JP6173686B2 - Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

  An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is used as a non-invasive diagnostic apparatus for examinations in a wide range. In particular, the routine inspection using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the perinatal period is an inspection performed in medical facilities throughout the country.

  Usually, an ultrasonic image of a fetus is acquired by applying an ultrasonic probe of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus to the abdomen of the mother. In particular, an ultrasound image in the fetal abdominal section is very useful for determining the presence or absence of a fetal abnormality. In the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the orientation of the fetus in the mother's body is determined from the positional relationship between blood vessels and internal organs such as the abdominal aorta, intrahepatic umbilical vein, and gastric vesicle in the fetal abdominal cross-sectional image.

JP 2011-104137 A

  However, in the conventional techniques including Patent Document 1, when the position of the visceral organ of the fetus is inverted due to the visceral complex, the correct orientation of the fetus in the mother's fetus is determined from only the ultrasonic diagnostic image in the abdominal section of the fetus. It is difficult.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of easily grasping an accurate orientation of a fetus in a mother's womb.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the embodiment can generate an ultrasonic image including an ultrasonic probe and a predetermined region of the fetus centered on a position where the ultrasonic probe is pressed. a processing unit, the head from the direction or foot along the foot from a predetermined portion of the head showing the reference structure from the head of the fetus included in a predetermined region to the head from over the foot or feet A recognition unit for recognizing a pattern of a change in length of the predetermined part using the ultrasonic images having different positions in the direction along the direction of the fetus, and identifying the orientation of the fetus.

1 is a block diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in the present embodiment. The side view of the spine in this embodiment. Sectional drawing of the abdominal part of the fetus in this embodiment. The side view showing the cross section of FIG. FIG. 1 is a plan view 1 of a two-dimensional ultrasonic image in the present embodiment. The top view 2 of the two-dimensional ultrasonic image in this embodiment. The flowchart of this embodiment. The positional relationship figure of the mother body and ultrasonic probe in this embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to this embodiment. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes an ultrasonic probe 1, a transmission unit 3, a reception unit 4, an image processing unit 5, a display unit 7, an operation unit 8, and a system control unit 9.

  In the present embodiment, the ultrasonic probe 1 mechanically shakes a two-dimensional array probe in which a large number of transducers are arranged in two dimensions or a transducer in which a large number of transducers are arranged in one dimension in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction. It is a mechanical 4D probe that can be used. Each transducer generates an ultrasonic wave based on the drive pulse from the transmission unit 3, and converts the reflected wave from the subject into an echo signal.

  The transmission unit 3 transmits a drive pulse to each transducer at each rate. The system control unit 9 identifies vibrators that need to be driven, and calculates a delay time for delaying the drive pulse transmitted to those vibrators. The transmission unit 3 delays each drive pulse by the delay time calculated by the system control unit 9. Each delayed drive pulse is transmitted to each transducer. On the other hand, the system control unit 9 sets the drive pulse not to be transmitted to the vibrator that does not need to be driven. Through the above operation, a directional transmission beam is generated.

  The receiving unit 4 amplifies an echo signal obtained when each transducer receives a reflected wave. The receiver 4 delays the amplified echo signal by the same time as the delay time given to the drive pulse by the transmitter. The receiving unit 4 adds the echo signals after the above processing, and performs an envelope detection process on the added echo signals to generate a reception signal.

  The image processing unit 5 includes an image generation unit (not shown), a measurement processing unit (not shown), and a data storage unit (not shown). An image generation unit (not shown) generates a two-dimensional ultrasonic image or a three-dimensional ultrasonic image using a two-dimensional distribution related to a predetermined slice of the received signal or a three-dimensional distribution related to a predetermined region. Further, the image generation unit generates an MPR (Multi Planar Reconstruction) image corresponding to a desired cross section using volume data necessary for generating a three-dimensional ultrasonic image.

  A measurement processing unit (not shown) measures the inner diameter and volume of the organ using the generated image and volume data. A measurement processing unit (not shown) generates image supplementary information such as the inner diameter and volume of the organ based on the measurement result.

  A data storage unit (not shown) stores the image generated by the image generation unit and the image supplementary information generated by the measurement processing unit.

  The image processing unit 5 transmits an image or image supplementary information to the display unit 7 in accordance with an instruction from the system control unit 9.

  The display unit 7 displays the image and image supplementary information sent from the image processing unit 5. In addition, a predetermined operation screen necessary for the operator's operation is displayed.

  The operation unit 8 has operation means (mouse, trackball, keyboard, etc.) for giving various instructions from the operator. The operation unit 8 sends instructions to the transmission unit 3 and the image processing unit 5 via the system control unit 9.

  The system control unit 9 includes a pattern storage unit 11, a pattern recognition unit 12, a guide display setting unit 13, and an annotation setting unit 14 in addition to the functions described above.

