JPH0263446A - Ultrasonic wave diagnosis device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a more detailed information than previously about an image which changes timewise, to be memorized by equipping a memory portion having a larger number of frame memories than the number of reading frames per unit time at a standard TV system, or doing the like. CONSTITUTION:An ultrasonic wave is transmitted/received to/at the inside of an inspected body by means of transmission/reception and an operation circuit 19, and the speed information of a movement portion as well as a fault image information is supplied to an image memory 24 through an A/D converter 20 and a pre-processing portion 22. At this image memory 24, the above fault image information and speed information are memorized at 64 frame memories in turn or at respective frame memories in the case of a division being made. An operator can select a desired image indication by the switch operation of an operating portion 30. This operation signal is supplied to a CPU 28. The CPU 28, on the basis of the above operation signal, outputs a predetermined command for image indication into a writing/reading control circuit 26. Accordingly, a detailed image information changing with the passing of time is obtained as occasion calls.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, particularly an ultrasonic diagnostic device that performs various types of scanning such as linear and sector scanning with respect to a subject, and displays it as a two-dimensional image on a television monitor. The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic device that displays images.

[Prior Art] Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses that display motion information inside a subject such as a living body together with tomographic images are well known, and are used, for example, to display images of blood flow conditions in the heart.

This device can extract a tomographic image of an organ, etc. by emitting an ultrasonic beam into the subject, receiving reflected echoes from the subject, amplifying and demodulating the echoes. Further, since a shifted frequency component with respect to the carrier frequency of the ultrasonic wave appears in the reflected echo subjected to the Doppler effect, by detecting this shifted frequency signal, the velocity of movement of blood flow, etc. can be determined.

FIG. 11 shows a schematic configuration of a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, in which the probe 10 emits ultrasonic waves into the subject based on the control of the transmitter/receiver 12, and also emits ultrasonic waves from inside the subject. A reflected echo of is received.

Then, the transmitting/receiving section 12 amplifies and amplifies the reflected echo signal.
A tomographic image signal is formed by demodulation. In addition, the speed calculation unit 1
4, the frequency shift of the ultrasonic carrier frequency that appears as the Doppler effect is calculated using the output signal of the transmitting/receiving section 12, and a velocity signal is formed by this frequency shift.

The tomographic image signal and speed signal obtained in this way are supplied to an image processing unit 16 having a digital scan converter (DSC), and this image processing unit 16 processes the image to display it in a standard television format. At the same time, processing is performed to display speed information and the like in color.

The image signal output from the image processing section 16 is CR
The tomographic image is displayed on the television monitor 18 consisting of a T-display, and the velocity information is also displayed, for example, superimposed on the tomographic image, so that dynamic functions such as the heart can be observed. ing.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Incidentally, in such a conventional device, the image memory held in the image processing section 16 is generally provided with a capacity corresponding to one frame of the display screen, and One frame's worth of memory is allocated to each of the image information and the information regarding the motion (velocity) state. Therefore, it was not possible to go back from the current time and check information from a predetermined time ago.

For this reason, it has been proposed in the past to equip the image memory with several frames that can store information over a certain time width and to reproduce past information later, but this method is not compatible with the scanning method of standard television. Therefore, the maximum number of frame memories used per unit time is 30 frames per unit time.
It will be about as high as 100%.

However, with this number of images, there was a problem in that it was difficult to perform detailed observation of the infant's heart in relation to the heartbeat cycle. In other words, the heart rate of an infant is extremely high compared to that of an adult, reaching 30 frames/see.
Even if information is written/read at a certain speed, there is a problem in that detailed information in each heartbeat cycle cannot be effectively retrieved.

In addition, conventionally, the dynamic image being observed can be stopped at any time using a switch on the operation panel, but because of the responsiveness of the operator and the device, the screen can be stopped exactly at the required point. For example, when observing the heart, it is difficult to accurately confirm information on a predetermined time phase in the heartbeat cycle.

Furthermore, when observing the state of the moving parts, it would be convenient if it could be possible to compare current information with past information, or compare information at two time phases in the heartbeat cycle. There was a demand for a device that would allow for comparative observation of different types of information, and that would display subject information in an easy-to-observe format.

