JP5574742B2 - Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of displaying an ultrasonic image and a medical image obtained by an X-ray CT (Computed Tomography) apparatus, an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) apparatus, or the like.

  An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of displaying an X-ray CT image, an MRI image, or the like having the same cross section as the ultrasonic image is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1. In this ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the position and inclination of an ultrasonic probe that performs ultrasonic scanning are detected, and an X-ray CT image or MRI of a cross section corresponding to the acquisition position of an echo signal specified based on the detection information. An image or the like is displayed together with a real-time ultrasonic image.

Japanese Patent No. 3877747

  By the way, when a real-time ultrasonic image is displayed and an X-ray CT image or MRI image having the same cross section as that of the ultrasonic image is displayed, a lesion or the like can be clearly seen in either one of the images. However, it may not be clearly visible in the other image. Therefore, it is desired that a lesioned part or the like can be easily specified in the other image that is not clearly seen.

  An invention according to a first aspect made to solve the above-described problem is an ultrasonic probe that performs ultrasonic scanning on a living tissue to acquire an echo signal, and detects the position and inclination of the ultrasonic probe. An ultrasonic image created based on the echo signal acquired by the probe detection unit and the ultrasonic probe is displayed on the display unit, and a medical image created based on the three-dimensional medical image data acquired in advance. A display image control unit for displaying a medical image of a cross section corresponding to a cross section of the ultrasonic image specified based on the position and inclination of the ultrasonic probe detected by the probe detection unit on the display unit; An operation unit for inputting an instruction for designating a region of interest in either one of the ultrasonic image or the medical image displayed on the display unit, and an input of the operation unit And a display setting unit for displaying a marker indicating a region of interest on either one of the ultrasonic image or the medical image and displaying the marker at a corresponding position in the other image. Is an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

  The invention of the second aspect includes an ultrasonic probe that scans a living tissue to acquire an echo signal, a probe detection unit that detects a position and an inclination of the ultrasonic probe, and the ultrasonic probe. An ultrasonic image created based on the acquired echo signal is displayed on the display unit, and is a medical image created based on the previously acquired three-dimensional medical image data, and is detected by the probe detection unit A display image control unit that displays a medical image of a cross section corresponding to a cross section of the ultrasonic image specified based on the position and inclination of the ultrasonic probe on the display unit; and the ultrasonic image displayed on the display unit. In either the sonic image or the medical image, an operator inputs an instruction to specify a two-dimensional region of interest, and the operation unit specifies a plurality of cross sections. A three-dimensional shape deriving unit for obtaining a three-dimensional shape of the region of interest based on the two-dimensional region of interest; a two-dimensional region of interest for a predetermined cross section based on the three-dimensional shape of the region of interest; An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: a display setting unit configured to display a marker indicating a three-dimensional region of interest on the ultrasonic image and the medical image for the predetermined cross section.

  According to a third aspect of the invention, in the invention of the second aspect, the three-dimensional shape deriving unit obtains the coordinates of the region of interest in the coordinate system of the image in which the region of interest is designated by the operation unit. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by obtaining a three-dimensional shape of a region of interest.

  According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the third aspect of the invention, the three-dimensional shape deriving unit performs an interpolation process using coordinates of a two-dimensional region of interest designated for a plurality of cross sections, and performs a cubic of the region of interest. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by obtaining an original shape.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the third and fourth aspects, the display setting unit uses the ultrasonic probe among the coordinates of the region of interest obtained by the three-dimensional shape deriving unit. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is characterized in that the marker is displayed by specifying the two-dimensional region of interest by specifying coordinates existing in a predetermined cross-section being scanned.

  The invention according to a sixth aspect is the invention according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the three-dimensional medical image data includes X-ray CT image data, MRI image data, or the position and inclination of the ultrasonic probe. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by three-dimensional ultrasonic data acquired together with information.

