example, when the subject is thin or fat, a preset corresponding to each diagnostic site such as for the heart or for the abdomen is prepared. When the user selects a preset according to his / her use condition on the operation panel, for example, each parameter stored in the storage device as the preset is set in the device. As a result, the user can immediately start diagnosis, and the parameters can be reduced by modifying each parameter based on the selected preset.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Since there are many parameters that can be adjusted in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, there is a problem that adjustment work for realizing a suitable use condition according to the subject is complicated and takes time.
[0007]
The preset function can alleviate this problem to some extent, but the load of adjustment work is still high. In other words, since only a relatively small number of presets such as about 10 sets are prepared, it is relatively rare that the use conditions such as image quality realized by the presets are sufficiently suitable that adjustment is unnecessary. is there. On the other hand, if usage conditions are classified finely and presets are prepared for each, suitable usage conditions will be obtained. However, in this case, since the number of presets increases, the operation of the user determining a desired use condition and selecting a preset suitable for the use condition becomes complicated.
[0008]
The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in which suitable conditions for diagnosis can be easily set.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention is based on storage means for storing a plurality of parameter sets each including a plurality of types of adjustment parameters relating to ultrasonic diagnosis, and at least one type of the adjustment parameters included in the parameter set. Indexing means for generating and assigning an index for each parameter set; index designating means for designating the index; and reading means for reading out the parameter set corresponding to the designated index from the storage means; Control means for executing the ultrasonic diagnosis based on the parameter set read from the storage means.
[0010]
The parameter set is composed of a plurality of adjustment parameters, and it is generally difficult to determine which parameter set is suitable for the ultrasonic diagnosis to be performed based on the combination of the adjustment parameters themselves. According to the present invention, an index is assigned to each of a plurality of parameter sets stored in the storage unit. Since the index defines a one-dimensional order between parameter sets, the use of the index as a determination index can facilitate selection of a parameter set that realizes a suitable diagnosis.
[0011]
In another ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention, the index is represented by a function having at least two types of adjustment parameters as arguments.
[0012]
According to the present invention, one index is associated with a set of two or more types of adjustment parameters using an arithmetic expression or a correspondence table. By combining a plurality of adjustment parameters, a more suitable index can be determined as a parameter set selection index.
[0013]
In another ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention, the index indicates a property of an inspection object.
[0014]
According to the present invention, the index is defined so as to have a correlation with the property to be examined. The property of the inspection target is, for example, a physical property / state such as how thick the subject is. By defining the index so as to indicate the property of the inspection target, the user can easily understand the meaning of the order of the parameter set based on the index, and it is easy to select a suitable parameter set according to the inspection target.
[0015]
In still another ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention, the index specifying means changes the index according to the order based on a user operation.
[0016]
According to the present invention, when the user performs an operation for changing the index, the index is successively designated along the one-dimensional order. Then, the reading unit reads out parameter sets corresponding to the sequentially designated indexes from the storage unit, and the control unit sequentially performs ultrasonic diagnosis based on these parameter sets. An example of the index specifying means according to the present invention is a dial, which will be described as an example. When the dial is turned counterclockwise, the index moves to the leading side according to the amount of rotation, and conversely when the dial is turned clockwise. The index moves to the end side according to the amount of rotation.
[0017]
In another ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention, the storage means stores the plurality of parameter sets in order according to the index.
[0018]
According to the present invention, an index is specified, and a parameter set associated with the index is read. Here, by storing the parameter sets in order according to the index, the process of reading the parameter set corresponding to the designated index is facilitated.
[0019]
In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the parameter set includes an adjustment parameter that affects an image quality of an ultrasonic diagnostic image, and the control unit includes the parameter set read from the storage unit. Based on this, the ultrasonic diagnostic image is displayed.
[0020]
Another ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention includes registration means for registering a new parameter set in the storage means based on a result of adjustment according to an inspection object.
