JP4936281B2 - Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus that captures an ultrasound image as a diagnostic image of a subject. Specifically, the present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that displays a body mark indicating an examination site.

  Conventionally, there is RVS (real-time virtual sonography) as an image diagnostic technique using an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. In RVS, when an ultrasound image is captured by an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, a reference image (for example, a CT tomogram) that matches the tomographic plane of the ultrasound image being captured is extracted from the volume data, and the extracted reference image and ultrasound The sound image is displayed side by side. Volume data relating to the subject is acquired by various medical image diagnostic apparatuses (for example, CT apparatuses). The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus draws an ultrasonic image and a reference image having the same cross section in real time (see, for example, [Patent Document 1]).

  Further, in RVS, a three-dimensional object image is reconstructed from volume data, the position information of the ultrasonic probe with respect to the object is acquired, and a three-dimensional image showing the tomographic position of the ultrasonic image in the three-dimensional space. There is an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that creates a tomographic image and synthesizes and displays a three-dimensional subject image and a three-dimensional tomographic image. A composite image of the three-dimensional subject image and the three-dimensional tomographic plane image is used as a body mark indicating the examination site or a probe mark indicating the position of the ultrasonic probe.

JP-A-10-151131

  However, the conventional body mark has a problem that the display angle of the three-dimensional object image is fixed, and the position of the body mark cannot be confirmed from different viewpoints.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and provides an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of confirming the position of a body mark from different viewpoints in a body mark using a three-dimensional subject image. The purpose is to do.

To achieve the above-described object, the present invention stores volume data of the subject in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that creates and displays an ultrasonic image by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves from a probe to the subject. Volume data storage means, probe position information acquisition means for acquiring the position information of the probe, and viewpoint and projection plane in the three-dimensional visualization processing based on the acquired position information of the probe Viewpoint / projection plane calculating means for calculating the three-dimensional object image generating means for generating a three-dimensional object image representing the object from the volume data stored in the volume data storage means, and the acquired 3D tomographic plane image creating means for creating a 3D tomographic plane image showing a tomographic position of the ultrasonic image in a 3D space based on the position information of the probe, and the created 3D tomographic image 3D composite image creation means for creating a 3D composite image by synthesizing a body image and the created 3D tomographic plane image, and displaying the created 3D composite image and the ultrasonic image Display means; and the three-dimensional object image creation means projects the volume data onto the calculated projection plane from the calculated viewpoint to create the three-dimensional object image, and the tertiary The original tomographic plane image creating means projects the tomographic plane of the ultrasonic image onto the calculated projection plane from the calculated viewpoint and creates the three-dimensional tomographic plane image. It is.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention includes volume data storage means for storing volume data of a subject and probe position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of the probe. The volume data of the subject is data acquired in advance by the medical image diagnostic apparatus. The medical image diagnostic apparatus is, for example, a CT image diagnostic apparatus, an MR image diagnostic apparatus, or an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. The probe position information acquisition means is, for example, a magnetic position sensor system including a magnetic sensor and a magnetic source. The magnetic sensor is affixed to the probe.

The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus calculates a viewpoint and a projection plane in the three-dimensional visualization process based on the position information of the probe . Further, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus projects volume data onto a projection plane calculated from the calculated viewpoint, and creates a three-dimensional subject image showing the subject. Further, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus projects a tomographic plane of the ultrasonic image onto a projection plane calculated from the calculated viewpoint, and creates a three-dimensional tomographic plane image indicating the tomographic plane of the ultrasonic image. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus creates a three-dimensional composite image by synthesizing a three-dimensional subject image and a three-dimensional tomographic plane image, and displays the ultrasonic image in association with each other. The three-dimensional composite image is used as a body mark indicating an examination site or a probe mark indicating the position of an ultrasonic probe.

Thus, the angle of the three-dimensional subject image can be changed and displayed according to the positional relationship between the subject and the probe. As a result, the display angle of the body mark can be changed according to the change in the position of the probe, and ultrasonic image diagnosis can be performed accurately and efficiently. Accordingly, the visibility of the three-dimensional composite image as the body mark can be improved by performing shading processing according to the distance from the viewpoint and determining the luminance, opacity, and hue.

