JPH06269452A - Ultrasonic diagnostic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a good picture by automatically adjusting at least one of the amplification degree of a reception circuit, dynamic range, and STC according to the diagnostic condition at the time of starting operation. CONSTITUTION:An ultrasonic endoscope 1 inputs data such as the frequency, type of endoscope, vibrator focusing position or the like through an ultrasonic endoscope data reading circuit 7 of an ultrasonic observation device 2 to a picture quality adjustment state storage memory 4 before applying the power. It communicates with a host computer (database) 12 based on the data and receives the picture quality adjustment data corresponding to various kinds of symptoms and types of probe for the adjustment to the picture quality most suitable for the ultrasonic endoscope. A CPU 13 automatically adjusts the amplification degree of a reception signal processing circuit 3, dynamic range and STC based on the picture quality adjustment data. The ultrasonic endoscope 1 inputs an ultrasonic echo signal to a reception signal processing circuit 3 at the time of starting the operation and displays the ultrasonic picture on a TV monitor through the reception signal processing circuit 3, A/D converter 4, and DSC5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention utilizes an ultrasonic wave reflected by a boundary surface of acoustic impedance of a body tissue when the body tissue is irradiated with the ultrasonic wave to obtain an ultrasonic tomographic image of the body tissue. The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that is obtained.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of this type, for example, there is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-67151. In this conventional example, the amplification degree of the receiving circuit that receives the ultrasonic echo signal is adjusted, the time interval of transmitting and receiving the ultrasonic echo signal obtained by the transmitting and receiving circuit is changed, and self-diagnosis is performed. .

[0003]

Generally, in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, in addition to the amplification degree of the receiving circuit, the dynamic range of the receiving circuit and the STC (Se
nsitivity Time Controller) is often used to make a diagnosis by making full use of adjustment functions, and skill is required to make a diagnosis by making full use of these many adjustment functions. Also,
In the intracavitary diagnosis, a probe is inserted through the mouth of the patient to make a diagnosis, and therefore a prompt diagnosis is required. Therefore, it is desirable that the adjustment function is set to an appropriate setting in advance at the time of starting the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and that the operator does not perform the adjustment action as much as possible. On the other hand, in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the setting conditions that are considered to be the best in image quality, for example, cannot be determined in advance before the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is used, and the diagnostic conditions are set in the process of actually using the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. It is decided accordingly. Therefore, it is required that the contents of image quality adjustment can be arbitrarily updated at any time.

However, the above-described ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the conventional example only adjusts the amplification factor of the receiving circuit and the like to perform self-diagnosis of a failure, and thus it is difficult to satisfy the requirement regarding the adjusting function.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus which automatically sets a setting state of a receiving circuit or the like at startup so as to obtain a good image quality.

[0006]

To this end, the present invention provides an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for making a diagnosis based on an ultrasonic tomographic image obtained by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves from an ultrasonic endoscope to an object to be diagnosed. In, an internal state detecting means for detecting an internal state of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a communication means for transferring data between the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and an external database controlled by a host computer, and the internal state detecting means Means for changing the setting state of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus based on input data from the means and the communication means.

[0007]

According to the present invention, with the above configuration, when the system is activated, the setting state of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, for example, the setting state of the receiving circuit is automatically completed, and the ultrasonic wave connected to the ultrasonic observation apparatus is detected. Since the setting is such that a good image quality can be obtained according to the endoscope, the operator only needs to perform the necessary minimum adjustment after starting, and the workability of the image quality setting adjustment is improved.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, in which 1 is an ultrasonic endoscope and 2 is an ultrasonic observation apparatus to which an ultrasonic endoscope 1 is connected. Indicates. The ultrasonic endoscope 1 inputs an ultrasonic echo signal into the reception signal processing circuit 3 of the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2, and the ultrasonic echo signal is received from the reception signal processing circuit 3 by the A / D converter 4.
Is input to and digitized. The digitized ultrasonic echo signal is input to a DSC (digital scan converter) 5 and is subjected to coordinate conversion so as to be compatible with the television format. The coordinate-converted data is input to the television monitor 6 attached to the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 and displayed as shown in the figure.

