JPH029817B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an ultrasound imaging device, and more particularly, to an ultrasound imaging device in which the shape of the transducer array surface of an ultrasound probe that transmits and receives ultrasound waves, that is, the distribution state of the transducers, is variable. The present invention relates to a structured ultrasound imaging device.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, when a plurality of probes are used for the same target area, the positional relationship between the probes is maintained with an accuracy determined by a holding mechanism of a mechanical scanner. In addition, each vibrating element is constructed on a sheet that can be bent freely and brought into contact with the contour of the target area, and the shape of the array of the vibrating elements is measured using a separately provided ultrasonic measurement system. Some obtain ultrasound images of the target area.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, there was a problem in that the mutual positional relationship of the partial arrays was determined solely by the precision of the mechanical scanner, and high precision could not be expected.
Furthermore, since the arrangement of the individual transducer elements is flexible, different beamformers of the ultrasonic waves must be set by changing the arrangement. Furthermore, since a separate ultrasonic measurement system is provided for calibrating the position of the array, there is a problem that the apparatus becomes complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and its purpose is to allow the arrangement of the transducers of an ultrasound probe to be arbitrarily modified according to the surface of the object to be examined.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic imaging device which can accurately measure the arrangement, can easily perform imaging even if the arrangement is changed, and has a simple configuration.

(Means for Solving the Problem) An ultrasonic imaging device that achieves the above object has a large number of partial arrays each consisting of an array of fixed transducer elements, and the arrangement of the partial arrays is determined according to the outer shape of the target area. After determining the arrangement, at least one of the vibrating elements constituting the plurality of partial arrays is energized to emit ultrasonic waves, and all remaining partial arrays generate direct waves of the emitted ultrasonic waves. and a calibration sequence for measuring the shape of the array of the partial arrays at least once by determining the time it takes for each partial array to reach the target. The structure is such that a large number of images are superimposed and displayed.

(Operation) Even if the arrangement changes, the mutual positions of the vibrating elements in the partial array do not change. Furthermore, the shape of the array can be accurately measured using the probe itself.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the ultrasonic probe is composed of a plurality of partial arrays AR ₁ to _{AR o} . Each of the partial arrays AR ₁ to _{AR o} is an array resonator in which a plurality of transducer elements are fixed and arranged on a straight line, and are connected by hinges H ₁ to H _o and arms A 1 to A o-1, and are connected to each other by hinges H 1 to H o and arms A ₁ to _{A o-1.} and is bent into a shape corresponding to the surface of the subject 1 as shown in the figure.
Each vibrating element is electrically connected to a transmitting/receiving circuit (not shown).

The probe having such a configuration is brought into contact with the surface of the subject as shown in FIG. 2, and the hinges H ₁ to H _o are fixed with each partial array in close contact with the surface of the subject. Then, a sound wave is emitted from one end of the partial array, the direct wave propagating through the subject is received by each partial array, and the time of the pulse received by the array is detected by a transmitting/receiving circuit (not shown). Find the shape of the array and perform position calibration. Normally, the array is bent inward as shown in the figure, so the subarrays at one end can be observed by direct waves from the subarrays at the other end, and the central subarray can be observed by direct waves from either subarray. . In this way, by taking the calibration point wave sources P and P' in the partial arrays at both ends and assuming that the speed of sound in the object is uniform, the entire position can be calibrated. The position information of each partial array obtained in this way is used to determine the position of images obtained by linear scan, sector scan, etc. obtained independently using each partial array, by overlapping them on a frame memory (not shown) to form a single large image. Used for matching. Further, since the mutual positional relationship of the vibrating elements in each partial array is fixed, there is no need to change the settings of the beam former, etc. Furthermore, the vibrating elements of each array have fairly wide (wide-angle) individual directivity.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. After determining the arrangement of each partial array, the shape measurement may be performed after transferring it into an aquarium. Furthermore, this process is not limited to one time, and may be repeated several times, or even while varying the position of the point wave source. In this case, the shape of the arrangement of the partial arrays can be determined with higher precision. Can be done. It is also possible to perform position calibration measurements after starting the collection of echo data for imaging.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, in the ultrasound imaging device of the present invention, a large number of partial arrays each consisting of an array of fixed transducer elements are arranged, and the arrangement of the partial arrays is determined according to the outer shape of the target area. After determining the probe and its arrangement, at least one of the vibrating elements constituting the plurality of partial arrays is energized to emit ultrasonic waves, and all remaining partial arrays transmit direct waves of the emitted ultrasonic waves. and a calibration sequence for measuring the shape of the array of the partial arrays at least once by determining the time it takes for each partial array to arrive. The structure is such that many images are displayed one on top of the other. Therefore, the shape of the array can be accurately measured using the probe itself. Further, even if the arrangement changes, the mutual positions of the transducer elements in the partial arrays do not change, and even if the arrangement changes, imaging can be easily performed with each partial array. Furthermore, the configuration is simple and does not require a special ultrasonic system for position calibration.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1 and 2 are configuration diagrams showing an embodiment of the present invention. 1...Object, AR ₁ ~ AR _o ... Partial array,
H ₁ ~ _{H o} ... Hinge, A ₁ ~ _{A o-1} ... Arm, P,
P′...point wave source.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A probe in which a large number of partial arrays each consisting of an array of fixed vibrating elements are arranged, and the arrangement of the partial arrays is determined according to the outer shape of a target area, and a vibrating element that constitutes the large number of partial arrays after the arrangement is determined. The shape of the array of the partial arrays is determined by energizing at least one of the partial arrays to emit ultrasonic waves and determining the time required for all remaining partial arrays to receive the direct waves of the emitted ultrasonic waves. What is claimed is: 1. An ultrasound imaging device having a calibration sequence that measures at least once, and superimposing and displaying a number of images obtained by each subarray according to the shape of the array measured by the calibration sequence.