JPH07275248A - Ultrasonic diagnostic device with piercing mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To clearly display the position of a piercing needle in an object part by displaying the color flow image of the piercing needle, inserted toward the object part of an examinee, in the state of being superposed on the cross-sectional image of the object part. CONSTITUTION:The input part of a complex multiplying part 8 forming a color flow mapping part is provided with a variable gain amplifier 12 with the gain changed to increase/decrease the color sensitivity of a color flow image. A gain setting ROM 13 is provided to set the gain of the variable gain amplifier 12, and a changeover switch 14 is further provided to command the change of gain setting to the gain setting ROM 13. The color flow image 20 of a piercing needle 18 inserted into an object part 16 of an examinee 15, and the cross-sectional image 19 of the object part 16 is then displayed in the superposed state. The position of the piercing needle 18 in the object part 16 can be thereby displayed clearly.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention uses ultrasonic waves to measure and display a tomographic image of a target site in a subject, and inserts a puncture needle toward the target site for percutaneous biopsy. With regard to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with a puncture mechanism used for performing, for example, a color flow image of the inserted puncture needle is displayed by being superimposed on a tomographic image of the target site, and the position of the puncture needle in the target site is displayed. The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with a puncture mechanism that can be clearly displayed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with a puncture mechanism of this type is a probe for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from a subject, and a target site in the subject provided adjacent to the probe. A mechanical guide that guides the insertion of the puncture needle, an ultrasonic transmission / reception unit that drives the probe to generate ultrasonic waves and processes the received reflected echo signals, and reception from this ultrasonic transmission / reception unit A phasing unit for inputting a signal, giving a predetermined delay time to perform phasing addition, and a B-mode image processing unit for inputting a processing signal from the phasing unit to form a tomographic image of a target site in a subject. , A color flow mapping unit for inputting a processed signal from the phasing unit to detect a Doppler frequency shift signal of a moving portion around a target site in the subject to form a color flow image, and the B-mode image processing. Part and color flow mapping part A tomographic image and a color flow image, which is consisted with a superimposed to visible display device.

A technique for percutaneously puncturing a subject, for example, an abdominal cavity organ, using such an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with a puncturing mechanism is a tomographic scan of a target site with the spread of electronic scanning ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses. Since it is possible to monitor the positional relationship of the puncture needle in the same cross section as the surface in real time, it is said that the safety and certainty of the puncture procedure are significantly improved. Then, in order to visually recognize the puncture needle inserted into the subject, a puncture that is inserted in the same cross section in a so-called B-mode image that visualizes the intensity of the ultrasonic reflection echo that reflects the structure of the organ at the target site. By imaging the reflection echo from the needle, it was displayed together in the tomographic image of the organ.

[0004]

However, in the display of the puncture needle in such a conventional device, the reflected echo of the ultrasonic wave from the puncture needle inserted into the subject is transmitted in the direction of transmission of the ultrasonic beam. It is extremely sensitive to the angle formed by and the direction of the reflecting surface of the puncture needle. Depending on this angle, the reflected echo can hardly be measured and the puncture needle may not be displayed at all. Further, even when the puncture needle can be displayed, the tip portion of the puncture needle is difficult to see. Therefore, we tried to make reflection echo easy to occur by making irregularities on the peripheral surface of the tip of the puncture needle or applying a special electroplating layer on the tip to make it easier for reflected echo to occur. It was difficult to get a clear idea of the location. For this reason, accurately grasping the position of the puncture needle in the organ depends on the experience and intuition of the operator, and no one can do it. Therefore, it cannot be said that the safety and reliability of the puncture procedure are improved.

Therefore, the present invention addresses such a problem and displays a color flow image of a puncture needle inserted in a target region of a subject so as to be superimposed on a tomographic image of the target region. An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with a puncture mechanism that can clearly display the position within a target site.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with a puncture mechanism according to the present invention is provided with a probe for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from a subject and adjacent to the probe. And a mechanical guide for guiding the insertion of the puncture needle toward the target site in the subject, and an ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving unit that drives the probe to generate ultrasonic waves and process received reflection echo signals. And a phasing unit for inputting a reception signal from the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit and giving a predetermined delay time for phasing addition, and a processing signal from the phasing unit for inputting a tomographic image of a target site in the subject. A B-mode image processing unit for forming an image,
Similarly, a color flow mapping unit that inputs a processed signal from the phasing unit to detect a Doppler frequency shift signal of a moving portion around a target region in the subject to form a color flow image, and the B-mode image processing unit. And a display device capable of displaying the tomographic image and the color flow image formed by the color flow mapping unit in a superimposed manner, wherein the color flow mapping unit has an input unit for color flow. A variable gain amplifier for changing the gain is provided in order to increase or decrease the color sensitivity of the image, and gain setting changing means for changing the gain setting of the variable gain amplifier is further provided, and the gain setting is changed for the gain setting changing means. Equipped with a changeover switch that commands the color flow image of the puncture needle inserted into the target site in the subject and a tomographic image of the target site. It is obtained so as to display by superimposing a.