  FIG. 2 is a side view of the spine. As shown in FIG. 2, the spine has a spinous process 100, and the tip of the spinous process 100 in the dorsal direction is always formed facing the foot. That is, if the orientation of the spinous process 100 is known, the orientation of the fetal head, feet, abdomen, and back in the fetus can be known, and the orientation of the left and right feet can also be known indirectly.

  In the pattern storage unit 11, the shape of a part in the fetal body such as a bone or a viscera is registered as a pattern. In this embodiment, the pattern memory | storage part 11 shall register the pattern which concerns on the shape of the spinous process 100 as a pattern in the abdominal-section of a fetus. Hereinafter, this pattern will be described.

  3 and 4 are a two-dimensional ultrasound image obtained by dividing a three-dimensional ultrasound image of the fetal abdomen by a plurality of sections, and a side view of the spine representing each section of FIG. Images A to E in FIG. 3 respectively correspond to cross sections passing through the straight lines A to E in FIG. An image A is an image of a cross section through the tip 100a of the spinous process 100 in FIG. 4, and a part of the tip 100a is depicted small at the border of the fetal back. The image B is an image of a cross section passing through the tip 100b of the spinous process 100 in FIG. 4, and a part of the tip 100b is depicted small. The image C is the same as the image B in that it is a cross-sectional image passing through the tip 100b in FIG. 4, but is drawn longer in the direction of the back of the fetus than when the tip 100b is the image B. Image D is an image of a cross section passing through tip 100b and tip 100c in FIG. In this image, the tip 100b is longer in the direction of the back of the fetus than in the case of the image C, but is cut off in the middle of the image, while the tip 100c is drawn smaller. An image E is an image of a cross section passing through the tip 100c in FIG. 4, and a part of the tip 100c is drawn extending in the back direction as compared with the case of the image D.

  As can be seen by comparing the image B and the image C in FIG. 3, when the cross-sectional images of the fetal abdomen are sequentially displayed from the head direction of the fetus, the tip 100b of the spinous process 100 is rendered to become gradually longer. You can see that This regularity of drawing is the first pattern. On the contrary, when the cross-sectional images of the fetal abdomen are sequentially displayed from the fetal foot direction, it can be seen that the tip 100b of the spinous process 100 is drawn so as to be gradually shortened. This regularity of drawing is the second pattern.

  The pattern recognition unit 12 selects a pattern corresponding to the diagnosis position from the patterns registered in the pattern storage unit. In the present embodiment, the first pattern and the second pattern are selected. The pattern recognition unit 12 determines the orientation of the fetal foot and head based on the first pattern and the second pattern. A specific determination method will be described later. The pattern recognition unit 12 notifies the guide display setting unit 13 of the determination result.

  FIG. 5 is a two-dimensional ultrasound image of the fetal abdominal section displayed on the display unit 7. In FIG. 5, the gastric follicle 101, the umbilical vein 102, and the spine 103 are depicted. From the positional relationship between the umbilical vein 102 and the spine 103 in FIG. On the other hand, the orientations of the fetal head and feet are already known from the notification from the pattern recognition unit 12. With this information, the direction of the left and right sides of the fetus is indirectly determined. The guide display setting unit 13 guides the left and right side directions of the fetus indirectly found by using the Right and Left markers 201 as shown in FIG. Here, the depth direction in FIG. 5 is the fetal head direction, the upper direction is the left side of the fetus, and the lower direction is the right side of the fetus.

  Further, in addition to using the right and left markers 201 as described above, the direction of the fetus can also be guided using the body mark 203 as shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a guide display using the body mark 203 in the present embodiment. In the body mark 203, an arrow G or the like is used to express whether the two-dimensional ultrasound image drawn on the display unit 7 is a view as seen from the fetal foot direction or the head direction. To do. The operator looks at the two-dimensional ultrasound image drawn on the display unit 7, the body mark 203, and the arrow of the body mark 203, so that the fetal abdomen direction, back direction, head direction, foot direction, right side direction, The left side direction can be grasped.

  These guide displays may be displayed in the ultrasonic image as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, but may be displayed in an empty space outside the image. This makes it possible to grasp the orientation of the fetus without reducing the visibility of the ultrasonic image.

  In the annotation setting unit 14, the name and shape of a fetal bone or organ are set in advance by the operator, and if an image having a shape similar to the set bone or organ shape is drawn on the ultrasound image, The name of the corresponding bone or organ is displayed around the image. For example, if the name and shape of the gastric vesicle 101 are set in the annotation setting unit 14 in advance, the “Storach” annotation 202 is displayed for an image similar to the shape of the cyst as shown in FIGS. To do. Usually, the annotation setting unit 14 automatically displays the annotation 202 when an image similar to the set shape is drawn on the ultrasonic image. The annotation 202 can be arbitrarily set to display / hide by the operator via the operation screen displayed on the operation unit 8 or the display unit 7.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart of this embodiment.

