JP6769173B2 - Ultrasound diagnostic imaging equipment, ultrasonic image measurement methods and programs - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus , an ultrasonic image measuring method and a program .

In ultrasonic diagnosis, the state of heartbeat and fetal movement can be obtained as an ultrasonic image by a simple operation of applying an ultrasonic probe from the body surface, and since it is highly safe, repeated examinations are performed. Can be done. An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus that is used for performing ultrasonic diagnosis and displays an ultrasonic image is known.

In addition, an ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus is used to scan and display a tumor as a measurement target of a subject, and to measure the feature amount of the tumor. The feature quantities to be measured for the tumor are mainly the aspect ratio and the diameter of the tumor. When a mass is a malignant tumor, it has the property of being hard and difficult to flatten. For this reason, the aspect ratio is mainly used to distinguish between benign and malignant tumors at the time of examination. In addition, the tumor diameter is mainly used to see the therapeutic effect of preoperative chemotherapy over time.

Conventionally, using an ultrasonic diagnostic imaging device, a caliper mark is specified for a mass on an ultrasonic image with a horizontal diameter parallel to the skin surface of the subject, and then a caliper with a vertical diameter orthogonal to the caliper mark. The mark was specified, and the user calculated the aspect ratio of the mass using the horizontal and vertical diameters obtained from the caliper mark. In addition, conventionally, by the same user operation, the caliper mark is specified for the maximum diameter in the vertical, horizontal, diagonal directions, etc. for the tumor on the ultrasonic image, and the user uses the diameter information obtained from the caliper mark. The tumor diameter was calculated. However, in order to reduce the burden on the user, a device that partially automates the measurement of the feature amount of the tumor is known.

For example, an ultrasonic diagnostic device is known that the operator specifies the maximum transverse longitude L of the tumor and displays a vertical diameter guide of k · L (k: a coefficient for distinguishing between good and bad, which is preset by the operator). (See Patent Document 1). In addition, the region of interest is identified using the anti-trough method, the gray level is plotted three-dimensionally to segment the region of interest, the largest region in the segmented region is the main affected area, and the main affected area (tumor) is the most. An ultrasonic system that automatically determines the aspect ratio using the ratio of the minor axis of a matching ellipse is known (see Patent Document 2).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-204962 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-193017

However, in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus described in Patent Document 1, although it is possible to visually check whether or not the aspect ratio exceeds a predetermined reference value, the aspect ratio cannot be measured unless the user modifies it. In order to measure the vertical and horizontal diameters of the tumor, the user had to specify four points, which made the user's operation complicated.

Further, in the ultrasonic system described in Patent Document 2, it is not possible to distinguish between the measurement target and the non-measurement target, and the aspect ratio is an approximate value (value assuming that the tumor is an ellipse), so that the measurement accuracy is insufficient. Met.

An object of the present invention is to improve the accuracy of measurement while reducing the operation load in the measurement of the feature amount of the object to be measured.

In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to claim 1 is
An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging device that transmits ultrasonic waves to a subject in response to a drive signal, receives reflected ultrasonic waves, and transmits and receives ultrasonic waves by an ultrasonic probe that generates a received signal.
A transmitter that supplies a drive signal to the oscillator of the ultrasonic probe,
A receiver that generates sound line data based on the received signal received via the oscillator, and a receiver.
An image generation unit that generates tomographic image data of the subject from the generated sound line data,
An initial condition acquisition unit that acquires initial condition information for extracting the contour of the measurement object, and
A contour extraction unit that extracts the contour of the measurement object from the generated tomographic image data using the acquired initial condition information, and a contour extraction unit.
A measuring unit for acquiring diameter information of the measurement object based on the extracted contour is provided .
The contour extraction unit extracts the contour of the measurement object from the generated tomographic image data of a plurality of frames by using the acquired initial condition information.
The measuring unit acquires the diameter information of the measurement target based on the contours of the extracted plurality of frames, respectively.
A selection unit for selecting the diameter information of one frame from the acquired diameter information of the plurality of frames is provided.
The measuring unit calculates the feature amount of the measurement object from the selected diameter information.
The invention according to claim 2 is the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to claim 1 .
A measurement target recognition unit that recognizes that the measurement target of the subject is stably depicted for a predetermined time from the generated tomographic image data, and when recognized, transitions to the measurement execution mode of the measurement target. When,
The initial condition acquisition unit acquires initial condition information for contour extraction of the measurement object when the transition to the measurement execution mode is performed.

The invention according to claim 3 is the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 .
The initial condition acquisition unit receives and acquires operation input of initial condition information for contour extraction.

The invention according to claim 4 is the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 .
The initial condition acquisition unit acquires initial condition information for contour extraction from the generated tomographic image data.

The invention according to claim 5 is the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 .
The contour extraction unit uses the acquired initial condition information to extract the first contour of the measurement object from the generated tomographic image data.
Based on the extracted first contour, the measuring unit acquires a first diameter and a second diameter orthogonal to the first diameter as diameter information of the measurement object, and the first measuring unit obtains the first diameter. From the diameter and the second diameter, the aspect ratio of the measurement object as a feature amount of the measurement object is calculated.

The invention according to claim 6 is the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 .
The receiving unit generates sound line data based on the received signal acquired by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves at a position corresponding to the maximum diameter plane of the object to be measured and the cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter plane. ,
The contour extraction unit uses the acquired initial condition information to extract a second contour of the measurement target from the generated tomographic image data of the maximum diameter plane, and a cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter plane. The third contour of the measurement object is extracted from the tomographic image data of
Based on the second contour corresponding to the extracted maximum diameter surface, the measuring unit uses a third diameter and a fourth diameter orthogonal to the third diameter as diameter information of the measurement object. Based on the third contour which is acquired and corresponds to the cross section orthogonal to the extracted maximum diameter plane, the fifth diameter is acquired as the diameter information of the measurement object, and the third diameter and the third diameter are obtained. From the diameter of No. 4 and the fifth diameter, the diameter of the object to be measured as a feature amount of the object to be measured is calculated.

The invention according to claim 7 is the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 .
The contour extraction unit extracts the fourth contour of the measurement object from the generated tomographic image data by using the acquired initial condition information.
Based on the extracted fourth contour, the measuring unit acquires a sixth diameter and a seventh diameter orthogonal to the sixth diameter as diameter information of the measurement object, and the sixth measuring unit obtains the sixth diameter. The volume as a feature amount of the measurement object is calculated from the diameter and the seventh diameter.

The invention according to claim 8 is the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 .
The receiving unit generates sound line data based on the received signal acquired by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves at a position corresponding to the maximum diameter plane of the object to be measured and the cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter plane. ,
The contour extraction unit extracts the fifth contour of the measurement object from the generated tomographic image data of the maximum diameter plane by using the acquired initial condition information, and the cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter plane. The sixth contour of the measurement target is extracted from the tomographic image data of
Based on the fifth contour corresponding to the extracted maximum diameter surface, the measuring unit obtains an eighth diameter and a ninth diameter orthogonal to the eighth diameter as diameter information of the measurement object. Based on the sixth contour corresponding to the cross section orthogonal to the extracted maximum diameter plane, the tenth diameter is acquired as the diameter information of the measurement object, and the eighth diameter and the eighth diameter are obtained. From the diameter of 9 and the 10th diameter, the volume as a feature amount of the measurement object is calculated.

The invention according to claim 9 is the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8 .
The contour extraction unit extracts the contour by a graph cut method based on the initial condition information and the tomographic image data.

The invention according to claim 10 is the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to claim 9 .
The initial condition information is the position information of points for setting a designated area in the graph cut method, the position information of the end points of a rectangle or a straight line, or the brightness information of the foreground and the background.

The invention according to claim 11 is the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8 .
The contour extraction unit extracts the contour by a dynamic contour method based on the initial condition information and the tomographic image data.

The invention according to claim 12 is the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to claim 11 .
The initial condition information is the position information of a point for setting the initial contour of the dynamic contour method, the position information of the end point of a rectangle or a straight line, or the initial contour.

The invention according to claim 13 is the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12 .
It is provided with an operation input unit that accepts input of correction information of the position of the measurement marker of the extracted contour.
The measuring unit acquires the diameter information of the measurement object from the measurement marker corrected by the input correction information, and calculates the feature amount of the measurement object from the diameter information.

The invention according to claim 14 is the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to claim 13 .
A predetermined area centered on the measurement marker in the initial state is set, and the predetermined area and the moving measurement marker are set based on the correction information of the movement of the position of the contour measurement marker input from the operation input unit. When the including tomographic image data is generated and displayed on the display unit in real time and the moving measurement marker is within the predetermined area, the unit time of the operation input unit is higher than when the measurement marker is outside the predetermined area. It is provided with a first display control unit that reduces the movement amount of the measurement marker of the above and displays the measurement marker during the movement.

The invention according to claim 15 is the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to claim 13 or 14 .
Based on the correction information of the movement of the position of the contour measurement marker input from the operation input unit, tomographic image data including the moving measurement marker is generated and displayed in real time on the display unit, and the measurement during the movement is performed. When the brightness gradient information of the tomographic image data at the marker position is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold value, the movement amount of the measurement marker per unit time of the operation input unit is smaller than that when the brightness gradient information is smaller than the predetermined threshold value. A second display control unit for displaying the measurement marker inside is provided.

The invention according to claim 16 is the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 15 .
Based on the correction information of the movement of the position of the contour measurement marker input from the operation input unit, tomographic image data including the moving measurement marker is generated and displayed in real time on the display unit, and one measurement marker is displayed. It is provided with a third display control unit that interlocks a plurality of measurement markers to move in the same direction or in the enlargement / reduction direction to display according to the input of correction information.

The invention according to claim 17 is the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to claim 2 .
At the time of transition to the measurement execution mode, the display unit includes a fourth display control unit that displays display information indicating the transition to the measurement execution mode.

The invention according to claim 18 is the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 17 .
It is provided with an output control unit that outputs the calculated feature amount of the measurement object to the output unit.

The invention according to claim 19 is the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to claim 2 .
The measurement target recognition unit calculates the difference between the entire frame of the generated plurality of tomographic image data or a predetermined portion within the frame, and when the calculated difference value is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, the measurement execution mode is set. Transition.

The invention according to claim 20 is the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 19 .
The selection unit automatically selects the maximum diameter information among the acquired diameter information of the plurality of frames.

The invention according to claim 21 is the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 19 .
The selection unit accepts a selection input of the diameter information of one frame among the acquired diameter information of the plurality of frames.
The invention according to claim 22
Ultrasound that transmits ultrasonic waves to the subject in response to the drive signal, receives reflected ultrasonic waves and generates a received signal. Ultrasound that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves with an ultrasonic probe to measure the generated ultrasonic image. It is an image measurement method
The transmission process of supplying the drive signal to the oscillator of the ultrasonic probe and
A reception process that generates sound line data based on the reception signal received via the oscillator, and
An image generation step of generating tomographic image data of the subject from the generated sound line data, and
The initial condition acquisition step for acquiring the initial condition information for extracting the contour of the measurement target of the subject, and
A contour extraction step of extracting the contour of the measurement object from the generated tomographic image data using the acquired initial condition information, and
See containing and a measurement step of acquiring diameter information of the measurement object based on the extracted contour,
In the contour extraction step, the contour of the measurement target is extracted from the generated tomographic image data of a plurality of frames by using the acquired initial condition information.
In the measurement step, the diameter information of the measurement target is acquired based on the contours of the extracted plurality of frames.
Including a selection step of selecting the diameter information of one frame from the acquired diameter information of the plurality of frames.
In the measurement step, the feature amount of the measurement object is calculated from the selected diameter information .
The program of the invention according to claim 23
The transmission ultrasonic waves transmitted to the subject in response to a drive signal, the ultrasonic probe to generate a received signal by receiving a reflected ultrasonic wave computer over the ultrasound system for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves,
A transmitter that supplies a drive signal to the oscillator of the ultrasonic probe,
A receiver that generates sound line data based on the received signal received via the oscillator,
An image generation unit that generates tomographic image data of the subject from the generated sound line data,
Initial condition acquisition unit that acquires initial condition information for contour extraction of the measurement target of the subject,
A contour extraction unit that extracts the contour of the measurement object from the generated tomographic image data using the acquired initial condition information.
A measuring unit that acquires diameter information of the measurement target based on the extracted contour,
To function as,
The contour extraction unit extracts the contour of the measurement object from the generated tomographic image data of a plurality of frames by using the acquired initial condition information.
The measuring unit acquires the diameter information of the measurement target based on the contours of the extracted plurality of frames, respectively.
The computer
It functions as a selection unit for selecting the diameter information of one frame from the acquired diameter information of the plurality of frames.
The measuring unit calculates the feature amount of the measurement object from the selected diameter information .

