JP5580037B2 - Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that images and diagnoses the inside of a subject with ultrasonic waves, and particularly relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that incorporates a battery.

  In recent years, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is a device that obtains image data by transmitting an ultrasonic wave into a subject, detecting a reflected wave caused by a difference in acoustic impedance of tissue in the subject, and converting it into an electrical signal. It is used in various medical fields. In this ultrasound diagnostic device, image data can be obtained in real time with a simple operation by simply bringing the ultrasound probe into contact with the body surface of the subject, so it is widely used for examinations such as the heart, blood vessels, abdomen, urology, and gynecology. It is used.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses can be miniaturized. For example, portable ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses that are portable in the size of a notebook computer are known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This portable ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus operates by receiving power supply from an external power supply in normal operation, and operates by a built-in battery when disconnected from the external power supply.

JP 2008-253603 A

  However, the operation time is limited because the battery is operated when not connected to the external power source. For this reason, it is necessary to pay close attention to the remaining capacity of the battery until the inspection is completed.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can reduce power consumption.

In order to solve the above problem, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention transmits ultrasonic waves to a subject, receives ultrasonic waves reflected from the subject, and generates image data. In the diagnostic apparatus, a power supply unit having a battery as a power source for an operation including transmission of ultrasonic waves to the subject, an operation unit capable of inputting operation information for executing the operation, and an input from the operation unit Determining means for determining the priority of the operation information, and the priority determined by the determining means for the operation according to the operation information input from the operating means when the power supply unit is disconnected from the external power supply. Based on the operation information inputted from the operation means.
If the determination means determines that the information is a postponement priority lower than the high priority,
Control means for executing an operation according to operation information when the power supply unit is connected to the external power supply .

  According to the present invention, power consumption is reduced by determining the priority of operation information input to execute an operation and executing an operation according to the operation information based on the determined priority. be able to.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows an example of the power non-supply destination setting screen displayed on the display part which concerns on the Example of this invention. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the ultrasonic diagnosing device based on the Example of this invention.

  Examples of the present invention will be described.

  Embodiments of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 is portable and is connected via a network 300 to a server 200 that stores image data generated by examination of the subject P. A power supply unit 50 that can be charged by being connected to an external power supply 400 such as a commercial power supply, a peripheral device unit 40 that prints and stores image data generated by the apparatus body 20, and a subject P An ultrasonic probe 10 that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves and an apparatus main body 20 that generates image data by transmitting an ultrasonic drive signal and receiving an ultrasonic reception signal to the ultrasonic probe 10 are provided.

  The power supply unit 50 includes a battery 51 that supplies power to each unit in the apparatus main body 20 and the peripheral device unit 40 as a power source for operations including transmission of ultrasonic waves to the subject P, a charging unit 52 that charges the battery 51, The battery 51 includes a switch 53 that opens and closes a power supply circuit between non-power supply destinations that is set in advance so that the power of the apparatus main body 20 and the peripheral device unit 40 can be stopped.

  Then, the charging unit 52 charges the battery 51 by supplying power from the external power source 400. Further, it detects whether or not it is connected to the external power source 400 and outputs a detection signal to the apparatus main body 20. Further, the remaining capacity of the battery 51 is measured, and information on the measured remaining capacity is output to the apparatus main body 20.

  The peripheral device unit 40 is connected to the device main body 20 and is stored in the communication device 41 and the device main body 20 that transmit image data stored in the device main body 20 to the server 200 via the network 300 using, for example, a wireless LAN. A DVD drive 42 for writing the image data to the DVD, a USB device 43 such as a USB hard disk for copying and saving the image data stored in the apparatus main body 20, a printer 44 for printing out the image data stored in the apparatus main body 20, etc. It has.

  The ultrasonic probe 10 includes a plurality of probes 10 a to 10 c that are detachably connected to the apparatus main body 20. Each probe 10a to 10c performs ultrasonic wave transmission / reception by bringing its tip into contact with the body surface of the subject P, and has, for example, a plurality of transducers arranged one-dimensionally. This transducer converts an ultrasonic drive signal from the apparatus main body 20 into an ultrasonic wave and transmits it to the subject P, receives a reflected wave reflected from the subject P by this transmission, and receives the ultrasonic wave. Convert to signal. Then, the converted ultrasonic reception signal is output to the apparatus main body 20.

