JP5430861B2 - Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and image display apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and an image display apparatus, and in particular, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and an image display apparatus capable of easily displaying time-series image data of a desired heartbeat period collected from a subject. About.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus radiates an ultrasonic pulse generated from a vibration element built in an ultrasonic probe into a subject, and receives an ultrasonic reflected wave generated by a difference in acoustic impedance of the subject tissue by the vibration element. Displayed on the monitor. In this diagnostic method, real-time 2D image data and 3D image data can be easily observed with a simple operation by simply bringing the ultrasonic probe into contact with the body surface of the subject. Widely used.

  Ultrasound diagnostic methods for obtaining biological information from reflected waves from tissues or blood cells in a living body have made rapid progress with the development of two major technologies, the ultrasonic pulse reflection method and the ultrasonic Doppler method. The obtained B-mode image and color Doppler image are indispensable in today's ultrasonic image diagnosis.

  By the way, in the functional diagnosis of the heart using ultrasonic waves, a so-called “stress echo method” is used to evaluate the myocardial motor function using image data collected in a state where exercise load or drug load is applied to the subject. Widely practiced. In the stress echo method, for example, B-mode image data or color Doppler images in a heartbeat period such as systole or diastole, while sequentially changing the magnitude of a load and the position of a scanning section based on a preset stress echo protocol In general, a method of collecting data in time series and repeatedly displaying (loop display) these image data groups obtained under different load conditions or different scanning sections in synchronization with the heart rate is performed.

Furthermore, in recent years, distortion is based on TDI (Tissue Doppler Imaging) image data that displays the moving speed of the myocardial tissue two-dimensionally by applying the above-described color Doppler method and the moving speed information of the myocardial tissue in the TDI image data. A stress echo method using strain image data or the like for two-dimensionally displaying an amount has been attempted (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2005-130877 A

  In the stress echo method described above, diagnosis of the subject is usually performed by repeated display (loop display) of time-series image data collected in the systole of the heart. In some cases, it is required to observe time-series image data collected in the above.

  In such a case, the conventional stress echo method collects and displays image data in the systole while sequentially updating the load conditions of the drug load or exercise load, and further, in the diastole or one heartbeat cycle as necessary. A method of collecting and displaying image data has been taken. However, according to this method, it takes a complicated operation and a lot of time to collect image data, and it is impossible to accurately collect time-series image data at a desired timing after drug loading or exercise loading. Had problems.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to display a plurality of time-series image data collected in advance when displaying time-series image data in a predetermined heartbeat period. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and an image display apparatus capable of efficiently displaying image data of an arbitrarily set heartbeat period by extracting the image data of the predetermined heartbeat period from the image data.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment generates and displays time-series image data in a desired observation period based on a reception signal obtained by ultrasonic scanning on a subject. In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, for each of a plurality of load states, an image data storage means for storing first image data having a plurality of time-series image data collected in at least one heartbeat cycle and an observation mode are selected. Observation mode selection means, volume measurement means for measuring the intracardiac volume of the subject based on the image data of the first image data group, the selected observation mode, and the time of the intracardiac volume A period setting means for setting an observation period based on a local change, and for each of the plurality of load states, the time series of the first image data group in the observation period A plurality of image data, forming a second image data group, and extracting image data in a predetermined time phase from the second image data group to form a thumbnail image group; Display means for displaying the thumbnail image group and repeatedly displaying the second image data group corresponding to the load state selected based on the thumbnail image group, and the period setting means includes the observation unit Based on the selection information of the mode selection means, at least one of one heartbeat period, systole and diastole of the subject is set as the observation period.

The image display device according to the embodiment stores first image data having a plurality of time-series image data of at least one heartbeat cycle obtained by ultrasonic scanning on the subject for each of a plurality of load states. Image data storage means, observation mode selection means for selecting an observation mode, volume measurement means for measuring an intracardiac volume of the subject based on image data of the first image data group, and the selected An observation mode, a period setting means for setting an observation period based on a temporal change in the intracardiac volume, and a time series of the first image data group in the observation period for each of the plurality of load states. A plurality of image data is extracted to form a second image data group, and image data in a predetermined time phase is extracted from the second image data group to obtain a thumbnail image group. Image data extraction means to be formed, and display means for displaying the thumbnail image group and repeatedly displaying the second image data group corresponding to the load state selected based on the thumbnail image group, The period setting means sets at least one of one heartbeat period, systole and diastole of the subject as the observation period based on the selection information of the observation mode selection means.

  According to the present invention, when displaying time-series image data in a predetermined heartbeat period, the image data of the predetermined heartbeat period can be arbitrarily extracted by extracting the image data of the predetermined heartbeat period from a plurality of time-series image data collected in advance. Thus, it is possible to efficiently display the image data of the heartbeat period set to.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention to be described below, first, ultrasonic waves are transmitted / received to / from a subject to which the stress echo method in which drug loads are sequentially updated is applied to a predetermined heartbeat period. Time-series image data is generated, and in parallel with the generation of the image data, the R wave timing information of the electrocardiogram waveform measured from the subject, the drug load condition, and the image data generation condition are used as supplementary information. An image data group is formed. Next, a desired observation period based on the R wave is set based on the R wave timing information and the frame rate included in the image data generation condition, and a time series in the observation period is selected from the first image data group. A plurality of image data is extracted and repeatedly displayed on the display unit.