According to the present invention, in measuring a feature amount of a measurement object, it is possible to improve the measurement accuracy while reducing the operation load.

It is an external view of the 1st ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the 1st ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus. (A) is a figure which shows the diameter information of the mass measured in the aspect ratio measurement mode. (B) is a figure which shows the diameter information of the mass measured by the maximum diameter surface in the mass diameter measurement mode. (C) is a figure which shows the diameter information of the mass measured in the cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter plane in the mass diameter measurement mode. It is a flowchart which shows the mass aspect ratio measurement processing. It is a schematic diagram which shows the 1st display image which designated the center point of a tumor. It is a schematic diagram which shows the 2nd display image which arranged the measurement marker. (A) is a schematic diagram showing a third display image in which the ROI is designated. (B) is a schematic diagram showing a fourth display image in which a straight line is designated. It is a flowchart which shows the tumor diameter measurement processing. It is a schematic diagram which shows the 5th display image which has the display image of the maximum diameter plane of a mass, and the display image of the cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter plane. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the 2nd ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the 6th display image which has the B mode image including a bladder. It is a flowchart which shows the volume measurement process of the 1st measurement object. It is a schematic diagram which shows the 7th display image which has the B mode image of one cross section including a bladder. It is a flowchart which shows the 2nd measurement object volume measurement processing. It is a schematic diagram which shows the 8th display image which has the B mode image of the orthogonal cross section of the 7th display image of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the 9th display image which has the B mode image including a bladder. (A) is a figure which shows the luminance profile in the vertical reference line of one cross section. (B) is a figure which shows the luminance profile in the horizontal reference line from the reference point of the vertical reference line of (a).

The first and second embodiments and modifications according to the present invention will be described in detail in order with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention is not limited to the illustrated examples.

(First Embodiment)
A first embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9. First, with reference to FIG. 1, the overall configuration of the ultrasonic image diagnostic apparatus 100 as the ultrasonic image processing apparatus of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is an external view of the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100 of the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100 includes an ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus main body 1 and an ultrasonic probe 2. The ultrasonic probe 2 transmits ultrasonic waves (transmitted ultrasonic waves) to a subject such as a living body (not shown), and the reflected waves (reflected ultrasonic waves: echo) of the ultrasonic waves reflected in the subject. To receive. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus main body 1 is connected to the ultrasonic probe 2 via a cable 3, and the subject is sent to the ultrasonic probe 2 by transmitting an electric signal drive signal to the ultrasonic probe 2. Based on the received signal, which is an electric signal generated by the ultrasonic probe 2 in response to the reflected ultrasonic waves from the subject received by the ultrasonic probe 2, while transmitting the transmitted ultrasonic waves to the ultrasonic probe 2. The internal state inside the subject is imaged as an ultrasonic image. Further, the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus main body 1 includes an operation input unit 11 and a display unit 19, which will be described later.

The ultrasonic probe 2 includes an oscillator 2a (see FIG. 2) made of a piezoelectric element, and the oscillators 2a are, for example, arranged in a plurality of one-dimensional arrays in the azimuth direction (scanning direction). .. In the present embodiment, for example, an ultrasonic probe 2 having 192 oscillators 2a is used. The oscillators 2a may be arranged in a two-dimensional array. Further, the number of oscillators 2a can be arbitrarily set. Further, in the present embodiment, the ultrasonic probe 2 is used as the ultrasonic probe 2 to scan the ultrasonic waves by the linear scanning method. However, either the sector scanning method or the convex scanning method can be used. It can also be adopted. The communication between the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus main body 1 and the ultrasonic probe 2 may be performed by wireless communication such as UWB (Ultra Wide Band) instead of the wired communication via the cable 3.

Next, the functional configuration of the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100. FIG. 3A is a diagram showing diameter information of a tumor as a measurement target of a subject to be measured in the aspect ratio measurement mode. FIG. 3B is a diagram showing the diameter information of the tumor measured on the maximum diameter surface in the tumor diameter measurement mode. FIG. 3C is a diagram showing diameter information of a tumor measured in a cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter plane in the tumor diameter measurement mode.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus main body 1 includes, for example, an operation input unit 11, a transmission unit 12, a reception unit 13, an image generation unit 14, a contour extraction unit 15, and a measurement unit 16. , A storage unit 17, a first and second display control unit, a display synthesis unit 18 as an output control unit, a display unit 19 as an output unit, and a control unit 20.

The operation input unit 11 is, for example, a command for instructing the start of diagnosis, data such as personal information of a subject, and various switches for inputting various parameters for displaying an ultrasonic image on the display unit 19. It is equipped with a button, a trackball, a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel integrally provided on the display screen of the display unit 19, and outputs an operation signal to the control unit 20. In particular, the operation input unit 11 receives the designation of the aspect ratio measurement mode or the tumor diameter measurement mode, the initial condition information for contour extraction, and the input of the correction information of the position of the measurement marker of the tumor diameter information.

Here, the measurement mode will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b). The aspect ratio measurement mode is a measurement mode mainly used at the time of examination, and as shown in FIG. 3A, the maximum lateral diameter W parallel to the skin surface SK1 and orthogonal to the maximum lateral diameter W parallel to the skin surface SK1 for the tumor T1 containing no halo. In this mode, the maximum vertical diameter D is measured, and the aspect ratio as a feature amount of the tumor T1 is calculated and displayed by the following equation (1).
Aspect ratio = D / W ... (1)

A halo in the field of mammary gland is a borderline hyperechoic area around the hypoechoic area of a mass. It is assumed that the boundary for measuring a tumor that does not include a halo in the aspect ratio measurement mode is a boundary in which the difference in brightness from the surroundings (region that is not a tumor) is larger than that that includes a halo, which will be described later. Therefore, the tumor T1 is composed of only a hypoechoic portion as a tumor main body portion. The end points of the horizontal diameter W and the vertical diameter D are taken on the contour of the hypoechoic portion of the tumor or on the dimensional auxiliary line of the contour (for example, the dimensional auxiliary line of the contour of the vertical diameter D in FIG. 3A).

The tumor diameter measurement mode is a measurement mode mainly used when preoperative chemotherapy has a therapeutic effect over time, and as shown in FIG. 3 (b), the hypoechoic region T21 and the halo as the tumor body. For the tumor T2 including T22, the maximum lateral diameter a and vertical diameter c of the tumor T2 on the maximum diameter surface where the diameter of the tumor T2 is the maximum cross section are measured, and as shown in FIG. 3 (c), the tumor T2 In this mode, the maximum lateral diameter b of the tumor T2 in the cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter plane of the tumor T2 is measured, and the tumor diameter as a characteristic amount of the tumor T2 is calculated and displayed by the following equation (2).
Tumor diameter = a * b * c ... (2)
However, the units of a, b, and c are [mm] or [cm].

It is assumed that the boundary for measuring a tumor including a halo in the tumor diameter measurement mode is a boundary where the brightness difference from the surroundings is smaller than the brightness difference when the halo is not included, but is visible. In the tumor diameter measurement mode, it is necessary to measure in two cross sections. In addition, the tumor diameter of the tumor calculated in the tumor diameter measurement mode is often used in comparison with the past measured value (calculated value). The end points of the horizontal diameters a and b and the vertical diameter c are taken on the contour of the halo of the tumor or on the extension line of the contour.

Returning to FIG. 2, the transmission unit 12 supplies a drive signal, which is an electric signal, to the ultrasonic probe 2 via the cable 3 under the control of the control unit 20, and transmits ultrasonic waves to the ultrasonic probe 2. It is a circuit to generate. Further, the transmission unit 12 includes, for example, a clock generation circuit, a delay circuit, and a pulse generation circuit. The clock generation circuit is a circuit that generates a clock signal that determines the transmission timing and transmission frequency of the drive signal. The delay circuit sets a delay time for each individual path corresponding to each oscillator 2a, delays the transmission of the drive signal by the set delay time, and focuses the transmission beam composed of the transmission ultrasonic waves (transmission beamforming). ) Etc. is a circuit for performing. The pulse generation circuit is a circuit for generating a pulse signal as a drive signal at a set voltage and time interval. The transmission unit 12 configured as described above sequentially switches a plurality of oscillators 2a for supplying drive signals while shifting a predetermined number for each transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves under the control of the control unit 20, and a plurality of selected outputs. Scanning is performed by supplying a drive signal to the oscillator 2a of the above.

The receiving unit 13 is a circuit that receives a received signal, which is an electric signal, from the ultrasonic probe 2 via the cable 3 under the control of the control unit 20. The receiving unit 13 includes, for example, an amplifier, an A / D conversion circuit, and a phasing addition circuit. The amplifier is a circuit for amplifying a received signal at a preset amplification factor for each individual path corresponding to each oscillator 2a. The A / D conversion circuit is a circuit for analog-digital conversion (A / D conversion) of the amplified received signal. The phase-adjusting addition circuit adjusts the time phase by giving a delay time for each individual path corresponding to each oscillator 2a to the A / D-converted received signal, and adds (phase-adjusting addition) these to sound. It is a circuit for generating line data. That is, the phasing addition circuit performs received beamforming on the received signal for each oscillator 2a to generate sound line data.

The image generation unit 14 performs envelope detection processing, logarithmic compression, and the like on the sound line data from the reception unit 13 under the control of the control unit 20, adjusts the dynamic range and gain, and performs luminance conversion. , B (Brightness) mode image data as tomographic image data is generated. That is, the B-mode image data represents the strength of the received signal by the brightness.

Further, the image generation unit 14 includes an image memory unit (not shown) composed of a semiconductor memory such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). The image generation unit 14 stores the generated B-mode image data in the image memory unit in frame units.

Further, the image generation unit 14 appropriately performs image processing such as image filtering processing and time smoothing processing on the ultrasonic image data appropriately read from the image memory unit, and displays the display image pattern on the display unit 19. Scan conversion to.

The contour extraction unit 15 extracts the contour of the tumor of the subject from the B-mode image data generated by the image generation unit 14 by using a predetermined image processing method under the control of the control unit 20, and outputs the contour data. To do. In the present embodiment, a dynamic contour method, for example, the Snakes method is used as an example of the image processing method of the contour extraction unit 15.

The Snakes method uses an energy function expressed as a linear sum of internal deformation energy and external potential energy on a certain curve on the image plane, modifies the shape so that the energy function is minimized, and extracts contour lines. Is a way to do.

That is, the closed curve (boundary line) is determined so as to minimize the energy function E (v) given by the following equation (3).
E (v) = S (v) + P (v) ... (3)
However, S (v) is the internal deformation energy. P (v) is the external potential energy {v (s) = [x (s), y (s)]}. s is the arc length parameter of the closed curve.

Specifically, the initial contour is set, and the local energy Esnakes represented by the following equation (4) is calculated for a plurality of pixels in the vicinity of one contour point (vertex) on the initial contour, and the smallest one. Is set as a new contour point.
Esnakes = αEint + βEimage… (4)
However, Eint is the internal deformation energy of the contour line. Eimage is image energy that represents the goodness of fit between the contour line and the image. α and β are parameters for weighting each energy.

The internal deformation energy Eint is expressed by the following equation (5).
Eint = (w ₁ | v _S | ² + w ₂ | v _SS | ² ) / 2 ... (5)
However, w ₁ and w ₂ are constants indicating weights. v _S is the first derivative of v. v _SS is the second derivative of v. v is a parameter representation of the contour line.

The image energy Eimage is expressed by the following equation (6).
Eimage =-(G _σ * ∇ ² I) ² ... (6)
However, G _σ is a Gaussian filter. ∇ ² is a Laplacian filter. I is a luminance value.

The calculation of the local energy Esnakes and the processing of setting a new contour point in a plurality of pixels in the vicinity of the above one contour point are executed for all the contour points on the contour, and the contour consisting of the new contour points is set. .. Further, the process of setting a new contour is repeatedly executed until a predetermined condition is reached. The predetermined conditions are, for example, that the total movement amount of the contour points on the contour is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, and that the number of repetitions of the contour setting exceeds the predetermined threshold value.