  In S1, the operator starts diagnosis.

  In S <b> 2, the operator presses the ultrasonic probe 1 against the abdomen of the mother and causes the display unit 7 to draw a two-dimensional ultrasonic image. Further, when the annotation setting unit 14 determines that the bone or organ set in itself has been rendered as a two-dimensional ultrasound image, the annotation setting unit 14 displays the annotation 202 corresponding to the corresponding bone or organ on the display unit 7. The operator searches for a cross section when performing AC (Abdominal Circulation) measurement from the two-dimensional ultrasonic image and the annotation 202. AC measurement is a cross section perpendicular to the fetal abdominal aorta, where the umbilical vein 102 is depicted at a position separated from the abdominal wall by a length of 1/3 to 1/4 of the distance from the abdominal wall to the spinal column, and at the same time the gastric follicle 101 It is the measurement of the perimeter of the cross section when it is also drawn. Note that this AC measurement is a measurement technique frequently used in normal fetal growth measurement.

  In S <b> 3, when the operator determines that the two-dimensional ultrasonic image displayed on the display unit 7 is a cross-sectional image when AC measurement is performed, the guide display by the marker 201 or the body mark 203 is performed via the operation unit 8. Is requested to the system control unit 9.

  When there is a guide display request from the operator, the system control unit 9 electronically scans the scanning line around the position where the ultrasonic probe 1 is currently pressed, if the ultrasonic probe 1 is a two-dimensional array probe. In the case of the mechanical 4D probe, the transmitter 3 is instructed to mechanically swing the scanning line around the position where the ultrasonic probe 1 is pressed. send. As shown in S <b> 4, the image processing unit 5 generates a three-dimensional ultrasonic image based on the received signal obtained from the receiving unit 4. Further, this three-dimensional ultrasonic image is generated in the background, and the two-dimensional ultrasonic image at the time point S3 is still displayed on the display unit 7. If the ultrasonic probe 1 is a one-dimensional array probe in which transducers are simply arranged one-dimensionally, the operator manually generates a three-dimensional ultrasonic image by shaking the scanning line. Of course it is also possible.

  As shown in S <b> 5, the system control unit 9 determines whether the currently drawn two-dimensional ultrasound image is a cross-section when performing AC measurement of the fetus. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the system control unit 9 displays the annotations 202 of the gastric vesicle 101, the umbilical vein 102, and the spine 103, and the condition that the position of the umbilical artery 102 is a cross section for performing the above-described AC measurement. The above determination is made based on the determination that the condition is satisfied. When the system control unit 9 determines that the currently drawn two-dimensional ultrasound image is not a cross-sectional image for AC measurement, the guide display request made in S3 is invalid, and the operator returns to S2 and performs AC measurement. Look for a new section when doing it.

  On the other hand, when the system control unit 9 determines that the currently drawn two-dimensional ultrasound image is a cross-sectional image when AC measurement is performed, a pattern registered in advance in the pattern storage unit 11 as shown in S6. Two types of patterns related to the above-described spinous process 100 are automatically selected.

  In S7, the pattern recognition unit 12 performs matching between the three-dimensional ultrasonic image generated by the image processing unit 5 and the selected two types of patterns in the background.

  FIG. 8A is a front view of the mother body and the ultrasonic probe 1 in this embodiment, and FIG. 8B is a side view of the mother body and the ultrasonic probe 1 in this embodiment. The x direction, y direction, and z direction in FIG. 8 correspond to the right side direction, the abdomen direction, and the head direction, respectively, and the ultrasonic probe 1 is pressed against the mother in the direction opposite to the y direction. ing. Note that the two-dimensional ultrasonic image in S3 is a cross-sectional image passing through the straight line F in FIG. 8B. For example, the ultrasonic beam emitted from the ultrasonic probe is electronically moved in the x direction or the direction opposite to the x direction. Obtained by shaking. On the other hand, the three-dimensional ultrasonic image as shown in S4 is a two-dimensional image obtained by, for example, electronically shaking the cross section in the z direction or the direction opposite to the z direction with the installation portion of the ultrasonic probe 1 as the center. Obtained by stacking ultrasound images. Here, as shown in FIG. 8B, the angle when the cross section is inclined in the z direction is θ.