  A seventh aspect of the invention is an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, further comprising a measurement unit that measures a region of interest indicated by the marker.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when a region of interest is set in one of the ultrasonic image and the medical image and the marker is displayed, the marker is also displayed at a corresponding position in the other image. Is displayed, for example, even when a lesioned part is visible in one image but not visible in the other image, the lesioned part can be easily identified.

  Further, according to the invention of the second aspect, a marker indicating a two-dimensional region of interest for a predetermined cross section is based on the three-dimensional shape of the region of interest obtained by the three-dimensional shape deriving unit. And the medical image is displayed, for example, even when a lesion is visible in one image but not in the other image, the lesion can be easily identified. . Further, after the three-dimensional shape of the region of interest is obtained, the marker is automatically displayed without specifying the region of interest. Therefore, it is not necessary to designate a region of interest each time the displayed cross section is changed, so that the burden on the operator can be reduced.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an example of an embodiment of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the display control part of 1st embodiment. It is a flowchart at the time of performing alignment with the coordinate system of an ultrasonic image and the coordinate system of a medical image. It is a figure which shows the display part on which the ultrasonic image was displayed. It is a figure which shows the display part on which the ultrasonic image and the medical image were displayed. It is a flowchart after alignment is completed. It is a figure which shows the display part by which the marker was displayed on the ultrasonic image and the medical image. It is a figure which shows an example of a marker. It is a figure which shows the other example of a marker. It is a figure which shows the other example of a marker. It is explanatory drawing at the time of designating a region of interest in a medical image. It is a flowchart which shows the effect | action of the 1st modification of 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows the display part by which the marker was displayed on the medical image in the 1st modification of 1st embodiment. In the 1st modification of 1st embodiment, it is a figure which shows the display part by which the marker was displayed not only on the medical image but on the ultrasonic image. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the display control part in the 2nd modification of 1st embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the display control part of 2nd embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the effect | action of 2nd embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the several cross section of the object which designates a region of interest. It is a conceptual diagram which shows two orthogonal cross sections. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a display unit on which an ultrasonic image and a medical image of one of the two cross sections shown in FIG. 19 are displayed. It is a figure which shows the display part with which the ultrasonic image and medical image of another cross section were displayed among the two cross sections shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the effect | action in the modification of 2nd embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
(First embodiment)
First, a first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes an ultrasonic probe 2, a transmission / reception unit 3, an echo processing unit 4, a display control unit 5, a display unit 6, an operation unit 7, a control unit 8, a storage unit 9, and a magnetic generation unit 10. The magnetic sensor 11 is provided.

  The ultrasonic probe 2 performs ultrasonic scanning to acquire an echo signal. This ultrasonic probe 2 is an example of an embodiment of an ultrasonic probe in the present invention. Further, the ultrasonic probe 2 is provided with the magnetic sensor 11 including a magnetic detection coil. The magnetic sensor 11 detects magnetism generated from the magnetism generating unit 10 composed of magnetism generating coils. A detection signal of the magnetic sensor 11 is input to the display control unit 5. The detection signal of the magnetic sensor 11 may be input to the display control unit 5 via a cable (not shown), or may be input to the display control unit 5 wirelessly. The magnetic generator 10 and the magnetic sensor 11 are an example of an embodiment of a probe detector in the present invention.

  The transmission / reception unit 3 drives the ultrasonic probe 2 under a predetermined transmission condition, and scans the scan surface in an acoustic ray sequence with an ultrasonic beam. The transmission / reception unit 3 drives the ultrasonic probe 2 according to a control signal from the control unit 8.

  Further, the transmission / reception unit 3 performs signal processing such as phasing addition processing on the echo signal obtained by the ultrasonic probe 2, and outputs the echo data after the signal processing to the echo processing unit 4.

  The echo processing unit 4 performs predetermined processing such as logarithmic compression processing and envelope detection processing on the echo data output from the transmission / reception unit 3, and outputs the obtained data to the display control unit 5.