Further, the data (not shown) built in the ultrasonic endoscope 1 such as the type of ultrasonic endoscope (for stomach, large intestine, duodenum, etc.) and the frequency of the ultrasonic transducer are It is input to and read by the ultrasonic endoscope data reading circuit 7 of the sound wave observation device 2. Further, since the ultrasonic observation device 2 is provided with the acoustic coupler 8 and the modem 9 capable of inputting data from the outside, the data transferred by the telephone line (not shown) can be read. That is, the acoustic coupler 8 is connected to the acoustic coupler 10 via a telephone line (not shown), the acoustic coupler 10 is connected to the modem 11, and the modem 11 is connected to (the database of) the host computer 12. Since image quality adjustment data corresponding to various medical conditions and probe types is stored, the stored image quality adjustment data is transferred to the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 via the modem 11, the acoustic couplers 10 and 8, and the modem 9. Therefore, bidirectional data transfer is possible between the host computer 12 and the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2.

The data input from (the database of) the host computer 12 as described above is converted by the CPU 13 in the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 into a form required as data of the reception signal processing circuit 3 of the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2. To be done. CP
The U13 also analyzes the image quality adjustment state set by the external data and sets the setting to the image quality adjustment state storage memory 1.
Store in 4. The CPU 13 further determines the amplification degree based on the image quality adjustment data in the image quality adjustment state storage memory 14.
Data regarding the dynamic range and STC is output to the keyboard 15 and the television monitor 6. At the same time, the image quality adjustment data in the image quality adjustment state storage memory 14 is input to the reception signal processing circuit 3.

The keyboard 15 is constructed as shown in FIG. 3 (a) or 3 (b). FIG. 3A shows an LED that corresponds to amplification degree, dynamic range, and STC, respectively.
It is intended to be displayed by. Also, FIG.
In (b), the amplification degree, the dynamic range, and the STC are displayed on the corresponding liquid crystal panels, and in this case, the adapted portion display body mark is also displayed. Although not shown in FIG. 3B, the display screen can be switched to a keyboard input screen, and it goes without saying that FIG. 3A also has a similar keyboard input function.

The reception signal processing circuit 3 is constructed as shown in FIG. That is, the reception signal processing circuit 3 includes an amplifier 16 to which a reception echo signal is input, an adder 19 to which a signal amplified by the amplifier 16 is input via a demodulator 17 and a LOG amplifier 18, a LOG amplifier 18 and A D / A converter 20 connected between the adder 19 via a resistor R1 is provided, and the D / A converter 20 has an amplification degree setting transferred from the image quality adjustment state storage memory 14 at startup (when the power is turned on). Data is entered.

The reception signal processing circuit 3 further includes an adder 19
And an adder 21 to which the output signal of
Is a writable and high-speed SRAM
23 and D for analogizing the data from the SRAM 23
A series circuit with the / A converter 22 is connected via a resistor R2. The SRAM 23 has an image quality adjustment state storage memory 1
The STC data stored inside 4 is written at the same time when the power is turned on, and the SRAM 23 reads the received echo signal from the SRAM in synchronization with the sampling timing of the A / D converter 4.

The reception signal processing circuit 3 further includes an adder 21.
The output signal of the adder 21 is supplied to the buffer amplifier 26. The output signal of the adder 21 is supplied to the buffer amplifier 26, the multiplexer 25 connected to each tap of the resistance group 24, and the buffer amplifier 26 connected to the multiplexer 25. Entered selectively. The data of the dynamic range stored in the image quality adjustment state storage memory 14 is transferred to the multiplexer 25 when the power is turned on.
Is switched. The buffer amplifier 26 is connected to an A / D converter 4 not shown here, and the received echo signal is finally digitized after being modified so that the image quality is adjusted with respect to amplification degree, dynamic range, and STC. To be done. It should be noted that the image quality adjustment state storage memory 14 stores in the host computer (database thereof) 1
All data transferred from 2 will be stored,
Among them, only the data corresponding to the ultrasonic endoscope 1 actually used is transferred to the reception signal processing circuit 3, and the control for doing so is based on the type of the connected probe and the like. The determination is performed by the ultrasonic endoscope data reading circuit 7.