Further, an inspector position information acquisition unit that acquires position information of an inspector who operates the probe may be provided, and a viewpoint and a projection plane in the three-dimensional visualization process may be calculated based on the inspector position information. The inspector position information acquisition unit is, for example, a magnetic position sensor system including a magnetic sensor and a magnetic source. The magnetic sensor is mounted on the examiner's head or the like.

  Accordingly, the angle of the three-dimensional composite image can be changed and displayed according to the positional relationship between the subject and the examiner. Thereby, the display angle of the body mark can be changed according to the change of the position of the examiner, and ultrasonic image diagnosis can be performed accurately and efficiently.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus which makes it possible to confirm the position of a body mark from a different viewpoint in a body mark using a three-dimensional subject image can be provided.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description and the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are given to components having substantially the same functional configuration, and redundant description will be omitted.

(1. First embodiment)
(1-1. Configuration of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1)
First, the configuration of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. In the first embodiment, the direction of the line of sight 18 is the direction of the line of sight as viewed from the probe 2 and is parallel to the ultrasonic irradiation direction of the probe 2.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the probe 2 and the subject 17.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 supplies an ultrasonic probe 2 (hereinafter referred to as the probe 2) that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from the subject 17, a driving signal to the probe 2, and a probe. An ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 3 that processes a reception signal output from the touch element 2, an ultrasonic image creation unit 4 that reconstructs an ultrasonic image based on the reception signal output from the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 3, and an ultrasonic image And a display unit 5 as display means for displaying an ultrasonic image output from the creation unit 4 on a display screen.

  The probe 2 converts the drive signal into an ultrasonic wave and emits it to a target part of the subject 17 and receives a reflected echo generated from the target part of the subject 17 and converts it into a received signal. A plurality of transducers are arranged. A plurality of therapeutic transducers may be arranged together with the diagnostic transducer. The therapeutic transducer emits therapeutic ultrasonic waves to the target site of the subject.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 further includes a volume data storage unit 7 that takes in volume data regarding the subject 17 acquired by the medical image diagnostic apparatus 6 and stores the volume data. The medical image diagnostic apparatus 6 is an apparatus that obtains and diagnoses an image of the subject 17 and is, for example, a CT image diagnostic apparatus, an MR image diagnostic apparatus, or an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 also includes a magnetic sensor 8 and a magnetic source 16, a probe coordinate calculation unit 9, an ultrasonic tomographic plane coordinate calculation unit 10, and a reference image creation unit 11.

  The magnetic sensor 8 and the magnetic source 16 constitute a magnetic position sensor system. The magnetic sensor 8 is a magnetic signal detector and is attached to the probe 2. The magnetic position sensor system calculates position information such as the three-dimensional position and inclination (twist) of the probe 2 in the source coordinate system based on the detection signal output from the magnetic sensor 8, and calculates the probe coordinate calculation unit. Output to 9.

  The probe coordinate calculation unit 9 performs coordinate conversion on the position information of the probe 2 in the source coordinate system acquired from the magnetic sensor 8, and calculates the position information of the probe 2 in the volume data coordinate system. Note that the coordinate systems to be considered for coordinate conversion are the source coordinate system, the subject coordinate system, and the volume data coordinate system. The correspondence (conversion matrix) of the positions of the coordinate systems can be derived by a known registration process, and a conversion matrix from the source coordinate system to the volume data coordinate system may be used. Further, the probe coordinate calculation unit 9 reads the longitudinal direction of the probe 2 together with the position information of the probe 2 from the shape and orientation of the probe 2, and calculates the position information of the ultrasonic tomographic plane.

  The ultrasonic tomographic plane coordinate calculation unit 10 uses the positional information of the probe 2 in the volume data coordinate system acquired from the probe coordinate calculation unit 9 to calculate the positional information of the ultrasonic tomographic plane in the volume data coordinate system. To do. That is, the ultrasonic tomographic plane coordinate calculation unit 10 calculates which voxel on the volume data each pixel of the ultrasonic image output from the ultrasonic image creation unit 4 corresponds to.

