JP6925815B2 - Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

The ultrasonic diagnostic device radiates ultrasonic pulses and continuous ultrasonic waves generated from the vibrating element built into the ultrasonic probe into the subject, and the ultrasonic reflection caused by the difference in acoustic impedance of the subject tissue is the vibrating element. The information in the subject is collected non-invasively by converting it into an electric signal. In medical examinations using an ultrasonic diagnostic device, various moving image data and real-time image data can be easily collected by contacting the ultrasonic probe with the body surface, which is useful for organ morphology diagnosis and functional diagnosis. Widely used.

In addition, in order to collect 3D image data, a 3D ultrasonic diagnostic device equipped with a 4D probe that mechanically shakes the 1D array and a 2D array probe, and 3D image data are collected in almost real time in time series. 4D ultrasonic diagnostic equipment is also known.

Further, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus has been proposed in which an ultrasonic probe is held by a robot arm and a skilled operator is programmed to scan the body surface to speed up the examination. ..

When a 1D array probe is mechanically swung or mechanically moved to collect a 3D image, the image quality is good due to the small opening in the slice direction of the 1D array. It is difficult to obtain a dimensional image. In addition, the narrow scanning range is also a factor that hinders practical use.

Further, a three-dimensional image can be obtained by electronically scanning an ultrasonic beam in two directions using a two-dimensional array probe, but the two-dimensional array probe has a square probe shape, so that it is difficult to fit on the body surface. ..

Also, considering imaging from between the ribs, it is necessary to make the opening in the slice direction comparable to that of the one-dimensional array. In this case, it is difficult to obtain a three-dimensional image having good image quality as in the one-dimensional array due to the small opening in the slice direction.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-82333

An object to be solved by the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of stably acquiring a three-dimensional image having high resolution and high image quality over a wide scanning range.

The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the embodiment includes a plurality of vibrating elements arranged in a first direction and a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and the first direction and the second direction. A probe capable of two-dimensional scanning, a moving device that holds the probe and mechanically moves the probe in the second direction, and a plurality of moving positions of the probe in the second direction. A receiving circuit that generates a first received signal by receiving and phasing-adding a plurality of reflected signals received by a plurality of vibrating elements, and the first reception generated for each of the plurality of moving positions of the probe. A moving aperture synthesizer that generates a second received signal by synthesizing a signal based on the position information of the probe, and an image generator that generates image data from the generated second received signal. To be equipped.

The figure which shows the schematic structure of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. The block diagram which shows the more detailed structure of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. (A) is a diagram showing the concept of a beam in the azimuth direction formed by the reception phase adjustment addition circuit, and (b) is a beam shape in the slice direction of an ultrasonic probe having a fixed focus and forming a non-fan beam shape. (C) is a diagram illustrating a beam shape in a slice direction of an ultrasonic probe capable of forming a fan beam. The flowchart which shows the processing example of the opening synthesis processing. The figure which shows typically the moving state of the ultrasonic probe by a robot arm. The figure which illustrates the moving state of the ultrasonic probe by a robot arm together with the beam shape (fan beam) in the slice direction of an ultrasonic probe. The figure explaining the concept of aperture synthesis processing. The figure which illustrates the arrangement of the vibrating elements of a 2DA probe. The figure explaining the arrangement of the vibrating elements of a 2DA probe and the scanning of a 2DA probe. The first figure illustrating the mechanical movement of a 2DA probe in the slice direction. FIG. 2 illustrates the mechanical movement of the 2DA probe in the slicing direction. FIG. 1 illustrates the concept of mechanical movement and beam formation of a 2DA probe. FIG. 2 illustrates the concept of mechanical movement and beam formation of a 2DA probe. The block diagram about the aperture synthesis process by the mechanical movement in the slicing direction. The figure explaining the concept of mechanical movement and beam formation of a 1DA probe. The figure explaining the concept of the aperture synthesis in the scanning direction of a 2DA probe. The block diagram regarding the aperture synthesis processing in the scan direction and the slice direction. The flowchart which shows the processing example of the spatial compound processing. Block diagram of spatial compound processing by mechanical movement in the slice direction. The block diagram regarding the spatial compound processing in the scan direction and the slice direction. The figure which illustrates the movement state of the ultrasonic probe by a robot arm together with the fluctuation of a body surface. The figure explaining the concept of 3D space compound processing.

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

(General and composition)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 includes at least an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body 200 (hereinafter, simply referred to as an apparatus main body 200), an ultrasonic probe 120, a robot arm 110, and a robot arm control unit 140. Here, the robot arm 110 is an example of a moving device that mechanically moves the ultrasonic probe 120.

The robot arm 110 holds the ultrasonic probe 120 at its tip, for example, and can move the ultrasonic probe 120 with 6 degrees of freedom according to a control signal from the robot arm control unit 140. What can be moved with 6 degrees of freedom is, for example, translational three-direction components (X, Y, Z) in the X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, and Z-axis direction that are orthogonal to each other, and around the X-axis and around the Y-axis. This means that the six components of the three rotation direction components (θx, θy, θz) around the Z axis can be moved in any combination. In other words, the robot arm 110 can install the ultrasonic probe 120 at an arbitrary position and an arbitrary inclination in the three-dimensional space, and can move the ultrasonic probe 120 at an arbitrary trajectory and an arbitrary speed.

The robot arm 110 is provided with an arm sensor 111, and the arm sensor 111 detects the movement of each part of the robot arm 110. As the arm sensor 111, the robot arm 110 is provided with at least a position sensor, and the position sensor detects the positions of the above six components. Further, the robot arm 110 may be provided with a speed sensor as an arm sensor 111 in addition to the position sensor, and may be further provided with an acceleration sensor as an arm sensor 111 in addition to the position sensor and the speed sensor.

Further, the robot arm 110 preferably includes a pressure sensor as the arm sensor 111. The biological contact pressure of the ultrasonic probe 120 is transmitted to the robot arm 110 via the ultrasonic probe adapter (holding portion) 122, and is detected by a pressure sensor built in the robot arm 110.

Instead of the arm sensor 111 described above, or in addition to the arm sensor 111, the ultrasonic probe 120 itself may be equipped with a probe sensor 112 such as a pressure sensor, a position sensor, a speed sensor, and an acceleration sensor.

The detection signals of the position sensor and the pressure sensor, or the detection signals of the speed sensor and the acceleration sensor are added, and these detection signals are used for feedback control by the robot arm control unit 140. The robot arm 110 is driven by the robot arm control unit 140 according to predetermined locus information. The locus information is information that defines the position, inclination, movement path, movement speed, biological contact pressure, and the like of the ultrasonic probe 120. The robot arm control unit 140 uses this locus information and detection signals from each arm sensor to feedback-control the robot arm 110 so that the ultrasonic probe 120 moves according to the locus information.