  For example, it is assumed that the pattern recognition unit 12 recognizes the regularity in which the tip portion of the spinous process 100 in the two-dimensional ultrasound image becomes longer in the back direction of the fetus as θ is increased in FIG. In that case, among the two types of patterns described above, “when the cross-sectional images of the fetal abdomen are successively displayed from the head direction of the fetus, the tip 100b of the spinous process 100 is drawn so as to become gradually longer”. That is, the pattern recognition unit 12 determines that the z direction is the fetal foot direction. Conversely, assume that the pattern recognition unit 12 recognizes the regularity that the tip portion of the spinous process 100 in the two-dimensional ultrasound image becomes shorter in the abdomen direction of the fetus as θ in FIG. 8B is increased. In that case, among the two types of patterns described above, “when the cross-sectional images of the abdomen of the fetus are successively displayed from the direction of the foot of the fetus, the tip 100b of the spinous process 100 is drawn so as to be gradually shortened.” In other words, the pattern recognition unit 12 determines that the z direction is the fetal head direction.

  Even when the direction of the spine of the fetus is orthogonal to the direction of the mother's spine, the ultrasonic probe 1 whose cross section passing through the straight line F in FIG. The direction of the fetus in the womb can be grasped by regarding the direction orthogonal to the cross section as the z direction in FIG. 8 and the direction opposite to the z direction.

  In S8, the guide display setting unit 13 guides and displays the direction of the fetus on the display unit 7 with the marker 201 or the body mark 203 based on the matching result.

  In S9, the diagnosis is terminated.

  As described above, AC measurement is a measurement technique frequently performed during fetal growth measurement. In this embodiment, since the operator only has to find a cross section for performing AC measurement, even an operator unfamiliar with the use of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus can easily grasp the accurate orientation of the fetus. As a result, the diagnosis time can be shortened.

  As one modified example, the annotation setting unit 14 may display the annotation 202 only when a cross section for AC measurement is obtained. In this case, the operator can easily recognize that the cross-sectional image displayed on the display unit is a cross-sectional image for AC measurement, and the correct orientation of the fetus can be grasped with a simpler operation.

  Further, the pattern using the shape of the spinous process 100 depicted in the ultrasonic image is not only regular based on the characteristics of one tip portion in the spinous process 100 but also regularity based on a plurality of tip portions. But it ’s okay.

  In the present embodiment, the method for grasping the accurate orientation of the fetus in the mother's fetus from the shape of the tip portion of the spinous process 100 depicted in the ultrasound image has been described, but the structure that can identify the orientation of the fetus by the pattern The present invention can be sufficiently applied to a part having a surface, such as a ventricle. It should be noted that when the ventricular pattern is registered and the orientation of the fetus is determined from the ultrasound image of the ventricle, the shape and size of the ventricle change depending on the number of gestational weeks. In this case, a pattern corresponding to each gestational week is registered in the pattern storage unit 11 in advance, and pattern matching is performed using not only the actual gestational week pattern but also the patterns of several weeks before and after.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, these embodiment is shown as an example and is not intending limiting the range of invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ultrasonic probe 3 ... Transmission part 4 ... Reception part 5 ... Image processing part 7 ... Display part 8 ... Operation part 9 ... System control part 11 ... Pattern Storage unit 12 ... Pattern recognition unit 13 ... Guide display setting unit 14 ... Annotation setting unit 100 ... Spinous processes 100a, 100b, 100c ... Tip 101 ... Gastric follicle 102 ... Umbilical cord Vein 103 ... spine 201 ... marker 202 ... annotation 203 ... body mark

Claims (8)

An ultrasonic probe;
An image processing unit capable of generating an ultrasound image including a predetermined region of the fetus centering on a position where the ultrasound probe is pressed;
The direction from the head to the foot of the predetermined part or the direction from the foot to the head indicating the standard of the structure from the head to the foot or from the foot to the head included in the predetermined region Recognizing a pattern of a change in length of the predetermined part using the ultrasonic images having different positions with respect to the orientation of the fetus;
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: A display unit for rendering the ultrasonic image;
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a guide display setting unit that displays guide information on the display unit for the orientation of the fetus specified by the recognition unit.   The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined part is a spinous process. The recognizing unit determines that the ultrasonic image drawn on the display unit is a cross-sectional image when performing AC measurement, and if the ultrasonic image is a cross-sectional image when performing AC measurement, The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the direction is specified. The recognizing unit determines the orientation of the fetus according to which of the first pattern in which the length of the spinous process is gradually increased and the second pattern in which the length of the spinous process is gradually decreased. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3 or 4 to be specified. The guide information, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 5 is a marker or body mark indicating the orientation of the fetus. Stores the name and shape of an organ or bone of a fetus, and if there is an image corresponding to the shape of the organ or bone in the ultrasound image drawn on the display unit, the corresponding organ or bone The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 6 , further comprising an annotation setting unit that causes the display unit to display the name of the item as an annotation. The recognition unit, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7 for collecting the ultrasound image according to the specific and the particular orientation of the fetus in the background.

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