In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the first embodiment constructed as described above, automatic image quality adjustment at startup and image quality adjustment from the outside are performed as follows. That is, first, when the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 is powered on, the acoustic coupler 9, the modem 8, the acoustic coupler 10, the modem 11 and the host computer 12 provided in the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 transfer data using a telephone line (not shown). Is done. The data transferred at this time is the data selected from among the data stored in (the database of) the host computer 12 that is the most suitable for the ultrasonic endoscope 1, and the data is selected by a large number of clinics. It is nothing but the obtained data representing the image quality adjustment content.
Further, the image quality adjustment contents in this case, ultrasonic endoscope, for each scope type such as an ultrasonic scope, for each frequency, stomach,
This is image quality adjustment data for making adjustments for each adaptive site such as the large intestine. Therefore, at least the standard image quality can be obtained by only the automatic image quality adjustment at the time of start-up based on this data and without any subsequent adjustment.

The ultrasonic observation device 2 through the acoustic coupler 8.
After the data format of the data transmitted to the image quality adjustment state storage memory 14 is corrected by the CPU 13 so that the data can be input to the image quality adjustment state storage memory 14,
Memorized in. On the other hand, the ultrasonic endoscope 1 mechanically connected to the ultrasonic observation device 2 before the power is turned on has a value of 7.5.
It has a data storage means (not shown) that stores data relating to frequencies such as MHz and 12 MHz, types of probes for large intestine, duodenum, stomach, etc., and transducer focal positions such as far point and near point. Therefore, in parallel with the data transfer from the host computer 12 via the telephone line,
The data of the probe is input to the ultrasonic endoscope data reading circuit 7 in the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2.

A memory for outputting only the stored contents of the image quality adjustment memory corresponding to the ultrasonic endoscope 1 connected to the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 based on the data read by the ultrasonic endoscope data reading circuit 7. An address is created and transferred to the image quality adjustment state storage memory 14. The image quality adjustment state storage memory 14 receives the contents of this memory address and inputs the image quality adjustment data most suitable for the probe being used to the reception signal processing circuit 3 and the keyboard 15. Thereby, in the keyboard 15, the amplification degree, the dynamic range, the ST
The display content of C is changed. At the same time, in the reception signal processing circuit 3, data that gives an appropriate amplification degree, dynamic range, and STC to the ultrasonic echo signal is transferred to the D / A converter 20 and the adder 21 connected to the adder 19.
Are transferred to the SRAM 23 and the multiplexer 25, which are connected via the D / A converter 22 and the resistor R2, respectively.

According to the data transferred in this manner, the D / A converter 20 outputs a DC voltage adjusted to an appropriate amplification degree, and the SRAM 23 outputs an appropriate ST voltage.
The data that gives C is output, and the D / A converter 22 outputs a waveform voltage corresponding to an appropriate STC. In addition, the multiplexer 25 selectively switches the connection position of the resistor group 24 in order to divide the ultrasonic signal that has been STC processed so as to give an appropriate dynamic range.

The output voltage from the multiplexer 25 is finally input to the buffer amplifier 26 and output from the buffer 26 to the A / D converter 4. It goes without saying that this output voltage is an output voltage obtained by amplifying and compressing the ultrasonic echo signal with the adjustment content that gives the best image quality in the ultrasonic endoscope used.

The output voltage of the buffer amplifier 26 is the A / D
After being digitized by the converter 4, the coordinates are converted into a television format by the DSC 5, and an ultrasonic diagnostic image is obtained by the monitor 6 provided in the ultrasonic observation device 2. In this way
The ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 communicates with the host computer when the power is turned on and automatically adjusts the constants of the reception signal processing circuit 3 so as to adjust the image quality most suitable for the ultrasonic endoscope to be used. Can be set to.

In the above embodiment, the modem 9 as a communication means is built in the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2, but the modem 9 is separated from the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 as shown in FIG. The sound wave observation device 2 may be provided with only an interface circuit with the sound wave observation device 2. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the transmission (communication) of data with the outside is performed by the telephone line, but as shown in FIG.
The communication means may be configured so as to perform wireless transmission using 1, 52 and the transceiver 53, or the communication means may be configured by connecting the modems 9 and 11 with the optical cable 54 as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, by using one host computer, a plurality of ultrasonic observation devices 2 are provided in each room (X-ray room, endoscope room, operating room, etc.) in the same facility such as a hospital. If -1, 2, 2 and 2-3 are installed, good image quality can be set simultaneously through the modem 55 and the RS-232C optical cable 56.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the second embodiment of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention. The same parts as those of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. The second embodiment is a further development of the first embodiment, and has an optimum image quality adjustment content while taking into consideration individual differences in sensitivity of the probe of the ultrasonic endoscope and changes with time. The automatic adjustment is made. The difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that, as shown in FIG.
1 and the data of the ultrasonic endoscope data reading circuit 7 are directly changed to the image quality adjustment state storage memory 14
Input to CPU 13 instead of input to A /
The data of the D converter 4 is taken into the CPU 13 in response to a control signal from the CPU 13, and
That is, the control signal described later is inputted from 13 to the reception signal processing circuit 3.