As described above, the robot arm 110 can automatically move the ultrasonic probe 120 along the body surface of the subject P according to the locus information under the control of the bot arm control unit 140.

On the other hand, instead of this, the operator can manually move the ultrasonic probe 120 while the ultrasonic probe 120 is held by the robot arm 110. In this case, the robot arm 110 is separated from the robot arm control unit 140 and moves according to the manual operation of the ultrasonic probe 120 by the operator. Even in this case, the arm sensors 111 such as the position sensor and the pressure sensor attached to the robot arm 110 continue to operate, and the position, speed, acceleration, biological contact pressure, etc. detected by each arm sensor 111 are determined. The detection signal is sequentially transmitted to the apparatus main body 200.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a more detailed configuration of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1, and in particular, illustrates a detailed configuration of the apparatus main body 200.

As described above, the ultrasonic probe 120, the robot arm 110, the arm sensor 111, and the arm control circuit 140 (robot arm control unit 140 in FIG. 1) are connected to the apparatus main body 200.

The apparatus main body 200 includes a transmission circuit 231 and a reception circuit 232, a first processing circuit 210, a storage circuit 241, a display 250, an input device 260, and a second processing circuit 300.

The transmission circuit 231 includes a trigger generation circuit, a delay circuit, a pulsar circuit, and the like, and supplies a drive signal to the ultrasonic probe 120. The trigger generation circuit repeatedly generates rate pulses at a predetermined rate frequency. The delay circuit is a circuit that delays the rate pulse by a predetermined delay amount for each vibrating element of the ultrasonic probe 120, and is a circuit for focusing the transmitted beam or directing it in a desired direction. The pulser circuit generates a pulse signal based on the delayed rate pulse and applies it to each vibrating element of the ultrasonic probe 120.

The ultrasonic probe 120 transmits an ultrasonic signal to the subject, while receiving an ultrasonic reflection signal from the inside of the subject. The ultrasonic probe 120 may be a one-dimensional array type (1D array) or a two-dimensional array type (2D array). Further, as described later, a 1.25D array, a 1.5D array, or a 1.75D array may be used. The received ultrasonic signal is converted into an electric signal by each vibrating element and supplied to the receiving circuit 232.

The reception circuit 232 includes an amplifier circuit, an A / D conversion circuit, a reception phase adjustment addition circuit 234, and the like. The analog received signal supplied from each vibrating element of the ultrasonic probe 120 is amplified by the amplifier circuit and then converted into a digital signal by the A / D conversion circuit. After that, in the reception phase adjustment addition circuit 234, a delay amount is given to each vibrating element, and by adding these delays, a reception signal corresponding to a desired beam direction is formed. The beam formed by the reception phase adjustment addition circuit 234 of the reception circuit 232 is a beam in the arrangement direction of the vibrating elements in the ultrasonic probe 120, that is, in the azimuth direction.

3 (a) is a diagram showing the concept of beam B _AZ azimuthal formed by the reception phasing addition circuit 234. Each of the vibrating elements in the ultrasonic probe 120 has a wide beam width in the azimuth direction, and by adding the received signals from each vibrating element, the beam width is as shown in FIG. 3 (a). A small beam _BAZ is formed. Although the received signal output from the reception phase adjustment addition circuit 234 of the reception circuit 232 corresponds to a narrow beam width in the azimuth direction, as shown in FIGS. 3 (b) and 3 (c), the elevation direction, that is, the slice direction. In, the wide beam width, which is determined by the size of the ultrasonic probe 120 in the lateral direction, remains.

As the beam shape in the slice direction, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), a _{type of beam shape B EL1} having a focal point at a predetermined distance by a lens (not shown) of the ultrasonic probe 120 and FIG. 3 (c). There is a type of fan beam B _{EL2 as shown in. The beam shape B EL1} shown in FIG. 3B corresponds to a 1D array probe. Further, as shown in FIG. 3C, the fan beam B _EL2 can be realized by a 2D array probe, a 1.25D array probe, a 1.5D array probe, or a 1.75D array probe.

Here, the 1D array probe is a probe having a constant opening in the lateral direction and a fixed focus. The 2D array probe is a probe that has an element arrangement in the elevation direction similar to that in the azimuth direction, and is capable of electron scanning and electron focusing in both directions. In the middle, there are a 1.25D array probe, a 1.5D array probe, and a 1.75D probe. The 1.25D array probe is a fixed focus probe with a variable opening in the lateral direction. The 1.5D array probe has a variable opening in the short direction and a variable focal length, but the ultrasonic sound field in the short direction is symmetrical with respect to the central axis. The 1.75D array probe is a probe that has a variable aperture in the short direction, a variable focal length, and the ultrasonic sound field in the short direction is not restricted to be symmetrical with respect to the central axis, and beam scanning in the elevation direction. Is possible. However, there is a limitation on the upper limit of the angle of beam scanning in the elevation direction.

Returning to FIG. 2, the first processing circuit 210 includes, for example, a processor, and the program realizes various functions by executing a predetermined program stored in the storage circuit 241. The first processing circuit 210 realizes, for example, a B mode processing function 211, a color mode processing function 212, a Doppler mode processing function 213, a scanning control function 214, an image analysis function 215, a three-dimensional image processing function 216, and the like.

The B-mode processing function 211 generates an B-mode image by performing envelope detection, logarithmic conversion processing, or the like on the received signal. The color mode processing function 212 performs MTI filter processing and autocorrelation processing on the received signal to generate a color mode image. The Doppler mode processing function 213 performs Fourier transform processing or the like on the received signal to generate a spectrum image. The generated B-mode image, color-mode image, and spectrum image are stored in a storage circuit 241 composed of an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or the like.

The B mode processing function 211, the Doppler mode processing function 213, and the Doppler mode processing function 213 are collectively referred to as an image data generation function. This is because various image data such as a B-mode image, a color-mode image, and a spectrum image are generated by each of these functions.

Further, the data after the aperture synthesis processing, the transmission phase adjustment addition processing, and the spatial compound processing, which will be described later, are also provided to the B mode processing function 211, the color mode processing function 212, and the Doppler mode processing function 213. In this case, a B-mode image, a color-mode image, and a spectrum image that have undergone aperture synthesis processing, transmission phase adjustment addition processing, or spatial compound processing are generated.
These generated images and the data related to these images are displayed on the display 250.