  The reference image creation unit 11 obtains reference image data from the volume data stored in the volume data storage unit 7 based on the position information of the ultrasonic tomographic plane with respect to the volume data output from the ultrasonic tomographic plane coordinate calculation unit 10. Extract and reconstruct the reference image. Note that the reference image data is image data corresponding to the scan plane of the ultrasonic image being imaged in the case of real-time imaging. The ultrasonic image and the reference image are displayed on the display unit 5 as tomographic images having the same cross section.

  The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 1 also generates a MIP image and a surface rendering image based on the viewpoint / projection plane coordinate calculation unit 12 and the volume data stored in the volume data storage unit 7 and synthesizes the three-dimensional object image. The creation unit 13, the 3D tomographic plane image creation unit 14 that creates a 3D tomographic image of the ultrasonic tomographic position in the 3D space, the 3D object image creation unit 13, and the 3D tomographic plane image creation unit 14 And a three-dimensional composite image creation unit 15 that synthesizes the three-dimensional image created by the

The display unit 5 displays the ultrasound image output from the ultrasound image creation unit 4, the reference image output from the reference image creation unit 11, and the 3D composite image output from the 3D composite image creation unit 15. indicate.
The three-dimensional composite image output from the three-dimensional composite image creation unit 15 is guide information that visualizes the inspection region and the ultrasonic tomographic plane (position of the ultrasonic irradiation surface) of the probe 2, and indicates the inspection region. It is used as a body mark to be shown and a probe mark to show the position of the probe 2. The inspector moves the probe 2 based on the guide information.
Although not shown, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 includes a control unit and an operation unit that control each component.

(1-2. Operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1)
Next, the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 processes a reception signal output from the probe 2 by the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 3, and generates an ultrasonic image 31 (FIG. 7) by the ultrasonic image generation unit 4 (step 101).
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 calculates position information of the probe 2 in the source coordinate system by the magnetic sensor 8 and the magnetic source 16, performs coordinate conversion by the probe coordinate calculation unit 9, and searches in the volume data coordinate system. The position information of the child 2 is calculated (step 102).

FIG. 4 is a view showing the ultrasonic tomographic plane 33.
The ultrasonic tomographic plane coordinate calculation unit 10 uses the positional information of the probe 2 in the volume data coordinate system to calculate the positional information of the ultrasonic tomographic plane 33 in the volume data coordinate system (step 103).

  The reference image creation unit 11 reconstructs the reference image 32 (FIG. 7) using the volume data stored in the volume data storage unit 7 based on the position information of the ultrasonic tomographic plane 33 in the volume data coordinate system ( Step 104).

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the three-dimensional visualization process. FIG. 5 shows a viewpoint 21, a line of sight 22, volume data 23, a projection plane 24, a data array 25 on the line of sight 22, and a projection value 27.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a three-dimensional composite image 36 that is a composite image of the three-dimensional subject image 34 and the three-dimensional tomographic plane image 35.

  There are mainly three methods as three-dimensional visualization processing. In the MIP method (maximum luminance value projection method), the line of sight is extended from the viewpoint toward the projection plane, and the maximum luminance value of the voxel on the line of sight is adopted. In the SR method (surface rendering), the line of sight is extended from the viewpoint toward the projection plane, and the boundary of the luminance value change on the line of sight is adopted. In the VR method (volume rendering), the line of sight is extended from the viewpoint to the projection plane, and the densities of the voxels on the line of sight are totaled.

The viewpoint / projection plane coordinate calculation unit 12 determines the viewpoint 21 and projection plane 24 in the three-dimensional visualization process based on the position information of the probe 2 in the volume data coordinate system (step 105).
In the first embodiment, the direction of the line of sight 22 is parallel to the ultrasonic irradiation direction of the probe 2. The line of sight 22 in FIG. 5 corresponds to the line of sight 18 in FIG. The viewpoint 21 is determined as a point on the back side of the probe 2, that is, a half line from the center point of the volume data 23 to the center point of the probe 2 and outside the volume data 23. Further, the projection plane 24 is determined so as to be perpendicular to a straight line connecting the viewpoint 21 and the center point of the volume data 23.