  In the following embodiments, the received signal collected from the subject to which the stress echo method by drug load is applied is processed to generate B-mode data, and the first image data is generated based on the B-mode data. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, color Doppler image data, TDI image data, and parametric image data such as strain image data generated based on these image data. The first image data group may be formed based on the above. Further, a stress echo method using exercise load instead of drug load may be used.

(Device configuration)
The configuration and basic operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of a transmission / reception unit and an image data generation unit included in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 transmits an ultrasonic pulse (transmission ultrasonic wave) to a diagnosis target site (heart region) of the subject to which a predetermined amount of drug has been administered before drug administration, and this transmission. An ultrasonic probe 3 in which a plurality of vibration elements for converting an ultrasonic reflected wave (received ultrasonic wave) obtained by the above into an electric signal (received signal) is arranged, and an ultrasonic pulse with respect to a predetermined direction of the subject The transmitting / receiving unit 2 that supplies a drive signal for transmitting the signal to the vibration element and performs phasing addition of the reception signals of a plurality of channels obtained from these vibration elements, and processes the reception signal after the phasing addition and processing the image Drug data supplied from the image data generation unit 4 for generating data, ECG waveform information and R-wave timing information supplied from the ECG measurement unit 11 described later, and the system control unit 12 from the input unit 10 The image and the image data generation condition are added to and stored in a plurality of time-series image data (hereinafter referred to as a first image data group) for a predetermined heartbeat period supplied from the image data generation unit 4. A data storage unit 5 is provided.

  Further, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 is based on R wave timing information and image data generation conditions added to the first image data group read from the image data storage unit 5 and observation mode information supplied from the input unit 10. An observation period setting unit 6 for setting a heartbeat period (hereinafter referred to as an observation period) to be repeatedly displayed in the stress echo method, and the observation period from the first image data group stored in the image data storage unit 5 The image data extraction unit 7 that extracts a plurality of time-series image data in the image data to form a second image data group, and the second image data group that is formed while updating the drug load condition An image data storage unit 8 that stores data corresponding to conditions, and a display unit 9 that displays a plurality of types of second image data groups obtained under different drug loading conditions in parallel with heartbeat synchronization. Furthermore, the input unit 10 for inputting the drug load condition, selecting the observation mode, updating the observation period, etc., the ECG measurement unit 11 for measuring the electrocardiographic waveform of the subject, and the above-mentioned in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100. A system control unit 12 that controls each unit in an integrated manner is provided.

  The ultrasonic probe 3 has N arranged vibration elements (not shown) at its distal end, and transmits and receives ultrasonic waves by bringing the distal end into contact with the body surface of the subject. The vibration element is an electroacoustic transducer that converts electrical pulses (driving signals) into ultrasonic pulses (transmitting ultrasonic waves) during transmission, and converts ultrasonic reflected waves (receiving ultrasonic waves) into electrical reception signals during reception. It has a function to do. Each of these vibration elements is connected to the transmission / reception unit 2 via an N-channel multi-core cable (not shown). In this embodiment, the sector scanning ultrasonic probe 3 having N vibration elements is described, but an ultrasonic probe corresponding to linear scanning, convex scanning, or the like may be used.

  Next, the transmission / reception unit 2 illustrated in FIG. 2 includes a transmission unit 21 that supplies a drive signal to the vibration element of the ultrasonic probe 3 and a reception unit that performs phasing addition on the reception signal obtained from the vibration element. 22 is provided.

  The transmission unit 21 includes a rate pulse generator 211, a transmission delay circuit 212, and a drive circuit 213. The rate pulse generator 211 transmits transmission ultrasonic waves by dividing the reference signal supplied from the system control unit 12. A rate pulse that determines the repetition period of is generated. The transmission delay circuit 212 includes the same number of independent delay circuits as the Nt number of vibration elements used for transmission, and transmits the transmission ultrasonic wave in a predetermined direction θp and a delay time for converging to a predetermined depth. A deflection delay time for the purpose is applied to the rate pulse supplied from the rate pulse generator 211. The drive circuit 213 has the same number of independent drive circuits as the transmission delay circuit 212, and generates a drive signal based on the rate pulse to which the above-described delay time is given by the transmission delay circuit 212. Then, Nt (Nt ≦ N) vibration elements selected for transmission from among the N vibration elements arrayed by the ultrasonic probe 3 are driven by the drive signal, and transmitted to the body of the subject. It emits sound waves.

  On the other hand, the receiving unit 22 includes Nr channel preamplifiers 221 corresponding to Nr (Nr ≦ N) vibrating elements selected for reception among N vibrating elements built in the ultrasonic probe 3, A / A D converter 222, a reception delay circuit 223, and an adder 224 are provided, and the Nr channel received signal supplied from the receiving vibration element via the preamplifier 221 is converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 222. And sent to the reception delay circuit 223.

