JPH0479943A - Ultrasonic diagnosing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase the number of frames per unit time so as to enhance the real-time property of a three-dimensional device by causing an array transducer to transmit and receive ultrasonic pattern beams each of which shows plural-crest characteristic in the direction perpendicular to the direction of the array. CONSTITUTION:A transducer 20 comprises 1 to N lines of vibrating elements arranged in the direction of scanning X and L1 to LN lines of vibrator elements in the direction of lens focusing Y, and a transmitting circuit 21 for excitation and a receiving circuit 22 for receiving echo beams are provided. Transmission data for deciding excitation timing is fed to the transmitting circuit 21 by a transmission data outputting circuit 23. Signals output from a lens Y-direction delay controlling circuit 24 and a scanning X-direction delay controlling circuit 25 are fed to the transmitting circuit 21 in such a manner that ultrasonic beams emitted from the transducer 20 each exhibits a double-crest pattern. Further, signals output from both of the circuit 24, 25 are fed also to the receiving circuit 22 in such a manner that only a double-crest echo beam reflected by a subject is received.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Objective of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) This invention emits ultrasonic waves toward a subject, and converts the ultrasonic waves with subject information obtained thereby into three-dimensional The present invention relates to an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus that detects data and creates a three-dimensional ultrasound image of a subject based on the detection results.

(Prior Art) Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses are widely used today as extremely useful non-invasive diagnostic means for subjects.

In addition, in such ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses, due to remarkable progress in related technologies and increasing clinical demands, apparatuses that take into account three-dimensional data collection and three-dimensional image creation of a subject are being put into practical use.

A typical example thereof has already been filed by the applicant of this application as Japanese Patent Application No. 1-125901. This will be explained with reference to FIG.

The ultrasonic probe 5 includes an array transducer in which the radiation central axis of the ultrasonic beam is moved and scanned in a direction perpendicular to the azimuth direction. The central axis of sound wave radiation is configured to move in stages.

In the above-mentioned ultrasound probe 5, first, under the control of the transmission control circuit 2, a transmission drive signal is supplied from the transmission circuit 6, so that its transducer emits ultrasound pulses toward the subject. The reflected waves within the subject at this time are received by the same ultrasonic probe 5, and this received signal is supplied to the receiving circuit 7. The received signal supplied to this receiving circuit is supplied to the B-mode processing section 8 on one side, and to the phase detector 11 on the other hand. B mode processing section 8
The signal supplied to is converted here into a monochrome B-mode image signal. On the other hand, a phase component signal, that is, a Doppler shift signal due to blood flow, for example, is extracted from the signal supplied to the phase detector 11, and this is supplied to the color calculation processing section 12. This color arithmetic processing section creates color blood flow image data based on the supplied Doppler shift signal, and writes it into the DSCIO together with the above-mentioned monochrome B-mode image data.

Further, a transmission signal is supplied from the transmission control circuit 2 to the frame address signal generation circuit 3. In this manner, each time a specific number of transmission signals are supplied, the frame address generation circuit 3 sequentially outputs updated frame address signals one by one to the mechanical scan control circuit 4. This mechanical scan control circuit is supplied with the frame address signal and supplies a corresponding control signal S1 to the ultrasound probe 5. As a result, the scanning position of the ultrasonic probe in the direction orthogonal to the azimuth direction of the built-in array transducer is successively changed.

As described above, the control signal S1 outputted from the mechanical scan control circuit 4 controls the direction of the array transducer in the ultrasound probe 5,
One scanning position (frame position) is selected. Ultrasonic data including subject tissue information is collected and processed by transmitting and receiving ultrasound waves to and from the subject at this selected frame position, and the results are held in the DSCIO. By repeating such operations, it is possible to collect ultrasound data for a plurality of frames, and by finally combining these data, a three-dimensional image can be displayed on the display unit 15.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In an apparatus that takes into consideration three-dimensional data collection and three-dimensional image creation, first, the moving scanning position of the array transducer is set to the start position, that is, the first position, by a transmission signal from the transmission control circuit 2. Take frame position. At this position of the transducer, the transducer is excited and emits ultrasound toward the subject. This allows the first
B-mode data, Doppler shift data, etc. corresponding to frames are collected. After this acquisition, the next transmit signal is issued by the transmit control circuit 2 and the transducer assumes the second frame position. This second frame position is
This is a position moved by one step in a direction perpendicular to the azimuth direction with respect to the first frame position. At this second frame position, ultrasonic waves are emitted from the transducer in the same manner as in the first frame. At this time, B-mode data, Doppler shift data, etc. corresponding to the second frame are collected. In this way, by repeating the same operation from the third frame to the Nth flail, B-mode data, Doppler shift data, etc. corresponding to each frame are collected.