  The apparatus main body 20 transmits / receives an ultrasonic drive signal and an ultrasonic reception signal to each of the probes 10a to 10c of the ultrasonic probe 10, and processes a reception signal from the transmission / reception unit 21 to process B. A signal processing unit 22 that generates mode data, Doppler data, and the like, and an image generation unit 23 that generates image data such as B-mode image data and Doppler image data from the B-mode data and Doppler data generated by the signal processing unit 22 And.

  In addition, the apparatus main body 20 includes a display unit 24 that displays image data generated by the image generation unit 23, an examination data storage unit 25 that stores image data generated by the image generation unit 23, and a superimposition for the subject P. The operation unit 26 capable of inputting operation information for executing an operation including transmission of sound waves, and the priority of the operation information input from the operation unit 26 are, for example, high priority (high priority), high priority And a determination unit 27 that classifies and determines a priority lower than the priority (post-priority priority) and a priority lower than the post-priority priority (low priority).

  Furthermore, the apparatus main body 20 is determined as a priority by a power supply monitoring unit 28 that monitors the power supply unit 50, a power supply control unit 29 that controls a supply destination of power supplied from the battery 51 of the power supply unit 50, and a determination unit 27. A standby process control unit 30 for storing and managing the operation information, and a system control unit 31 for controlling each unit described above based on input information such as operation information input from the operation unit 26.

  The transmission / reception unit 21 generates an ultrasonic drive signal for generating an ultrasonic wave by each of the probes 10 a to 10 c of the ultrasonic probe 10. In addition, the ultrasonic reception signals of a plurality of channels obtained from the transducers of the probes 10a to 10c are phased and added, and are combined and output to the signal processing unit 22.

  The signal processing unit 22 processes the signal output from the transmission / reception unit 21 to generate various data such as B-mode data and Doppler data. Then, the generated B-mode data, Doppler data, and the like are output to the image generation unit 23. The image generation unit 23 scan-converts the B mode data and Doppler data output from the signal processing unit 22 to generate image data such as B mode image data and Doppler image data. Then, the generated image data is output to the display unit 24 and the inspection data storage unit 25.

  The display unit 24 includes a liquid crystal panel or CRT, and displays image data generated by the image generation unit 23, image data stored in the inspection data storage unit 25, and the like. Further, a power non-supply destination setting screen for setting a power non-supply destination for stopping the power supply from the power supply unit 50 disconnected from the external power source 400 is displayed.

  The examination data storage unit 25 includes a hard disk and stores image data output from the image generation unit 23 and incidental information such as personal information of the subject P that identifies the image data for each examination.

  The operation unit 26 includes input devices such as a touch panel, buttons, switches, a keyboard, a trackball, and a mouse. Then, an imaging condition (sampling rate, gain, depth of field, transmission frequency, focusing position, pulse repetition frequency, generation mode, etc.) for generating image data is input. In addition, the personal information of the subject P is input when the examination is accepted. Also, an input for setting a non-power supply destination is performed. Also, operation information for operating each unit of the apparatus main body 20 and the peripheral device unit 40 is input.

  The determination unit 27 determines the priority of the operation information input from the operation unit 26 and outputs the determination result to the standby processing control unit 30 and the system control unit 31. Then, it is determined that the operation information corresponding to the operation that should be executed immediately, such as the operation of scanning the subject P with ultrasonic waves and generating image data, has a high priority. Further, when the power supply 50 that is not connected to the external power supply 400 is reduced in capacity and the supply of power is stopped, for example, image data stored in the inspection data storage unit 25 or printing or storage in the peripheral device unit 40 is performed. Since it leads to the loss of image data, it is determined that the operation information corresponding to the operation to be executed later is the later priority. Further, it is determined that the operation information corresponding to the operation whose execution may be rejected has a low priority.

  The power supply monitoring unit 28 monitors whether the power supply unit 50 is connected to the external power supply 400 based on the detection signal output from the charging unit 52 of the power supply unit 50. Further, the state of the battery 51 in the power supply unit 50 is monitored based on the remaining capacity information output from the charging unit 52. Then, connection information when the power supply unit 50 is connected to the external power supply 400 and non-connection information when the power supply unit 50 is disconnected from the external power supply 400 are shown as a power supply control unit 29, a standby processing control unit 30, and Output to the system control unit 31. Further, when the power supply unit 50 is not connected to the external power supply 400, the shortage capacity information when the remaining capacity is lower than the predetermined capacity is output to the system control unit 31.