The scanning function 214 controls the direction of transmission / reception of ultrasonic signals and the moving direction of the ultrasonic probe 120, and performs ultrasonic scanning on the subject.

The image analysis function 215 performs various image analyzes on the B mode image, the color mode image, the spectrum image, and the like, and displays the analysis result on the display 250. The three-dimensional image processing function 216 three-dimensionally reconstructs the B-mode beam data and the color-mode beam data collected with the position information, and creates a tomographic image in an arbitrary direction by the MPR (Multi-Planar Reconstruction / Reformation) method. It can be generated, or a three-dimensional image can be generated by the VR (Volume Rendering) method or the MIP (Maximum Intensity Projection) method. The display 250 is a display device including, for example, a liquid crystal panel.

The input device 260 is a device for inputting various data and information by an operation of an operator or the like. The input device 260 may include, for example, an operating device such as a keyboard, mouse, trackball, joystick, touch panel, and various information input devices such as a voice input device.

The storage circuit 241 includes a semiconductor memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory), and an external storage device such as an HDD and an optical disk device.

Similar to the first processing circuit 210, the second processing circuit 300 includes, for example, a processor, and realizes various functions by executing a predetermined program stored in the storage circuit 241.

Further, in addition to the first processing circuit 210 and the second processing circuit 300 described above, the arm control circuit 140 also includes a processor to execute a program stored inside the arm control circuit 140 or in the storage circuit 241. Achieve a predetermined function by.

The term "processor" used in the above description includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a dedicated or general-purpose processor. Further, instead of software processing by a processor, various functions can be realized by hardware processing. For example, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (eg, Simple Programmable Logic Devices (SPLDs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), and fields. A first processing circuit 210, a second processing circuit 300, and an arm control circuit 140 can also be configured by hardware such as a programmable gate array (FPGA). Further, software processing by the processor and hardware processing may be combined.

The second processing circuit 300 realizes a probe position acquisition function 310, a signal acquisition function 311, an aperture synthesis processing function 312, a spatial compound processing function 313, and the like.

(motion)
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing example of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the above-mentioned functions realized by the second processing circuit 300 and the functions realized by the arm control circuit 140 will be specifically described along with the flow chart of FIG.

Step ST100 corresponds to the function realized by the arm control circuit 140. In step ST100, the arm control circuit 140 moves the robot arm 110 holding the ultrasonic probe 120 in a direction orthogonal to the array direction. FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a state of movement of the ultrasonic probe 120 by the robot arm 110. As shown in FIG. 5, the robot arm 110 moves the ultrasonic probe 120 in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the ultrasonic probe 120 (that is, the array direction) according to the trajectory information. The locus information is stored in the storage circuit 241 in advance.

Step ST102 is a function corresponding to the probe position acquisition function 310. In step ST102, the probe position acquisition function 310 uses the output signal of the arm sensor 111 attached to the robot arm 110 and / or the output signal of the probe sensor 112 attached to the ultrasonic probe 120 to the robot arm 110. The position information of the ultrasonic probe 120 held by the robot 120 is acquired every moment while the ultrasonic probe 120 is moving. The position information to be acquired is not only the position in the moving direction of the ultrasonic probe 120 but also the position information as three dimensions, and includes information on the direction and inclination of the ultrasonic probe 120.

Step ST103 is a function corresponding to the signal collection function 311. In step ST103, the signal collecting function 311 collects the received signal output from the receiving circuit 232 every moment during the movement of the ultrasonic probe 120. The received signal collected here is a received signal before beam formation of each vibrating element of the ultrasonic probe 120 or a received signal in which a beam is formed in the azimuth direction. In the case of a received signal beam formed in the azimuth direction, the resolution in the azimuth direction is high, but the resolution in the slice direction (elevation direction) is restricted by the dimensions of the ultrasonic probe 120 in the lateral direction. , Its resolution is low.

Steps ST102 and ST103 are performed simultaneously and in parallel while the ultrasonic probe 120 is being moved by the robot arm 110. The collected received signal is associated with the position information of the ultrasonic probe 120 at the time of collection, and is temporarily stored in, for example, the RAM of the storage circuit 241.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the movement of the ultrasonic probe 120 by the robot arm 110 together with the beam shape (fan beam) in the slice direction (elevation direction) of the ultrasonic probe 120. The received signal is configured as a signal corresponding to each sampling position in the distance (depth of the subject) direction, and this received signal is collected for each moving position of the ultrasonic probe 120 and sequentially stored in the storage circuit 241. Will be done.

Step ST104 is a step corresponding to the aperture synthesis processing function 312. In step ST104, the aperture synthesis processing function 312 reads out the received signals of a predetermined number N to be the target of the aperture synthesis processing and the position information of the ultrasonic probe 120 corresponding thereto from the storage circuit 241.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the concept of aperture synthesis processing. The aperture synthesis processing function 312 gives a predetermined delay amount to each received signal collected at each interval d, and then coherently adds each received signal. This is the aperture synthesis process. The coherent addition is to add while holding the phase information of each received signal, that is, to add each received signal as a complex signal (or IQ signal). By this aperture synthesis process, a beam having a narrow beam width can be formed in the slice direction (elevation direction), and the resolution in the slice direction (elevation direction) can be improved. Since the aperture synthesis of the present embodiment is a process of synthesizing the aperture of the probe while moving the ultrasonic probe 120, it is also called a moving aperture synthesis process or a moving aperture phase adjustment addition.

Next, the aperture synthesis process of the present embodiment will be described in detail by taking as an example a case where a two-dimensional array probe (hereinafter referred to as a 2DA probe) is used as the ultrasonic probe 120.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the arrangement of the vibrating elements of the 2DA probe. The vibrating elements are divided not only in the scanning direction but also in the slicing direction, and the vibrating elements are arranged two-dimensionally. Each vibrating element is electrically connected to the apparatus main body 200, and an ultrasonic signal is transmitted and received.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram relating to scanning of a 2DA probe. Similar to the commonly used one-dimensional array probe (hereinafter referred to as 1DA probe), the 2DA probe can display a tomographic image in real time. The 2DA probe can generate a tomographic image in any direction, but as shown in FIG. 9A, the scanning direction is the direction in which the number of elements is large, in other words, the cross-sectional direction in which the image quality is the best. Further, the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction is defined as the slicing direction.

The slicing direction corresponds to the direction in which the beam is formed by the acoustic lens in the 1DA probe. The 2DA probe often has anisotropy in the arrangement of vibrating elements due to restrictions on the total number of elements and the shape of the probe.