Therefore, in the above-described apparatus, in order to collect three-dimensional image data, it is necessary to sequentially collect data corresponding to each frame from the first frame to the Nth frame. Therefore, in order to collect the data necessary for creating a three-dimensional image, a collection time of N-Tu is required, where Tu is the data collection time per frame.

This will deteriorate the real-time performance of the apparatus unless the frame unit collection time Tu is shortened or the number of frames is reduced. On the other hand, in order to shorten Tu in order to maintain real-time performance, it is necessary to improve the performance of the device without considering its economic efficiency. Furthermore, if the number of frames is reduced, the resolution of the obtained three-dimensional image will deteriorate.

This invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to use economical means to collect three-dimensional ultrasound data regarding a subject.
An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can improve real-time performance without reducing the number of frames.

[Configuration of the Invention (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention transmits and receives ultrasonic waves exhibiting a multi-temporal beam pattern in a direction perpendicular to the array direction to and from a subject. an ultrasonic probe comprising: an array transducer for scanning; and means for moving and scanning the array transducer in a direction perpendicular to the array direction;
means for performing multi-temporal ultrasound transmission control on the array transducer; and ultrasound capable of simultaneously receiving data of a plurality of rasters with respect to the ultrasound beam transmitted to the array transducer in a direction orthogonal to the array direction. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising means for performing wave reception control, and movement scanning control means for changing the movement scanning position of the array transducer after the transmission control means has completed the operation of receiving the transmission signal a certain number of times. It is.

(Operation) A transmission signal is supplied to the movement scanning control means by the ultrasonic transmission control means, and the array transducer is moved to the first frame data collection position.

Furthermore, the array transducer in the first frame acquisition state is excited by the transmission signal from the ultrasound transmission control means, and ultrasound with a multi-temporal beam pattern is emitted. At this time, each peak of the multi-temporal beam pattern appears spaced apart in a direction perpendicular to the array direction, so each peak is assigned as a unit frame. That is,
For example, if the transmission signal is bimodal, there will be a first frame and a second frame for one transmitted signal.

A multi-temporal echo beam reflected from the subject is detected by the ultrasonic reception control means. The beams detected in this manner are separated into respective peaks to produce adjacent separate unit-frame data. When the moving scanning means is supplied with the next transmission signal from the ultrasonic transmission control means, the array transducer is moved to the second scanning position. In this state, a multi-temporal ultrasound beam is emitted from the array transducer as in the first scanning position.

The echo beam from the subject at this time is similarly detected, and if it is bimodal, for example, it is separated into third and fourth frame data. By repeating such operations, the separated processing data up to the Nth frame can be obtained in a short time, for example, in the case of using a bimodal beam, three-dimensional data can be obtained in 1/2 the time.

(Embodiment) The configuration of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Since most of the ultrasonic probe is the same as that of the conventional device described above, only the characteristic part, the two-dimensional array transducer 20, is shown as a representative. As shown in detail in FIG. 2, this transducer 20 has 1 to N rows of vibrating elements in the ultrasonic beam scanning (X) direction, and L1 to LN rows in the lens convergence (Y) direction.
Arranged in columns.

A wave transmitting circuit 21 for exciting the array transducer 20 and a wave receiving circuit 22 for receiving an echo beam reflected from a subject (not shown) are provided. The transmission circuit 21 is supplied with transmission data for determining the excitation timing, or is supplied by the transmission data output circuit 23. The transmission circuit 21 also includes a lens (Y) direction delay control circuit 24 and a scan (X) direction delay control circuit so that the ultrasonic beam emitted from the transducer 20 exhibits a bimodal pattern, as will be described in detail later. circuit 2
5, respectively. Furthermore, the respective output signals from both circuits 24 and 25 are also supplied to the receiving circuit 22 so as to receive only the bimodal echo beam reflected by the subject.

The above-mentioned wave transmitting circuit 21. The operation timing of each of the transmission data output circuit 23, lens (Y) direction delay control circuit 24, and scan (X) direction delay control circuit 25 is controlled by a transmission control circuit 26. On the other hand, the transfer circuit 22 and both circuits 24 and 25 are each controlled by a reception control circuit 27.