[0021]
According to the present invention, when a suitable ultrasonic diagnosis is realized as a result of the user adjusting according to the inspection target, a new parameter set is generated based on the adjustment parameter at that time, and this is stored in the storage means. be registered. The new parameter set to be registered is, for example, a parameter set composed of adjustment parameters when a suitable ultrasonic diagnosis is realized. In addition, for example, a newly generated parameter set that takes into account an already registered parameter set similar to the parameter set of the adjustment result can be registered.
[0022]
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention further includes a registration unit that registers a new parameter set that is set when the ultrasonic diagnostic image is frozen by the user in the storage unit.
[0023]
Based on the fact that the user freezes the ultrasonic diagnostic image basically when a suitable image quality is achieved, according to the present invention, the freeze is set as a new parameter set registration timing.
[0024]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0025]
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus has a function of generating and displaying a tomographic image based on echoes of ultrasonic waves transmitted into the body of a subject.
[0026]
In FIG. 1, a probe 2 is an ultrasonic probe that transmits ultrasonic pulses and receives echoes. The probe 2 has an array transducer, and an ultrasonic beam is electronically scanned by electronic scanning of the array transducer. The transmission / reception circuit 4 includes a transmission circuit that supplies a transmission signal to the probe 2 and a reception circuit that performs processing such as amplification and phasing addition on the reception signal from the probe 2. The transmission / reception circuit 4 is controlled by the control unit 6, and the transmission beam and the reception beam are formed by the control.
[0027]
The image forming unit 8 is a circuit that forms a tomographic image, that is, a B-mode image. The tomographic image is formed under the control of the control unit 6, and the formed tomographic image is output to the display unit 10.
[0028]
The transmission / reception circuit 4 and the image forming unit 8 are set with various parameters and operate based on them. In this apparatus, a set of values (parameter set) obtained by image quality adjustment for various parameters is recorded from the control unit 6 to the storage unit 12. The storage unit 12 can store a plurality of parameter sets.
[0029]
The input unit 14 is used to input various parameter values and the like to the apparatus, and is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, buttons provided on the operation panel of the apparatus, a dial, or the like. The user can input parameter values to the control unit 6 by operating the input unit 14, and the control unit 6 sets the input parameter values in the transmission / reception circuit 4 and the image forming unit 8. The user can select a parameter set stored in the storage unit 12 by operating the input unit 14 and giving an instruction to the control unit 6. The selected parameter set is read from the storage unit 12 and set in the transmission / reception circuit 4 and the image forming unit 8.
[0030]
Image quality adjustment parameters used for image quality adjustment include, for example, gain, contrast, acoustic power, AGC, relief, FTC, frame correlation, line correlation, and frequency, and a set of values for these constitutes a parameter set. . Incidentally, here, the AGC parameter is for changing the amplification degree according to the strength of the signal input to the AGC circuit. For the strong reflected wave, the amplification degree is suppressed, and for the weak reflected wave. Increase amplification. By adjusting this parameter, a large signal that saturates is reduced to a level below a certain level, and an image with a clear boundary can be obtained. The FTC parameter is used to detect only the change in the signal and emphasize the echo boundary. The relief parameter relates to the process of fringing the pulse signal, and thereby the sharpness of the image can be adjusted.
[0031]
Next, functions and operations of this apparatus will be described. One of the major features of this apparatus is that the control unit 6 generates an index for each parameter set stored in the storage unit 12 based on the value of at least one image quality adjustment parameter included in the parameter set. It is in the point to give. For example, the index is defined according to the characteristics of the subject. Specifically, when the subject is fat, the attenuation amount of the received signal is larger than when the subject is thin, so when the subject is fat, a good image quality can be obtained by increasing the gain and contrast, When the skin is thin, good image quality can be obtained by lowering the gain or the acoustic power. Therefore, it is possible to define an index according to the degree to which the subject is fat using these image quality adjustment parameters. For example, the index (Index) is defined by the following expression based on the acoustic power (P), the gain (G), the contrast (C), and the frequency (F).