In this way, the contour extraction unit 15 extracts the contour of the tumor on the B-mode image by the Snakes method. Since the tumor often has a complicated shape, it is desirable that the shape is not constrained so much, and the weight of the parameter β is larger than that of the parameter α for processing.

但し、Ｘ，ｘ_i，ｘ_jはラベルである。Ｅ1はＳｎａｋｅｓ法のＥimageと類似の特徴量で、画素と対象（腫瘤）との適合度（例えば、対象との色（輝度）の類似度）を示す。Ｅ2はＳｎａｋｅｓ法のＥintと類似の特徴量で、形状拘束の役割を果たす特徴量（例えば、隣り合う境界点がどのような関係であるべきか）である。ｖは場所（サイト）の集合である。εは隣接する場所の組の集合である。 The image processing method of the contour extraction unit 15 is not limited to the Snakes method, and other image processing methods such as the graph cut method may be used. In the graph cut method, the boundary (contour) is extracted so as to minimize the energy function E (X) represented by the following equation (7).

However, X, x _{i, and} x _j are labels. E1 is a feature amount similar to the Eimage of the Snakes method, and indicates the goodness of fit between the pixel and the object (tumor) (for example, the similarity of the color (luminance) with the object). E2 is a feature quantity similar to Eint of the Snakes method, and is a feature quantity that plays a role of shape constraint (for example, what kind of relationship should adjacent boundary points have). v is a set of places (sites). ε is a set of pairs of adjacent locations.

Specifically, the label is a label indicating whether it is a mass or not. The site becomes a pixel. The adjacency relationship is the adjacency relationship of pixels. The first term on the right side of the equation (7) is a data term, and is a term indicating whether it seems to be a tumor or not from the color (luminance value) of the pixel. The second term on the right side of the equation (7) is a smoothing term, which is a term for smoothing labels between adjacent pixels.

Then, the contour extraction unit 15 creates a graph based on the energy function E (X) of the equation (7). The graph has two terminals of source and sink indicating whether it is a mass or not, a plurality of nodes corresponding to a plurality of pixels, and a link between the terminals and each node. A cutting cost (energy) is set for each link. Then, the contour extraction unit 15 cuts a graph between the two terminals so that the cost is the minimum (the energy function E (X) is the minimum), and the cut surface is used as the contour of the tumor. Since the contour of an object other than the tumor may be extracted by the graph cut method, in that case, the largest of the plurality of contours is extracted as the contour of the tumor.

According to the control of the control unit 20, the measurement unit 16 obtains the position information of the measurement marker for measuring the diameter information of the mass, the diameter information, the feature amount based on the diameter information, and the feature amount from the contour data input from the contour extraction unit 15. Is calculated, the position information, the diameter information and the feature amount of the measurement marker are output to the display synthesis unit 18, and the diameter information and the feature amount are stored in the storage unit 17.

In the aspect ratio measurement mode, the position information of the measurement marker is the intersection of the horizontal diameter W and the vertical diameter D and the contour of the tumor based on the contour data or the dimensional auxiliary line of the contour. Further, the diameter information is a horizontal diameter W and a vertical diameter D. The feature amount is the aspect ratio of the tumor.

In the mass diameter measurement mode, the position information of the measurement marker includes the horizontal diameter a and the vertical diameter c of the maximum diameter surface, the horizontal diameter b of the cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter surface, and the contour of the mass based on the contour data of each cross section. It is the intersection with the extension line of the contour. The diameter information is the horizontal diameters a and b and the vertical diameter c. The feature amount is the tumor diameter.

The storage unit 17 is a storage unit capable of writing and reading information such as a flash memory, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and an SSD (Solid State Drive).

According to the control of the control unit 20, the display synthesis unit 18 has the measurement marker, the diameter information, and the feature amount according to the position information of the B mode image data input from the image generation unit 14 and the measurement marker output from the measurement unit 16. Is generated as it is or is appropriately combined to generate display image data, and the image signal of the display image data is output to the display unit 19.

A display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a CRT (Cathode-Ray Tube) display, an organic EL (Electronic Luminescence) display, an inorganic EL display, or a plasma display can be applied to the display unit 19. The display unit 19 displays the display image on the display screen according to the image signal of the display image data input from the display composition unit 18.

The control unit 20 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory), and reads various processing programs such as a system program stored in the ROM and develops them in the RAM. , The operation of each part of the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus main body 1 is centrally controlled according to the developed program. The ROM is composed of a non-volatile memory such as a semiconductor, and stores a system program corresponding to the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100, various processing programs that can be executed on the system program, various data such as a gamma table, and the like. These programs are stored in the form of a computer-readable program code, and the CPU sequentially executes operations according to the program code. The RAM forms a work area for temporarily storing various programs executed by the CPU and data related to these programs. In particular, it is assumed that the tumor aspect ratio measurement program and the tumor diameter measurement program are stored in the ROM of the control unit 20. The control unit 20 controls each part of the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus main body 1, but the line indicating the control is omitted in FIG.

A part or all of the functional blocks of the transmission unit 12, the reception unit 13, the image generation unit 14, the contour extraction unit 15, the measurement unit 16, the display synthesis unit 18, and the control unit 20 included in the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100. The function can be realized as a hardware circuit such as an integrated circuit. The integrated circuit is, for example, an LSI (Large Scale Integration), and the LSI may be referred to as an IC, a system LSI, a super LSI, or an ultra LSI depending on the degree of integration. Further, the method of making an integrated circuit is not limited to the LSI, but may be realized by a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor, and the connection and setting of the FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) and the circuit cell inside the LSI can be reconfigured. A reconfigurable processor may be used. Further, a part or all of the functions of each functional block may be executed by software. In this case, this software is stored in one or more storage media such as ROM, an optical disk, a hard disk, or the like, and this software is executed by an arithmetic processor. The above items are similarly applied to each part of the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100A of the second embodiment. A part or all of the functions of the measurement target recognition unit 21 of the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100A of the second embodiment can also be realized as a hardware circuit such as an integrated circuit.

Next, the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 9. More specifically, the tumor aspect ratio measurement process and the tumor diameter measurement process executed by the control unit 20 will be described. First, the tumor aspect ratio measurement process will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a tumor aspect ratio measurement process. FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a display image F1 in which, for example, the center point P1 of the tumor is designated. FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a display image F2 in which measurement markers M11, M12, M13, and M14 are arranged. FIG. 7A is a schematic view showing a display image F3 in which the ROI (Region of Interest) R1 is designated. FIG. 7B is a schematic view showing a display image F4 in which the straight line L1 is designated.

The tumor aspect ratio measurement process is a process of acquiring the aspect diameter and the aspect diameter of the tumor from the B-mode image data obtained by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, and calculating the aspect ratio. For example, the control unit 20 is stored in the ROM triggered by the input of the designation of the tumor aspect ratio measurement mode from the user (technician, doctor, etc.) as the examiner of the subject via the operation input unit 11. According to the tumor aspect ratio measurement program, each part is controlled to execute the tumor aspect ratio measurement process.

In advance, the user operates the ultrasonic probe 2 to measure the aspect ratio of the tumor and hits the subject having the tumor. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the transmitting unit 12 and the receiving unit 13 transmit and receive ultrasonic waves for the B mode image via the ultrasonic probe 2 in frame units (step S11).

Then, the image generation unit 14 generates B-mode image data corresponding to the ultrasonic wave transmission / reception in step S11, outputs the data to the contour extraction unit 15 and the display composition unit 18, and the display composition unit 18 outputs the input B-mode image. Based on the data, the B mode image is displayed in real time (live) on the display unit 19 (step S12).

The user confirms the image having the maximum lateral diameter of the measurement target in the displayed B mode image. Then, the operation input unit 11 receives an input from the user for a freeze operation that freezes the B-mode image of the real-time display, and the display composition unit 18 responds to the freeze operation and receives a plurality of frames (cine frames) before the freeze operation. The B-mode image data is displayed on the display unit 19, and the operation input unit 11 selects and inputs the measurement target image (B-mode image of the measurement target frame) among the B-mode images of the plurality of frames displayed by the user. Accept (step S13). Then, the display synthesis unit 18 displays the measurement target image on the display unit 19 based on the B mode image data of the measurement target image input in step S13 (step S14).

Then, the operation input unit 11 receives the initial condition information for contour extraction from the user (step S15). The initial condition information for contour extraction is the position information of one point specified by the user, and this is used as the position information of the center point of the initial contour in the Snakes method. This point is used as a point for initial contour setting. In order to improve the accuracy of contour extraction, it is preferable for the user to specify a point near the center of the tumor. It is assumed that the parameters α and β of the above equation (4) of the Snakes method are stored in the storage unit 17 in advance.

Then, the contour extraction unit 15 uses the initial condition information input in step S13 and the parameters α and β stored in the storage unit 17 to halo from the B mode image data of the measurement target image selected in step S13. The contour of the mass that does not contain the above is extracted to generate contour data, and the contour data is output to the display synthesis unit 18 via the measurement unit 16, and the display synthesis unit 18 receives the input B-mode image data and Based on the position information of the points for initial contour setting and the contour data, composite image data having a contour on the B mode image is generated, and the composite image based on the composite image data is displayed on the display unit 19 (step S16). ). In step S16, the contour extraction unit 15 sets a circle or ellipse having a predetermined diameter centered on a point for setting the initial contour of the initial condition information as the initial contour, and uses the Snakes method to obtain the B-mode image data based on the initial contour. Extract the contour. According to this configuration, since the initial contour is set centering on one point input as the initial condition information, the operation load on the user can be reduced.
In general, tumors are less bright than surrounding tissues, so when extracting the contours of tumors that do not contain halos, the contour candidate points should be searched outward from the center of the initial contour, from low brightness to high brightness. The image energy Eimage may be set so as to extract the points that change in brightness.

In step S16, for example, the display image F1 shown in FIG. 5 is displayed. The display image F1 is a B-mode image in which the tumor T3 is scanned, and the center point P1 and the contour C1 are combined. The tumor T3 has a low echo portion T31 as a tumor main body portion and a halo T32 as a hyperechoic portion surrounding the low echo portion T31. The contour C1 is generated so as to match the contour of the low echo portion T31.

Then, the measuring unit 16 uses the contour data extracted in step S13 to generate position information of four measurement markers as the lateral diameter for the aspect ratio of the mass and the end points of the vertical diameter, or step S19 described later. Using the position information of the measurement marker corrected in step 1, the display synthesis unit 18 generates composite image data based on the input B mode image data, the contour data, and the position information of the generated measurement marker. A composite image based on the composite image data having a contour and a measurement marker on the B-mode image is displayed on the display unit 19 (step S17).

In step S17, for example, the display image F2 shown in FIG. 6 is displayed. The display image F2 is a B-mode image in which the tumor T3 is scanned, and the contour C1 and the measurement markers M11, M12, M13, and M14 are combined. In the initial state, the measurement markers M11 and M12 are arranged at the intersection of the straight line having the maximum lateral diameter of the tumor T3 and the contour C1 parallel to the upper side of the display image F2 as the skin surface of the subject. The measurement markers M13 and M14 are arranged at the intersection of the straight line that is orthogonal to the straight line connecting the measurement markers M11 and M12 and has the maximum vertical diameter of the tumor T3 and the contour C1. The measurement markers M11, M12, M13, and M14 may be arranged at the intersection of each straight line and the extension line of the contour C1 in order to take the maximum horizontal diameter and vertical diameter of the mass T3.

Then, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the user has input the correction information of the position of the measurement marker via the operation input unit 11 (step S18). When the correction information is input (step S18; YES), the measurement unit 16 corrects the position information of the measurement marker generated in step S17 based on the correction information input in step S18 (step S19). The process proceeds to step S17.

The correction information for the position of the measurement marker is input, for example, by selecting, moving, and determining the measurement marker using the trackball, cursor button, or the like of the operation input unit 11. As shown in FIG. 6, for example, when the measurement marker M11 is moved to be the corrected measurement marker M11a, in the circular region AR1 at a predetermined distance from the correction target measurement marker M11, the moving measurement marker M11 The amount of movement of the trackball or the like per unit time can be reduced to enable fine adjustment of the correction, and outside the area AR1, the amount of movement of the trackball or the like on the moving measurement marker M11 per unit time is increased to enable the correction time. It may be configured to shorten the time. Specifically, the area AR1 data indicating the shape and size of the area AR1 is stored in the storage unit 17 in advance. The display synthesis unit 18 sets the area AR1 centered on the measurement marker M11 in the initial state (before movement) based on the area AR1 data stored in the storage unit 17, and the measurement marker M11 input from the operation input unit 11. Based on the correction information of the movement of the position, the composite image data of the display image F2 including the area AR1, the moving measurement marker M11, and the contour C1 is generated and displayed in real time on the display unit 19, and the moving measurement marker is displayed. When M11 is within the area AR1, the amount of movement of the operation input unit 11 such as a track ball per unit time is made smaller than when it is outside the area AR1, and the moving measurement marker M11 is displayed. The shape of the region AR1 is not limited to a circle, and may be another shape such as a rectangle. Further, the display of the area AR1 is not essential. The correction of the measurement markers M12, M13, and M14 using the predetermined region is the same as the correction of the measurement marker M11 using the region AR1.