As shown in FIG. 9B, a real-time tomographic image is basically formed in the scanning direction. On the other hand, the vibrating element in the slice direction also contributes to the beam formation in the slice direction. With the 2DA probe, the tomographic image can be moved in the slice direction by electronically controlling the beam formation in the slice direction. When acquiring volume data using a 2DA probe, the tomographic plane formed in the scan direction is moved in the slice direction.

The tomographic image in the slice direction can be moved not only electronically but also mechanically. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the 2DA probe is moved by a mechanical method using the robot arm 110 of the present embodiment. By scanning the 2DA probe in the scanning direction, a tomographic image is formed directly under the probe. Then, by moving the 2DA probe by a mechanical method, the tomographic image is moved in the slice direction, and the volume data directly under the probe is acquired. Further, the volume data is continuously acquired while moving the 2DA probe by a mechanical method.

FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically showing the mechanical movement of the 2DA probe in the slice direction. The relationship between the ultrasonic beam and the observation points in space will be described by focusing on the scan surface formed directly below the center of the opening of the 2DA probe.

FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the vibrating element surface of the 2DA probe and the scanning surface immediately below the vibrating element surface. A virtual surface parallel to the vibrating element surface of the 2DA probe is set at a certain depth in the living body, and an observation point through which the ultrasonic beam passes is set. Assuming 5 ultrasonic beam observation points, where the observation points through which the ultrasonic beam passes on the intersection of the scan surface directly below the vibrating element surface of the 2DA probe and the virtual surface are P1, P2, P3, P4, and P5. do.

FIG. 11B is a view of the state of FIG. 11A along the scanning direction (that is, viewed from a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the 2DA probe). In this state, the scanning surface has passed the observation point P1. The opening width of the 2DA probe in the slice direction is D. FIG. 11 (c) shows a state in which the 2DA probe is mechanically moved by a distance Δd from the position of FIG. 11 (b) along the scanning direction. The scanning surface directly below the probe has moved to a position where it passes through the observation point Q1. FIG. 11 (d) shows a state in which the 2DA probe is further mechanically moved by a distance Δd from the position of FIG. 11 (c) and the scan surface is moved to a position where it passes through the observation point R1 along the scan direction. I saw it.

In FIG. 11A, the observation points on the intersection of the scan surface including the observation point Q1 and the virtual surface are shown as Q1 to Q5. Similarly, the observation points on the intersection of the scan surface including the observation point R1 and the virtual surface are shown as R1 to R5. By mechanically moving the 2DA probe, the observation position of the scanning surface directly under the probe is moved.

FIG. 12 is a first diagram illustrating a process of mechanically moving a 2DA probe using a robot arm 110 to perform aperture synthesis.

Each position of the 2DA probe shown in FIGS. 12 (a)-(c) corresponds to each position of the 2DA probe shown in FIGS. 11 (b)-(d). That is, in FIGS. 12 (a)-(c), the scan surface directly under the probe moves from P1 to Q1 and from Q1 to R1 as in FIGS. 11 (b)-(d).

On the other hand, when performing aperture synthesis processing, as shown by arrows in FIGS. 12 (a)-(c), a beam passing through a common observation point at each position in FIGS. 12 (a)-(c). To form. For example, at the position shown in FIG. 12A, a beam passing through the observation point P1 is formed and data is collected. Then, even at the position shown in FIG. 12B, the 2DA probe is electronically scanned in the slice direction to form a beam passing through the observation point P1 to collect data. Similarly, at the position shown in FIG. 12 (c), the 2DA probe is electronically scanned in the slice direction to form a beam passing through the observation point P1 to collect data.

FIG. 13 is a second diagram illustrating a process of mechanically moving a 2DA probe using a robot arm 110 to perform aperture synthesis. 13 (a)-(c) are diagrams corresponding to FIGS. 12 (a)-(c), respectively, and the echo signal from the observation point P1 is generated at each position of FIGS. 13 (a)-(c). Indicates that it will be collected.

After collecting the echo signal from the observation point P1 at each position in FIGS. 13 (a)-(c), the observation collected in FIGS. 13 (a)-(c) as shown in FIG. 13 (d). Aperture synthesis can be performed by the echo signal from the point P1. That is, aperture synthesis is performed by coherently adding a predetermined delay to the echo signal from the observation point P1 obtained at each position in FIGS. 13 (a) to 13 (c). By this aperture synthesis, the effect of increasing the aperture width in the slice direction from D to D + 2 * Δd can be obtained, and the spatial resolution in the slice direction is improved.

The above aperture synthesis is performed by the aperture synthesis processing function 312 shown in FIG. FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a more detailed function related to the aperture synthesis processing function 312.
Now, the positions of the 2DA probes shown in FIGS. 13 (a), 13 (b), and (c) are defined as the A position, the B position, and the C position, respectively. First, when the 2DA probe is in the A position, the signals of each reception channel of the 2DA probe are added to each channel by adding a desired delay in the reception phase adjustment addition circuit 234 of the reception circuit 232. As a result, an echo signal corresponding to the observation point P1 when the 2DA probe is in the A position is obtained.

Next, the probe moves by a mechanical method such as a robot arm. When the moving means is a robot arm, the position information is acquired from the 2D probe section from the arm control circuit 140 or the arm sensor 111, and the delay amount is determined by the probe position acquisition function 310. The echo signal corresponding to the observation point P1 at each movement is recorded in the storage circuit 241 by the received signal collecting function 311a.

The slice delay correction function 320 of the slice direction aperture synthesis processing function 312a corrects by adding the determined delay amount corresponding to the moving position of the echo signal. After that, by adding coherently by the addition function (1) 321, aperture synthesis in the slice direction is realized. The slice delay correction function 320 and the addition function (1) 321 constitute a slice direction aperture synthesis processing function (that is, a moving aperture phase adjustment addition function) 312a.

Although the robot arm has been exemplified as the mechanical moving means, it may be realized by a mechanical 4D probe having a built-in mechanical probe swing control mechanism. The position information of the probe can be acquired from the drive circuit of the motor of the mechanical 4D probe or the like.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the concept of a process of performing aperture synthesis using a one-dimensional array probe (hereinafter referred to as a 1DA probe). The 1DA probe cannot deflect the beam in the slice direction. On the other hand, the acoustic lens has a fixed directivity in the direct downward direction. In FIG. 15, the beam shape formed by the acoustic lens is schematically shown by hatching. A beam determined by the focal point of the acoustic lens is formed from the center of the aperture in the slice direction.