  The display control unit 5 includes a display image control unit 51 and a display setting unit 52 as shown in FIG. The display image control unit 51 is an embodiment of the display image control unit in the present invention. Specifically, the display image control unit 51 is configured to include a scan converter and the like, and the data processed by the echo processing unit 4 is displayed on the display unit 6. Scan conversion to sound image data. Then, a two-dimensional ultrasonic image based on the ultrasonic image data is displayed on the display unit 6. The ultrasonic image is, for example, a B mode image.

  The display image control unit 51 calculates the position of the ultrasonic probe 2 in a three-dimensional space coordinate system with the magnetism generation unit 10 as the origin, based on the detection signal of the magnetic sensor 11. Further, the display image control unit 51 calculates the inclination of the ultrasonic probe 2 based on the detection signal of the magnetic sensor 12. Information on the position and inclination of the ultrasonic probe 2 is referred to as “probe information”.

  Furthermore, the display image control unit 51 calculates position information I in the three-dimensional space of an acquisition area of an echo signal by the ultrasonic probe 2 based on the probe information. The calculated position information I is stored in the storage unit 9 configured by a memory (not shown) such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or the like.

  The display image control unit 51 is based on three-dimensional medical image data obtained by another image diagnostic apparatus such as X-ray CT image data or MRI image data stored in advance in the storage unit 9 as will be described later. A two-dimensional medical image is displayed on the display unit 6. That is, the medical image displayed on the display unit 6 is an X-ray CT image or an MRI image. Based on the position information I, the display image control unit 51 displays a medical image of a cross section (same cross section) corresponding to the scan surface of the ultrasonic probe 2 on the display unit 6. Details will be described later. The display image control unit 51 is an example of an embodiment of a display image control unit in the present invention.

  The display setting unit 52 displays a marker M (see FIG. 7 and the like) indicating a region of interest on either the ultrasonic image or the medical image based on the input from the operation unit 7. At the same time, the marker M is also displayed at the corresponding position in the other image. As will be described later, the display setting unit 52 converts the coordinates designated as the region of interest in one image into the coordinates of the other image, and displays the marker M on the other image. The display setting unit 52 is an example of an embodiment of a display setting unit in the present invention.

  The display unit 6 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), and the like, and displays the ultrasonic image, the medical image, and the like.

  The operation unit 7 includes a button, a rotary knob, a keyboard, and a pointing device (not shown) for an operator to input instructions and information. By operating the operation unit 7, for example, an instruction for designating a region of interest is input as described later. The operation unit 7 is an example of an embodiment of the operation unit in the present invention.

  The control unit 8 is configured by a CPU (CentRal Processing Unit), reads a control program stored in the storage unit 9, and executes functions in each unit of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1.

  The storage unit 9 is composed of, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive). In addition to the control program, the storage unit 9 may store data output from the echo processing unit 4 and subjected to scan conversion by the scan converter. Data before being scan-converted by the scan converter is referred to as raw data. The storage unit 9 may store the raw data, or may store ultrasonic image data that has been scanned and converted by the scan converter.

  Incidentally, the raw data and the ultrasonic image data are also stored in the memory in the display image control unit 51.

  The storage unit 9 stores three-dimensional medical image data (volume data) obtained by other image diagnostic apparatuses such as X-ray CT image data and MRI image data. The X-ray CT image data and the MRI image data are an example of an embodiment of three-dimensional medical image data in the present invention.

  Now, the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 of this example will be described. In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1, an ultrasonic image and a medical image having the same cross section are displayed on the display unit 6 together. When displaying the ultrasonic image and the medical image of the same cross section on the display unit 6, first, the alignment of the coordinate system of the ultrasonic image and the coordinate system of the medical image is performed. Incidentally, in this example, the positional information (coordinates) of the echo signal acquisition region is positional information (coordinates) in a coordinate system with the magnetic generator 10 as the origin, and therefore the coordinate system of the ultrasonic image Ga is the magnetic information. This is a coordinate system with the generation unit 10 as the origin. However, the present invention is not limited to the coordinate system having the magnetic generator 10 as the origin.