The output signal from the wave receiving circuit 22 is converted into a black and white B mote image (B/W
data) processing circuit 28 and, for example, two phase detectors 2
9a and 29b, respectively.

The output signal from the B-mode image processing circuit 28, that is, the black and white B
The mode image signal is converted to a digital scan converter (
DSC) 30. In addition, a phase detector 29a,
29b, that is, the Doppler shift signal due to blood flow, are transmitted to the corresponding frequency analyzers 31a and 3.
1b.

In this case, the signal extracted by the phase detector 29a corresponds to one peak component of the bimodal ultrasound beam, and the signal extracted by the phase detector 29b corresponds to the remaining peak component. The respective output signals of the frequency analyzers 31a and 31b, that is, color image data signals obtained by converting blood flow information into color calculations, are both supplied to an adder 32, and the result of this addition is sent to a signal selector (SEL) 33. The signal selector is also configured to be able to separately supply each output of the frequency analyzers 31a and 31b. Furthermore, -
The portion surrounded by the block 41 indicated by a dashed dotted line is collectively referred to as a color Doppler analysis section.

Output signal from adder 32 and each frequency analyzer 31a
, 31b are sent to the signal selector 33.
It is temporarily held in the DSC 30 via. Also, DSC3
A color converter 35 is provided which creates a color image signal based on various data signals supplied from 0 and supplies it to a monitor 34. The entire system configuration described above is configured to be controlled by the main controller 36.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 to 7. First, the moving scanning position of the two-dimensional array transducer 20 of the ultrasound probe in the direction perpendicular to the array direction is set to the initial position, that is, the first position.
Set it in the frame position. In this state, the transmission signal generated by the transmission control circuit 26 causes the transmission circuit 21 to
is driven. By driving the wave transmitting circuit 21, excitation power is supplied to the array transducer 20 based on the transmission data signal supplied from the transmission data output circuit 23.

At this time, each output signal of the lens (Y) direction delay control circuit 24 and the scan (X) direction delay control circuit 25 is supplied to the wave transmitting circuit 21, so that the array transducer 20 transmits the signals according to the principle described below. The resulting ultrasonic beam pattern exhibits bimodality. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the array transducer 20 is arranged in an ultrasonic beam scan (
The vibrating elements are arranged in 1 to N rows in the X) direction (array direction) and in L1 to LN rows in the lens (Y) direction. In such an array transducer 20, each vibrating element arranged in the scan (X) direction exhibits a delay characteristic as shown in FIG. Each is given the following characteristics.

In addition, each vibrating element arranged in the lens CY) direction has
As shown in FIG. 4, a delay characteristic, that is, a characteristic exhibiting a minimum value at both ends of the array and a maximum value at the middle portion, is provided. As a result, the ultrasonic beam pattern emitted from the array transducer 20 is as shown in FIG.
This results in bimodality in the lens (Y) direction. Note that the angle between both peaks is indicated by θ.

Such a bimodal ultrasonic beam is emitted toward the subject in the lens (Y) direction, and the echo beam is received by the same transducer 2o by giving it the same delay characteristics as during transmission.

As a result, the echo beams EB respectively correspond to the first peak M1 and the second peak M2.

EB2 is received at the same time. These echo beams have an angular difference of θ in the lens (Y) direction from each other and can therefore be positioned as two mutually spaced subframes Fla, Fib at the first frame position of the array transducer 2o. This situation is shown in FIG. That is, each subframe Fla, Fib is composed of N pieces of raster data.

The ultrasonic beam received by the array transducer 2o is converted into an electrical signal by the reception circuit 22,
On the one hand, it is supplied to a monochrome B mode image processing circuit 28. As a result, black-and-white B moto image data corresponding to each of the sub-frames Fla and Fib is created and recorded in the DS030.

On the other hand, the output signal from the wave receiving circuit 22 is sent to a pair of phase detectors 29a and 29b, and the former detects the subframe F.
The phase component signal in subframe Fib is extracted by the latter. The signals (blood flow information) from each phase detector 29a, 29b are transmitted to the corresponding frequency analyzer 31a, 31b.
Color calculation is performed on the subframe Fla.

It is converted into a Fib color blood flow image data signal.

These data signals are supplied to the DSC 30 via the 5EL 33 as an addition output from the adder 32, as required. The state of this addition is shown in FIG. That is, each data of subframes Fla and Fib is added and combined into data of one frame FIS.

This makes it possible to reduce the frame memory capacity of the DSC 30 that records the data.