  The reception delay circuit 223 uses an A / D converter to convert a focusing delay time for focusing received ultrasonic waves from a predetermined depth and a deflection delay time for setting reception directivity with respect to a predetermined direction θp. An adder 224 adds and synthesizes the reception signal output from the reception delay circuit 223 to each of the reception signals of the Nr channel output from 222. In other words, the reception signal obtained from the predetermined direction θp is phased and added by the reception delay circuit 223 and the adder 224. Note that the reception delay circuit 223 and the adder 224 enable so-called parallel simultaneous reception in which reception directivities in a plurality of directions are simultaneously formed by controlling the delay time. The application of this parallel simultaneous reception method greatly increases the time required for scanning. Shortened to

  Next, the image data generation unit 4 has a function of generating B-mode image data, and includes an envelope detector 41, a logarithmic converter 42, and an ultrasonic data storage unit 43. The envelope detector 41 envelope-detects the received signal after phasing addition supplied from the adder 224 of the receiving unit 22, and the amplitude of the received signal after the envelope detection is logarithmically converted by the logarithmic converter 42. Ultrasonic data (B mode data) in the predetermined direction θp is generated. The ultrasonic data sequentially supplied from the logarithmic converter 42 along with ultrasonic transmission / reception with respect to the transmission / reception direction θp (θp = θ1 to θP) is stored in the ultrasonic data storage unit 43 in correspondence with the transmission / reception direction. Data (B-mode image data) is generated. Note that the envelope detector 41 and the logarithmic converter 42 may be configured by changing the order.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the image data storage unit 5 includes waveform information of an electrocardiogram waveform supplied from the ECG measurement unit 11 and time-series image data for a predetermined heartbeat period supplied from the image data generation unit 4 and R The wave timing information and image data generation conditions such as a drug load condition and a frame rate supplied from the input unit 10 via the system control unit 12 are added and stored. At this time, the R wave timing information is added to the image data (hereinafter referred to as reference image data) generated by the image data generation unit 4 at the time when the R wave of the electrocardiogram waveform is detected.

  On the other hand, the observation period setting unit 6 includes a heart rate measurement unit 61, a period data storage unit 62, and a period setting unit 63, and the heart rate measurement unit 61 stores first image data stored in the image data storage unit 5. Reference image data to which R-wave timing information is added in the group is detected, and the number of image data existing between the reference image data is measured. Then, based on the number of image data and the frame rate (number of image data collected within a unit time) of the first image data group determined by the above-described image data generation conditions, the heart rate cycle and heart rate of the subject Measure the number.

  The period data storage unit 62 includes a storage circuit (not shown) in which data for an observation period corresponding to the heart rate is stored in advance. FIG. 3 shows the period data of the period data storage unit 62 used when the systolic observation mode or the diastole observation mode is selected as the observation mode. As shown in FIG. 3, the period data storage is performed. The storage circuit of the unit 62 stores in advance period data indicating the systolic observation period set for each of different heart rates. Note that the period data for the heart rate in this case can be obtained by statistically processing examination data obtained from past ECG measurement, but is not limited to this method. May be set.

  Next, the period setting unit 63 of the observation period setting unit 6 shown in FIG. 1 receives the heart rate information of the subject supplied from the heart rate measuring unit 61, and the period data corresponding to the heart rate is stored in the period. Read from the data storage unit 62. However, when the period data corresponding to the heart rate measured by the heart rate measuring unit 61 does not exist in the period data storage unit 62, the plurality of period data read from the period data storage unit 62 is interpolated to perform the heart rate Period data corresponding to is generated. Next, the period setting unit 63 supplies the period data read from the period data storage unit 62 or the period data newly generated by the above-described interpolation processing, the above-described R wave timing information, and the input unit 10 via the system control unit 12. The observation period (systole) is set for the first image data group based on the observed mode information (for example, information on the systolic observation mode).

  On the other hand, the image data extraction unit 7 attaches the waveform information of the electrocardiogram waveform, the drug load condition, and the like in the image data storage unit 5 based on the observation period information supplied from the period setting unit 63 of the observation period setting unit 6. A plurality of time-series image data corresponding to the observation period is extracted from the first image data group stored as information to form a second image data group, which is temporarily stored in the image data storage unit 8. To do. At this time, the second image data group is stored in the image data storage unit 8 in units of drug load conditions. The second image data group stored in the image data storage unit 8 is supplied to a network IF (interface) (not shown) and a general-purpose workstation or an image viewer connected via the network.

  Next, the observation period set by the observation period setting unit 6 and the second image data group formed in this observation period will be described with reference to FIG. 4A shows the electrocardiographic waveform Ec of the subject measured by the ECG measurement unit 11, and FIG. 4B shows the electrocardiographic waveform Ec collected in parallel with the above-described measurement. As described above, each of the time-series image data constituting the first image data group includes R-wave timing information and waveform information of an electrocardiographic waveform, and a frame. Image data generation conditions including a rate, and drug loading conditions are added as supplementary information.