  Specifically, the flow for performing the alignment will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step S1, the ultrasound probe 2 scans the subject with ultrasound and acquires an echo signal. The display image control unit 51 displays a real-time ultrasonic image Ga on the display unit 6 as shown in FIG. When scanning with the ultrasonic probe 2, a detection signal of the magnetic sensor 11 is input to the display image control unit 51. The display image control unit 51 calculates the coordinates of the acquisition area of the echo signal in the coordinate system with the magnetic generation unit 10 as the origin, based on the detection signal input from the magnetic sensor 11.

  Next, in step S2, the display image control unit 51 displays a medical image Gb based on the medical image data stored in the storage unit 9 on the display unit 6, as shown in FIG. The display image control unit 5 displays the medical image Gb on the display unit 6 so as to be aligned with the ultrasonic image Ga.

  Next, in step S3, the operator performs alignment between the coordinate system of the ultrasonic image Ga and the coordinate system of the medical image Gb. Specifically, the operator operates the operation unit 7 while comparing the ultrasonic image Ga and the medical image Gb displayed on the display unit 6, and the medical image Gb having the same cross section as the ultrasonic image Ga. Is displayed. Whether the cross sections are the same or not is determined, for example, by referring to a characteristic part by the operator. Incidentally, here, it is assumed that the scan plane by the ultrasonic probe 2 is parallel to the slice plane of the medical image Gb.

  When the ultrasonic image Ga and the medical image Gb having the same cross section are displayed, the operator designates an arbitrary point of the ultrasonic image Ga on the display unit 6 using the trackball or the like of the operation unit 7. To do. The operator also designates a point in the medical image Gb that is considered to be at the same position as the point designated in the ultrasonic image Ga. Here, medical image data such as an X-ray CT image and an MRI image has position information. Therefore, as described above, when a point that is considered to be the same position in the ultrasonic image Ga and the medical image Gb is designated, the corresponding position between the coordinate system of the ultrasonic image Ga and the coordinate system of the medical image Gb is specified. The coordinate conversion of both coordinate systems becomes possible.

  Incidentally, the designation of an arbitrary point in the ultrasonic image Ga may be performed when the ultrasonic image Ga is displayed in the step S1. In this case, the medical image Gb having the same cross section as the cross section of the ultrasonic image Ga to which an arbitrary point is specified in step S1 is displayed in step S3, and the same point is specified in the medical image Gb.

  When the above alignment is completed, a medical image having the same cross section as the current scan plane is automatically displayed. A flow after the alignment is completed will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step S10, when an echo signal is acquired by performing a scan with the ultrasonic probe 2, the display image control unit 51 displays a real-time ultrasonic image Ga on the scan plane. In addition, the display image control unit 51 calculates the coordinates of the acquisition area of the echo signal in the coordinate system with the magnetism generation unit 10 as the origin based on the detection signal from the magnetic sensor 11, and the calculated coordinates Is converted into a coordinate system of medical image data, and a medical image Gb having the same cross section as the scan plane (cross section of the ultrasonic image Ga) is displayed. The ultrasonic image Ga and the medical image Gb are displayed side by side on the display unit 6.

  Next, in step S11, in either one of the ultrasonic image Ga or the medical image Gb, the operator inputs an instruction to designate a region of interest by the operation unit 7, and as shown in FIG. The marker M is displayed on the ultrasonic image Ga and the medical image Gb.

  The region of interest is a lesion such as a tumor, for example, and the operator displays the marker M so as to surround the lesion along the contour of the lesion. The operator designates a region of interest in an image in which a lesion is clearly displayed in the ultrasonic image Ga or the medical image Gb.