Further, when the brightness gradient of the B mode image near the moving measurement marker M11 to be corrected is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value, the movement amount (movement speed) of the trackball or the like on the moving measurement marker M11 per unit time is determined. When the brightness gradient is smaller than a predetermined threshold value and does not change substantially, the amount of movement of the trackball or the like on the moving measurement marker M11 per unit time may be increased to shorten the correction time. .. Specifically, a predetermined threshold value of the luminance gradient information is stored in the storage unit 17 in advance. The display synthesis unit 18 generates composite image data of the display image F2 including the moving measurement marker M11 and the contour C1 based on the correction information of the movement of the position of the measurement marker M11 input from the operation input unit 11. When the luminance gradient information of the B-mode image data of the position on the moving measurement marker M11 displayed on the display unit 19 in real time is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold of the luminance gradient information stored in the storage unit 17, the predetermined threshold is exceeded. The amount of movement of the track ball or the like of the operation input unit 11 per unit time is smaller than that in the case of small size, and the moving measurement marker M11 is displayed. Further, the correction of the measurement markers M12, M13, and M14 using the luminance gradient information is the same as the correction of the measurement marker M11 using the luminance gradient information. Further, the measurement unit 16 stores the luminance gradient information of the movement destination measurement marker in the storage unit 17 after determining the position information of the measurement marker, and when the next measurement marker is arranged, the previous storage on the B mode image is performed. The measurement marker may be automatically moved and arranged at a position corresponding to the obtained luminance gradient information.

Further, the luminance gradient information of the corrected moving destination measurement marker stored in the storage unit 17 is evaluated higher when the image energy Eimage of the equation (4) is close to the stored luminance gradient information at the next contour extraction ( The value may be lowered).

When there is no input of correction information (step S18; NO), the measurement unit 16 acquires the horizontal diameter and the vertical diameter of the tumor from the position information of the current measurement markers M11, M12, M13, and M14 (step S20). Then, the measuring unit 16 calculates the aspect ratio of the mass by the equation (1) using the acquired horizontal diameter W and vertical diameter D, and the horizontal diameter W and vertical diameter D of the mass and the calculated mass are calculated. The aspect ratio is stored in the storage unit 17, and the display synthesis unit 18 displays the acquired mass horizontal diameter W and vertical diameter D and the calculated aspect ratio of the mass on the display unit 19 (step S21). , The mass aspect ratio measurement process is completed.

The initial condition information for contour extraction input in step S15 is not limited to the position information of the center point of the initial contour. For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, in the display image F3 having the tumor T3, the setting information of the rectangle R1 of the ROI may be input as the initial condition information. The rectangle R1 as the ROI is input so as to surround the tumor T3. The setting information of the rectangle R1 is, for example, the position information of the upper left point and the lower right point of the rectangle R1, the position information of the two end points of the straight line connecting the center point of the rectangle R1 and one vertex, and the rectangle. This is the position information of the center point of the rectangle R1 when the size of R1 is preset. The initial contour is a circle or an ellipse inscribed in the rectangle R1, or the B-mode image in the rectangle R1 as the ROI is binarized, and the boundary of the low echo region is set as the initial contour. Then, the contour search process is performed not on the entire image but on the pixels in the ROI. According to this configuration, the contour search range is narrowed, and improvement in contour extraction performance (accuracy and extraction speed) can be expected.

Further, in step S15, for example, as shown in FIG. 7B, the display image F4 having the tumor T3 may be configured to input the setting information of the straight line L1 as the initial condition information. The straight line L1 is parallel to the skin surface and is input so as to penetrate (cross) the tumor T3. The setting information of the straight line L1 is, for example, the position information of the two end points of the straight line L1. The initial contour is a circle or ellipse whose diameter is the two endpoints of the straight line L1. At this time, by extracting the intersection of the straight line L1 and the low echo region and setting the circle or ellipse passing through the two points as the initial contour, the initial contour passing through the point close to the contour of the tumor can be set, and the contour extraction can be performed. Performance can be improved.

Further, in step S16, the contour extraction unit 15 may be configured to calculate the contour by the graph cut method. In this configuration, in step S15, setting information for a designated area such as a rectangle, a circle, or an ellipse is input as an initial condition information for contour extraction. For example, the contour extraction unit 15 sets the average brightness value of the B-mode image in the designated area based on the input setting information, the brightness value having the largest number of pixels, and the like to the brightness of the area (background area) other than the mass. Set as a value, set the luminance value such as the center of gravity of the designated area as the luminance value of the mass region, set equation (7), and use this set equation (7) to extract the contour by the graph cut method. .. The information for setting the designated area is, for example, the position information of the two end points of the straight line of the diameter or radius of the circle when the designated area is a circle, and the shape and size of the designated area are preset. Position information such as the center point of the designated area. Further, although the number of operations increases, the operation input unit 11 indicates a point indicating the brightness value of the mass region in the B mode image and a brightness value of the background region as initial condition information for contour extraction from the user. The contour extraction unit 15 may be configured to accept the designated input of two points, the point and the point, and extract the contour of the mass by the graph cut method using the input brightness values of the two points.

The operation input unit 11 may accept a designated input from the user using the shape including the tumor on the touch panel as the initial contour of the initial condition information by the dynamic contour method or the designated area by the graph cut method.

Next, the tumor diameter measurement process will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a tumor diameter measurement process. FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing a display image F5 having a display image F51 of the maximum diameter surface of the tumor T4 and a display image F52 of a cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter surface.

The tumor diameter measurement process is a process of measuring the vertical and horizontal diameters of a tumor from B-mode image data obtained by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, and calculating the tumor diameter. For example, the control unit 20 controls each unit according to the tumor diameter measurement program stored in the ROM, triggered by the user inputting the designation of the tumor diameter measurement mode via the operation input unit 11. Perform the tumor diameter measurement process.

In the ultrasonic image diagnostic apparatus 100, first, as in steps S11 and S12 of the tumor aspect ratio measurement process of FIG. 4, the transmission unit 12, the reception unit 13, the image generation unit 14, and the display synthesis unit 18 perform ultrasonic wave transmission / reception and display synthesis unit 18. B-mode image data is generated and displayed (steps S31 and S32). The user operates the ultrasonic probe 2 to hit the subject having a tumor, and visually observes the displayed B mode image while rotating the ultrasonic probe 2 on the skin surface and the like, and sees the B mode. Search for the maximum diameter surface that maximizes the diameter of the tumor on the image.
Then, as in steps S13 and S14 of FIG. 4, the operation input unit 11 and the display synthesis unit 18 accept the input of the freeze operation from the user on the maximum diameter surface, and the B mode image data of a plurality of frames (cine frames). Is displayed, the selection input of the maximum diameter surface image is accepted as the first measurement target image, and the selected maximum diameter surface image is displayed on the display unit 19 (steps S33 and S34).

The user then releases the freeze operation. When the operation input unit 11 receives an input for canceling the freeze operation from the user, step S35 similar to step S32 is performed. The user adjusts the cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter plane by rotating the ultrasonic probe 2 on the skin surface while visually observing the B mode image again. Then, similarly to step S33, the operation input unit 11 and the display synthesis unit 18 receive the input of the freeze operation from the user in the cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter plane, display the B mode image data of a plurality of frames, and display the second. The selection input of the orthogonal cross-sectional image of the maximum diameter plane is accepted as the second measurement target image, and the selected maximum diameter plane image is displayed on the display unit 19 (steps S36 and S37). At this time, if the second measurement target image is drawn while displaying the first measurement target image on the screen, the search for the second measurement target image becomes easy.

Steps S38 and S40 to S42 are the same as steps S15 and S17 to S19 in FIG. However, for each of the B-mode image of the maximum diameter surface and the B-mode image of the cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter surface, input of initial condition information for contour extraction, display of measurement markers, and input of correction information are performed. Do.
In step S39, the contour extraction unit 15 performs the same processing as in step S16 of FIG. 4 for the B-mode image data of the maximum diameter surface image and the orthogonal cross-sectional image of the maximum diameter surface in the contour extraction of the mass including the halo. First, the contour candidate points of the mass containing no halo are extracted. After that, the contour extraction unit 15 analyzes the change in brightness on the straight line connecting the center of the initial contour and the contour candidate point, and the boundary point that changes from high brightness to low brightness outside the contour candidate point of the tumor that does not contain the halo. Is extracted. The contour extraction unit 15 performs this for each of the contour candidate points of the tumor not containing the halo, and sets the contour of the tumor containing the halo. At this time, if the search is performed so as to complement the contour candidate points of the tumor that does not include the halo, the amount of calculation increases, but the precision of contour extraction is improved. In the extraction of the boundary point that changes from high brightness to low brightness, for example, a predetermined threshold value of the brightness change of the boundary of the contour is stored in the storage unit 17 in advance, and the contour extraction unit 15 is the center of the initial contour and the contour candidate point. The boundary point is a point where the change in brightness outside the contour candidate point of the mass that does not include the halo on the straight line connecting the two is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value stored in the storage unit 17.

In step S40, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, a display image F5 having a mass T4 is displayed. The display image F5 has a display image F51 corresponding to the maximum diameter plane and a display image F52 corresponding to a cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter plane. The display image F51 is a B-mode image in which the tumor T4 is scanned, and the contour C2 and the measurement markers M21, M22, M23, and M24 are combined. The tumor T4 has a low echo portion T41 as a tumor main body portion and a halo T42 surrounding the low echo portion T41.

In the initial state, the measurement markers M21 and M22 are arranged at the intersection of the straight line having the maximum lateral diameter of the tumor T4 of the subject and the contour C2. The measurement markers M23 and M24 are arranged at the intersection of the straight line that is orthogonal to the straight line connecting the measurement markers M21 and M22 and has the maximum vertical diameter of the tumor and the contour C2. The measurement markers M21, M22, M23, and M24 may be arranged at the intersection of each straight line and the extension line of the contour C2 in order to take the maximum horizontal diameter and vertical diameter of the mass T4. The contour C2 is generated so as to match the contour of the halo T42.

The display image F52 is a B-mode image in which the tumor T4 is scanned, and the contour C3 and the measurement markers M31 and M32 are combined. In the initial state, the measurement markers M31 and M32 are arranged at the intersection of the straight line having the maximum lateral diameter of the tumor T4 of the subject and the contour C3. The measurement markers M31 and M32 may be arranged at the intersection of each straight line and the extension line of the contour C3 in order to take the maximum lateral diameter of the tumor T4. The contour C3 is generated so as to match the contour of the halo T42. Further, the modification of the measurement markers M21, M22, M23, M24, M31, and M32 using the predetermined region or the luminance gradient information is the same as the modification of the measurement marker M11 using the region AR1 or the luminance gradient information in FIG.

Then, the measuring unit 16 acquires the horizontal diameter and the vertical diameter of the tumor based on the position information of the measuring marker on the maximum diameter surface as the diameter information of the tumor, and the position information of the measuring marker on the cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter surface. The lateral diameter is acquired based on (step S43).

Then, the measuring unit 16 calculates the mass diameter by the formula (2) using the acquired horizontal diameter a and vertical diameter c of the maximum diameter surface and the horizontal diameter b of the cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter surface, and determines the mass diameter of the mass. The horizontal diameter a and vertical diameter c of the maximum diameter surface, the horizontal diameter b of the cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter surface, and the calculated mass diameter are stored in the storage unit 17, and the display synthesis unit 18 stores the acquired mass of the acquired mass. The horizontal diameter a and vertical diameter c of the maximum diameter surface, the horizontal diameter b of the cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter surface, and the calculated mass diameter are displayed on the display unit 19 (step S44), and the mass diameter measurement process is completed. ..

