JPH05103779A - Biplane ultrasonic diagnostic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To conduct positioning at a free position at another cross section image by giving delay time relating to each transducer element by a delay line portion that is provided with elements as many as equivalent to the number of lead wires, in the state of switching on/off being shifted. CONSTITUTION:A switch 12a is turned off and the other switch 12b is turned on. As a result, normal electronic sector scan is conducted in the Xm direction of a transducer 10, and a B mode image 18a is displayed on a monitor screen 17. The B image 18a is frozen in this state, and the other switch 12a is turned on, and the switch 12b is turned off. And, a marker is generated on the monitor screen 17 by means of a marker generating circuit 16, and put on a desired position in the B mode image 18a. Delay time is given from the respective mXn piece elements of a delay line portion 20a. By changing delay time, a right-angled cross section at a free position decided on the B mode image 18a can be obtained as a B mode image 18b.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a biplane ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of obtaining two orthogonal cross-sectional images at the same probe position, and more particularly, to the position of one orthogonal cross-sectional image. The present invention relates to a biplane ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can be designated at any position on one sectional image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, although ultrasonic diagnostic equipment has not been commercialized, two orthogonal B-mode tomographic images at the same probe position are produced by a coaxial biplane probe and a system body attached thereto. What can be obtained (referred to as "biplane ultrasound diagnostic device") has been proposed.

This biplane ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, strip-shaped electrodes 2a (3 rows) and 2b (5 columns) are orthogonally arranged on both sides (A side and B side) of the transducer 1 arranged in 3 rows and 5 columns in the probe, respectively. The side electrodes 2a and 2b communicate with the transmission / reception units 3a and 3b of the system body via the switches 4a and 4b, respectively.

The switches 4a and 4b are cut off (grounded), for example, when the switch 4a is turned on and the electrode 2a and the transmitter / receiver 3a are electrically connected.
On the contrary, when the switch 4b is turned on and the electrode 2b and the transmitter / receiver 3b are electrically connected, the switch 4a is cut off, which maintains the connection relationship in which only one of them is turned on.

Therefore, in such a biplane ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a sector scan (scan A) shown in FIG. 6A using, for example, the electrode 2a at a certain probe position.
Then, the B-mode image shown in FIG. 7A is obtained on the monitor screen. A sector scan (scan B; scan B; the scanning direction of the scan B using the other electrode 2b is orthogonal to that of scan A along the broken line in FIG. 6A).
On the contrary, the scanning direction of the scan A is orthogonal to that of the scan B along the broken line in FIG. 7), a B-mode image shown in FIG. 7B is obtained on the monitor screen. Figure 7
The cross section of the B-mode image of FIG. 7B intersects the cross section of the B-mode image of FIG.

[0006]

However, in any of the biplane ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses proposed so far, the positional relationship between two orthogonal cross sections is fixed (see, for example, FIG. 7).
(A) The B-mode image of FIG. 7B can be obtained in the cross section along the broken line in the center.) Therefore, for example, the user wants to view a tomographic image at a position outside the broken line of the image of FIG. If
You have to move the probe based on your intuition.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a biplane ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of easily positioning and specifying the position of one orthogonal sectional image at an arbitrary position of another sectional image. With the goal.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a transducer element arranged in a matrix on the probe side, two transmitting / receiving sections, two delay line sections, which are sequentially connected on the main body side, A biplane ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having an adder, a detection unit, a scan converter, a monitor, and marker generating circuit means connected to the scan converter, wherein lead wires are drawn out from one side of each of the transducer elements. And
Lead wires corresponding to the number of rows or columns of the matrix are drawn out from the other side, and the lead wires on each side are two switches provided corresponding to the respective sides, and one side is provided. When it is turned on, it is connected to each of the transmission / reception units via a switch that is shut off on the other side,
One of the transmitting / receiving section and the delay line section, which is connected to the lead wire drawn from each transducer element, provides a biplane ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus including a number of elements corresponding to these lead wires.

[0009]

In the biplane ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, the marker generating circuit means generates the B-mode image formed on the basis of the lead wires drawn from the one side of the transducer by the number corresponding to the number of the electrodes. If you specify an arbitrary position with the marker to
A B-mode image of a cross section orthogonal to each other at that position can be obtained with the interruptions replaced. At this time, the delay time associated with each transducer element is given via a delay line section having a number of elements corresponding to the number of lead wires and a transmission / reception section.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a biplane ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. That is, in the probe, first, m strip electrodes 11 are arranged on the B side of the transducer 10 arranged in m rows and n columns by m × n, and these m electrodes 11 are all switches 12b. The transmission / reception unit 13b on the main body side is contacted via the. However, on the A side opposite to the B side, the leads 14 are attached to each of the transducers 10, and
All the xn leads 14 are connected to the transmitting / receiving unit 13a via the switch 12a.