  In this example, it is assumed that a region of interest is designated in the medical image Gb. A method for designating the region of interest and a specific example of the marker M will be described. However, the following description is an example and is not limited thereto. For example, examples of the marker M include an ellipse X having two cursors C1 and C2 as major axes as shown in FIG. 8, and a circle Y having the diameters of the cursors C1 and C2 as shown in FIG. . The ellipse X is operated by operating the operation unit 7 to first display the cursors C1 and C2 on the medical image Gb and fix their positions, and then turning the rotary knob of the operation unit 7 or the like. , C2 are set by changing the two curves L1 and L2 to a desired shape. The circle Y is set by changing the shape of the ellipse X to a perfect circle in the medical image Gb in the same manner as the setting of the ellipse X.

  Further, the marker M may be set by moving the cursor C so as to trace the outline of the lesioned part in the medical image Gb using the trackball of the operation unit 7. In this case, the locus T of the cursor C becomes the marker M, as shown in FIG.

  Incidentally, the instruction input in the operation unit 7 for displaying the ellipse X, the circle Y, and the locus T of the cursor C is an instruction input for designating a region of interest.

  When the operator operates the operation unit 7 to specify a region of interest in the medical image Gb as in the above examples, the display setting unit 52 also displays the marker M at the corresponding position of the ultrasonic image Ga. Is displayed. Specifically, the display setting unit 52 converts the coordinates designated by the instruction input of the operation unit 7 in the medical image Gb into the coordinate system of the ultrasonic image Ga, and converts the ultrasonic image Ga. The marker M is displayed.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 11, when the cursor C is moved in the medical image Gb, the locus of the cursor C is displayed as the marker M in the medical image Gb and the corresponding position of the ultrasonic image Ga. The marker M is also displayed. The display position of the marker M in the ultrasonic image Ga is a position corresponding to the display position of the marker M in the medical image Gb. The display setting unit 52 converts the coordinates of the locus of the cursor C in the coordinate system of the medical image Gb to the coordinate system of the ultrasonic image Ga, and displays the marker M on the ultrasonic image Ga. .

  According to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 of the present example described above, by specifying a region of interest in the medical image Gb in which a lesion portion clearly appears, the ultrasonic image Ga as well as the medical image Gb are of interest. Since the marker M indicating the region is displayed, the lesioned part can be easily specified also in the ultrasonic image Ga.

  In addition, if the cross section of the ultrasound image Ga and the cross section of the medical image Gb are not the same, the size and shape of the lesion in both images are different. Therefore, by observing a lesion portion appearing in the ultrasonic image Ga and the medical image Gb using the marker M as a mark, it is confirmed whether or not the cross sections of the ultrasonic image Ga and the medical image Gb are not shifted. be able to.

  Next, a modification of the above embodiment will be described. First, the first modification will be described. In the first modification, the operation is different from that of the above embodiment. The operation of this example will be described with reference to FIG. 12. First, in step S20, the display image control unit 51 displays the medical image Gb on the display unit 6. In step S21, as shown in FIG. 13, the operator designates a region of interest in the medical image Gb and displays the marker M.

  Next, in step S22, with the ultrasonic image Ga and the medical image Gb displayed, the positions of the coordinate system of the ultrasonic image Ga and the coordinate system of the medical image Gb are the same as in step S3 of the above embodiment. Align. At this time, the same cross section as the cross section of the medical image Gb on which the marker M is displayed is scanned by the ultrasonic probe 2 to display the ultrasonic image Ga to perform alignment. When the alignment is completed, in step S23, the display setting unit 52 displays the marker M at a position corresponding to the display position of the medical image Gb in the ultrasonic image Ga as shown in FIG.

  Next, a second modification will be described. As shown in FIG. 15, the display control unit 5 of this example includes a measurement unit 53 in addition to the display image control unit 51 and the display setting unit 52. The measurement unit 53 performs various measurements on the area specified by the marker M. For example, the measurement unit 53 calculates the area of the region surrounded by the marker M. The calculated value calculated by the measuring unit 53 is displayed on the display unit 6 although not particularly shown.