  The three-dimensional subject image creation unit 13 performs a three-dimensional visualization process using the volume data stored in the volume data storage unit 7 and creates a three-dimensional subject image 34 (FIG. 6) (step 106).

  For example, the three-dimensional subject image creation unit 13 creates a three-dimensional subject image 34 by combining the MIP image and the SR image. The three-dimensional subject image creation unit 13 creates a three-dimensional image of the maximum luminance part such as a blood vessel or a contrast enhancement region by the MIP method, creates a three-dimensional image of the body surface of the subject 17 by the SR method, and SR The three-dimensional object image 34 may be created by making the image translucent and combining it with the MIP image. In the three-dimensional subject image 34, it is possible to clearly grasp which blood vessel in the subject 17 is displayed and which direction from which position of the blood vessel is observed. Further, it is desirable that the three-dimensional subject image creation unit 13 calculates depth information (Z-axis coordinates) in the three-dimensional image.

  The three-dimensional tomographic plane image creation unit 14 acquires the viewpoint 21 and the projection plane 24 from the viewpoint / projection plane coordinate calculation unit 12, and obtains the position information of the tomographic position of the ultrasonic tomographic plane 33 from the ultrasonic tomographic plane coordinate calculation unit 10. get. The three-dimensional tomographic plane image creation unit 14 projects the ultrasonic tomographic plane 33 onto the projection plane 24, and creates a three-dimensional tomographic plane image 35 (FIG. 6) that is a three-dimensional image of the ultrasonic tomographic plane 33. (Step 107). The shape of the three-dimensional tomographic plane image 35 is a convex shape or a linear shape corresponding to the field of view and depth of the ultrasonic image 31.

  The three-dimensional composite image creation unit 15 creates a three-dimensional composite image 36 by synthesizing the three-dimensional subject image 34 and the three-dimensional tomographic plane image 35 (step 108). The three-dimensional composite image creation unit 15 desirably synthesizes the three-dimensional subject image 34 and the three-dimensional tomographic plane image 35 with different hues. For example, the three-dimensional composite image creation unit 15 synthesizes an image with the three-dimensional subject image 34 as gray scale and the three-dimensional tomographic plane image 35 as green.

Here, image synthesis of the three-dimensional object image 34 and the three-dimensional tomographic plane image 35 will be described in detail.
The three-dimensional composite image creation unit 15 compares the depth of the three-dimensional subject image 34 (Z-axis coordinate value, distance from the viewpoint 21) with the depth of the three-dimensional tomographic plane image 35 for each pixel. The three-dimensional composite image creation unit 15 performs hidden surface processing on an image far from the viewpoint 21.

  For example, at the position (X, Y) on the three-dimensional composite image 36, the three-dimensional composite image creation unit 15 (the depth Zm of the three-dimensional subject image 34) <(the depth Zs of the three-dimensional tomographic plane image 35). ) And the luminance value of the three-dimensional subject image 34 is adopted as the luminance value of the three-dimensional composite image 36 when it is determined that the three-dimensional subject image 34 is closer to the viewpoint 21 than the three-dimensional tomographic plane image 35. . Alternatively, the three-dimensional composite image creation unit 15 sets opacity for each of the three-dimensional object image 34 and the three-dimensional tomographic plane image 35, and increases the coefficient as the opacity increases, along the Z-axis direction. By adding luminance values, the front three-dimensional object image 34 may be displayed in a translucent manner, and the three-dimensional tomographic plane image 35 in the back may be displayed in a transparent manner. As a result, in the three-dimensional composite image 36, the three-dimensional subject image 34 appears to be in front of the three-dimensional tomographic plane image 35.