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100 has a transmission unit 12 that generates a drive signal and outputs the drive signal to the ultrasonic probe 2, and a reception signal generated by the ultrasonic probe 2. A receiving unit 13 that generates sound line data based on the above, an image generating unit 14 that generates B-mode image data of a subject from the generated sound line data, and an operation input that accepts input of initial condition information for contour extraction. Using the unit 11 and the input initial condition information, the contour extraction unit 15 that extracts the contour of the mass from the generated B-mode image data, and the contour extraction unit 15 that extracts the diameter information of the mass based on the extracted contour are acquired, and the said A measuring unit 16 for calculating a feature amount of the mass from the diameter information is provided.

Therefore, in the feature amount measurement of the tumor, only the initial condition information is operated and input, the contour is automatically extracted and the feature amount of the tumor is calculated, so that the operation load can be reduced and the tumor is accurately extracted based on the initial condition information. Since the feature amount of the tumor is calculated from the diameter information based on the contour, the accuracy of measuring the feature amount can be improved, and the objectivity of the feature amount can be improved.

Further, in the tumor aspect ratio measurement mode, the contour extraction unit 15 uses the input initial condition information to obtain the contour of the tumor that does not include the halo from the generated B-mode image data (the difference in brightness from the surroundings includes the halo). A boundary larger than the case) is extracted, and the measuring unit 16 acquires the horizontal diameter and the vertical diameter of the tumor based on the extracted contour, and calculates the aspect ratio of the tumor from the horizontal diameter and the vertical diameter. .. Therefore, in the aspect ratio measurement of the tumor, the operation load can be reduced, the measurement time can be shortened, and the accuracy of the aspect ratio of the tumor can be improved.

Further, the contour extraction unit 15 calculates the contour of the tumor by the dynamic contour method based on the initial condition information and the B mode image data. Therefore, the dynamic contour method can automatically and accurately extract the contour in the tumor aspect ratio measurement mode.

Further, in the mass diameter measurement mode, the receiving unit 13 is generated by the ultrasonic probe 2 in which ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received at a position corresponding to the maximum diameter surface of the mass of the subject and the cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter surface. Sound wave data is generated according to the received signal. The contour extraction unit 15 uses the input initial condition information to obtain the contour of the mass including the halo from the generated B-mode image data of the maximum diameter surface and the B-mode image data of the cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter surface. (The brightness difference from the surroundings is smaller than the brightness difference from the surroundings of the contour of the mass that does not include the halo, but it is a visible boundary), and the measuring unit 16 is based on the contour corresponding to the extracted maximum diameter surface. Then, the horizontal and vertical diameters of the mass are obtained, and the horizontal diameter of the mass is obtained based on the contour corresponding to the cross section orthogonal to the extracted maximum diameter plane, and the horizontal and vertical diameters corresponding to the maximum diameter plane are obtained. And the lateral diameter corresponding to the cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter plane, the mass diameter is calculated. Therefore, in the tumor diameter measurement, the operation load can be reduced, the measurement time can be shortened, and the accuracy of the tumor diameter can be improved.

Further, the contour extraction unit 15 calculates the contour of the tumor having the maximum diameter surface and the contour of the tumor having a cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter surface by the dynamic contour method based on the initial condition information and the B mode image data. Therefore, the dynamic contour method can automatically and accurately extract the contour in the tumor diameter measurement mode.

Further, the initial condition information is the position information of the point designated from the operation input unit 11 for the initial contour setting of the dynamic contour method, or the position information of the end point of the rectangle or the straight line. Therefore, in order to generate the initial contour for contour extraction, it is only necessary to input the position information of one point or two points once, so that the operation load can be further reduced.

When the graph cut method is used, the initial condition information is the position information of the point designated from the operation input unit 11 for setting the designated area of the graph cut method, or the position information of the end point of the rectangle or the straight line. Therefore, in order to generate the designated area for contour extraction, it is only necessary to input the position information of one point or two points once, so that the operation load can be further reduced.

Further, the operation input unit 11 receives the operation input of the correction information of the measurement marker of the extracted contour, and the measurement unit 16 acquires the diameter information of the tumor based on the measurement marker corrected by the input correction information. , The feature amount of the tumor is calculated from the diameter information. Therefore, the contour of the tumor can be freely modified, and the accuracy of the feature amount of the tumor can be further improved.

Further, the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100 sets a predetermined area AR1 centered on the measurement marker in the initial state, and is based on the correction information of the movement of the position of the contour measurement marker input from the operation input unit 11. Synthetic image data including the area AR1 and the moving measurement marker is generated and displayed on the display unit 19 in real time. When the moving measurement marker is within the area AR1, the operation input unit is more than when it is outside the area AR1. A display synthesis unit 18 for displaying the moving measurement marker by reducing the movement amount of the measurement marker per unit time of 11 is provided. Therefore, the measurement marker can be corrected accurately, and the correction time can be shortened.

Further, the display synthesis unit 18 generates B-mode image data including the moving measurement marker based on the correction information of the movement of the position of the contour measurement marker input from the operation input unit 11 and displays the display unit 19. When the brightness gradient information of the B mode image data displayed in real time and at the position of the moving measurement marker is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold value, the measurement marker per unit time of the operation input unit 11 is more than when it is smaller than the predetermined threshold value. The amount of movement of is reduced so that the measurement marker being moved is displayed. Therefore, the measurement marker can be corrected accurately, and the correction time can be shortened.

Further, the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100 includes a display synthesis unit 18 for displaying the calculated feature amount of the tumor on the display unit 19. Therefore, the user can easily visually recognize the feature amount of the tumor.

(Second Embodiment)
A second embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 15. First, the apparatus configuration of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. However, the same reference numerals are given to the parts similar to the apparatus configuration of the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100A of the present embodiment.

The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100 of the first embodiment measures the feature amount (aspect ratio, tumor diameter) of the tumor as a measurement object, but the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus of the present embodiment has been used. 100A will be described as measuring the volume as a feature amount of the bladder, which is one of the organs as a measurement object. Further, the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100A is not a device similar to the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100 of the first embodiment, but is an ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system using a general-purpose mobile terminal. As shown in FIG. 1, the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100A includes an ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus main body 1A and an ultrasonic probe 2A. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100A may be configured to be an ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus including, for example, an ultrasonic probe and an ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus main body similar to those in FIG. ..

The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus main body 1A is a general-purpose mobile terminal, and in the present embodiment, it is assumed that it is, for example, a tablet PC (Personal Computer). The ultrasonic probe 2A has a function of generating ultrasonic image data in addition to a function of transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus main body 1A and the ultrasonic probe 2A are connected via a cable 3A. The communication method of the cable 3A is, for example, USB (Universal Serial Bus), but the communication method is not limited to this.

The ultrasonic probe 2A includes an oscillator 2a, an ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 31, an image generation unit 32, and a data transmission / reception unit 33. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus main body 1A includes an operation input unit 11A, a data transmission / reception unit 13A, a measurement target recognition unit 21 as an initial condition acquisition unit, a contour extraction unit 15A, a measurement unit 16A, and a storage unit 17A. It includes a display synthesis unit 18A, a display unit 19A, and a control unit 20A as third and fourth display control units.

Similar to the transmission unit 12 and the reception unit 13 of the first embodiment, the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 31 generates a drive signal and supplies it to the vibrator 2a under the control of the control unit 20A, and the vibrator 2a It is a circuit that receives a received signal based on reflected ultrasonic waves from and generates sound line data based on the received signal. The control signal of the control unit 20A is input to the ultrasonic wave transmission / reception unit 31 and the image generation unit 32 via the data transmission / reception unit 13A, the cable 3A, and the data transmission / reception unit 33. In the present embodiment, the plurality of oscillators 2a of the ultrasonic probe 2A will be described as being arranged in a convex scanning system, but the present invention is not limited to this scanning system.

Similar to the image generation unit 14, the image generation unit 32 is a circuit that generates B-mode image data from the sound line data input from the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 31 under the control of the control unit 20A. The data transmission / reception unit 33 is, for example, a communication unit of a USB communication method, and transmits / receives data to / from the data transmission / reception unit 13A via the cable 3A. For example, the data transmission / reception unit 33 receives the control signal from the control unit 20A from the data transmission / reception unit 13A and outputs the control signal to the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 31 and the image generation unit 32. Further, the data transmission / reception unit 33 receives the B-mode image data or the like input from the image generation unit 32 and transmits it to the data transmission / reception unit 13A.

The operation input unit 11A is a touch panel integrally provided on the display screen of the display unit 19A, receives a touch input operation from a user (inspector), and outputs the operation information to the control unit 20A. The data transmission / reception unit 13A is, for example, a communication unit of a USB communication method, and transmits / receives data to / from the data transmission / reception unit 33 via the cable 3A. For example, the data transmission / reception unit 13A transmits the control signal input from the control unit 20A to the data transmission / reception unit 13A. Further, the data transmission / reception unit 13A receives the B-mode image data or the like from the data transmission / reception unit 33 and outputs the data to the measurement target recognition unit 21 and the display synthesis unit 18A.

The measurement target recognition unit 21 recognizes and recognizes whether or not the bladder as a measurement target does not change for a predetermined time from the live B mode image data input from the data transmission / reception unit 13A under the control of the control unit 20A. In this case, the initial condition information for contour extraction is acquired from the B mode image data, the measurement start information for transitioning to the measurement execution mode is generated and output to the display synthesis unit 18A, and the B mode image data and the acquired initial condition are obtained. This is a processing unit that outputs condition information to the contour extraction unit 15A. The measurement execution mode is a mode in which the measurement of the feature amount of the measurement object is actually executed. Here, a method of recognizing the measurement object of the measurement object recognition unit 21 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing a display image F6 having a B-mode image F61 including a bladder T6.

The measurement target recognition unit 21 compares a plurality of B-mode image data drawn at a predetermined time by two frames at a time. Specifically, the difference value of all pixels between the B mode image data of two frames is calculated, it is determined whether or not the difference value of all pixels is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, and when it is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, Recognize that there is no difference between the drawn images. When there is no difference between the images for a predetermined time or longer, it is automatically determined that the object to be measured is stably drawn for a predetermined time. As a method for obtaining the difference value of all pixels between frames, there are SSD (Sum of Squared Difference) method and SAD (Sum of Absolute Difference) method. The SSD method is a method of calculating the sum of twice the difference in the brightness values of each pixel at the same position in the image data of two frames as the difference value of all pixels. The SAD method is a method of calculating the sum of the absolute values of the differences in the brightness values of the pixels at the same position in the image data of two frames as the difference. At this time, if there is a gain change operation, it is possible to deal with lighting fluctuations by correcting the difference calculation using the gain value.

When the measurement target recognition unit 21 recognizes that there is no change in the measurement target, it generates measurement start information in the measurement execution mode and outputs it to the display synthesis unit 18A, and the data transmission / reception unit 21 after the timing when the measurement is started. Initial condition information is acquired from the B mode image data input from 13A. For example, the foreground V1 and the background V2 of the bladder T6 are automatically acquired as initial condition information from the image data of the B mode image F61 including the bladder T6 as the measurement object shown in FIG. The foreground V1 is a pixel on the circumference of a circle or ellipse whose brightness value in the B-mode image F61 is smaller than a predetermined value and has a predetermined radius centered on a pixel near the center of the image (reference point P2). Here, an organ in which liquid is accumulated, such as a bladder, is visualized in a B-mode image with lower echo or no echo than the surrounding tissue, so that the brightness value becomes smaller. Therefore, the pixel with a small luminance value near the center of the image is set as the reference point P2. The background V2 is a pixel on the circumference of a circle or ellipse having a size that fits within the edge of the image centered on the center point of the foreground V1.

Similar to the contour extraction unit 15 of the first embodiment, the contour extraction unit 15A is a graph based on the B mode image data and the initial condition information input from the measurement target recognition unit 21 under the control of the control unit 20A. This is a processing unit that extracts the contour of the bladder of the measurement target in the B-mode image data by the cut method and outputs the contour data of the extracted contour to the measurement unit 16A. Specifically, the contour extraction unit 15A extracts the contour of the bladder by the graph cut method using the brightness of the foreground and the background of the bladder as the initial condition information input from the measurement target recognition unit 21. For example, the average brightness of the foreground region of the initial condition information is used as the brightness of the bladder in the graph cut method, and the average brightness of the background region of the initial condition information is used as the brightness of the background of the bladder in the graph cut method. The contour extraction unit 15A uses the foreground or background circle or ellipse of the bladder as the initial condition information input from the measurement target recognition unit 21 as the initial contour, and uses the Snakes method as the dynamic contour method to contour the bladder. May be configured to extract.