(Second embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described. The basic configuration of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 of this example is the configuration shown in FIG. 1 as in the first embodiment, but the configuration of the display control unit 5 is the configuration shown in FIG. Hereinafter, configurations different from those of the first embodiment will be described, and the same configurations will be denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the display control unit 5 includes a three-dimensional shape deriving unit 54 in addition to the display image control unit 51 and the display setting unit 52. As will be described later, the three-dimensional shape deriving unit 54 determines the region of interest based on the two-dimensional region of interest designated for a plurality of cross sections in either one of the ultrasonic image Ga or the medical image Gb. A three-dimensional shape is required.

  The operation of the second embodiment will be described. In this example, first, the same processing as steps S1 to S3 of the first embodiment is performed to align the coordinate system of the ultrasonic image Ga and the coordinate system of the medical image Gb, and then in the flowchart shown in FIG. Process each step. Specifically, first, in step S30, although not particularly illustrated here, in either one of the two-dimensional ultrasonic image Ga or the medical image Gb displayed on the display unit 6, the operator performs the operation. An instruction for designating a two-dimensional region of interest is input by the unit 7 and the marker M is displayed. In step S30, the operator designates a region of interest for a plurality of cross sections P1, P2,... PN as shown in FIG.

  Here, as in the first embodiment, both the ultrasonic image Ga and the medical image Gb are displayed on the display unit 6, and when a region of interest is specified in either one of the images, The marker M may be displayed on both images. In addition, when both the ultrasonic image Ga and the medical image Gb are displayed and a region of interest is specified in either one of the images, the marker M is displayed only in one of the images. It may be.

  The display unit 6 displays only one of the ultrasound image Ga and the medical image Gb that designates a region of interest, and the marker M is displayed on the one image. It may be.

  Next, in step S31, the three-dimensional shape deriving unit 54 obtains the three-dimensional shape of the region of interest based on the two-dimensional region of interest designated for the plurality of cross sections in step S30. Here, “determining a three-dimensional shape” means calculating coordinates of a region of interest composed of a three-dimensional shape, and the coordinates are a two-dimensional shape of the ultrasonic image Ga and the medical image Gb. The coordinates in the coordinate system of the image for which the region of interest is designated.

  As the coordinates of the region of interest, the three-dimensional shape deriving unit 54 obtains the coordinates of the contour of the region of interest designated in each of the cross sections P1 to PN and the coordinates of an arbitrary point in the region of interest. The coordinates of the contour of the region of interest are the coordinates input by the operation unit 7. Further, the three-dimensional shape deriving unit 54 obtains the coordinates of an arbitrary point from the region surrounded by the coordinates input by the instruction.

  Similarly, as the coordinates of the region of interest, the three-dimensional shape deriving unit 54 obtains the sections P1 to PN for the sections other than the sections P1 to PN for which the two-dimensional region of interest is designated. Interpolation processing is performed using the obtained coordinates to obtain the coordinates of the region of interest. As a result, the coordinates of the region of interest having a three-dimensional shape can be obtained. The obtained coordinates of the region of interest are stored in the memory (not shown) or the storage unit 9.

  Next, in step S32, the marker M is automatically displayed on the ultrasonic image Ga and the medical image Gb. Specifically, the display setting unit 52 displays the marker M on the real-time ultrasonic image Ga for a predetermined section (scanning plane) and displays the marker M on the medical image Gb for the predetermined section. . The display setting unit 52 specifies a two-dimensional region of interest for the predetermined cross section based on the three-dimensional shape of the region of interest, and a marker M indicating the region of interest is added to the ultrasonic image Ga and the medical image Gb. indicate.

  The display of the marker M will be specifically described. First, the display setting unit 52 specifies the coordinates of the region of interest existing in the predetermined section among the coordinates of the region of interest obtained in step S31. Thereby, the two-dimensional region of interest for the predetermined cross section is specified. Incidentally, for the predetermined cross section, the coordinates of the predetermined cross section in the coordinate system of the ultrasonic image Ga are obtained based on the probe information, and the coordinates in the coordinate system of the ultrasonic image Ga are coordinate-transformed to generate the medical image. The coordinates of the predetermined cross section in the Gb coordinate system are obtained.