  The power supply control unit 29 controls a supply destination of power supplied from the battery 51 of the power supply unit 50 based on connection information and non-connection information from the power supply monitoring unit 28. When the power supply unit 50 is connected to the external power supply 400, power is supplied from the battery 51 to the device main body 20 and all the units of the peripheral device unit 40 connected to the device main body 20.

  Further, when the power supply unit 50 is not connected to the external power supply 400, the destination to which power is supplied from the battery 51 is limited based on the information on the power non-supply destination set on the power non-supply destination setting screen of the display unit 24. To do. Then, power from the battery 51 is supplied to each unit of the apparatus main body 20 and the peripheral device unit 40 other than the set power supply destination.

  Based on the priority information output from the determination unit 27 and the non-connection information output from the power supply monitoring unit 28, the standby processing control unit 30 uses the postponed priority among the priorities output from the determination unit 27. The operation information determined to be present is stored for waiting until the power supply unit 50 is connected to the external power supply 400. Then, based on the connection information output from the power monitoring unit 28, the stored operation information is output to the system control unit 31.

  The system control unit 31 includes a CPU and a storage circuit, and based on input information such as operation information input from the operation unit 26, the transmission / reception unit 21, the signal processing unit 22, the image generation unit 23, and the display unit of the apparatus main body 20. 24, inspection data storage unit 25, determination unit 27, power supply monitoring unit 28, power supply control unit 29, standby processing control unit 30, and control of each unit of peripheral device unit 40 connected to apparatus main body 20 and overall system Take control.

  Here, based on the priority information determined by the determination unit 27 and the connection information and non-connection information from the power supply monitoring unit 28, each unit of the apparatus main body 20 and the peripheral device unit 40 is controlled. When the power supply unit 50 is connected to the external power supply 400, an operation corresponding to the operation information input from the operation unit 26 is executed.

  Further, when the power supply unit 50 is not connected to the external power supply 400, the operation according to the operation information input from the operation unit 26 is executed based on the priority determined by the determination unit 27. When the operation information input from the operation unit 26 has a high priority, an operation corresponding to the operation information is executed. As a result, it is possible to execute an operation related to generation of image data with high priority.

  Further, when the operation information input from the operation unit 26 has a later priority, an operation corresponding to the operation information is executed when the power supply unit 50 is connected to the external power supply 400. This reduces power consumption when not connected to the external power source 400 and prevents loss of image data stored in the inspection data storage unit 25 and image data stored in the peripheral device unit 40 in advance. Can do.

  Furthermore, when the operation information input from the operation unit 26 has a low priority, the execution of the operation corresponding to the operation information is rejected. As a result, power consumption when not connected to the external power source 400 can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, an example of the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a power non-supply destination setting screen displayed on the display unit 24. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100.

  In FIG. 2, the power non-supply destination setting screen 24a includes a plurality of dialog boxes 24a1 to 24an for setting power non-supply destinations. When all the power non-supply destinations that can be set by operating from the operation unit 26 are displayed and an input operation for setting the selected power non-supply destination in each of the dialog boxes 24a1 to 24an is performed, each dialog box 24a1. The power supply destination set in 24an is displayed and stored in the storage circuit of the system control unit 31.

  Here, a unit that performs an operation according to operation information of a later priority or lower priority is set as a power non-supply destination. For example, the “printer” that is the printer 44 of the peripheral device unit 40 set as the non-power supply destination is displayed in the dialog box 24a1, and the “communication” that is the communication unit 41 is displayed in the dialog box 24a2. .

  Further, “DVD drive” which is the DVD drive 42 is displayed in the dialog box 24a3, and “USB” which is the USB device 43 is displayed in the dialog box 24a4. Further, the “touch panel light source” that is the light source of the touch panel in the operation unit 26 of the apparatus main body 20 is displayed in the dialog box 24a5, and is a circuit of the transmission / reception unit 21 of the apparatus main body 20 to which the ultrasonic probe 10 is not connected. The “use probe circuit” is displayed in the dialog box 24a6.