  Then, the heart rate measuring unit 61 of the observation period setting unit 6 is based on the R wave timing information stored in the image data storage unit 5 together with the first image data group and the frame rate of the image data generation condition. And the heart rate is measured from the reciprocal of the heart cycle τa.

  On the other hand, the period setting unit 63 reads the period data corresponding to the heart rate supplied from the heart rate measuring unit 61 from the period data storage unit 62, and contracts the subject based on the period data and the R wave timing information. An observation period τx indicating a period is set for the first image data group. At this time, an observation period τb (τb = τa−τx) indicating an expansion period is also set as necessary.

  Next, the image data extraction unit 7 selects from the first image data group stored in the image data storage unit 5 based on the information of the observation mode (for example, the systolic observation mode) supplied from the input unit 10. A plurality of time-series image data (indicated by diagonal lines) corresponding to the observation period τx are extracted to form a second image data group.

  Returning to FIG. 1 again, the display unit 9 includes a display data generation unit 91 and a monitor 92. The display data generation unit 91 performs a predetermined conversion process on a plurality of types of second image data groups having different drug loading conditions supplied from the image data storage unit 8, and further, the second image after the conversion process Display data is generated by synthesizing the data group in synchronism with the heartbeat. The obtained display data is displayed on the monitor 92.

  FIG. 5 shows a specific example of the display data generated in the display data generation unit 91 of the display unit 9, and this display data corresponds to the image data in the predetermined heartbeat time phase of the second image data group. A thumbnail display area 301 in which a plurality of thumbnail data is displayed, and an image data display in which a plurality of types of second image data groups corresponding to the thumbnail data selected from these thumbnail data are displayed in heartbeat synchronization. A region 302 is included.

  For example, stress in which a drug (for example, “dobutamine”) having a drug loading condition of “no load (0γ)”, “5γ”, “10γ”, “15γ”,. When 10 types of second image data groups in the systole are collected by echo, the thumbnail display area 301 has 10 types corresponding to the second image data groups obtained in each of the above-mentioned drug loading conditions. A list of thumbnail data is displayed. Then, when the thumbnail data of the drug loading conditions “0γ”, “10γ”, “25γ”, and “40γ” is selected from these thumbnail data, the second image corresponding to the selected thumbnail data The data group is synchronously displayed as a moving image in the image data display area 302. Further, an electrocardiographic waveform of one heartbeat period and systole generated based on the waveform information added to the second image data group is displayed below the image data shown in the image data display area 302. .

  Next, the input unit 10 includes an input device such as a keyboard, a trackball, a mouse, a selection button, and an input button and a display panel on the operation panel, and a load condition input unit 101 for inputting a drug load condition is set in advance. An observation mode selection unit 102 that selects a desired observation mode from among a plurality of observation modes, and an observation period update unit 103 that updates the observation period for the first image data group set by the observation period setting unit 6 as necessary. Have. Also, input of subject information, setting of image data generation conditions and image data display conditions, and input of various command signals are performed using the above-described display panel and input device.

  In addition, there are doses of “dobutamine” such as “no load (0γ)”, “5γ”, “10γ”, “15γ”,... All period observation mode that repeatedly displays image data, systolic observation mode that repeatedly displays systolic image data, diastolic observation mode that repeatedly displays diastolic image data, and arbitrarily set by the operator There is an arbitrary period observation mode for repeatedly displaying image data of a period.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the ECG measurement unit 11 has a function of generating R wave timing information based on the R wave detected from the electrocardiographic waveform of the subject, and measures the electrocardiographic waveform attached to the surface of the subject body. A measuring electrode, an amplification circuit that amplifies the electrocardiogram waveform measured by the measuring electrode to a predetermined amplitude, an A / D converter that converts the amplified electrocardiogram waveform into a digital signal, and a digital signal An R wave detector (not shown) for detecting an R wave by setting a predetermined threshold for the converted electrocardiogram waveform is provided.

  On the other hand, the system control unit 12 includes a CPU and a storage circuit (not shown), and various information input / set / selected / updated in the input unit 10 is stored in the storage circuit. Then, the CPU comprehensively controls each unit of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 based on the above-described information supplied from the input unit 10 and information stored in advance in its own storage circuit, and the pre-generated first The second image data group in the desired observation period extracted from the one image data group is displayed on the display unit 9.

(Image data group display procedure)
Next, the display procedure of the second image data group in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  Prior to the generation of image data, the operator of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 inputs object information, sets image data generation conditions, and image data display conditions using the input unit 10 and then inputs a load condition “0γ”. . Furthermore, the measurement of the electrocardiogram waveform is started by attaching the measurement electrode of the ECG measurement unit 11 to a predetermined part of the subject. (Step S1 in FIG. 6).

  When the above initial setting is completed, the operator inputs a first image data group collection start command at the input unit 10 and this command signal is supplied to the system control unit 12 to load condition “0γ. The generation of the image data in “” is started.