As shown in FIGS. 15 (a)-(c), the position of the beam passing through the observation point P1 changes due to the movement of the 1DA probe. The effect of aperture synthesis can be obtained by setting a delay with respect to the observation point P1 and coherently adding each echo signal obtained in FIGS. 15 (a) to 15 (c). The effect of increasing the opening width in the slice direction from D to (D + 2 * Δd) can be obtained.

The difference between the 2DA probe of FIG. 13 and the 1DA probe of FIG. 15 lies in the beam width realized before the aperture synthesis of the observation point P1. With the 2DA probe, a beam directed to the observation point P1 can be formed. Aperture synthesis is performed by shifting the apertures and adding them in the state of a narrow beam width. On the other hand, in the 1DA probe, aperture synthesis is performed in a state of a thick beam width as shown in the schematic diagram of FIG.

The flow and functional block of the processing of aperture synthesis using the 1DA probe are the same as those in FIG. However, the echo signals collected by the signal collection function (1) are different from each other. As for the echo signal collected by the 2DA probe, the echo signal in which each of P1, Q1 and R1 is separated is collected at each moving position of the 2DA probe. On the other hand, in the 1DA probe, P1, Q1 and R1 are not separated and become a synthesized common echo signal. With respect to this common echo signal, the slice delay correction function corrects the delay amount corresponding to each of P1, Q1, and R1, and aperture synthesis is performed.
Since the aperture synthesis shown in FIGS. 13 and 15 is an aperture synthesis performed by moving the probe, it may be referred to as a moving aperture synthesis.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a concept of an operation of performing transmission aperture synthesis processing by performing transmission phase adjustment addition in the scanning direction as a modification of aperture synthesis of a 2DA probe. In the above-mentioned moving aperture synthesis, the aperture synthesis process is performed in the slice direction while moving the 2DA probe in the slice direction, whereas in the transmission aperture synthesis described below, the 2DA probe is also moved in the slice direction. Note that this is a process of aperture synthesis in the scanning direction (that is, the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the 2DA probe). 16 (a) is the same as FIG. 11 (a). The upper part of FIG. 16B schematically shows the arrangement of the vibrating elements in the scanning direction of the 2DA probe. Here, for the sake of simplicity, the vibrating elements are 7 elements of element EL1 to element EL7.

Further, here, it is assumed that there are three types of transmission openings, transmission opening AP1 and transmission opening AP3. The transmission opening AP1 corresponds to a first group of vibrating elements for transmission, which is composed of three vibrating elements of elements EL1 to EL3. Further, the transmission opening AP2 corresponds to a second transmission vibration element group composed of three vibration elements of the element EL2 to the element EL4, and similarly, the transmission opening AP3 corresponds to the three vibrations of the elements EL3 to the element EL5. It corresponds to a third group of vibration elements for transmission composed of elements. On the other hand, the reception opening corresponds to a group of receiving vibration elements composed of six vibration elements of elements EL1 to EL6.

At the transmission aperture AP1, an ultrasonic beam is transmitted toward a virtual point sound source formed by the three vibrating elements of the elements EL1 to EL3, that is, the transmission focus F1. In other words, in the transmission by the transmission aperture AP1, the transmission delay amount of each of the elements EL1 to EL3 constituting the transmission aperture AP1 is set so that the transmission focal point F1 is formed at a predetermined focal position. Now, let the observation point be P3. The ultrasonic beam transmitted from the transmission aperture AP1 passes through the transmission focal point F1 and also passes through the observation point P3 while the beam spreads. The ultrasonic signal reflected or scattered at the observation point P3 is received by six vibrating elements including the element EL1 to the element EL6. By performing the reception phase adjustment addition on each ultrasonic signal received by the six vibrating elements, an echo signal from the observation point P3 corresponding to the transmission from the transmission opening AP1 is generated.

Here, the reception phase adjustment addition means that the relative delay time due to the difference in propagation distance from this observation point to a plurality of receiving elements is substantially the same in order to generate an echo signal of a certain observation point. After correcting the delay time of each received signal so as to be, each received signal is added. In the above example, the delay time of the received signal of the elements EL1 to the element EL6 is corrected so that the relative delay times due to the difference in the propagation distances from the observation point P3 to the elements EL1 to the element EL6 are the same. Above, each received signal is coherently added.

Similarly, in the transmission aperture AP2, an ultrasonic beam is transmitted toward a virtual point sound source formed by the three vibrating elements of the element EL2 and the element EL4, that is, the transmission focus F2. After passing through the transmission focal point F2, the beam also passes through the observation point P3 while spreading. After that, the ultrasonic signal reflected or scattered at the observation point P3 is received by six vibrating elements including the element EL1 to the element EL6. By performing the same reception phase adjustment addition as above for each ultrasonic signal received by the six vibrating elements, an echo signal from the observation point P3 corresponding to the transmission from the transmission opening AP2 is generated. NS.

Similarly, in the transmission aperture AP3, an ultrasonic beam is transmitted toward a virtual point sound source formed by the three vibrating elements of the element EL3 to the element EL5, that is, the transmission focus F3. After passing through the transmission focal point F3, the beam also passes through the observation point P3 while spreading. The ultrasonic signal reflected or scattered at the observation point P3 is received by six vibrating elements including the element EL1 to the element EL6. By performing the same reception phase adjustment addition as above for each ultrasonic signal received by the six vibrating elements, an echo signal from the observation point P3 corresponding to the transmission from the transmission opening AP3 is generated. NS.

By sequentially switching the transmission openings AP1 to AP3, each transmission focus (that is, each point sound source) is updated to F1 to F3. Then, three echo signals from the observation point P3 corresponding to each of the transmission openings AP1 to AP3 are obtained.
Although these three echo signals are corrected by the reception phase adjustment addition for the difference in the path length on the receiving side (that is, the difference in the distance from the observation point P3 to the element EL1 to the element EL6), the path length on the transmitting side is corrected. Is different for each of the transmission openings AP1 to AP3. That is, the propagation distances from the transmission focal points F1 to F3 to the observation point P3 are different.

Therefore, the delay time according to the distance between the updated sound source at each point and the observation point P3 is obtained, and the three echo signals from the observation points P3 corresponding to the transmission of the transmission openings AP1 to AP3 are obtained with this delay time. After correcting so that they are the same, the process of coherent addition is performed. This process is called transmission phase adjustment addition. Further, since the effect of aperture synthesis can be obtained by this transmission phase adjustment addition, this process is also called transmission aperture synthesis.