  Furthermore, “sampling rate” is displayed in the dialog box 24a7. In this case, the power consumption of the battery 51 of the power supply unit 50 is not limited by stopping the supply of power from the non-power supply destination, but by limiting the sampling rate to the imaging condition set by the input from the operation unit 26. To reduce. For example, the dialog box 24an in which no power supply destination is set is blank.

  In this way, by setting the power non-supply destination on the power non-supply destination setting screen 24a, when the power supply unit 50 is disconnected from the external power source 400, the supply of power to the power non-supply destination may be stopped. it can. As a result, power consumption when not connected to the external power source 400 can be reduced.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100. The storage circuit of the system control unit 31 stores information on the power non-supply destination set on the power non-supply destination setting screen 24a of FIG. When an operation to turn on the power is performed from the operation unit 26 of the apparatus main body 20 in order to inspect the subject P with the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 starts operation (step S1).

  The charging unit 52 of the power supply unit 50 detects whether it is connected to the external power supply 400. Further, the remaining capacity of the battery 51 is measured. Then, the detected detection signal and the measured remaining capacity information are output to the power supply monitoring unit 28 of the apparatus main body 20. The power supply monitoring unit 28 monitors whether or not the power supply unit 50 is connected to the external power supply 400 based on the detection signal output from the charging unit 52, and displays connection information or non-connection information in the power supply control unit 29 and standby processing. The data is output to the control unit 30 and the system control unit 31. If the power supply unit 50 is not connected to the external power supply 400 (No in step S2), the process proceeds to step 3. When the power supply unit 50 is connected to the external power supply 400 (Yes in step S2), the process proceeds to step S4.

  After “No” in step S2, the power supply control unit 29 determines the power supply unit 50 based on the non-connection information from the power supply monitoring unit 28 and the information on the power non-supply destination stored in the storage circuit of the system control unit 31. The switch 53 is controlled to open the power supply circuit between the battery 51 and the unit that is not supplied with power among all the power supply circuits that have been closed in advance. Thereby, the battery 51 supplies electric power to each unit other than the non-power supply destination (step S3).

  Here, the light source of the touch panel in the operation unit 26, the circuit of the transmission / reception unit 21 not connected to the ultrasonic probe 10, the communication unit 41, the DVD drive 42, the USB device 43, the printer 44, etc. Supply is stopped.

  After “Yes” in step S <b> 2, the system control unit 31 causes the standby process control unit 30 to execute an operation according to the post-priority operation information when post-priority operation information is stored. Next, when an input operation is performed from the operation unit 26, an operation corresponding to the input operation information is executed (step S4). Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S14.

  As described above, when the charging unit 52 is connected to the external power source 400, an operation corresponding to the operation information input from the operation unit 26 can be executed.

  After step S <b> 3, the power supply monitoring unit 28 monitors the state of the battery 51 based on the remaining capacity information output from the charging unit 52. If the remaining capacity of the battery 51 is equal to or greater than the predetermined capacity (Yes in step S5), the process proceeds to step S7. If the remaining capacity of the battery 51 is less than the predetermined capacity (No in step S <b> 5), information on insufficient capacity is output to the system control unit 31.

  After “No” in step S5, the system control unit 31 displays the disconnection information and the capacity shortage information output from the power supply monitoring unit 28 on the display unit 24 (step S6). Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S14.

  When an input operation is performed from the operation unit 26 after “Yes” in step S5, the determination unit 27 of the apparatus main body 20 determines the priority of the input operation information. As described above, when the charging unit 52 is not connected to the external power source 400, the operation corresponding to the operation information input from the operation unit 26 can be executed based on the determined priority.

  When the operation information input from the operation unit 26 has a priority other than the high priority (No in step S7), the process proceeds to step S8. If the operation information input from the operation unit 26 has a high priority (Yes in step S7), the operation information is output to the system control unit 31.

  If the operation information input from the operation unit 26 has a priority other than the postponement priority after “No” in Step S7 (No in Step S8), the process proceeds to Step S10. If the operation information input from the operation unit 26 is the postponement priority (Yes in Step S8), the process proceeds to Step S11.

  After “Yes” in step S7, the system control unit 31 executes an operation according to the operation information input from the operation unit 26 based on the high priority information output from the determination unit 27 (step S9). ).

  After “No” in step S 8, the determination unit 27 determines that the operation information input from the operation unit 26 has low priority, and outputs the low priority information to the system control unit 31. Based on the low priority information output from the determination unit 27, the system control unit 31 rejects the execution of the operation according to the operation information input from the operation unit 26 (step S10).