  On the other hand, the three-dimensional composite image creation unit 15 at the position (X, Y) on the three-dimensional composite image 36 (the depth Zm of the three-dimensional subject image 34)> (the depth Zs of the three-dimensional tomographic plane image 35). If the three-dimensional subject image 34 is determined to be farther from the viewpoint 21 than the three-dimensional tomographic image 35, the luminance value of the three-dimensional tomographic image 35 is adopted as the luminance value of the three-dimensional composite image 36. . Alternatively, the three-dimensional composite image creation unit 15 sets opacity for each of the three-dimensional object image 34 and the three-dimensional tomographic plane image 35, and increases the coefficient as the opacity increases, along the Z-axis direction. By adding luminance values, the front three-dimensional tomographic image 35 may be displayed in a translucent manner, and the three-dimensional subject image 34 in the back may be displayed in a transparent manner. Thereby, in the three-dimensional composite image 36, the three-dimensional tomographic image 35 appears to be closer to the front side than the three-dimensional subject image 34.

Further, the three-dimensional composite image creation unit 15 (the depth Zm of the three-dimensional subject image 34) = (the depth Zs of the three-dimensional tomographic plane image 35) at the position (X, Y) on the three-dimensional composite image 36. ), The luminance value is set to a predetermined color, for example, blue, at the position (X, Y) on the three-dimensional composite image 36. As a result, the boundary line between the three-dimensional object image 34 and the three-dimensional tomographic plane image 35 is drawn in a predetermined color and becomes clear. Note that it is desirable that the inspector can change the opacity.
Further, the three-dimensional tomographic image 35 of the three-dimensional composite image 36 is fixed in accordance with the position information of the probe 2 and the position information of the ultrasonic tomographic surface 33 obtained from the viewpoint / projection plane coordinate calculation unit 12, The subject image 34 can be changed and displayed. Specifically, the three-dimensional object image creation unit 13 uses the volume data stored in the volume data storage unit 7 based on the position information of the probe 2 obtained from the viewpoint / projection plane coordinate calculation unit 12. To perform 3D visualization. At this time, the three-dimensional subject image creation unit 13 acquires the position information of the viewpoint 21 and the projection plane 24 from the viewpoint / projection plane coordinate calculation unit 12. Then, the three-dimensional subject image creation unit 13 creates a three-dimensional subject image drawn on the projection plane 24 from the viewpoint 21 using the volume data. The three-dimensional tomographic plane image creation unit 14 acquires the position information of the ultrasonic tomographic plane 33 from the viewpoint / projection plane coordinate calculation unit 12, projects the ultrasonic tomographic plane 33 onto the projection plane 24, and A three-dimensional tomographic image 35 that is a three-dimensional image of the sonic tomographic surface 33 is created. Then, the three-dimensional tomographic plane image creation unit 14 fixes the once created three-dimensional tomographic plane image 35. Therefore, even if the probe 2 is moved, the ultrasonic tomographic plane 33 displayed in the three-dimensional tomographic plane image 35 is displayed at a fixed position, and only the three-dimensional subject image 34 moves in accordance with the movement of the probe 2. Will do.
In addition, when the ultrasonic tomographic plane 33 and the viewpoint direction are parallel, the displayed ultrasonic tomographic plane 33 may be formed in a line shape. The line displayed in this line shape indicates the tomographic position itself of the ultrasonic tomographic plane 33, and is the longitudinal direction of the probe 2 in the case of the linear or convex probe 2. By fixing the line by the above method, a puncture plan or the like can be performed from the position information of the line.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display screen 37 of the display unit 5.
The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 1 arranges the ultrasound image 31, the reference image 32, and the three-dimensional composite image 36 in association with each other and displays them on the screen 37 of the display unit 5 (step 109).