In other words, transmission phase adjustment addition or transmission aperture synthesis divides one transmission aperture into a plurality of partial transmission apertures that overlap each other, for example, in the scanning direction, and corresponds to each transmission from the plurality of partial transmission apertures. A plurality of received signals are acquired, and the delay times of the plurality of received signals are set so that the delay times to a predetermined observation point are substantially the same as the plurality of transmission focal positions formed by the plurality of partial transmission apertures. This is a process of generating an echo signal at a predetermined observation point by adding the plurality of received signals after correction.

When the above transmission aperture synthesis is not performed, the transmission focus is fixed at a set depth as in the position of F1 or the like shown in FIG. 16 (b). Before and distal to the focal point F1, the transmitted ultrasonic beam is widespread, as shown in FIG. 16 (b). On the other hand, by performing the transmission aperture synthesis described above, the ultrasonic beam can be thinned even at the observation point P3 other than the focal point.

In this embodiment, transmission aperture synthesis is performed in the scanning direction. By performing the transmission aperture synthesis in the scanning direction, the beam width of the ultrasonic beam can be made thin and uniform from the shallow part to the deep part of the subject in the scanning direction, and the resolution in the scanning direction can be improved. Further, since a plurality of received signals corresponding to the plurality of transmission apertures are added by the transmission aperture synthesis, that is, the transmission phase adjustment addition, the signal-to-noise ratio is improved and the sensitivity is also improved.

Further, in the present embodiment, the transmission aperture synthesis in the scan direction described above and the moving aperture synthesis in the slice direction shown in FIGS. 13 and 15 are used in combination. As a result, not only the beam width in the scanning direction but also the beam width in the slicing direction can be narrowed, and an image having high resolution in both the scanning direction and the slicing direction can be obtained.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a process in which the transmission aperture synthesis in the scan direction and the aperture synthesis in the slice direction are used in combination. The signal of each reception channel of the 2DA probe is subjected to a predetermined delay in the reception phase adjustment addition circuit 234 of the reception circuit 232 to perform phase adjustment addition (that is, reception phase adjustment addition), and corresponds to the observation point P3. It becomes an echo signal. First, the echo signal corresponding to the observation point P3 of the transmission opening AP1 is stored in the storage circuit 241 by the signal acquisition function (2) 311b. Similarly, an echo signal corresponding to the observation point P3 of the transmission opening AP2 and the transmission opening AP3 is generated and stored in the storage circuit 241 as well. For the echo signals corresponding to the transmission aperture AP1, the transmission aperture AP2, and the transmission aperture AP3, the echo signals from the position of the observation point P3 are phasing-added (that is, the transmitting phasing-addition). In the transmission phase adjustment addition, a predetermined delay is given to each stored echo signal by the transmission delay correction function 323 of the scan direction transmission aperture synthesis processing function (transmission phase adjustment addition function) 312b, and further, the addition function (2) It is done by adding at 324. As a result, an echo signal at the observation point P3 in which the transmission aperture synthesis in the scanning direction is performed is generated.

With respect to the echo signal of the observation point P3 in which the transmission aperture synthesis in the scan direction is performed, the aperture synthesis in the slice direction is performed by the slice direction aperture synthesis processing function (that is, the moving aperture phase adjustment addition function) 312a. The probe moves by a mechanical method such as a robot arm. When the moving means is a robot arm, the position information of the probe is acquired from the arm control circuit 140 or the arm sensor 111, and the probe position acquisition function 310 determines the delay amount according to each probe position. On the other hand, the echo signal corresponding to the observation point P3 is recorded in the storage circuit 241 by the signal collecting function (1) 311a for each moving position of the probe. After that, a determined delay is given to each stored echo signal, and the echo signal at each moving position is coherently added by the addition function (1) 321 to realize aperture synthesis in the slice direction. ..

Aperture synthesis in the slice direction includes a method of deflecting the beam in the slice direction as shown in FIG. 13 and performing aperture synthesis at the observation point P3, and a method of performing aperture synthesis in the slice direction without deflecting the beam in the slice direction as shown in FIG. , There is a method of performing aperture synthesis in the slice direction at the observation point P3.

Various modifications are possible with respect to the above examples. The transmission aperture synthesis in the scan direction shown in FIG. 16 can be applied in the slice direction in the 2DA probe. That is, before the probe is moved, the transmission aperture synthesis shown in FIG. 16 is performed in the slice direction, and further, after the probe is moved, the moving aperture synthesis in the slice direction shown in FIG. 13 is performed.

Alternatively, for the 1DA probe and the 2DA probe, it is also an option to perform only the aperture synthesis in the scan direction shown in FIG. 16 and not perform the aperture synthesis in the slice direction accompanied by the probe movement shown in FIG.

Further, in the 1DA probe, it is also possible to combine the aperture synthesis in the slice direction accompanied by the probe movement shown in FIG. 15 with the aperture synthesis in the scan direction shown in FIG.

Further, it is possible to change the ultrasonic wave transmission / reception conditions between the aperture synthesis in the scan direction and the aperture synthesis in the slice direction. Further, for example, it is possible to change the combination of transmission / reception conditions such as transmission / reception frequency, aperture width, and focus.

In order for the above-mentioned aperture synthesis process to be established, it is necessary to move the ultrasonic probe 120 with an accuracy sufficiently smaller than the internal wavelength of the ultrasonic wave. It is almost impossible to ensure such accuracy even if the operator manually moves the ultrasonic probe 120 by hand, and by holding and moving the ultrasonic probe 120 on the robot arm 110, the ultrasonic probe 120 is moved. It can be realized for the first time.

Up to this point, the process of mechanically moving the ultrasonic probe 120 to perform aperture synthesis has been described, but the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 of the embodiment mechanically moves the ultrasonic probe 120 to perform spatial compound processing. You can also do it. Hereinafter, the spatial compound processing of the present embodiment will be described. Since the spatial compound treatment of the present embodiment is performed while mechanically moving the opening of the ultrasonic probe 120, it is also called a moving aperture compound treatment.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a processing example of the spatial compound processing of the present embodiment. Since the processes from step ST100 to step ST103 are the same as the aperture synthesis process described above, the description thereof will be omitted. Spatial compound processing is performed in step ST105.

Step ST105 is a step corresponding to the spatial compound processing function 313 in FIG. The spatial compound process is a process of incoherently adding a plurality of received signals obtained by transmitting and receiving from different directions to the same position. The incoherent addition is a process of removing the phase information of the received signal and adding it. For example, it is a process of converting each received signal obtained as a complex signal into an amplitude signal and then adding the signal. The spatial compound treatment has the effect of increasing the uniformity of the parenchyma and improving the connection of marginal echoes of the lesion.