Similar to the measurement unit 16 of the first embodiment, the measurement unit 16A uses the contour data (corrected measurement marker) input from the contour extraction unit 15A as a measurement object under the control of the control unit 20A. A process of calculating the diameter information of the bladder and the feature amount based on the diameter information, outputting the diameter information and the feature amount of the measurement target object to the display synthesis unit 18A, and storing the diameter information and the feature amount in the storage unit 17. It is a department. In the present embodiment, the measuring unit 16A calculates the volume as a feature amount of the bladder.

Similar to the display synthesis unit 18 of the first embodiment, the display synthesis unit 18A has the B mode image data input from the data transmission / reception unit 13A and the contour input from the measurement unit 16A under the control of the control unit 20A. The data, the measurement marker, the diameter information, the feature amount, and the like are combined as they are or appropriately to generate the display image data, and the image signal of the display image data is output to the display unit 19A.

The display unit 19A is composed of a display device for a mobile terminal such as an LCD, an organic EL display, and an inorganic EL display, and is a display image input from the display synthesis unit 18A as in the display unit 19 of the first embodiment. The display image is displayed on the display screen according to the image signal of the data.

The control unit 20A has the same configuration as the control unit 20 of the first embodiment, and centrally controls the operations of each unit of the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus main body 1A and the ultrasonic probe 2A. In particular, it is assumed that the ROM of the control unit 20A stores the first measurement target volume measurement program and the second measurement target volume measurement program. The control unit 20A controls each part of the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus main body 1A and the ultrasonic probe 2A, but the lines indicating the control are omitted in FIG. 10.

Next, the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100A will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 15. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the first measurement object volume measurement process. FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing a display image F7 having a B-mode image F71 in one cross section including the bladder T7. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a second measurement object volume measurement process. FIG. 15 is a schematic view showing a display image F8 having a B-mode image F81 having an orthogonal cross section of the display image F7 of FIG.

With reference to FIG. 12, the first measurement object volume measurement process executed by the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100A will be described. The first measurement object volume measurement process automatically recognizes that the bladder as the measurement object is stably drawn for a predetermined time from the B mode image data of one cross section, and the contour data of the bladder, This is a process that automatically calculates the diameter information and the volume as a feature amount. For example
The control unit 20A uses the volume of the first measurement object stored in the ROM as a trigger when it is at a specific preset or when ON / OFF of automatic measurement is set in advance and it is ON. According to the measurement program, each part is controlled to execute the first measurement object volume measurement process.

In the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100A, first, the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 31 starts transmission / reception of ultrasonic waves for B-mode images in frame units, as in step S11 of the tumor aspect ratio measurement process of FIG. 4 (step S51). ). Then, as in step S12 of FIG. 4, the image generation unit 32, the data transmission / reception units 33, 13A, and the display synthesis unit 18A generate and display B-mode image data based on the received ultrasonic wave reception signal. (Step S52). For example, the user holds the ultrasonic probe 2A in the dominant hand, holds the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus main body 1A in the other hand, operates the ultrasonic probe 2A to hit the subject, and makes an ultrasonic probe. The B-mode image displayed while rotating the child 2 on the skin surface is visually observed, and the child 2 is stopped at the cross section where the diameter of the bladder is maximized on the B-mode image.

Then, the measurement target recognition unit 21 recognizes the difference between each pixel between the two frames of the B mode image data of the B mode image data generated in step S52 at a predetermined time by the SSD method or the SAD method as the measurement target recognition. The total value is calculated as the difference value of all pixels (step S53). Then, the measurement target recognition unit 21 recognizes whether or not the difference value of all the pixels calculated in step S53 is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value and the bladder as the measurement target is stably visualized for a predetermined time. Determine (step S54). If the stable depiction of the measurement object is not recognized (step S54; NO), the process proceeds to step S52.

When the stable depiction of the measurement target is recognized (step S54; YES), the measurement target recognition unit 21 generates the measurement start information of the measurement execution mode start (transition), outputs it to the display synthesis unit 18A, and displays and synthesizes the measurement target. The unit 18 causes the display unit 19A to display the measurement start information (step S55). Then, the measurement target recognition unit 21 acquires and sets the initial condition information as a parameter for contour extraction from the B mode image data generated at the timing after the start of the measurement execution mode, and sets the B mode image data and the set initial. The condition information is output to the contour extraction unit 15A (step S56).

Then, the contour extraction unit 15A uses the initial condition information set in step S55 as the measurement target from the B mode image data input in step S55 by the graph cut method, as in step S16 in FIG. The contour of the bladder is extracted to generate contour data, and the contour data is output to the display synthesis unit 18 via the measurement unit 16, and the display synthesis unit 18 outputs the input B mode image data and the contour data. Based on the above, composite image data having an outline on the B mode image is generated, and the composite image based on the composite image data is displayed on the display unit 19 (step S57). In step S57, the contour extraction unit 15A uses the initial condition information set in step S55 and the parameters α and β stored in the storage unit 17, and the B mode input in step S55 by the Snakes method. The contour data of the bladder as a measurement target may be extracted from the image data to generate the contour data.

Steps S58 to S60 are the same as steps S17 to S19 of FIG. In step S58, for example, the display image F7 shown in FIG. 13 is displayed. The display image F7 includes a B-mode image F71 in which the bladder T7 is scanned. On the B-mode image F71, the measurement markers M41, M42, M43, and M44 are arranged on the contour C4 of the bladder T7 extracted in step S57. The measurement markers M41 and M42 are arranged at the end points of the maximum vertical diameter (solid straight line on FIG. 13) on the contour C4. The maximum longitudinal diameter is the maximum diameter of the bladder contour that is not necessarily vertical. The measurement markers M43 and M44 are arranged at the end points of the maximum horizontal diameter (straight line of the broken line in FIG. 13) orthogonal to the maximum vertical diameter on the contour C4. In steps S59 and S60, correction information of the measurement markers M41, M42, M43 and M44 can be input. Further, in steps S58 to S60, the display synthesis unit 18A generates tomographic image data including the moving measurement marker based on the correction information of the movement of the position of the contour measurement marker input from the operation input unit 11A. The display unit 19A may be displayed in real time, and a plurality of measurement markers may be interlocked and moved in the same direction or in the enlargement / reduction direction in response to the input of correction information of one measurement marker to perform display and correction. ..

When there is no input of correction information (step S59; NO), the measurement unit 16A acquires bladder diameter information from the position information of the current measurement marker (step S61). In step S61, for example, the measuring unit 16A calculates and acquires the maximum vertical diameter d between the measuring markers M41 and M42 and the maximum horizontal diameter w between the measuring markers M43 and M44 as the diameter information.

Then, the measuring unit 16A calculates the volume of the bladder using the diameter information acquired in step S61, stores the bladder diameter information and the calculated bladder volume in the storage unit 17, and bladder diameter information. , The volume is output to the display synthesis unit 18A, and the display synthesis unit 18A displays the acquired bladder diameter information and the calculated bladder volume on the display unit 19A (step S62), and the first measurement target. The physical volume measurement process is completed. In step S62, the measuring unit 16A calculates the bladder volume v by the following equation (8) or the following equation (9) using, for example, the maximum vertical diameter d and the maximum horizontal diameter w acquired in step S61. ..
v = d × w × d × π / 6… (8)
v = d × w × w × π / 6… (9)
In step S62, the user may arbitrarily set which of the equations (8) and (9) is used, and the maximum vertical diameter d and the maximum horizontal diameter w are set to the equations (8) and (9). By substituting, the configuration may use the formula having the larger value of the volume v.

Next, with reference to FIG. 14, a second measurement object volume measurement process executed by the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100A will be described. The second measurement object volume measurement process includes B-mode image data of one cross section having the largest diameter (referred to as the maximum diameter plane) and B-mode image data of one cross section (referred to as the orthogonal cross section) orthogonal to the maximum diameter plane. From the B-mode image data of the two cross sections, it is automatically recognized that the bladder as a measurement object is stably visualized for a predetermined time, and the contour data, diameter information, and volume as a feature amount of the bladder are automatically calculated. It is a process to calculate. For example, the control unit 20A uses the second measurement object stored in the ROM as a trigger when the user inputs an execution instruction of the volume measurement process of the second measurement object via the operation input unit 11A. According to the volume measurement program, each part is controlled to execute the second measurement object volume measurement process.

Steps S71 to S81 are the same as steps S51 to S61 in FIG. In step S78, for example, as shown in FIG. 13, a display image F7 having a B-mode image F71 including the bladder T7 having the maximum diameter is displayed, and the contour C4 of the bladder T7 and the measurement markers M41, M42, M43, and M44 are displayed. Is displayed. In step S81, for example, as the diameter information of the bladder T7, the maximum vertical diameter d between the measurement markers M41 and M42 and the maximum lateral diameter w between the measurement markers M43 and M44 are acquired.

Then, the control unit 20A generates the orthogonal cross-section drawing instruction information for drawing the orthogonal cross-section orthogonal to the bladder as the measurement object whose diameter information was acquired in step S81, outputs it to the display synthesis unit 18A, and displays it. The synthesis unit 18A displays the input orthogonal cross-section drawing instruction information on the display unit 19A (step S82). The user adjusts the position of the orthogonal cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter plane by rotating the ultrasonic probe 2 on the skin surface while visually observing the B mode image again.

Steps S83 to S91 are the same as steps S72 to S74 and S76 to S81 when the drawing target is an orthogonal cross section. However, in step S88, for example, as shown in FIG. 15, a display image F8 having a B-mode image F81 including a bladder T7 having an orthogonal cross section of the display image F7 of FIG. 13 is displayed, and a contour C5 of the bladder T7 and a measurement marker are displayed. M51 and M52 are displayed. The measurement markers M51 and M52 are arranged at two endpoints of the maximum diameter on the contour C5. In step S91, for example, the maximum diameter h between the measurement markers M51 and M52 is calculated and acquired.

Then, the measuring unit 16A calculates the volume of the bladder using the diameter information acquired in steps S81 and S91, stores the bladder diameter information and the calculated bladder volume in the storage unit 17, and stores the calculated bladder volume in the storage unit 17. The diameter information and the volume are output to the display synthesis unit 18A, and the display synthesis unit 18A displays the acquired bladder diameter information and the calculated bladder diameter information on the display unit 19A (step S92), and the second The measurement target volume measurement process is completed. In step S92, the measuring unit 16A uses, for example, the maximum vertical diameter d and the maximum horizontal diameter w acquired in step S81 and the maximum diameter h acquired in step S91 according to the following equation (10). Calculate the volume v.
v = d × w × h × π / 6… (10)

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100A supplies the drive signal to the transducer 2a of the ultrasonic probe 2A, and the sound line is based on the received signal received via the transducer 2a. An ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 31 that generates data, an image generation unit 32 that generates B-mode image data from the generated sound line data, and a measurement target recognition unit 21 that acquires initial condition information for contour extraction of the bladder. Using the acquired initial condition information, the contour extraction unit 15A that extracts the contour of the bladder from the generated B-mode image data, and the diameter information of the bladder based on the extracted contour are acquired, and the diameter information of the bladder is obtained. A measuring unit 16A for calculating a feature amount is provided.

Therefore, in the bladder feature measurement, the initial condition information is acquired, the contour is automatically extracted and the bladder feature is calculated, so that the operation load can be further reduced and the contour extracted accurately based on the initial condition information. Since the bladder feature amount is calculated from the diameter information based on the above, the accuracy of the feature amount measurement can be improved, and the objectivity of the feature amount can be improved. In particular, since the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging device main body 1A is a mobile terminal, the operation load is reduced even in a situation where the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging device main body 1A and the ultrasonic probe 2A are held by one hand and both hands of the user are occupied. Therefore, the characteristic amount of the bladder can be easily measured.

Further, the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100A recognizes that the bladder is stably visualized for a predetermined time from the generated B-mode image data, and when it is recognized, it transitions to the measurement execution mode, and when the transition is made. Is provided with a measurement target recognition unit 21 for acquiring initial condition information for contour extraction. Therefore, the measurement can be started automatically, and the operation load can be further reduced.

Further, the measurement target recognition unit 21 acquires initial condition information for contour extraction from the generated B-mode image data. Therefore, the initial condition information can be automatically acquired, and the operation load can be further reduced.