(1-3. Effects, etc.)
Through the above process, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 acquires the position information of the probe 2 by the magnetic sensor 8, and based on the position information of the probe 2, the ultrasonic image 31 and the reference for the same tomographic plane. An image 32 is created. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 determines the viewpoint 21 and the projection plane 24 in the three-dimensional visualization process based on the position information of the probe 2. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 1 projects volume data onto the projection surface 24 to create a three-dimensional subject image 34, and projects an ultrasound tomographic surface 33 indicating the tomographic position of the ultrasound image 31 onto the projection surface 24 to perform tertiary. An original tomographic plane image 35 is created, and the three-dimensional subject image 34 and the three-dimensional tomographic plane image 35 are combined to create a three-dimensional composite image 36. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 displays the ultrasonic image 31, the reference image 32, and the three-dimensional composite image 36 on the display unit 5 in association with each other.

  Thus, in the first embodiment, the angle of the three-dimensional subject image can be changed and displayed according to the positional relationship between the subject and the probe 2. Therefore, the display angle of the body mark can be changed according to the change in the position of the probe 2, and ultrasonic image diagnosis by RVS can be performed accurately and efficiently.

(2. Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1a according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the probe 2 and the inspector 43.
In the second embodiment, the direction of the line of sight 44 is the direction of the line of sight as viewed from the examiner 43, and the direction changes with respect to the ultrasonic irradiation surface of the subject 17 or the probe 2.

The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 a includes a magnetic sensor 41 and an inspector coordinate calculation unit 42.
The magnetic sensor 41 is a magnetic signal detector and is attached to the head of the inspector 43. The magnetic sensor 41 is preferably mounted as close to the eye of the examiner 43 as possible.

The magnetic position sensor system calculates position information such as the three-dimensional position and inclination (twist) of the inspector 43 in the source coordinate system based on the detection signal output from the magnetic sensor 41, and sends it to the inspector coordinate calculation unit 42. Output.
The inspector coordinate calculation unit 42 performs coordinate conversion on the position information of the inspector 43 in the source coordinate system acquired from the magnetic sensor 41, and calculates the position information of the inspector 43 in the volume data coordinate system.

The viewpoint / projection plane coordinate calculation unit 12 determines the viewpoint 21 and the projection plane 24 in the three-dimensional visualization process based on the position information of the inspector 43 in the volume data coordinate system.
In the second embodiment, the direction of the line of sight 44 changes according to the position of the examiner 43. The line of sight 22 in FIG. 5 corresponds to the line of sight 44 in FIG. The viewpoint 21 is the viewpoint of the inspector 43, that is, the position of the head of the inspector 43. Further, the projection plane 24 is determined so as to be perpendicular to a straight line connecting the viewpoint 21 and the center point of the volume data 23.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a three-dimensional composite image 53 that is a composite image of the three-dimensional subject image 51 and the three-dimensional tomographic plane image 52.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the display screen 54 of the display unit 5.
Thereafter, as in the first embodiment, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 a creates a three-dimensional composite image 53 by creating a three-dimensional subject image 51 and a three-dimensional tomographic plane image 52 and synthesizing the images.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 arranges the ultrasonic image 31, the reference image 32, and the three-dimensional composite image 53 in association with each other and displays them on the screen 54 of the display unit 5.

  Through the above process, the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 1 determines the viewpoint 21 and the projection plane 24 in the three-dimensional visualization process based on the position information of the examiner 43. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 projects volume data on the projection plane 24 to create a three-dimensional subject image 51, projects an ultrasonic tomographic plane 33 onto the projection plane 24, and creates a three-dimensional tomographic plane image 52. A three-dimensional composite image 53 is created by synthesizing the three-dimensional subject image 51 and the three-dimensional tomographic plane image 52. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 displays the ultrasonic image 31, the reference image 32, and the three-dimensional composite image 53 in association with each other on the display unit 5.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, the angle of the three-dimensional composite image can be changed and displayed according to the positional relationship between the subject and the examiner. Thereby, the display angle of the body mark can be changed according to the change of the position of the examiner, and the ultrasonic image diagnosis by RVS can be performed accurately and efficiently.