  That is, the rate pulse generator 211 of the transmission / reception unit 2 shown in FIG. 2 determines the repetition period of the ultrasonic pulse radiated into the subject by dividing the reference signal supplied from the system control unit 12. A rate pulse is generated, and this rate pulse is supplied to the transmission delay circuit 212.

  The transmission delay circuit 212 gives the rate pulse a focusing delay time for focusing the ultrasonic wave to a predetermined depth and a deflection delay time for transmitting the ultrasonic wave in the first transmission / reception direction θ1, and this rate pulse. Is supplied to the drive circuit 213. Then, the drive circuit 213 supplies the drive signal generated based on the rate pulse to the Nt transmitting vibration elements in the ultrasonic probe 3 via a cable (not shown), and the ultrasonic pulse in the θ1 direction of the subject. Radiate.

  A part of the ultrasonic pulse radiated into the subject is reflected at the boundary surface of the heart, myocardial tissue or the like having different acoustic impedance, and these ultrasonic reflected waves (received ultrasonic waves) are Nr in the ultrasonic probe 3. Are converted into Nr channel electrical signals (reception signals) by the receiving vibration element. These received signals are amplified to a predetermined magnitude by the preamplifier 221 of the receiving unit 22, converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 222, and then a predetermined delay time by the reception delay circuit 223. Are added and synthesized by the adder 224 (phased addition). At this time, the reception delay circuit 223 has a convergence delay time for focusing the ultrasonic reflected wave from a predetermined depth and a deflection delay for giving a strong reception directivity in the transmission / reception direction θ1 with respect to the ultrasonic reflected wave. The time is set based on a control signal from the system control unit 12.

  Next, the envelope detector 41 and the logarithmic converter 42 of the image data generation unit 4 perform envelope detection and logarithmic conversion on the received signal bundled into one channel by the phasing addition in the adder 224 to obtain B-mode data. The generated B-mode data is stored in the ultrasonic data storage unit 43.

  Next, the system control unit 12 performs ultrasonic transmission / reception in the same procedure with respect to the transmission / reception directions θ2 to θP, and the B-mode data obtained at this time is also stored in the ultrasonic data storage unit 43. In other words, the B-mode data obtained by ultrasonic transmission / reception in the transmission / reception directions θ1 to θP is sequentially stored in the ultrasonic data storage unit 43 to generate and obtain one frame of image data (B-mode image data). The obtained image data is supplied to the image data storage unit 5 in FIG. 1 (step S2 in FIG. 6).

  Furthermore, by repeating the same procedure, for example, image data for several heartbeat cycles are sequentially generated, and these image data are also supplied to the image data storage unit 5.

  On the other hand, the ECG measurement unit 11 detects the R wave by setting a predetermined threshold value for the electrocardiogram waveform detected by the measurement electrode and converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter (step S3 in FIG. 6). ). Then, the R wave timing information indicating the timing at which the R wave is detected and the waveform information of the electrocardiographic waveform are supplied to the image data storage unit 5 and added to the above image data, and further from the input unit 10 to the system control unit. The load condition “0γ” and the image data generation condition supplied via the image data 12 are also supplied to the image data storage unit 5 and added to the image data. In other words, the image data storage unit 5 stores a plurality of time-series image data for the several heartbeat periods (the first data) having the R wave timing information, the waveform information, the load condition “0γ”, and the image data generation condition as supplementary information. The image data group) is stored (step S4 in FIG. 6).

  When the storage of the first image data group under the load condition “0γ” is completed, the update to the load condition “5γ” (step S5 in FIG. 6) and the drug administration of 5γ are performed (step S6 in FIG. 6). ) Re-input the acquisition start command for the first image data group. Then, the first image data group under the load condition “5γ” is stored in the same procedure (steps S2 to S4 in FIG. 6), and the above-described steps S2 to S6 are repeated to load conditions “10γ” to The first image data group at “45γ” is stored (steps S2 to S6 in FIG. 6).

  When the storage of the first image data group under the load conditions “0γ” to “45γ” is completed, the operator selects, for example, the systolic observation mode in the observation mode selection unit 102 of the input unit 10 (see FIG. 6 step S7), and further, a collection start command for the second image data group is input through the input unit 10.

  On the other hand, the heart rate measurement unit 61 of the observation period setting unit 6 that has received the above-described command signal via the system control unit 12 stores the R-wave timing information stored in the image data storage unit 5 together with the first image data group. The heart rate cycle of the subject is measured based on the frame rate of the image data generation condition and the heart rate is further measured from the heart rate cycle.

  Next, the period setting unit 63 reads the period data corresponding to the heart rate supplied from the heart rate measuring unit 61 from the period data storage unit 62, and the first image data group based on the period data and the R wave timing information. An observation period (systole) is set for (step S8 in FIG. 6).

  Then, the image data extraction unit 7 extracts a plurality of time-series image data corresponding to the observation period from the first image data group stored in the image data storage unit 5, and loads the load condition “0γ. ”Through“ 45γ ”are formed and stored in the image data storage unit 8 (step S9 in FIG. 6).