Purpose of the Invention The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and
The purpose is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can store more detailed information about temporally changing images than ever before.

Another purpose is to analyze images that change over time.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can process different types of information separately and perform comparative observation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of displaying images in a state where fast-moving motion and the like can be easily observed.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to the first claim demodulates reflected echoes obtained by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves within a subject, and converts this demodulated signal into In ultrasonic diagnostic equipment that stores information in the image memory once and then reads it out in accordance with the scanning speed of the television monitor and displays information inside the subject as an image on the television monitor, the number of frames read out per unit time is greater than the number of frames read out per unit time in the standard television system. The present invention is characterized in that it includes a storage section having several frame memories, and the information in the frame memories can be repeatedly displayed as an image.

Further, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the second claim includes a storage unit having a plurality of frame memories for storing information inside a subject frame by frame, and a frame memory of this storage unit that is divided into two groups. The present invention is characterized by comprising a write/continuation control circuit that independently controls at least one of writing and reading of the frame memory.

Furthermore, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the third claim includes a storage unit having a frame memory whose number is greater than the number of read frames per unit time in a standard television system, and a storage unit that reproduces information in the frame memory on a television monitor. The present invention is characterized by comprising a write/read control circuit that arbitrarily converts the speed.

[Operation] According to the invention of the first claim, ultrasonic information is retrieved into a frame memory whose number is greater than the number of frames read out per unit time of a standard television monitor at a speed faster than the readout speed in the standard television system. and written to image memory.

That is, conventionally, information is processed and displayed as an image at a readout speed of about 30 frames per second, but in the present invention, subject information is written at a speed of 30 frames per second or more. First, ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received into the subject. Therefore, more detailed information than before can be stored regarding images regarding temporally changing movement states.

Further, according to the second claim, since separate information can be written to and read from each of the divided frame memory groups, by dividing and processing the detailed information, a certain relationship can be solved. It is possible to display images of two states with , and to compare and observe them.

Furthermore, according to the third aspect, the reading speed of the information in the image memory can be freely converted, and the image can be displayed in an easy-to-understand manner such as detailed captured information or fast moving speed state. I'll be more than happy to do it.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention, and the transmitting/receiving/arithmetic circuit 19 is composed of the probe, transmitting/receiving section, speed computing section, etc. shown in FIG. 11. .

The reflected echo or velocity signal obtained by this transmitting/receiving/arithmetic circuit 19 is converted into a digital signal by an A/D converter 20, and this digital signal is filtered by a preprocessing section 22 and then stored as an image as a storage section. The data is supplied to memory 24.

The characteristic feature of the first claim is that detailed information of a part that changes over time can be displayed as an image, and the image memory 24 has a number of read frames per unit time in the standard television system. It has a larger number of frame memories, and in this embodiment, it has 64 frame memories.

Therefore, the transmitting/receiving/arithmetic circuit 19 transmits and receives ultrasonic waves into the subject so that the subject information can be written into the frame memory at a speed of 30 frames/second or more, which is the conventional readout speed. A write/continue output control circuit 26 is provided to write and read information in the image memory 24.

Further, a characteristic feature of the second claim is that the frame memory in the image memory 24 is divided and used depending on the purpose of displaying images, and for this reason, in the embodiment, two System write/read control, circuit 25
a and 26b are provided.

The write/read control circuits 26a and 26b include a CP
A central processing unit (U) 28 is connected to an operation section 30, and the CPU 28 controls writing/reading of tomographic image information and velocity information based on operation signals from the operation section 30.

That is, FIG. 2 shows the internal circuit of the write/read control circuit 26, which basically consists of two start/end address generation circuits 50 and 52, a write address generation circuit 54, and a read address generation circuit. It consists of a circuit 56 and a switching circuit 58 that switches between writing and reading.

Therefore, the start and end of writing in the write address generation circuit 54 is controlled by the start/end address generation circuit 50, and the start and end address generation circuit 52
The start and end of reading by the read address generation circuit 56 are controlled by this. The regeneration circuits 54 and 56 are switched and controlled by a switching circuit 58, and when writing, a write address signal is sent to the image memory 24, and when reading, a read address signal is sent to the image memory 24 based on a synchronization signal from the transmitting/receiving/arithmetic circuit 19. Output. This allows information to be written/written in the 64 frame memories.
Reading can be controlled.