Further, the contour extraction unit 15A uses the acquired initial condition information to extract the contour of the maximum diameter surface of the measurement target from the generated B-mode image data. Based on the extracted contour, the measuring unit 16A acquires the maximum vertical diameter and the maximum horizontal diameter orthogonal to the maximum vertical diameter as the diameter information of the bladder, and the volume as the feature amount of the bladder from the maximum vertical diameter and the maximum horizontal diameter. Is calculated. Therefore, in the volume measurement of the bladder, the operation load can be reduced, the measurement time can be shortened, and the accuracy of the bladder volume can be improved. Further, since the bladder volume is calculated using the diameter information, the processing speed up to the bladder volume calculation can be increased as compared with the configuration in which the bladder volume is calculated using the area. The volume of the bladder may be calculated using the area and diameter information of the bladder. With this configuration, the accuracy of the bladder volume can be improved.

Further, the ultrasonic wave transmission / reception unit 31 is based on a reception signal generated by an oscillator in which ultrasonic waves are transmitted / received at a position corresponding to the maximum diameter surface of the object to be measured and the cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter surface. Generate sound wave data. The contour extraction unit 15A extracts the contour of the bladder from the generated B-mode image data of the maximum diameter plane using the acquired initial condition information, and extracts the bladder contour from the B-mode image data of the cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter plane. Extract the contour. The measuring unit 16A acquires the maximum vertical diameter and the maximum lateral diameter orthogonal to the maximum vertical diameter as bladder diameter information based on the contour corresponding to the extracted maximum diameter plane, and is orthogonal to the extracted maximum diameter plane. The maximum diameter is acquired as the diameter information of the bladder based on the contour corresponding to the cross section, and the volume as the characteristic amount of the bladder is calculated from the maximum vertical diameter, the maximum lateral diameter, and the maximum diameter. Therefore, the accuracy of the bladder volume can be further improved by using the two cross sections in the bladder volume measurement.

Further, the contour extraction unit 15A calculates the contour of the bladder by the graph cut method based on the initial condition information and the B mode image data. Therefore, the graph cut method can automatically and accurately extract the contour in the volume measurement of the bladder.

When the graph cut method is used, the initial condition information is the brightness information of the foreground and background of the graph cut method. By automatically acquiring these, it is not necessary to input the operation of the information for generating the designated area for contour extraction, and the operation load can be further reduced.

The contour of the bladder may be extracted by using the Snakes method. In this case, the initial condition information is the initial contour of the Snakes method. By automatically acquiring this, it is not necessary to input the operation of the information for generating the initial contour for contour extraction, and the operation load can be further reduced.

Further, the display synthesis unit 18A generates tomographic image data including the moving measurement marker based on the correction information of the movement of the position of the contour measurement marker input from the operation input unit 11A, and displays the display unit 19A in real time. In response to the input of the correction information of one measurement marker, a plurality of measurement markers may be interlocked to move in the same direction or the enlargement / reduction direction to display and correct. Therefore, the habit of contour extraction can be corrected in the same way with all the measurement markers.

Further, the display synthesis unit 18A causes the display unit 19A to display display information indicating the start (transition) of the measurement execution mode at the time of transition to the measurement execution mode. Therefore, the user can easily visually confirm the transition to the measurement execution mode.

Further, the measurement target recognition unit 21 calculates the difference of the entire frame of the generated plurality of B-mode image data, and when the calculated difference value is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, the measurement execution mode is entered. Therefore, the inspector can move the ultrasonic probe 2A to catch the bladder of the measurement target and stand still, and automatically and accurately detect that the measurement execution mode is ready to start, and the user freezes. The trouble of pressing a button can be prevented, and the operation load can be further reduced.

(Modification example)
A modified example of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17. In this modification, the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100A of the second embodiment is used, and similarly, the first or second measurement object volume measurement process is executed. However, the process of recognizing that the measurement object of the measurement object recognition unit 21 is stably drawn for a predetermined time is different, and only the different process is described, and the description of other device configurations and processes is omitted. To do.

The processing of the measurement target recognition unit 21 in this modification will be described with reference to FIGS. 16, 17 (a), and 17 (b). FIG. 16 is a schematic view showing a display image F9 having a B-mode image F91 including a bladder T9. FIG. 17A is a diagram showing a luminance profile at a reference line in the vertical direction of one cross section. FIG. 17B is a diagram showing a luminance profile in the horizontal reference line from the reference point of the vertical reference line in FIG. 17A.

In this modification, the measurement target recognition unit 21 recognizes that the bladder as the measurement target does not change for a predetermined time from the live B mode image data input from the data transmission / reception unit 13A under the control of the control unit 20A. When it is recognized, the initial condition of contour extraction is acquired, the measurement start information for transitioning to the measurement execution mode is generated and output to the display synthesis unit 18A, and the B mode image data and the acquired initial condition information are contoured. Output to the extraction unit 15A.

Here, a process for recognizing a stable depiction of the bladder as a measurement object for a predetermined time will be described. First, the measurement target recognition unit 21 sets a reference line in the vertical direction perpendicular to the skin surface and in the center of the B mode image in the left-right direction (horizontal direction) with respect to the B-mode image including the bladder drawn at a predetermined time. Set. For example, as shown in FIG. 16, from the B mode image F91 (display image F9) including the input bladder T9, the reference line L2 perpendicular to the skin surface SK2 and perpendicular to the center of the B mode image F71 in the left-right direction. Is set. The reference line L2 is a line corresponding to one acoustic line at the center of the B-mode image in the frame of the B-mode image data. Then, the measurement target recognition unit 21 generates a luminance profile in the vertical reference line of two frames between the B mode image data drawn at a predetermined time.

As shown in FIG. 17A, the brightness profile plots the brightness value at the reference line with the horizontal axis representing the distance from the skin surface (number of pixels) and the vertical axis representing the brightness value (gray value). Is generated. Then, the measurement target recognition unit 21 determines whether or not the value and the shape (high brightness value → low → high) change with respect to the brightness profile at the reference line of two frames at a predetermined time. When the change in the brightness profile of the reference line and the shape is equal to or less than the threshold value, the measurement target recognition unit 21 assumes that the measurement target has no change and there is no difference in the measurement image, and the measurement target is stabilized for a predetermined time. It is automatically determined that it is drawn.

Further, when the measurement target recognition unit 21 recognizes the measurement target object, the measurement target recognition unit 21 generates measurement start information in the measurement execution mode, outputs the measurement start information to the display synthesis unit 18A, and inputs the measurement target from the data transmission / reception unit 13A after the timing of starting the measurement. Initial condition information is acquired from the B-mode image data. For example, the measurement target recognition unit 21 generates a luminance profile (for example, the luminance profile shown in FIG. 17A) of the reference line in the vertical direction of the B mode image data input after the timing when the measurement is started, and determines the predetermined luminance profile. The center of the width W1 of the low-brightness low-brightness region (for example, the double arrow of the one-point chain line in FIG. 17A) is used as a reference point, and a pixel on the circumference of a circle or ellipse having a predetermined radius is used as an initial condition. The initial condition is a pixel on the circumference of a circle or ellipse having a diameter that includes the width W2 of the high-luminance region sandwiching the low-luminance region (for example, the solid double arrow in FIG. 17A) as the foreground as information. Use as a background as information.

Alternatively, the measurement target recognition unit 21 generates a luminance profile (for example, the luminance profile shown in FIG. 17A) of the vertical reference line of the B mode image data input after the timing at which the measurement is started, and determines the luminance profile. The center of the width W1 of the low-luminance low-luminance region is set as the vertical reference point, the vertical reference point and the predetermined radius corresponding to the width W1 are set as the vertical radius of the foreground, and the high-luminance portion sandwiching the low-luminance region. Let the radius including the width W2 of the background be the vertical radius of the background. Then, the measurement target recognition unit 21 sets a reference line in the horizontal direction from the set reference point in the vertical direction, and generates a brightness profile of the reference line in the horizontal direction (for example, the brightness profile shown in FIG. 17B). Based on the horizontal brightness profile, the center of the width W3 of the predetermined low-brightness low-brightness region (for example, the double arrow of the one-point chain line in FIG. 17B) is set as the horizontal reference point, and the horizontal reference point is set. And a predetermined radius corresponding to the width W3 is defined as the horizontal radius of the foreground, and the background is a radius including the width W4 of the high brightness region sandwiching the low brightness region (for example, the solid double arrow in FIG. 17B). The horizontal radius of, and the circle or ellipse having these vertical and horizontal radii are used as the foreground and background as initial condition information. In this way, if the foreground and background of the initial condition information are generated using not only the brightness profile of the reference line in the vertical direction but also the brightness profile of the reference line in the horizontal direction, the contour of the bladder as a measurement object can be extracted. Accuracy is improved.

The measurement target recognition unit 21 is the measurement target of the above-described modified example in steps S53 of the first measurement target volume measurement process of FIG. 12 and steps S73 and S84 of the second measurement target volume measurement process of FIG. The process of recognizing an object and acquiring initial condition information is executed.

As described above, according to this modification, the measurement target recognition unit 21 generates a brightness profile on a predetermined line of the generated B mode image data, and uses the generated brightness profile to perform the initial stage based on the foreground and background of the graph cut method. Get condition information. Therefore, appropriate initial condition information can be easily obtained, and the contour of the bladder can be easily and accurately extracted.

Further, the measurement target recognition unit 21 calculates the difference of the reference line L2 corresponding to one acoustic line at the center of the B mode image in the frame of the generated plurality of B mode image data, and the calculated difference value is predetermined. When it is equal to or less than the threshold value of, the measurement execution mode is entered. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform the calculation of all the pixels of the B mode image, the calculation amount can be reduced, and the processing speed can be increased. Further, when the reference line L2 is displayed on the screen in advance and the B mode image is drawn, the user can be guided to draw the object at an appropriate position.

The description in each of the above embodiments and modifications is an example of a suitable ultrasonic image diagnostic apparatus , ultrasonic image measurement method, and program according to the present invention, and is not limited thereto.

For example, in each of the above embodiments and modifications, the automatically extracted contour is displayed on the B-mode image, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the extracted contour is displayed on the B-mode image. It may be configured not to.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments and modifications, the measurement markers are initially arranged on the contour or on the dimensional auxiliary line of the contour, but the present invention is not limited to this. The measurement marker may be initially arranged at a position at a predetermined distance from a point on the contour or the dimensional auxiliary line of the contour to the internal direction or the external direction of the measurement object. According to this configuration, the correction direction of the measurement marker can be substantially unified in a fixed direction (outside direction or inside direction of the measurement object), and the operability of correction of the position of the measurement marker can be improved.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments and modifications, the display synthesis unit 18 as the output control unit is configured to display the diameter information of the measurement target object and the feature amount on the display unit 19, but the present invention is limited to this. It's not something. For example, the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 100 has a communication unit as an output control unit capable of communicating with an external device or a storage unit (not shown), and the communication unit has B-mode image data and diameter information of a measurement object. And the feature amount may be transmitted to an output unit of an external printing device, a storage device, or the like to print, store, or the like the information.

Further, at least two of the above-mentioned first embodiment, second embodiment and modification may be appropriately combined. For example, in the first embodiment, the control unit 20 replaces steps S13 of the tumor aspect ratio measurement process of FIG. 4 and steps S33 and S36 of the tumor diameter measurement process of FIG. 8 with steps S53 and S54 of FIG. , It may be configured to recognize that the tumor as a measurement object does not change for a predetermined time, and when it recognizes, transition to the measurement execution mode (subsequent processing).

Further, in the first embodiment, step S15 of the tumor aspect ratio measurement process of FIG. 4 and step S38 of the tumor diameter measurement process of FIG. 8 are replaced with step S56 of FIG. The configuration may be such that initial condition information as a parameter for contour extraction is automatically acquired from the mode image data. Further, in the first embodiment, the tumor aspect ratio measurement process and the tumor diameter measurement process may be executed by using the ultrasonic image diagnosis device 100A having the ultrasonic image diagnosis device main body 1A as a mobile terminal. ..

Further, in the first embodiment, the measurement target is a tumor, and in the second embodiment and the modified example, the measurement target is a bladder, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The object to be measured may be a lesion, organ, tissue, structure, or the like of the subject other than the tumor and the bladder.