  When the storage of the second image data group under the load conditions “0γ” to “45γ” is completed, the display data generation unit 91 of the display unit 9 displays the second image data stored in the image data storage unit 8. Thumbnail data of load conditions “0γ” to “45γ” is generated based on the image data at a predetermined heartbeat time phase of the group and displayed on the monitor 92. Then, based on the thumbnail data, the operator selects a desired load condition (for example, the load condition “0”) from the second image data group in the load conditions “0γ” to “45γ” stored in the image data storage unit 8. 0γ ”,“ 10γ ”,“ 25γ ”and“ 40γ ”) are selected.

  Next, the display data generation unit 91 of the display unit 9 synthesizes the second image data group read from the image data storage unit 8 based on the selection information in synchronism with the heartbeat, and repeats it as a moving image on the monitor 92. Display (see FIG. 5) (step S10 in FIG. 6).

  At this time, when the observation period set by the observation period setting unit 6 based on the heart rate of the subject is inappropriate, the operator can observe the second image data group displayed on the display unit 9 under observation. The observation period update unit 103 of the input unit 10 is operated to update to a suitable observation period (step S11 in FIG. 6). on the other hand. When the observation period set by the observation period setting unit 6 is appropriate, the operator performs ultrasonic diagnosis on the subject based on the second image data group displayed on the display unit 9.

(Modification)
Next, a modification of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the observation period setting unit 6 in the above-described embodiment, as described above, based on the R wave timing information added to the image data of the first image data group and the frame rate of the image data generation condition, The heart rate is measured, and the period data corresponding to the heart rate is read from the period data storage unit 62 to set the observation period (systole) for the first image data group. The intracardiac volume is measured using the image data of one image data group, and the observation period for the first image data group is set from the temporal change of the intracardiac volume.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the observation period setting unit 6 a included in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 a of this modification includes a volume measurement unit 64 and a period setting unit 65, and the volume measurement unit 64 includes the image data storage unit 5. The ACT method and the Modified-Simpson method are applied to the image data of the first image data group stored in, and the intracardiac volume is measured.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a method of measuring the intracardiac volume by the volume measuring unit 64. The volume measuring unit 64 is first stored in the image data storage unit 5 as shown in FIG. The first image data of the first image data group thus read out is read, and the contour line 51 of the inner wall of the heart chamber is extracted using the contour extraction technique. As this contour extraction method, for example, the Automated-Contour-Tracking (ACT) method (“Automatic extraction of the ultrasonic heart wall contour using the ACT method”, Masahide Nishiura et al., Medical Review 71, PP.50-54, ( 1998)) is preferred.

  Next, the volume measuring unit 64 detects the annulus from the contour line 51 of the inner wall of the heart chamber obtained by the above-described contour extraction method, and sets the heart long axis 52 set based on the position of the annulus to the interval Δh. Use J to divide. Then, the distance Aj between the intersection points C1j and C2j between the perpendicular line 53 drawn from the dividing point hj (j = 1 to J) with respect to the long axis 52 and the contour line 51 of the inner wall of the heart chamber is measured, and the diameter Aj and the height are measured. The intracardiac volume is measured by applying a Modified-Simpson method (see FIG. 8B) in which a minute volume is approximated by a cylinder having Δh.

  Further, the volume measuring unit 64 measures the intracardiac volume by the same procedure for the image data for at least one heartbeat period subsequent to the first image data of the first image data group. The method of measuring the volume of the heart chamber by the Modified-Simpson method is described in “How to accurately capture the size of the heart chamber 2” (Yoshiro Takeuchi et al., Both atria, echocardiography Vol.2, No.3 P.192 -197, (2001)), etc., and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  On the other hand, the period setting unit 65 in FIG. 7 sets the observation period (that is, the systole) for the first image data group based on the temporal change in the intracardiac volume supplied from the volume measuring unit 64. In this case, a period from the heartbeat time phase in which the intracardiac volume is maximum to the minimum heartbeat time phase is set as the systole.

  According to the first embodiment of the present invention and the modification thereof described above, the time-series image data collected from the subject to which the stress echo method is applied are collected in advance when repeatedly displaying time-series image data of a predetermined heartbeat period. Time-series image data in a desired heartbeat period (observation period) arbitrarily set by extracting image data of the predetermined heartbeat period from a plurality of time-series image data corresponding to the predetermined heartbeat period. Can be displayed efficiently. For this reason, not only the diagnostic efficiency is greatly improved, but also the burden on the operator and the subject in the ultrasonic examination can be reduced.

  In addition, since the setting of the observation period in the above-described embodiment is based on the detection timing of the R wave that is relatively easy to detect and the statistical period data obtained by past ECG measurement, the desired observation period can be ensured. Can be set to

  On the other hand, since the setting of the observation period in the above-described modification is performed based on the temporal change of the intracardiac volume measured using the image data, even for a subject for which a good electrocardiographic waveform cannot be obtained. An accurate observation period can be set reliably.