The modification of the reception signal processing circuit 3 shown in FIG. 9 is that the amplifier 1 to which the reception echo signal is input from the probe is used.
6 and the demodulator 17 with the changeover switch 27-1 inserted, the multiplexer 25 and the buffer amplifier 2
6 is the insertion of the changeover switch 27-2, and the insertion of the gain amplifier 28 between the changeover switch 27-1 and the changeover switch 27-2. Further, due to this change, the changeover switches 27-1 and 27 -Changeover switch 27 from CPU 13 for controlling the changeover of the contact of 2
A control signal is input to 1 and 27-2. In this configuration, the ultrasonic echo signal from the ultrasonic endoscope 1 is amplified based on the control signal from the CPU 13 and then input to the A / D converter 4. In addition, as shown in FIG. 10, an ultrasonic transducer 29 and a distal end cap for protecting the ultrasonic transducer from contact with a living body are provided at the distal end portion of the ultrasonic endoscope 1 used in this embodiment. 30 are provided.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described. The ultrasonic waves emitted from the ultrasonic transducer 29 are reflected by the tip cap 30. This reflected echo becomes an electric signal, and is input to the reception signal processing circuit 3 as a first echo signal of, for example, several tens of mV (PP value). Here, when the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 is powered on, the reception signal processing circuit 3 amplifies and digitizes the first echo signal emitted from the tip cap 30 of the ultrasonic endoscope 1 located in the air. The signal is input to the CPU 13.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the host computer 12 digitizes data of the first echo signal corresponding to various ultrasonic endoscopes in addition to the same image quality adjustment status data as in the first embodiment. The data of the first echo signal is also transferred to the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 at the same time as the image quality adjustment state data. The content of the data of the first echo signal transferred from the host computer 12 in this manner is the same as the content of the data of the first echo signal input from the ultrasonic endoscope 1 connected to the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 in the CPU 13. Be compared. Then, based on the comparison data obtained by this comparison, the CPU 13 creates data to be stored in the image quality adjustment state storage memory 14 by correcting the image quality adjustment state data transferred from the host computer 12, and the data is stored. Is stored in the image quality adjustment state storage memory 14.

As described above, it is possible to perform automatic adjustment so as to obtain the optimum image quality adjustment content while taking into consideration individual differences in sensitivity of the probe of the ultrasonic endoscope and changes with time.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the third embodiment of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention. The same parts as those of the second embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. This third
The embodiment is a further development of the second embodiment. In addition to the automatic adjustment, the failure diagnosis of the ultrasonic endoscope 1 connected to the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 is performed. The difference between the third embodiment and the second embodiment is that, as shown in FIG. 11, the rotation detection signal monitoring circuit 3 is provided in the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2.
1, the addition of the motor current monitoring circuit 32 and the disconnection monitoring circuit 33.

The rotation detection signal monitoring circuit 31 is provided by an encoder (not shown) (built in the ultrasonic endoscope 1) that generates a signal corresponding to the rotation angle of the ultrasonic transducer 29 of the ultrasonic endoscope 1. The input signal is monitored, and the monitoring signal corresponding to the monitoring result is input to the CPU 13. The motor current monitoring circuit 32 is composed of a current detection circuit using a well-known Hall element, and is a motor (not shown in the drawings) for rotating the ultrasonic transducer 29 of the ultrasonic endoscope 1. The current supplied to the (built-in) is monitored, and a monitoring signal corresponding to the monitoring result is input to the CPU 13.