  The specification of the two-dimensional region of interest with respect to the predetermined cross section will be described in more detail. The display setting unit 52 determines whether the predetermined cross section in each of the coordinate system of the ultrasonic image Ga and the coordinate system of the medical image Gb. Identify a two-dimensional region of interest. Specifically, when the coordinates of the region of interest obtained in step S31 are in the coordinate system of the medical image Gb, the display setting unit 52 first exists in the predetermined cross section in the coordinate system of the medical image Gb. The coordinates of the region of interest are specified. The display setting unit 52 converts the coordinates of the region of interest in the coordinate system of the medical image Gb into the coordinate system of the ultrasonic image Ga, thereby converting the predetermined section in the coordinate system of the ultrasonic image Gb. The coordinates of the region of interest existing in On the other hand, when the coordinates of the region of interest obtained in step S31 are the coordinate system of the ultrasonic image Ga, the display setting unit 52 first exists in the predetermined section in the coordinate system of the ultrasonic image Ga. Identify the coordinates of the region of interest. Further, the display setting unit 52 converts the coordinates of the region of interest in the coordinate system of the ultrasonic image Ga into the coordinate system of the medical image Gb, so that the predetermined cross section in the coordinate system of the medical image Gb is obtained. The coordinates of the existing region of interest are specified.

  When the coordinates of the region of interest existing in the predetermined cross section are specified as described above, the display setting unit 52 displays the marker M on the ultrasonic image Ga and the medical image Gb. The display setting unit 52 displays the marker M on the contour portion of the region of interest specified as described above.

  Here, when the scan plane by the ultrasonic probe 2 changes, the display image control unit 51 displays the same medical image Gb as the new scan plane, and the display setting unit 52 displays the new scan plane. The marker M corresponding to is displayed on the ultrasonic image Ga and the medical image Gb. For example, as shown in FIG. 19, a case where a scan is performed on a cross section P and then a cross section P ′ perpendicular to the cross section P is scanned will be described as an example. It is assumed that when the cross section P is scanned, a marker M as shown in FIG. 20 is displayed in the ultrasonic image Ga and the medical image Gb. Thereafter, when scanning is performed on the cross section P ′, the shape of the marker M displayed in the ultrasonic image Ga and the medical image Gb is changed and the marker M ′ is displayed. The display setting unit 52 specifies a two-dimensional region of interest for a new cross section based on the three-dimensional shape region of interest, and displays the marker M ′.

  Incidentally, when a cross-section scan that is not parallel to the slice plane of the medical image data is performed, the display image control unit 51 determines the medical image on the same plane as the scan plane based on the coordinates of the calculated echo signal acquisition area. Gb is created and displayed. That is, the display image control unit 51 calculates the coordinates of the acquisition area of the echo signal in the coordinate system of the ultrasonic image Ga, converts the calculated coordinates into the coordinate system of medical image data, Medical image data having the same cross section is created based on the three-dimensional medical image data stored in the storage unit 9 and a medical image Gb is displayed.

  According to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 of the present example described above, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained, and after the three-dimensional shape of the region of interest is obtained in step S31, the region of interest is determined. Since the marker M is automatically displayed without designation, it is not necessary to designate a region of interest every time the displayed cross section is changed, so that the burden on the operator can be reduced.

  Next, a modification of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 22, in step S40, an operator inputs an instruction to designate a two-dimensional region of interest using the operation unit 7 in either one of the ultrasonic image Ga and the medical image Gb, and the marker M is displayed. Also in this step S40, the region of interest is designated for the plurality of cross sections P1, P2,.

  In step S41, the three-dimensional shape of the region of interest is obtained in the same manner as in step S31, and the coordinates are stored. Next, in step S42, with the ultrasonic image Ga and the medical image Gb being displayed, the coordinate system of the ultrasonic image Ga and the medical image Gb are similar to those in steps S3 and S22 of the first embodiment. Align with the coordinate system.