Further, in the second embodiment and the modified example, the bladder contour is extracted and the diameter information is calculated using one frame of one cross section after the measurement mode transition, but the present invention is not limited to this. .. The contour extraction unit 15A records a plurality of frames (after the measurement mode transition) in the storage unit 17A, extracts the contour of the bladder of each frame, and the measurement unit 16A as a selection unit extracts the contour data of each frame. The diameter information may be calculated, the maximum diameter information may be automatically selected from the calculated plurality of diameter information, and the bladder volume may be calculated from the selected maximum diameter information. According to this configuration, in the bladder feature measurement, the initial condition information is acquired, the contour is automatically extracted, the maximum diameter information is selected, and the bladder feature is calculated, so that the work load of the user is increased. Since it can be reduced and the bladder feature amount is calculated from the maximum diameter information based on the contour accurately extracted based on the initial condition information, the accuracy of the feature amount measurement can be further improved and the objectiveness of the feature amount is improved. be able to.
Further, the contour extraction unit 15A records a plurality of frames (after the measurement mode transition) in the storage unit 17A, extracts the bladder contour of each frame, and the measurement unit 16A performs the diameter information from the contour data of each frame. The operation input unit 11A as the selection unit receives the selection input of one of the calculated bladder diameter information from the user, and the measurement unit 16A receives the bladder volume from the selected diameter information. May be configured to calculate. According to this configuration, in the feature amount measurement of the bladder, the user can select appropriate frame diameter information such as the outline being clearly drawn, so that the accuracy of the feature amount measurement can be further improved.

Further, in the case of two cross sections, the contour extraction unit 15A records a plurality of frames (after the measurement mode transition) in the storage unit 17A for each cross section, extracts the contour of the bladder, and the measurement unit 16A performs the contour extraction. , The diameter information is calculated from the contour data of each frame, the maximum diameter information is automatically selected from the calculated multiple diameter information, and the bladder volume is calculated from the selected maximum diameter information. Good. Further, in the case of two cross sections, the contour extraction unit 15A records and stores a plurality of frames (after the measurement mode transition) in the storage unit 17A for each cross section, extracts the contour of the bladder of each frame, and measures the measurement unit. 16A calculates the diameter information from the contour data of each frame, the operation input unit 11A accepts the selection input of one of the calculated plurality of diameter information of the bladder from the user, and the measurement unit 16A selectively inputs. The bladder volume may be calculated from the diameter information.
Further, the diameter information of the above-mentioned plurality of frames is calculated, and the diameter information of one frame is selected from the calculated diameter information of the plurality of frames automatically or according to the operation input of the user, and the selected diameter information is used. The configuration for calculating the feature amount of the measurement object may be applied to the first embodiment or the like.

Further, the detailed configuration and detailed operation of each part constituting the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging devices 100 and 100A in the above embodiments can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

100,100A Ultrasonic image diagnostic device 1,1A Ultrasonic image diagnostic device main body 11, 11A Operation input unit 12 Transmission unit 13 Reception unit 13A Data transmission / reception unit 14 Image generation unit 15, 15A Contour extraction unit 16, 16A Measurement unit 17, 17A Storage unit 18, 18A Display synthesis unit 19, 19A Display unit 20, 20A Control unit 21 Measurement target recognition unit 2, 2A Ultrasonic probe 2a Transducer 31 Ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 32 Image generation unit 33 Data transmission / reception unit 3, 3A cable

Claims (23)

An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging device that transmits ultrasonic waves to a subject in response to a drive signal, receives reflected ultrasonic waves, and transmits and receives ultrasonic waves by an ultrasonic probe that generates a received signal.
A transmitter that supplies a drive signal to the oscillator of the ultrasonic probe,
A receiver that generates sound line data based on the received signal received via the oscillator, and a receiver.
An image generation unit that generates tomographic image data of the subject from the generated sound line data,
An initial condition acquisition unit that acquires initial condition information for extracting the contour of the object to be measured of the subject,
A contour extraction unit that extracts the contour of the measurement object from the generated tomographic image data using the acquired initial condition information, and a contour extraction unit.
A measuring unit for acquiring diameter information of the measurement object based on the extracted contour is provided .
The contour extraction unit extracts the contour of the measurement object from the generated tomographic image data of a plurality of frames by using the acquired initial condition information.
The measuring unit acquires the diameter information of the measurement target based on the contours of the extracted plurality of frames, respectively.
A selection unit for selecting the diameter information of one frame from the acquired diameter information of the plurality of frames is provided.
The measuring unit is an ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus that calculates a feature amount of the measurement object from the selected diameter information . A measurement target recognition unit that recognizes that the measurement target of the subject is stably depicted for a predetermined time from the generated tomographic image data, and when recognized, transitions to the measurement execution mode of the measurement target. When,
The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the initial condition acquisition unit acquires initial condition information for extracting the contour of the measurement object when the measurement execution mode is entered . The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the initial condition acquisition unit receives and acquires an operation input of initial condition information for contour extraction . The ultrasonic image diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the initial condition acquisition unit acquires initial condition information for contour extraction from the generated tomographic image data . The contour extraction unit uses the acquired initial condition information to extract the first contour of the measurement object from the generated tomographic image data.
Based on the extracted first contour, the measuring unit acquires a first diameter and a second diameter orthogonal to the first diameter as diameter information of the measurement object, and the first measuring unit obtains the first diameter. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the aspect ratio of the measurement object as a feature amount of the measurement object is calculated from the diameter and the second diameter . The receiving unit generates sound line data based on the received signal acquired by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves at a position corresponding to the maximum diameter plane of the object to be measured and the cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter plane. ,
The contour extraction unit uses the acquired initial condition information to extract a second contour of the measurement target from the generated tomographic image data of the maximum diameter plane, and a cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter plane. The third contour of the measurement object is extracted from the tomographic image data of
Based on the second contour corresponding to the extracted maximum diameter surface, the measuring unit uses a third diameter and a fourth diameter orthogonal to the third diameter as diameter information of the measurement object. Based on the third contour which is acquired and corresponds to the cross section orthogonal to the extracted maximum diameter plane, the fifth diameter is acquired as the diameter information of the measurement object, and the third diameter and the third diameter are obtained. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the diameter of the object to be measured as a feature amount of the object to be measured is calculated from the diameter of 4 and the fifth diameter . The contour extraction unit extracts the fourth contour of the measurement object from the generated tomographic image data by using the acquired initial condition information.
Based on the extracted fourth contour, the measuring unit acquires a sixth diameter and a seventh diameter orthogonal to the sixth diameter as diameter information of the measurement object, and the sixth measuring unit obtains the sixth diameter. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the volume as a feature amount of the measurement object is calculated from the diameter and the seventh diameter . The receiving unit generates sound line data based on the received signal acquired by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves at a position corresponding to the maximum diameter plane of the object to be measured and the cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter plane. ,
The contour extraction unit extracts the fifth contour of the measurement object from the generated tomographic image data of the maximum diameter plane by using the acquired initial condition information, and the cross section orthogonal to the maximum diameter plane. The sixth contour of the measurement target is extracted from the tomographic image data of
Based on the fifth contour corresponding to the extracted maximum diameter surface, the measuring unit obtains an eighth diameter and a ninth diameter orthogonal to the eighth diameter as diameter information of the measurement object. Based on the sixth contour corresponding to the cross section orthogonal to the extracted maximum diameter plane, the tenth diameter is acquired as the diameter information of the measurement object, and the eighth diameter and the eighth diameter are obtained. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the volume as a feature amount of the measurement object is calculated from the diameter of 9 and the 10th diameter . The ultrasonic image diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , wherein the contour extraction unit extracts the contour by a graph cut method based on the initial condition information and the tomographic image data . The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the initial condition information is position information of a point for setting a designated area of the graph cut method, position information of an end point of a rectangle or a straight line, or luminance information of a foreground and a background . The ultrasonic image diagnostic apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the contour extraction unit extracts the contour by a dynamic contour method based on the initial condition information and the tomographic image data . The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the initial condition information is the position information of a point for setting the initial contour of the dynamic contour method, the position information of the end point of a rectangle or a straight line, or the initial contour . It is provided with an operation input unit that accepts input of correction information of the position of the measurement marker of the extracted contour.
The measuring unit acquires the diameter information of the measurement object from the measurement marker corrected by the input correction information, and calculates the feature amount of the measurement object from the diameter information . The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to paragraph 1 . A predetermined area centered on the measurement marker in the initial state is set, and the predetermined area and the moving measurement marker are set based on the correction information of the movement of the position of the contour measurement marker input from the operation input unit. When the including tomographic image data is generated and displayed on the display unit in real time and the moving measurement marker is within the predetermined area, the unit time of the operation input unit is higher than when the measurement marker is outside the predetermined area. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to claim 13 , further comprising a first display control unit that reduces the amount of movement of the measurement marker in the above movement to display the moving measurement marker . Based on the correction information of the movement of the position of the contour measurement marker input from the operation input unit, tomographic image data including the moving measurement marker is generated and displayed in real time on the display unit, and the measurement during the movement is performed. When the brightness gradient information of the tomographic image data at the marker position is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold value, the movement amount of the measurement marker per unit time of the operation input unit is smaller than that when the brightness gradient information is smaller than the predetermined threshold value. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to claim 13 or 14, further comprising a second display control unit for displaying the measurement marker inside . Based on the correction information of the movement of the position of the contour measurement marker input from the operation input unit, tomographic image data including the moving measurement marker is generated and displayed in real time on the display unit, and one measurement marker is displayed. The invention according to any one of claims 13 to 15, further comprising a third display control unit that moves a plurality of measurement markers in the same direction or in the enlargement / reduction direction in response to input of correction information. Ultrasonic diagnostic imaging equipment. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising a fourth display control unit that displays display information indicating the transition to the measurement execution mode on the display unit at the time of transition to the measurement execution mode . The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 17, further comprising an output control unit that outputs the calculated feature amount of the measurement object to the output unit . The measurement target recognition unit calculates the difference between the entire frame of the generated plurality of tomographic image data or a predetermined portion within the frame, and when the calculated difference value is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, the measurement execution mode is set. The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the transition is made . The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the selection unit automatically selects the maximum diameter information among the acquired diameter information of the plurality of frames . The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the selection unit receives a selection input of diameter information of one frame among the acquired diameter information of a plurality of frames . Ultrasound that transmits ultrasonic waves to the subject in response to the drive signal, receives reflected ultrasonic waves and generates a received signal. Ultrasound that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves with an ultrasonic probe to measure the generated ultrasonic image. It is an image measurement method
The transmission process of supplying the drive signal to the oscillator of the ultrasonic probe and
A reception process that generates sound line data based on the reception signal received via the oscillator, and
An image generation step of generating tomographic image data of the subject from the generated sound line data, and
The initial condition acquisition step for acquiring the initial condition information for extracting the contour of the measurement target of the subject, and
A contour extraction step of extracting the contour of the measurement object from the generated tomographic image data using the acquired initial condition information, and
Including a measurement step of acquiring diameter information of the measurement object based on the extracted contour.
In the contour extraction step, the contour of the measurement target is extracted from the generated tomographic image data of a plurality of frames by using the acquired initial condition information.
In the measurement step, the diameter information of the measurement target is acquired based on the contours of the extracted plurality of frames.
Including a selection step of selecting the diameter information of one frame from the acquired diameter information of the plurality of frames.
An ultrasonic image measurement method for calculating a feature amount of a measurement object from the selected diameter information in the measurement step . A computer with an ultrasonic diagnostic imaging device that transmits ultrasonic waves to a subject in response to a drive signal, receives reflected ultrasonic waves, and transmits and receives ultrasonic waves with an ultrasonic probe that generates a received signal.
A transmitter that supplies a drive signal to the oscillator of the ultrasonic probe,
A receiver that generates sound line data based on the received signal received via the oscillator,
An image generation unit that generates tomographic image data of the subject from the generated sound line data,
Initial condition acquisition unit that acquires initial condition information for contour extraction of the measurement target of the subject,
A contour extraction unit that extracts the contour of the measurement object from the generated tomographic image data using the acquired initial condition information.
A measuring unit that acquires diameter information of the measurement target based on the extracted contour,
To function as,
The contour extraction unit extracts the contour of the measurement object from the generated tomographic image data of a plurality of frames by using the acquired initial condition information.
The measuring unit acquires the diameter information of the measurement target based on the contours of the extracted plurality of frames, respectively.
The computer
It functions as a selection unit for selecting the diameter information of one frame from the acquired diameter information of the plurality of frames.
The measuring unit is a program that calculates a feature amount of the measurement object from the selected diameter information .

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