  After “Yes” in step S 8, the determination unit 27 outputs postponed priority information to the standby processing control unit 30. The standby processing control unit 30 is configured so that the power supply unit 50 receives the operation information input from the operation unit 26 based on the non-connection information output from the power supply monitoring unit 28 and the information on the postponement priority output from the determination unit 27. It is stored for waiting until it is connected to the external power source 400 (step S11).

  After step S10, the system control unit 31 rejects the display unit 24 from accepting the operation based on the low priority output from the determination unit 27 and the non-connection information output from the electron microscope monitoring unit 28. And the non-connection information is displayed (step S12). As a result, a message such as “cannot accept operation because it is not connected to an external power source” is displayed on the display unit 24.

  After step S <b> 11, the system control unit 31 displays standby information on the display unit 24 on the basis of the postponement priority information output from the determination unit 27 to the display unit 24 and the non-connection information output from the electron microscope monitoring unit 28. And the non-connection information is displayed (step S13). Thereby, for example, a message such as “The operation has been accepted. Since it is disconnected from the external power supply, the received operation is executed after being connected to the external power supply” is displayed. Thereafter, the process returns to step S2.

  After the operation in step S4 is completed, the non-connection information and the capacity shortage information in step S6 are displayed on the display unit 24, the operation in step S9 is completed, or the rejection information and non-connection information in step S12 are displayed. After being displayed on the display unit 24, the system control unit 31 stops the operation of each unit of the apparatus main body 20 and the peripheral device unit 40 to which power is supplied from the power supply unit 50. And if operation which turns off a power supply is performed from the operation part 26, the ultrasound diagnosing device 100 will complete | finish operation | movement (step S14).

  According to the embodiment of the present invention described above, when the rechargeable power supply unit 50 is disconnected from the external power supply 400, the supply of power to the power supply destination is stopped, thereby disconnecting from the external power supply 400. Power consumption when in a state can be reduced.

  Further, when the power supply unit 50 is connected to the external power supply 400, an operation according to the operation information input from the operation unit 26 is executed, and when the power supply unit 50 is not connected to the external power supply 400, the operation unit 26 is executed. It is possible to determine the priority of the operation information input from, and execute the operation according to the operation information based on the determined priority.

  When the determined operation information has a high priority, an operation according to the operation information input from the operation unit 26 can be executed. In addition, when the determined operation information has a later priority, an operation corresponding to the operation information can be executed when the power supply unit 50 is connected to the external power supply 400. This reduces power consumption when not connected to the external power source 400 and prevents loss of image data stored in the inspection data storage unit 25 and image data stored in the peripheral device unit 40 in advance. Can do. Furthermore, when the determined operation information has a low priority, the execution of the operation according to the operation information can be rejected. As a result, power consumption when not connected to the external power source 400 can be reduced.

  As described above, it is possible to increase the time required for the inspection for generating image data by scanning ultrasonic waves.

P subject 10 ultrasonic probe 20 apparatus main body 21 transmission / reception unit 22 signal processing unit 23 image generation unit 24 display unit 25 examination data storage unit 26 operation unit 27 determination unit 28 power supply monitoring unit 29 power supply control unit 30 standby processing control unit 31 system Control unit 40 Peripheral device unit 50 Power supply unit 51 Battery 52 Charging unit 100 Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 200 Server 300 Network 400 External power supply

Claims (4)

In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that transmits ultrasonic waves to a subject and receives reflected waves reflected from the subject to generate image data,
A power supply unit having a battery as a power source for operation including transmission of ultrasonic waves to the subject;
Operation means capable of inputting operation information for executing the operation;
Determination means for determining the priority of the operation information input from the operation means;
When the power supply unit is not connected to an external power supply, the operation according to the operation information input from the operation unit is executed based on the priority determined by the determination unit ,
The determination that the operation information input from the operation means is a later priority lower than the high priority
If determined by the means, the power supply unit performs an operation corresponding to the operation information to the external power supply.
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: control means that is executed when connected . Communication means for transmitting the image data to a server via a network;
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the operation is an operation of transmitting the image data to the server by the communication unit. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the operation is an operation related to imaging condition setting for generating the image data. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an output unit that outputs that the operation information input from the operation unit is the postponement priority.

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