The transmission / reception units 13a and 13b are hereinafter referred to as a delay line unit for giving a delay time to the transmission / reception signal, an adder for performing phasing addition on the reception signal, an envelope detection unit (not shown above), and an ultrasonic wave. Following the DSC (Digital Scan Converter) 15 which converts the scan into a TV scan, the DSC 15 is also connected to a marker generation circuit 16. Then, in response to the signals scan-converted by the DSC 15, each B-mode image 1 based on two sector scans (scan A and scan B) orthogonal to each other is displayed on the monitor screen 17.
8a and 18b are displayed.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the transmitting / receiving section 13a and the delay line section 20a connected to the transmitting / receiving section 13a. That is, the transmission / reception unit 13a and the delay line unit 2
0a is composed of m × n elements corresponding to the m × n leads 14 drawn from the A side of the transducer 10, respectively. Then, the received signals output from the m × n elements of the delay line unit 20 a, each of which is given a delay time, are next input to one adder 21.

When operating the biplane ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, first, as shown in FIG. 1, the switch 12a is shut off and the other switch 12b is turned on. As a result, a normal electronic sector scan (scan A) is performed in the xm direction of the transducer 10, and the monitor screen 17
A B-mode image 18a is displayed on.

Then, in this state, the B-mode image 18a is frozen, the other switch 12a is turned on, and the switch 12b is turned on.
Shut off. Then, the marker generation circuit 16 generates a marker (not shown) on the monitor screen 17 and superimposes it on a desired position in the B-mode image 18a. Then, in the cross section orthogonal to that position, scanning in the xn direction is started.

Here, the delay time control in the scan in the xn direction will be described by taking the transducer 30 shown in FIG. 3 as an example. That is, the transducer 30
Is a 5 × 5 element E _nm (m = 0, 1, ..., 4,
n = 0, 1, ..., 4), but E _0m , E when scanning in the × n direction at the cross section at the center position in the × m direction
_1m , E _2m , E _3m , E _4m each row has a constant delay time (Δ
τ). That is, the delay time when scanning the beam in the direction of the xn direction center is such that when E _2m is driven at t = 0, E _1m and E _3m are driven after Δτ, and E _0m and E _4m are driven after 2Δτ. Becomes

Further, in order to swing this beam in the xm direction, it is sufficient to give different delay times (denoted as Δτ ′) in the row direction at E _0m , E _1m , E _2m , E _3m , and E _4m . That is, depending on the angle of the direction determined by the above marker, the delay time in the × m direction is t = 0 at E _n3 and t = Δτ at E _n2 and E _n4.
'And E _n1 t = 2Δτ', E _n0 t = 3 Δτ ',
The delay time given to each element is as shown in FIG.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, by changing Δτ ', an orthogonal cross section at an arbitrary position determined on the B-mode image 18a can be obtained as the B-mode image 18b.

[0019]

As described above, according to the biplane ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, the position of one orthogonal sectional image can be easily positioned and designated at any position of another sectional image. It is no longer necessary to move the probe based on intuition as in the past. Further, at this time, since both cross sections can be quantitatively set and positioned, it can be applied to quantification (volume measurement) of an organ or a lesion site.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a biplane ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a transmission / reception unit and a delay line unit in the biplane ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a layout diagram of transducer elements in the biplane ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a delay time of each transducer element in the biplane ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a connection between a transducer and a transmission / reception unit in a conventional biplane ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

6 (A) and 6 (B) are views showing two cross sections and their positions in the conventional biplane ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, respectively.

7A and 7B are views showing B-mode images in the cross sections of FIGS. 6A and 6B, respectively.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Transducer 11 Electrode 12a, 12b Switch 13a, 13b Transmitter / receiver 14 Lead 16 Marker generation circuit 18a, 18b B-mode image

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Transducer elements arranged in a matrix on the probe side, two transmitting / receiving sections, two delay line sections, which are sequentially connected on the main body side,
A biplane ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having an adder, a detection unit, a scan converter, a monitor, and marker generating circuit means connected to the scan converter, wherein lead wires are drawn out from one side of each of the transducer elements. Lead wires corresponding to the number of rows or columns of the matrix are drawn out from the other side, and the lead wires on each side are two switches provided corresponding to each side. Connected to each of the transmission / reception units via a switch that is shut off on the other side when the power is turned on at the other side, and is connected to a lead wire drawn out from each of the transducer elements of the two transmission / reception units and the delay line unit. What is used is a biplane ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus including a number of elements corresponding to these lead wires.