  Further, according to the above-described embodiment and its modification, the observation period set by the observation period setting unit can be updated under the observation of the image data, so that the second image having a suitable observation period. Data groups can be easily observed.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the image display apparatus shown in the second embodiment, first, time-series image data (first image data group) for a predetermined heartbeat period collected from a subject to which the stress echo method is applied, In parallel with the generation of the image data, additional information such as R-wave timing information of the electrocardiographic waveform measured from the subject and image data generation conditions is read from the image data storage unit. Next, a desired observation period is set based on the R-wave timing information and the frame rate included in the image data generation conditions, and a plurality of time-series image data in the observation period are extracted from the first image data group And display it repeatedly on the display.

(Device configuration)
The configuration of the image display apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the image display apparatus in the present embodiment, and a unit having the same configuration and function as the unit of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 in the first embodiment shown in FIG. Are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  That is, the image display apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 9 includes time-sequential image data (first image) in a predetermined heart cycle of the subject supplied from a separately installed ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus via a network or a storage medium. Data group) together with the accompanying information, R-wave timing information and image data generation conditions added to the first image data group read from the image data storage unit 13, and an input unit described later An observation period setting unit 6 for setting an observation period of the stress echo method based on the observation mode information supplied from 10a, and a time in the observation period from the first image data group stored in the image data storage unit 13. An image data extraction unit 7 that extracts a plurality of sequential image data to form a second image data group, and is generated while updating drug loading conditions. The image data storage unit 8 that stores the second image data group corresponding to the drug load condition, and a plurality of types of second image data groups obtained under different drug load conditions are displayed in parallel with heartbeat synchronization. The display unit 9 further includes an input unit 10a for selecting an observation mode, updating an observation period, and the like, and a system control unit 12a for comprehensively controlling the above-described units in the image display device 200.

  The image data storage unit 13 stores a plurality of time-series image data for a predetermined heartbeat period collected from the subject before or after drug administration by a separately installed ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus as first image data. Store as a group. At this time, the R wave timing information and waveform information of the electrocardiographic waveform detected from the subject in parallel with the collection of the image data described above, the image data generation condition, and the drug load condition are also incidental information of the first image data group. Is stored in the image data storage unit 13.

  The input unit 10a includes an input device such as a keyboard, a trackball, a mouse, a selection button, and an input button and a display panel on the operation panel, and an observation for selecting a desired observation mode from a plurality of preset observation modes. The mode selection unit 102 and the observation period update unit 103 that updates the observation period for the first image data group set by the observation period setting unit 6 as necessary. Also, setting of image data display conditions, input of various command signals, and the like are performed using the above-described display panel and input device.

  The system control unit 12a includes a CPU and a storage circuit (not shown), and various information input / selected / updated / set in the input unit 10a is stored in the storage circuit. The CPU comprehensively controls each unit of the image display device 200 based on the above-described information supplied from the input unit 10a and information stored in advance in its own storage circuit, and stores the first stored in advance. The second image data group in the desired observation period extracted from the image data group is displayed on the display unit 9.

  Note that the display procedure of the image data group in this embodiment is the same as steps S7 to S11 in the display procedure of the image data group in the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  However, the observation period setting unit 6 in the present embodiment generates R wave timing information and image data of the electrocardiographic waveform added to the first image data group in the same manner as in the first embodiment shown in FIG. The observation period is set on the basis of the frame rate of the condition. Similar to the modification of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the temporal volume of the intracardiac volume measured using the first image data group is set. The observation period may be set based on the change.

  According to the second embodiment of the present invention described above, time-series image data of a predetermined heartbeat period collected from the subject to which the stress echo method is applied is repeated as in the first embodiment. When displaying, by extracting image data of the predetermined heartbeat period from a plurality of time-series image data for a predetermined heartbeat period collected in advance, in a desired heartbeat period (observation period) arbitrarily set Time-series image data can be displayed efficiently. For this reason, not only the diagnostic efficiency is greatly improved, but also the burden on the operator and the subject in the ultrasonic examination can be reduced.

  Further, according to the second embodiment described above, since the observation period set by the observation period setting unit can be updated under the observation of the image data, the second image data having a suitable observation period. The group can be easily observed.

  Furthermore, the operator can easily display time-series image data in a desired observation period of the first image data group supplied from a separately installed ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus via a network or the like. Diagnosis of the subject can be performed efficiently without much restrictions on time and place.

  The embodiments of the present invention (that is, the first embodiment and its modifications and the second embodiment) have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and may be modified. It is possible to implement. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which a plurality of types of second image data groups having different drug loading conditions are displayed in parallel with heartbeat synchronization. However, a second image obtained under a specific drug loading condition is described. Only the data group may be displayed alone as a moving image, or the image data in the predetermined heartbeat time phase of the second image data group may be displayed in parallel or as a still image.