Further, the change-over switch may be provided with a control section for time-divisionally changing a change command to the gain setting changing means for changing the gain setting of the variable gain amplifier.

[0008]

In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with a puncture mechanism configured as described above, the changeover switch provided in the input section of the color flow mapping section instructs the gain setting changing means to change the gain setting and receives the instruction. The gain setting changing means changes the gain setting of the variable gain amplifier, and as a result, the variable gain amplifier operates to change the gain in order to increase or decrease the color sensitivity of the color flow image. Thereby, when displaying the puncture needle, the color sensitivity of the color flow image is appropriately reduced, and the color flow image of the puncture needle inserted into the target site in the subject and the tomographic image of the target site are superimposed. It can be displayed, and the position of the puncture needle in the target site can be clearly displayed.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with a puncture mechanism according to the present invention. This ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with a puncture mechanism measures and displays a tomographic image of a target site in a subject using ultrasonic waves, and also inserts a puncture needle toward the target site to perform percutaneous biopsy or the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the probe 1, the mechanical guide 2, the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving unit 3, the phasing unit 4, and the B
Mode image processing unit 5, Doppler processing unit 6, reference signal generator 7, complex multiplication unit 8, speed calculation unit 9, and digital scan converter (hereinafter abbreviated as "DSC") 10
And a display device 11, and further the variable gain amplifier 1
2, a gain setting ROM 13, and a changeover switch 14.

The probe 1 transmits / receives ultrasonic waves to / from a target portion 16 in the subject 15, and is formed in a phased array type by arranging a large number of strip-shaped small transducers, for example. The ultrasonic beam 17 is configured within 15. The mechanical guide 2 guides insertion of the puncture needle 18 toward the target site 16 for percutaneous biopsy of the subject 15, and is provided adjacent to the extension of the probe 1 in the longitudinal direction. The block-shaped member is provided with an inward inclination to form a guide needle insertion hole.

The ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving section 3 drives the probe 1 to generate ultrasonic waves and processes the signal of the reflected echo received. Although not shown, the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving section 3 is provided inside the probe 1. Pulser that sends a driving pulse to the probe and its probe 1
It has a preamplifier that amplifies the reflected echo signal received by and a control circuit for them. Further, the phasing unit 4 receives the reception signal output from the ultrasonic receiving unit 3 and gives a predetermined delay time to perform phasing addition. It has a delay circuit for giving a delay time to the signal and an adder for adding the received signals after these delays are given, and the focus of the ultrasonic beam 17 is made to coincide with the target portion 16 in the subject 15. It is designed to let you.

The B-mode image processing section 5 inputs the processed signal outputted from the phasing section 4 and distributed to form a tomographic image of the target portion 16 in the subject 15, and the phasing section 4 After the analog signal such as compression / detection is applied to the distributed signal from A.D., it is converted into a digital signal by the built-in A / D converter and sampled. In addition, the Doppler processing unit 6
Similarly, the processed signal output from the phasing unit 4 and distributed is input to detect the Doppler frequency shift signal of the moving portion around the target region 16 in the subject 15 to form a Doppler mode image. After the time change of the frequency spectrum is extracted from the distributed signal from the unit 4, it is converted into a digital signal by the built-in A / D converter and sampled.

The complex multiplication unit 8 inputs the processed signal which is also output from the phasing unit 4 and distributed, and inputs the complex reference signal from the reference signal generator 7 to multiply both signals.
A complex signal that reflects the Doppler frequency shift is obtained, and is converted into a digital signal by an A / D converter (not shown) and sampled. The speed calculator 9 converts the complex signal reflecting the Doppler frequency shift from the complex multiplier 8 into a speed component and outputs it as digital data reflecting a color tone according to the direction of the speed. Then, the reference signal generator 7, the complex multiplication unit 8, and the velocity calculation unit 9 detect a Doppler frequency shift signal of a moving portion around the target portion 16 in the subject 15 to form a color flow image. It constitutes a flow mapping unit.