The spatial compounding process using the conventional one-dimensional array probe without the aperture synthesis process is a two-dimensional space, that is, a spatial compounding process in the azimuth plane. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the number of dimensions increases and the spatial compound processing in the three-dimensional space becomes possible, the effect of the spatial compound can be further enhanced.

FIG. 19 is a functional block related to the spatial compound function. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 of the embodiment has a slice direction spatial compound function 313a as a moving aperture compound function in order to perform the spatial compound processing. The moving aperture compound function has a slice delay correction function 320 and an addition function (3) 313b.

Similar to the aperture synthesis process, in the spatial compound process, the 2DA probe is mechanically moved, and the echo signal corresponding to the observation point P1 is collected for each movement position of the 2DA probe. After that, the collected echo signal is given a delay amount according to the probe position. Therefore, the reception phase adjustment addition circuit 234, the signal acquisition function (1) 311a, the probe position acquisition function 310, and the slice delay correction function 320 in FIG. 19 are substantially the same as those shown in FIG. The difference between the spatial compound processing and the aperture synthesis processing lies in the addition function.

In the aperture synthesis process, in the addition function (1) 321 of FIG. 14, aperture synthesis is performed by coherently adding a plurality of echo signals obtained for each probe position, whereas in the spatial compound process, FIG. 19 Addition function (3) In 330, spatial compound processing is realized by incoherently adding a plurality of echo signals obtained for each probe position.

FIG. 20 is a functional block diagram of a process in which the spatial compound process is performed not only in the slice direction but also in the scan direction. The spatial compound processing function shown in FIG. 20 corresponds to the aperture synthesis processing shown in FIG.

In FIG. 20, in addition to the configuration shown in FIG. 19, it has a signal acquisition function (2) 311 and a scan direction transmission compound processing function 313b. The scan direction transmission compound processing function 313b further has a transmission delay correction function 323 and an addition function (4) 331.
Here, the signal acquisition function (2) 311 and the transmission delay correction function 323 are the same as those shown in FIG.

On the other hand, the addition function (2) 324 of FIG. 17 that performs aperture synthesis processing coherently adds a plurality of signals, whereas the addition function (4) 331 of FIG. 20 that performs spatial compound adds a plurality of signals. Is different in that it is incoherently added. The incoherent addition by the addition function (3) 330 and the incoherent addition by the addition function (4) 331 enable spatial compound processing in the slice direction and the scan direction.

Various modifications are possible with respect to the above spatial compound embodiments. For example, it is possible to combine spatial compound processing and aperture synthesis processing. Further, the spatial compound processing in the scanning direction is not limited to the method by the scanning direction transmission compound processing function 313 shown in FIG. For example, in the scanning direction, it is possible to scan the same observation point a plurality of times in different directions by electronic scanning, and it is possible to perform spatial compound processing on those echo signals.

Further, when performing the spatial compound, it is possible to change the transmission / reception conditions of ultrasonic waves. For example, it is possible to combine desired conditions such as transmission / reception frequency, aperture width, and focus. Further, the compound processing is not limited to the spatial direction. It is possible to combine compound processing using frequency.

By the way, even when the ultrasonic probe 120 is moved by the robot arm 110, it is necessary to move the ultrasonic probe 120 in contact with the body surface of the subject. Therefore, a predetermined biological contact pressure can be included in the locus information for moving the robot arm 110. Then, by driving the robot arm 110 so that the detected value of the pressure sensor of the robot arm 110 matches the biological contact pressure, the ultrasonic probe 120 is moved in a state of being in contact with the body surface at a predetermined biological contact pressure. Can be made to.

In this case, since the body surface of the subject is not flat, the ultrasonic probe 120 fluctuates in a direction perpendicular to the body surface during its movement. FIG. 21 schematically shows the fluctuation in the direction perpendicular to the body surface. Further, even if the ultrasonic probe 120 is at the same position, the body surface of the subject changes due to body movements such as respiration, pulsation, and posture movement, so that the position of the ultrasonic probe 120 is changed accordingly. fluctuate.

However, as described above, the robot arm 110 is equipped with an arm sensor 111, and the arm sensor 111 can acquire three-dimensional position information of the ultrasonic probe 120. That is, it is possible to detect fluctuations in the direction perpendicular to the body surface of the subject. Therefore, the aperture synthesis processing function 312 can use the detected fluctuation amount to correct each delay amount before the coherent addition and cancel the fluctuation on the body surface. Further, the compound processing function 313 can correct each delay amount before the incoherent addition by using the detected fluctuation amount, and can cancel the fluctuation of the body surface.

As described above, the ultrasonic probe 120 is held by the robot arm 110 even if the aperture length in the slice direction is smaller than that in the azimuth direction (scan direction) and the resolution in the slice direction is smaller than that in the azimuth direction. By moving in the slice direction and performing aperture synthesis processing on the received signal collected during the movement, it is possible to acquire a three-dimensional image having high resolution in both the azimuth direction and the slice direction. Further, since the ultrasonic probe 120 is moved by the robot arm 110 and the fluctuation of the body surface can be canceled by correction, a stable three-dimensional image can be acquired over a wide scanning range.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing the concept of a spatial compound in a three-dimensional space. The probe can be moved in any direction by the robot arm, the same region can be scanned a plurality of times from different directions, and the position information can be used to compound a plurality of signals in the same region.

For example, with respect to the target area P shown in FIG. 22, as shown in the figure, the probe is moved from left to right on the drawing in the slice direction by the robot arm to acquire the ultrasonic reception signal. Next, the probe is rotated 90 degrees, and the probe is moved by the robot arm from the front side of the paper surface in the depth direction of the paper surface to acquire an ultrasonic reception signal. The orientation of the probe is different between the first scan and the second scan with respect to the target area P. As shown in FIG. 9, in the 2D array probe, the arrangement of the elements is anisotropic, and the point spread function of the beam formed by the probe is anisotropic. Here, the point spread function and the beam width of the probe are quantities that correlate with each other.

In a 1D array, the scan surface can have its point spread function (ie, beamwidth) reduced by electronic focus, but the slice direction is fixed focus by the acoustic lens, as shown in FIG. 15, and the beam created by the probe. There is a large anisotropy in the point spread function of. Anisotropy exists not only in the scanning and slicing directions of the beam, but also in the depth direction. A larger spatial compound effect can be expected by incoherently adding data with different probe directions and beam incident angles for the target area.

In the present embodiment, since the position of the probe and the position information of each beam are accurately recorded by the robot arm, the spatial compound processing can be performed on the target area or the target space by the ultrasonic scanning data a plurality of times. It is possible. In order to obtain better image quality, the relationship between the point spread function of each beam and the direction of the cross section to be displayed can be considered in the incoherent addition of the beam in the spatial compound processing. For example, in incoherent addition, weighted addition can be adopted in which a beam having a small point spread function in the displayed cross-sectional direction is weighted and added with a larger weight.