  Further, the case where the second image data group is formed by extracting the image data of the desired observation period from the first image data group collected by the stress echo method using the drug load has been described. Alternatively, the second image data group may be formed by extracting image data in a desired observation period from the first image data group collected by the stress echo method using or the normal ultrasonic inspection method.

  Furthermore, although the case where the systole of the heart is set as the observation period has been described, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the cardiac diastole or one heartbeat period may be set as the observation period.

  In addition, the detection timing of the R wave detected from the electrocardiographic waveform of the subject and the period data set in advance, or the temporal change in the intracardiac volume measured from the image data of the first image data group. Although the case where the observation period is set based on the above has been described, the observation period may be set based on the detection timing of the R wave and the detection timing of the T wave detected from the electrocardiographic waveform.

  On the other hand, in the above-described first embodiment and its modifications, the reception signals collected from the subject are processed to generate B-mode data, and a first image data group is formed based on the B-mode data. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, color Doppler image data, TDI image data, and further, based on parametric image data such as strain image data generated based on these image data. Thus, the first image data group may be formed.

  In addition, the first image data group and the second image data group are described based on the case where the first image data group and the second image data group are formed based on the two-dimensional image data obtained by the two-dimensional scan on the subject. You may form based on data.

  Further, the case has been described in which the period data storage unit 62 of the observation period setting unit 6 in the first embodiment stores period data corresponding to the heart rate of the subject in advance. The period data to be stored may be stored.

1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The block diagram which shows the specific structure of the transmission / reception part with which the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the Example is provided, and an image data generation part. The figure which shows the period data of the period data storage part used when the systolic observation mode or the diastole observation mode is selected as an observation mode of the embodiment. The figure for demonstrating the observation period set by the observation period setting part of the Example, and the 2nd image data group formed in this observation period. The figure which shows the specific example of the display data produced | generated in the display data production | generation part of the Example. 9 is a flowchart showing a display procedure of a second image data group in the present embodiment. The block diagram which shows the whole structure of the ultrasound diagnosing device in the modification of the Example. The figure for demonstrating the measuring method of the volume in the heart chamber by the volume measuring part of the modification. The block diagram which shows the whole structure of the image display apparatus in the 2nd Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

2. Transmission / reception unit 21 ... Transmission unit 22 ... Reception unit 3 ... Ultrasonic probe 4 ... Image data generation unit 5 ... Image data storage unit 6, 6a ... Observation period setting unit 61 ... Heart rate measurement unit 62 ... Period data storage unit 63 , 65 ... period setting section 64 ... volume measurement section 7 ... image data extraction section 8 ... image data storage section 9 ... display section 91 ... display data generation section 92 ... monitor 10, 10a ... input section 101 ... load condition input section 102 ... Observation mode selection unit 103 ... observation period update unit 11 ... ECG measurement units 12, 12a ... system control unit 13 ... image data storage unit 100 ... ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 200 ... image display apparatus

Claims (4)

In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that generates and displays time-series image data in a desired observation period based on a reception signal obtained by ultrasonic scanning on a subject,
Image data storage means for storing first image data having a plurality of time-series image data collected in at least one heartbeat period for each of a plurality of load states ;
An observation mode selection means for selecting an observation mode;
Volume measuring means for measuring an intracardiac volume of the subject based on image data of the first image data group;
The selected observation mode, and period setting means for setting an observation period based on a temporal change in the intracardiac volume;
For each of the plurality of load states , a plurality of time-series image data in the observation period of the first image data group is extracted to form a second image data group, and the second image data group Image data extraction means for extracting image data in a predetermined time phase to form a thumbnail image group ,
Display means for displaying the thumbnail image group, and repeatedly displaying the second image data group corresponding to the load state selected based on the thumbnail image group ,
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized in that the period setting means sets at least one of one heartbeat period, systole and diastole of the subject as the observation period based on selection information of the observation mode selection means .   2. The ultrasonic diagnosis according to claim 1, wherein the display means displays a plurality of types of the second image data groups obtained from the subject to which a stress echo method under different load conditions is applied in a heartbeat synchronization manner. apparatus. Image data storage means for storing first image data having a plurality of time-series image data of at least one heartbeat cycle obtained by ultrasonic scanning on the subject for each of a plurality of load states ;
An observation mode selection means for selecting an observation mode;
Volume measuring means for measuring an intracardiac volume of the subject based on image data of the first image data group;
A period setting means for setting an observation period based on the selected observation mode and a temporal change in the intracardiac volume;
For each of the plurality of load states , a plurality of time-series image data in the observation period of the first image data group is extracted to form a second image data group, and the second image data group Image data extraction means for extracting image data in a predetermined time phase to form a thumbnail image group ,
Display means for displaying the thumbnail image group and repeatedly displaying the second image data group corresponding to the load state selected based on the thumbnail image group ,
The image display apparatus characterized in that the period setting means sets at least one of one heartbeat period, systole and diastole of the subject as the observation period based on selection information of the observation mode selection means. 4. The image display apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the display means displays a plurality of types of the second image data groups obtained from the subject to which the stress echo method under different load conditions is applied, in a heartbeat synchronization manner. .

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