  In step S43, the marker M is displayed on the ultrasonic image Ga and the medical image Gb, as in step S32.

  Incidentally, the second embodiment may also include a measurement unit that calculates the area of the region surrounded by the marker M, as in the second modification of the first embodiment.

  Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is needless to say that the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the storage unit 9 may store three-dimensional raw data and ultrasonic image data acquired together with the probe information by the ultrasonic probe 2. Raw data and ultrasonic image data are stored in the storage unit 9 together with the probe information or the position information I calculated based on the probe information. An image based on the raw data and the ultrasonic image data may be displayed as the medical image Gb. In this case, the coordinate system of the medical image Gb is a coordinate system having the magnetic generation unit 10 as an origin, and is the same coordinate system as the coordinate system of the ultrasonic image Ga (real-time image). Therefore, the display image control unit 51 does not perform alignment between the coordinate system of the ultrasound image Ga and the coordinate system of the medical image Gb in the steps S3, S22, and S42 based on the probe information. It is possible to display a medical image Gb having the same cross section as the ultrasonic image Ga. The raw data and the ultrasonic image data are an example of an embodiment of the three-dimensional medical image data and the three-dimensional ultrasonic data in the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 2 Ultrasonic probe 6 Display part 7 Operation part 10 Magnetic generation part 11 Magnetic sensor 51 Display image control part 52 Display setting part 53 Measurement part 54 Three-dimensional shape derivation part M Marker Ga ultrasonic image Gb Medical image

Claims (6)

An ultrasound probe that scans the body tissue with ultrasound and obtains an echo signal;
A probe detector for detecting the position and inclination of the ultrasonic probe,
An ultrasonic image created based on an echo signal acquired by the ultrasonic probe is displayed on a display unit, and is a medical image generated based on previously acquired three-dimensional medical image data, the probe A display image control unit that displays a medical image of a cross section corresponding to a cross section of the ultrasonic image identified based on the position and inclination of the ultrasonic probe detected by the detection unit on the display unit;
In either one of the ultrasonic image or the medical image displayed on the display unit, an operation unit for inputting an instruction for an operator to specify a two-dimensional region of interest;
A display setting unit for displaying a marker indicating the two-dimensional region of interest on the ultrasonic image and the medical image when the operator designates a two-dimensional region of interest using the operation unit;
Based on the two-dimensional region of interest designated for multiple cross by the operating unit, and a three-dimensional shape deriving unit for determining the three-dimensional shape of the region of interest,
The display setting unit converts the three-dimensional shape of the region of interest into a three-dimensional shape of the region of interest when a cross-section of the ultrasonic image created by the ultrasound scan using the ultrasonic probe crosses the three-dimensional shape of the obtained region of interest. A two-dimensional region of interest in the cross-sectional ultrasound image based on the cross-sectional ultrasound image, and a two-dimensional region of interest in the cross-sectional medical image corresponding to the cross-section of the ultrasound image. ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim and Turkey displays a marker indicating an area wherein the ultrasound image and the medical image.   2. The three-dimensional shape deriving unit obtains the three-dimensional shape of the region of interest by obtaining coordinates of the region of interest in a coordinate system of an image in which the region of interest is designated by the operation unit. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to 1.   3. The super-size according to claim 2, wherein the three-dimensional shape deriving unit obtains a three-dimensional shape of the region of interest by performing an interpolation process using coordinates of a two-dimensional region of interest designated for a plurality of cross sections. Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment.   The display setting unit specifies the coordinates existing in a predetermined cross section being scanned by the ultrasonic probe among the coordinates of the region of interest obtained by the three-dimensional shape deriving unit. 4. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the marker is displayed by specifying a region.   5. The three-dimensional medical image data is X-ray CT image data, MRI image data, or three-dimensional ultrasonic data acquired together with information on the position and tilt of the ultrasonic probe. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of the above.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a measurement unit that measures a region of interest indicated by the marker.

Images