[0032]
[Expression 1]
Index = P + 5 · G + 16 · C-50 · F (1)
When the user performs adjustment to improve the image quality according to the subject, the parameter set as the adjustment result is indexed by the control unit 6 and stored in the storage unit 12. The timing of storing the parameter set can be given directly from the operation panel by the user. In addition, for example, the parameter set can be stored in the storage unit 12 in conjunction with the operation of freezing the moving image by the user.
This is because the timing of freezing is when the diagnostic part is examined based on a still image or when data recording is attempted by taking a picture or the like, and at this point, the image quality adjustment is usually completed. .
[0033]
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a parameter set group accumulated in the storage unit 12. In this figure, a parameter set including an acoustic power P (TX power), a gain G, a contrast C, and a frequency F, and an index Index calculated by the equation (1) corresponding to each of the parameter sets are shown. . As described above, when the user designates an index via the input unit 14, a corresponding parameter set is read from the storage unit 12 and set in each unit.
[0034]
For example, a dial can be used as the index designation means in the input unit 14. In this case, when the user turns the dial, an index value corresponding to the amount of rotation is designated. For example, when the user turns the dial to one side, the designated index value increases, and when the user turns the dial to the other side, the designated index value decreases. Then, according to the rotation of the dial, the tomographic images displayed on the display unit 10 are successively switched to those corresponding to the parameter set corresponding to each index. By using such means that can easily change the index continuously, the user can concentrate on the comparative observation of tomographic images displayed one after another on the display unit 10, and the object to be examined now. It is possible to quickly and easily realize a setting that provides a good image quality for the examiner.
[0035]
As described above, by using an index whose meaning is easy to understand for the user, it is expected that the user can easily select a suitable parameter set according to the inspection target by dialing.
[0036]
Since the index changes in ascending or descending order according to the dial operation, if the parameter sets are ordered and stored in the storage unit 12 according to the index, the parameter set is read from the storage unit 12 in conjunction with the index change. The operation is speeded up. As an example of the ordering, rearranging the storage positions of the parameter sets themselves on the storage unit 12 according to an index can be mentioned. As another example, it is possible to provide a table for managing the relationship between the index and the storage location of the parameter set.
[0037]
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the storage state of the parameter set in the storage unit 12, and shows a state in which the parameter set group shown in FIG. 2 is rearranged according to the index. Further, in the example shown in FIG. 3, a secondary index Indexβ is defined and assigned to each parameter set. Index β is obtained by converting a predetermined range of Index into a range of 0 to 100. For example, with respect to the Index represented by the expression (1), 0 to 100 of Index β is assigned to values of 250 to 550, for example. Index β can be determined in consideration of the distribution of collected data. Specifically, when generating Index β from Index, a weighting correction coefficient considering the distribution is multiplied. As a result, Index β can be allocated in a well-balanced manner according to the data distribution, and this Index β is configured to change in conjunction with the dial operation of the input unit 14.
[0038]
As described above, the present apparatus accumulates the parameter set when the user adjusts to obtain a suitable image quality in the storage unit 12 for various subjects, and assigns a one-dimensional index thereto. As the accumulation progresses, a parameter set capable of obtaining good image quality can be found from the storage unit 12 by an easy operation of turning the dial and changing the index even when a new subject is diagnosed. Then, by reusing the parameter set stored in the storage unit 12, the adjustment work of the image quality adjustment parameter is reduced.
[0039]
Next, processing for adding / updating a parameter set will be described. When a tomographic image having a suitable image quality is obtained, it is possible to newly register and store the parameter set at that time in the storage unit 12, and thereby to various subjects using the already registered parameter set. Thus, it is possible to easily obtain a tomographic image with good image quality. However, if an excessive number of parameter sets are accumulated, it may take time for the parameter set search process based on the index. Further, it is not necessary to store similar parameter sets in the storage unit 12. Therefore, as an example, when a similar parameter set having the same index is obtained, it can be discarded without being stored in the storage unit 12, and the total number of parameter sets can be kept below a certain upper limit. . As another method, an average value of each image quality adjustment parameter included in the newly obtained parameter set and an already existing equivalence index parameter set is obtained, and a parameter constituted by the average value is obtained. It is also possible to suppress the total number of parameter sets by processing to replace / update parameter sets that already exist in the set.