A post-processing unit 34 that performs enhancement processing and the like is connected to the image memory 24, and the output of this post-processing unit 34 is converted into an analog signal by a D/A converter 36 and supplied to a television monitor 38.

In the present invention, as described above, writing/writing in the image memory
There is a case where the reading is performed in parts, and in this case, the television monitor 38 is displayed on two screens. This results in 2
It becomes possible to display different types of information simultaneously.

Furthermore, the feature of the third claim is that the image reproduction speed can be changed, and for this purpose, a read speed control circuit 60 is provided in the write/read control circuit 26. This read speed control circuit 60 can convert the read speed of the read address generation circuit 56, and in the embodiment, the read speed is 30 frames/second, 20 frames/second, 15 frames/second, 10 frames/second, etc. This mode allows you to set the playback speed to slow motion.

The embodiment has the above configuration, and its operation will be explained below.

First, ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received within the specimen by the transmission/reception/arithmetic circuit 19, and velocity information of the moving part is transmitted and received along with tomographic image information.
The image data is supplied to an image memory 24 via a /D converter 20 and a preprocessing section 22. The image memory 24 sequentially stores the tomographic image information and speed information in 64 frame memories, or in each frame memory if divided. In this case, a plurality of frame memories are used for each piece of information, but for convenience of explanation, processing for one type of information will be described below.

Normally, the information stored in the image memory 24 is sequentially read out, and after the information is subjected to predetermined processing in the post-processing section 34, it is converted into an analog signal by the D/A converter 36 and displayed on the television monitor 38. Since the current tomographic image and velocity state inside the specimen are displayed on the television monitor 38.

In the present invention, the operator can select a desired image display by operating a switch on the operation unit 30, but since this operation signal is supplied to the CPO 28, the CPU 2g operates a write/read control circuit based on the operation signal. In this case, a predetermined command for image display is output to 26.

3 to 5 show examples of control by the write/read control circuit 26, and in FIG. 3, simple writing/reading is performed for 64 frame memories M1 to MB2. ing. Therefore, subject information can be stored at a rate of 30 frames/second or more, making it possible to observe the infant's cardiac function in detail.

In FIG. 4, the frame memories in the image memory 24 are divided into two groups, frame memories M1 to M32 and frame memories M33 to MB2, and these are independently controlled by two write/continue control circuits 26a and 26b. . Therefore, it is possible to obtain different information with a small time difference by performing writing and reading with a predetermined small time difference, or to manually compare and observe information about the same organ from different directions. These two types of information are
The images will be displayed separately on a television monitor 38 consisting of a screen.

In FIG. 5, writing is performed sequentially from frame memories M1 to MB2, while reading is performed independently from frame memories M1 to M32 and frame memories M33 to MB2, which are divided into two. This readout is performed by the odd numbered frame memories Ml, M3 .・・・
・MB2 and even frame memory M2゜M4...
The reading may be performed sequentially on the MB2, or only the reading may be performed separately before and after the MB2 as shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 shows an example of displaying information in a frame memory divided into two on two screens. In FIG. 6, as shown in FIG. 4, writing and reading are performed independently. Information on both cases where sound waves are transmitted and received to the heart from the vertical axis direction and when the sound waves are transmitted and received from the horizontal axis direction can be sequentially stored and displayed as images. Also, Figure (b) can be displayed in the order of odd and even numbers in the frame memory as shown in Figure 5 (b), which makes it possible to observe two states with a slight time difference on the screen. become.

In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which all of the frame memories in the image memory 24 are used, but it is also possible to selectively use a part of these frame memories, and this can be done by the write/read control circuit 26. This is performed by the start/end address generation circuits 50 and 52 in the inner part. That is, FIG. 7 shows a case where 64 frame memories are simply used, and writing is performed from MIO to M2O of the frame memory as shown in FIG. 7(a), while reading is performed from MIO to M2O of the frame memory as shown in FIG.
This can be done for M15 to 1445, as shown in the figure, and can be freely converted depending on the purpose of displaying the image.