The disconnection monitoring circuit 33 generates an output voltage about twice as high as the normal output voltage when the ultrasonic endoscope 1 of the present embodiment has a disconnection between the ultrasonic transducer and the transmission circuit. Since it is configured such that the disconnection between the ultrasonic transducer and the transmission circuit can be detected by monitoring the signal input from the ultrasonic endoscope 1, the monitoring according to the monitoring result can be performed. The signal is input to the CPU 13. The monitoring signal from each monitoring circuit is transferred to the host computer 12 by the CPU 13 via the modem 9 or the like.

Next, the operation of the third embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of the fault diagnosis program shown in FIG. This failure diagnosis program is the host computer 12
The failure diagnosis is started in step S1 after the power is turned on, and the presence or absence of the rotation detection signal is checked in the next step S2. If the rotation detection signal is normal in the check, the process proceeds to step S3, and if there is no rotation detection signal, the process proceeds to step S7. For example, the message "The ultrasonic endoscope in use is out of order" is displayed. indicate. In step S3, it is checked whether or not the motor current is flowing. If the motor current is normal in this check, the process proceeds to step S4. If the motor current is not flowing, the process proceeds to step S7.
Proceed to to display the above error message.

In step S4, the presence or absence of the first echo signal is checked. If the first echo signal is normal in this check, the process proceeds to step S5. If there is no first echo signal, the process proceeds to step S7 and the above-mentioned abnormal condition is detected. Display a message. In step S5, the presence or absence of the disconnection is checked by the output voltage of the ultrasonic endoscope which largely changes due to the disconnection as described above, and if the disconnection is normal in this check, the process proceeds to step S6 and, for example, The sound wave endoscope is normal "is displayed, and if there is a wire disconnection, the process proceeds to step S7 to display the above-mentioned error message.

As described above, the result of the failure diagnosis is transferred from the host computer 12 to the CPU 13 via each acoustic coupler and the modem, and the CPU 13 receives the failure diagnosis result and monitors the location diagnosed as the failure by the monitor 6 or It is displayed on the display portion of the keyboard 15 (LED of FIG. 3A or liquid crystal panel surface of FIG. 3B). Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to add a failure diagnosis function without increasing the size of the ultrasonic observation device 2.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned examples, and it goes without saying that various modifications and changes can be made. For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the present invention is applied to the B-mode ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, but it may be applied to the adjustment of the flow gain and the flow filter of the color Doppler. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the description has been developed with the ultrasonic diagnosis targeting the ultrasonic endoscope 1. However, a monitoring circuit for monitoring each part of the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 is provided in the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 and the monitoring signal is transmitted. It is also possible to perform a failure diagnosis of the ultrasonic observation apparatus 2 by transferring it to the host computer 12. Further, in the above embodiment, the external (host computer 1
Although the failure diagnosis is performed in 2), C of the ultrasonic observation device 2
It is also possible to have the PU 13 perform self-diagnosis.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the system is activated, the setting state of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, for example, the setting state of the receiving circuit is automatically completed and the ultrasonic observation apparatus is connected. Since the setting is such that a good image quality can be obtained according to the ultrasonic endoscope, the operator only needs to make the necessary minimum adjustment after starting, and the workability of the image quality setting adjustment improves.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a first embodiment of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of a received signal processing circuit of the same example.

3A and 3B are diagrams showing a configuration of a keyboard of the same example.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of the communication means of the same example.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another example of the communication means of the same example.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another example of the communication means of the same example.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a system in which a plurality of ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses are installed in the same facility such as a hospital in the same example.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a second embodiment of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of a received signal processing circuit of the same example.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration of a distal end portion of an ultrasonic endoscope used in the same example.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a third embodiment of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a failure diagnosis program of the same example.

[Explanation of symbols] 1 ultrasonic endoscope 2 ultrasonic observation device 3 received signal processing circuit 4 A / D converter 5 DSC (digital scan converter) 6 television monitor 7 ultrasonic endoscope data reading circuit 8 acoustic coupler 9 modem 10 Acoustic coupler 11 Modem 12 Host computer (database) 13 CPU 14 Image quality adjustment status memory 15 Keyboard

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for performing diagnosis based on an ultrasonic tomographic image obtained by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from an object to be diagnosed from an ultrasonic endoscope, and detecting an internal state of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. Based on input data from the internal state detecting means, the communication means for transferring data between the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and the external database controlled by the host computer, and the input data from the internal state detecting means and the communication means. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: setting changing means for changing a setting state of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.