[0040]
When many similar parameter sets are generated, the upper limit value / lower limit value of Index assigned to Index β can be adjusted for optimization. Even when Indexβ is a negative value or often exceeds 100, the upper limit value / lower limit value can be adjusted for optimization. These adjustments can be configured to be automatically performed by the control unit 6.
[0041]
【The invention's effect】
According to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, the parameter set when a suitable diagnosis is realized is stored in the storage means for various examination objects, and the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is adjusted at the time of diagnosis by reusing it. Work load can be reduced. By assigning an index that defines a one-dimensional order to each accumulated parameter set and using it as a judgment index, it is easy to select a parameter set that realizes a suitable diagnosis from the storage means, The parameter set can be reused efficiently.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a parameter set group accumulated in a storage unit.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a parameter set storage state in a storage unit, in which the parameter set is rearranged according to an index.
[Explanation of symbols]
2 probe, 4 transmission / reception circuit, 6 control unit, 8 image forming unit, 10 display unit, 12 storage unit, 14 input unit.

Claims (8)

Storage means for storing a plurality of parameter sets each including a plurality of types of adjustment parameters relating to ultrasonic diagnosis;
Based on at least one type of the adjustment parameters included in the parameter set, an index providing unit that generates and assigns an index for each parameter set;
Index specifying means for specifying the index;
Reading means for reading out the parameter set corresponding to the specified index from the storage means;
Control means for executing the ultrasonic diagnosis based on the parameter set read from the storage means;
I have a,
The index is represented by a function having at least two types of adjustment parameters as arguments.
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. Storage means for storing a plurality of parameter sets each including a plurality of types of adjustment parameters relating to ultrasonic diagnosis;
Based on at least one type of the adjustment parameters included in the parameter set, an index assigning unit that generates and assigns an index for each parameter set;
Index specifying means for specifying the index;
Reading means for reading out the parameter set corresponding to the specified index from the storage means;
Control means for executing the ultrasonic diagnosis based on the parameter set read from the storage means;
Have
The index specifying means changes the index according to the order based on a user operation.
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the index indicates a property of an inspection target. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 ,
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, wherein the index specifying means changes the index according to the order based on a user operation. Storage means for storing a plurality of parameter sets each including a plurality of types of adjustment parameters relating to ultrasonic diagnosis;
Based on at least one type of the adjustment parameters included in the parameter set, an index providing unit that generates and assigns an index for each parameter set;
Index specifying means for specifying the index;
Reading means for reading out the parameter set corresponding to the specified index from the storage means;
Control means for executing the ultrasonic diagnosis based on the parameter set read from the storage means;
Have
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, wherein the storage unit stores the plurality of parameter sets in order according to the index. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The parameter set includes adjustment parameters that affect the image quality of the ultrasound diagnostic image;
The control means displays the ultrasonic diagnostic image based on the parameter set read from the storage means;
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by the above. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising registration means for registering in the storage means a new parameter set based on a result of adjustment according to an inspection object. Storage means for storing a plurality of parameter sets each including a plurality of types of adjustment parameters relating to ultrasonic diagnosis;
Based on at least one type of the adjustment parameters included in the parameter set, an index providing unit that generates and assigns an index for each parameter set;
Index specifying means for specifying the index;
Reading means for reading out the parameter set corresponding to the specified index from the storage means;
Control means for executing the ultrasonic diagnosis based on the parameter set read from the storage means;
Have
The parameter set includes adjustment parameters that affect the image quality of the ultrasound diagnostic image;
The control means displays the ultrasonic diagnostic image based on the parameter set read from the storage means,
A registration unit for registering in the storage unit a new parameter set that is set when the ultrasound diagnostic image is frozen by the user ;
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

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