Next, when the second transmission signal is transmitted from the transmission control circuit 26, the array transducer 20
Moved to frame position. In this position, the array transducer 2o emits a bimodal pattern of ultrasound beams as in the first frame position. In this case, each peak of the ultrasonic beam corresponds to subframes F2a and F2b, as shown in FIG. Therefore, receiving an echo beam based on this beam is the DSC 301:f frame F2a.

Various data signals at F2b are recorded. By continuing this operation up to the Nth frame position of the array transducer 20, various data signals from subframes Fla and Fib to FNa and FNb are recorded on the DSC 30.

The various data signals recorded in the DSC 30 in this way are converted into color video signals by the color converter 35, and then the 8th As shown in the figure, it is displayed on the monitor 34. As for the number of frame images in this case, two subframes are allocated to each frame position of the array transducer 20, so that the three-dimensional data acquisition time can be shortened.

Now, we will explain the case where a common ultrasound diagnostic device is used to obtain a B-mode image of a complex blood vessel in a liver tumor area of a subject, as shown in FIG. 11, for example. . In FIG. 11(a), the ultrasound beam surface 38 emitted from the transducer is set as shown on the corresponding blood vessel part 37 shown in an enlarged manner for diagnosis, as shown in FIG. 11(b). A moto image 39 is obtained. That is, this image is shown in Figure 11(a).
, point information 40a, 40b, .
They become nothing more than displayed as...

Therefore, even if you refer to the mode image 39 like this, the first
It is very difficult to understand the degree of entanglement of blood vessels with a complicated structure as shown in FIG. 1(a).

The above-mentioned problems can be solved as follows.

That is, in the configuration shown in FIG. 1, for the B-mode image, one of the frames corresponding to each frame recorded on the DSC 30 is used, and for the color blood flow image, the output of the adder 32 in FIG. is recorded on the DSC 30, the B-mode image and the color blood flow image are combined and displayed on the monitor 34. This method has the advantage that there is no need to increase the frame memory of the DSC. In this way, the image displayed on the monitor 34, as shown in FIG. 9, is a single B-mode image with point information indicating multiple frames of blood vessel cross sections superimposed, so that the image displayed on the monitor 34 is a complex blood vessel structure. can be understood with some degree of accuracy.

In FIG. 1, the phase detector 29a129b1 and the frequency analyzer 31a, 31b do not need to have two systems by time-division processing, but can be provided with one system.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, the array transducer transmits and receives waves for an ultrasonic pattern beam exhibiting a plurality of ridges in a direction perpendicular to the array direction. In this way, the number of frames per unit time is increased, so the real-time performance of the three-dimensional device is improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the array transducer in the same embodiment, Figs. 3 and 4 are explanatory diagrams of the operation of the array transducer shown in Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the array transducer shown in Fig. 2. An explanatory diagram showing the transmitted ultrasonic beam pattern, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the beam pattern and the frame shown in FIG. 5, and FIGS.
9 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of another embodiment, FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a conventional three-dimensional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and FIG. 11 is a conventional B-mode image. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the creation means. ...Array transducer. ... Wave transmitting circuit, 22...- Wave receiving circuit. ...Lens direction delay control circuit. ...Scan direction delay control circuit. ...Transmission control circuit.・・・Reception control circuit agent Patent attorney Noriyuki KondoRepresentative Patent attorney Takeshi Kondo

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) An array transducer that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves exhibiting a multi-peaked beam pattern in a direction perpendicular to the array direction to and from the subject, and a means for moving and scanning the array transducer in a direction perpendicular to the array direction. a plurality of ultrasonic beams transmitted to the array transducer in a direction orthogonal to the array direction; A means for performing ultrasonic reception control capable of receiving raster data, and a movement scanning control means for changing the movement scanning position of the array transducer after the operation of receiving the transmission signal of the transmission control means has completed a specified number of times. An ultrasonic diagnostic device featuring: (2) The array transducer is composed of a two-dimensional array transducer, and the X of this transducer is
2. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transducer transmits and receives a multi-peak pattern of ultrasonic beams by reflecting signal delay characteristics in each of the Y directions. (3) A raster obtained by adding an arbitrary number of raster data to blood flow data after frequency analysis of multiple rasters of ultrasonic echo data in the frame direction simultaneously received by the array transducer. 2. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a frame for blood flow data consisting of a frame and a frame consisting of B/W data simultaneously received from the receiving means are displayed in a superimposed manner. .