(3. Other)
It should be noted that the 3D processing executed by the 3D subject image creation unit 13 has a large amount of calculation, so that real-time processing may be difficult. In this case, the display angle of the three-dimensional subject image 34 may be changed when necessary without performing real-time processing.
For example, a 3D angle change button 38 may be provided on the user interface of the screen 37 in FIG. 7 or the screen 54 in FIG. 11, and the execution and stop of the three-dimensional processing may be operated via the button 38. That is, when an operation instruction for executing a three-dimensional process is given via the button 38, the viewpoint / projection plane coordinate calculation unit 12 recalculates the viewpoint 21 and the projection plane 24, and the three-dimensional subject image creation unit 13 performs tertiary processing. The original subject image 34 may be created.

  The preferred embodiments of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications can be conceived within the scope of the technical idea disclosed in the present application, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

1 is a configuration diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. The figure which shows the positional relationship of the probe 2 and the subject 17 Flow chart showing the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 The figure which shows the ultrasonic tomographic plane 33 Illustration of 3D visualization process The figure which shows the three-dimensional composite image 36 which is a composite image of the three-dimensional subject image 34 and the three-dimensional tomographic plane image 35. The figure which shows the display screen 37 of the display part 5. The block diagram of the ultrasonic diagnosing device 1a which concerns on 2nd Embodiment The figure which shows the positional relationship of the probe 2 and the inspector 43 The figure which shows the three-dimensional composite image 53 which is a composite image of the three-dimensional subject image 51 and the three-dimensional tomographic plane image 52. The figure which shows the display screen 54 of the display part 5

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1a ......... Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 2 ......... Ultrasonic probe 3 ......... Ultrasonic transmission / reception part 4 ......... Ultrasonic image creation part 5 ......... Display part 6 ......... Medical image diagnostic apparatus 7 ......... Volume data storage unit 8, 41 ......... Magnetic sensor 9 ......... Probe coordinate calculation unit 10 ...... Ultrasonic tomographic plane coordinate calculation unit 11 ...... Reference image creation unit 12 ......... Viewpoint Projection plane coordinate calculation unit 13... 3D subject image creation unit 14... 3D tomographic plane image creation unit 15... 3D composite image creation unit 16. 18, 22, 44 ......... line of sight 21 ......... view point 24 ......... projection plane 33 ......... ultrasonic tomographic plane 34, 51 ......... three-dimensional object image 35, 52 ......... three-dimensional tomographic plane image 36, 53 ... 3D composite image 37, 54 ... ... Screen 42 ... ... Examiner coordinate calculation Departure 43 ……… Inspector

Claims (4)

In an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus that creates and displays an ultrasound image by transmitting and receiving ultrasound to and from a subject from a probe,
Volume data storage means for storing volume data of the subject;
Probe position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of the probe;
Viewpoint / projection plane calculating means for calculating a viewpoint and a projection plane in the three-dimensional visualization process based on the acquired positional information of the probe ;
Three-dimensional subject image creation means for creating a three-dimensional subject image indicating the subject from the volume data stored in the volume data storage means;
Three-dimensional tomographic plane image creating means for creating a three-dimensional tomographic plane image indicating a tomographic position of the ultrasonic image in a three-dimensional space based on the acquired positional information of the probe;
3D composite image creation means for creating a 3D composite image by compositing the created 3D object image and the created 3D tomographic plane image;
Display means for displaying the created three-dimensional composite image and the ultrasonic image;
Equipped with,
The three-dimensional subject image creating means projects the volume data from the calculated viewpoint onto the calculated projection plane to create the three-dimensional subject image,
The three-dimensional tomographic plane image creating means projects the tomographic plane of the ultrasonic image onto the calculated projection plane from the calculated viewpoint to create the three-dimensional tomographic plane image. Diagnostic device. Inspector position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of an inspector who operates the probe,
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the viewpoint / projection plane calculating unit calculates a viewpoint and a projection plane in a three-dimensional visualization process based on the position information of the inspector . The three-dimensional composite image creating means is based on a distance from the calculated viewpoint to the three-dimensional subject image or the three-dimensional tomographic plane image, and at least one of luminance, opacity, and hue of the three-dimensional composite image. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus determines whether or not . The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional tomographic plane image creation unit fixes the once created three-dimensional tomographic plane image.

Images