Further, from the ultrasonic beam data with position information, an MPR image or a three-dimensional image can be generated by the three-dimensional image processing function 216 of FIG. Incoherent addition can be performed by increasing the weighting of the beam having a relatively small point spread function and high spatial resolution in the direction of the designated MPR cross section or the projected cross section direction of the volume image. Alternatively, the direction of the structure of the object in the target area (for example, the traveling direction of the blood vessel) is detected, and the weight of the beam having a relatively small point spread function and high spatial resolution is increased in the extending direction of the object. Incoherent addition can be performed.

Further, when drawing a parallel cross section near the body surface, the weighting between the beams to be added can be changed according to the traveling direction of the structure. For example, when there is a blood vessel structure, a beam having a small point spread function in the short axis direction of the blood vessel is heavily weighted and weighted and added. As a result, the blurring of the blood vessel wall in the minor axis direction is alleviated.

Further, in the case of performing the spatial compound processing, it is also possible to perform incoherent addition after performing various calculations on each signal of the same portion to be incoherent addition. For example, incoherent addition may be performed after weighting based on the strength of each signal. Further, a plurality of signals having a maximum value and a plurality of signals close to the maximum value may be selected from a plurality of signals obtained for the same portion and incoherently added. Alternatively, a plurality of signals having a high SNR may be selected from a plurality of signals obtained for the same site and incoherently added.

Further, a plurality of received signals transmitted at different transmission frequencies may be incoherently added. When the transmission frequency is high, the beam width becomes narrow and the resolution becomes high, but the attenuation in the deep part of the subject becomes large. On the contrary, when the transmission frequency is low, the beam width becomes wide and the resolution decreases, but the attenuation in the deep part of the subject is small. Therefore, an image of uniform quality can be generated by incoherently adding each received signal obtained by transmitting at a high frequency, a medium frequency, and a low frequency.

As described above, according to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 of at least one embodiment, it is possible to stably acquire a three-dimensional image having high resolution and high image quality over a wide scanning range.

The ultrasonic probe, transmission circuit, reception phase adjustment addition circuit, and robot arm of the embodiment are examples of a transmission unit, a reception circuit, and a mobile device, which are within the scope of claims, respectively. Further, the moving aperture phase adjustment addition function and the slice direction aperture synthesis processing function of the embodiment are examples of the moving aperture synthesis within the scope of claims. Further, the transmission phase adjustment addition function and the scan direction transmission aperture synthesis processing function of the embodiment are examples of the transmission phase adjustment addition unit within the scope of claims. Further, the moving opening compound function and the slicing direction space compound processing function of the embodiment are examples of the moving opening compound processing unit within the scope of the claims. An example of moving the ultrasonic probe in the slice direction and sequentially compounding the received signal has been illustrated, but the probe can be moved in any direction by the robot arm, and the same area is scanned multiple times from different directions. It is possible to perform compound processing on a plurality of signals at the same site by using the position information. Further, the image data generation function of the embodiment is an example of the image generation unit in the claims, and the probe position acquisition function of the embodiment is an example of the position acquisition unit in the claims.

Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, as well as in the scope of the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

1 ... Ultrasonic diagnostic device 110 ... Robot arm 111 ... Arm sensor 112 ... Probe sensor 120 ... Ultrasonic probe 140 ... Robot arm control unit, robot arm control circuit (control unit)
150 ... Magnetic transmitter 160 ... Tactile input device 210 ... First processing circuit 300 ... Second processing circuit 310 ... Probe position acquisition function 311 ... Signal acquisition function 312 ... Aperture synthesis processing function 313 ... Spatial compound processing function

Claims (6)

A probe comprising a plurality of vibrating elements arranged in a first direction and a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and capable of two-dimensional scanning in the first direction and the second direction. ,
A moving device that holds the probe and mechanically moves the probe in the second direction.
A receiving circuit that generates a first received signal by receiving and phasing-adding a plurality of reflected signals received by the plurality of vibrating elements at each of a plurality of moving positions of the probe in the second direction.
A moving aperture synthesizer that generates a second received signal by synthesizing the first received signal generated for each of the plurality of moving positions of the probe by moving aperture synthesis based on the position information of the probe.
An image generation unit that generates image data from the generated second received signal, and an image generation unit.
Equipped with a,
In the reception phase adjustment addition, the delays are corrected so that the delays from the observation point in the three-dimensional space in the subject to the plurality of vibrating elements are substantially the same, and then the plurality of reflected signals are coherently added. This is the process of generating the first received signal.
The moving aperture synthesis corrects the delay so that the delay from the observation point, which changes with the movement of the probe, is substantially the same at each position of the probe, and then performs the first received signal. It is a process of generating the second received signal by coherent addition.
In the moving aperture synthesis process, at each moving position of the probe, electrons are scanned in the second direction so that the ultrasonic beam points at the observation point.
Ultrasonic wave diagnostic apparatus. The number of arrangements of the vibrating elements in the second direction is smaller than the number of arrangements of the vibrating elements in the first direction.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1. Ultrasonic signals from each of the plurality of partial transmission openings so as to divide the transmission aperture of the probe into a plurality of partial transmission openings and form a plurality of virtual point sound sources corresponding to the plurality of partial transmission openings. And the transmitter to send
Further equipped with a transmission phase adjustment addition unit,
The first received signal is a plurality of received signals corresponding to the plurality of partial transmission openings, respectively.
The transmission phase-adjusting addition unit corrects the delay so that the delays from the plurality of virtual point sound sources to the observation point are substantially the same, and then coherently adds the plurality of the first received signals. Aperture synthesis is performed to generate multiple received signals,
The moving aperture synthesizer generates the second received signal from the plurality of received signals synthesized by the transmission aperture.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1. The transmitting unit divides the transmitting opening into the plurality of partial transmitting openings in the first direction.
The transmission phase adjustment addition unit performs the transmission aperture synthesis in the first direction.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3. In the second direction, the transmission unit divides the transmission opening into the plurality of partial transmission openings.
The transmission phase adjustment addition unit performs the transmission aperture synthesis in the second direction.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3. The mobile device is configured with a robot arm.
Further, a position acquisition unit for acquiring at least one information on the position, velocity, and biological contact pressure of the probe on the movement path of the probe by the robot arm is provided.
The moving aperture synthesizer synthesizes the first received signal based on the acquired at least one information.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1.

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