Furthermore, Fig. 8 shows the case where the frame memory is divided into two parts, and as shown in Fig. 8 (a), the writing of group A is ) 1
3 to M2S, B group writing from M2O to M2
On the other hand, reading is performed from MIO to M2O in group A, and from M2O to M2 in group B, as shown in Figure (b).
This makes it possible to extract and display only desired images on two screens.

Further, a read speed control circuit 60 provided in the write/read control circuit 26 can convert the read speed of the read address generation circuit 56, and in the embodiment,
By selecting 0, modes such as 30 frames/second, 20 frames/second, 15 frames/second, 10 frames/second, etc. are set.

Specifically, as shown in FIG.
Of the frame memories up to 1, MIO to M2O are selected and read out at a rate of 30 frames/second. In addition, as shown in FIG. 10, in the frame memory divided into two, the A group is processed from MIO to M2O at a rate of 20 frames/sec, and the B group is M
2O to M2O may be read out at a rate of 10 frames/second.

According to this, since the playback speed can be set to slow motion, it is possible to freely and easily compare moving parts, and in particular, there is an advantage that cardiac function can be easily observed.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the first claim, the number of frame memories is greater than the number of frames required for the readout speed in the standard television system, so that the frame memory is more detailed than the conventional one. information can be stored in the image memory, making it possible to provide detailed image information about conditions that change over time as needed. This is particularly useful when observing the cardiac function of infants, and has the advantage of allowing detailed information to be observed at each stage of a fast heartbeat cycle.

Furthermore, according to the second claim, the frame memory of the storage section is divided into two groups so that writing and reading thereof can be controlled independently, so that a state of movement can be viewed from different viewpoints and can be analyzed. It can be displayed on two screens at the same time, making it possible to compare and observe different information.

Furthermore, according to the third claim, since the speed at which the information in the frame memory is played back on the TV monitor can be changed arbitrarily, detailed information stored in the frame memory, which is larger in number than in the past, can be played back in slow motion. It has the advantage that it can be reproduced and information inside the subject can be easily observed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the internal configuration of a write/read control circuit, and FIG. 3 is a write and read control 4 and 5 are explanatory diagrams showing the method for controlling writing and reading when the image memory is divided into two parts.
Fig. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the start and end control of writing and reading in the write/read control circuit; Fig. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the control of the start and end of writing and reading in the write/read control circuit; An explanatory diagram showing the start and end control of writing and reading when the image memory is divided into two. Figure 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the control of the read speed. Figure 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the read speed when the image memory is divided into two. FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of a conventional device. 20...A/D converter 24...Image memory 28...CPU 30...Operation unit 36...D/A converter 38...TV monitor 50.52...Start/end Address generation circuit 54...Write address generation circuit 56...
Read address generation circuit 60... Read speed control circuit.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) Demodulate the reflected echo obtained by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves inside the subject, store this demodulated signal in the image memory, and then read it out in accordance with the scanning speed of the television monitor to obtain information inside the subject. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that displays images on a television monitor, including a storage unit having a frame memory with a number of frames greater than the number of read frames per unit time in a standard television system, so that information in the frame memory can be repeatedly displayed as an image. An ultrasonic diagnostic device characterized by: (2) Demodulate the reflected echoes obtained by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves within the subject, temporarily store this demodulated signal in image memory, and then read it out in accordance with the scanning speed of the TV monitor, and display the information inside the subject on the TV. In an ultrasonic diagnostic device that displays images on a monitor, there is a storage unit that has a plurality of frame memories that store information inside the subject frame by frame, and a frame memory in this storage unit that is divided into two groups. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: a write/read control circuit that independently controls at least one of writing and reading. (3) Demodulate the reflected echo obtained by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves within the subject, and once this demodulated signal is stored in the image memory, it is read out in accordance with the scanning speed of the TV monitor, and the information inside the subject is displayed on the TV. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that displays images on a monitor includes a storage unit having a frame memory with a number greater than the number of read frames per unit time in a standard television system, and a speed at which information in the frame memory is played back on the television monitor. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: a write/read control circuit for converting into