The DSC 10 inputs three kinds of digital data from the B-mode image processing unit 5, the Doppler processing unit 6 and the speed calculation unit 9 to perform a mixing process, and writes and reads them in the internal storage means, and D / A. It is converted into an analog signal by the converter and output. In addition, the display device 11
Is for inputting an analog image signal output from the DSC 10 and superimposing a black and white tomographic image, a color flow image, and the like, and is composed of, for example, a color television monitor.

Here, in the present invention, an input unit of the complex multiplication unit 8 constituting the color flow mapping unit is
A variable gain amplifier 12, a gain setting ROM 13 and a changeover switch 14 are provided. The variable gain amplifier 12 changes the gain in order to increase or decrease the color sensitivity of the color flow image, and is composed of, for example, a multiplication type D / A converter, and the distribution signal from the phasing unit 4 serves as a reference voltage input. A digital signal from a gain setting ROM 13 which will be described later is supplied as a digital input signal, and its output is determined by multiplication of both signals to realize a variable gain operation. Also, gain setting ROM
Reference numeral 13 is a gain setting changing means for changing the gain setting of the variable gain amplifier 12 and stores a gain setting value corresponding to an address, and the address is selected by switching the changeover switch 14 described later. It has become so. Further, the changeover switch 14 is for instructing the gain setting ROM 13 to change the gain setting, and is adapted to select the address of the gain setting ROM 13, and is provided on, for example, an operation panel (not shown). There is.

Next, the operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with a puncture mechanism constructed as described above will be described. First, the ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver 3 and the probe 1 are operated to transmit / receive an ultrasonic beam 17 to / from a target portion 16 in the subject 15, and the received signal output from the ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver 3 is phased. Part 4
And the B-mode image processing unit 5, and displays the tomographic image 19 of the target region 16 on the display device 11 via the DSC 10. In this state, in the ultrasonic puncture procedure, the operator inserts the puncture needle 18 toward the target region 16 of the subject 15 by the guide of the mechanical guide 2. At this time, the puncture needle 18 is manually inserted through the mechanical guide 2, but since the diameter of the needle insertion hole of the mechanical guide 2 is slightly large, the puncture needle 18 itself due to delicate vibration of the operator's hand. Is also vibrating subtly.

In the above, the ultrasonic pulse emitted from the probe 1 by the ultrasonic transmitting / receiving section 3 constitutes the ultrasonic beam 17 in the subject 15, and is reflected from the target portion 16 and the puncture needle 18 being inserted. The echoes received by the probe 1 and received by the ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver 3 are received by the phasing unit 4
Are input in parallel. Then, the phasing unit 4 performs phasing addition so that the focal point of the ultrasonic beam 17 matches the target region 16. Next, the phasing-added received signal is distributed to the B-mode image processing unit 5, the Doppler processing unit 6, and the complex multiplication unit 8 of the color flow mapping unit.

The B-mode image processing unit 5 subjects the distributed signal from the phasing unit 4 to analog processing such as compression / detection, and then samples it with an internal A / D converter to the DSC 10 which performs image forming processing. Supply. The Doppler processing unit 6 also detects the Doppler frequency shift from the distribution signal from the phasing unit 4, extracts the time change of the frequency spectrum, samples it with the built-in A / D converter, and forms an image. DSC10 to perform
Supply to. Further, the complex multiplication unit 8 inputs the distribution signal from the phasing unit 4 via the variable gain amplifier 12, and multiplies the output signal from the variable gain amplifier 12 by the complex reference signal from the reference signal generator 7. Then, a complex signal that reflects the Doppler frequency shift is obtained, sampled by an A / D converter (not shown), and supplied to the velocity calculator 9. The speed calculator 9 converts the Doppler frequency deviation into speed, and outputs DS as digital data that reflects a color tone according to the direction of the speed.
Supply to C10. Then, the above three types of digital data are mixed in the DSC 10, and for example, the target region 16 is a tomographic image (B mode image) 1 on the display device 11.
9, the puncture needle 18 is displayed as a color flow image 20 in a superimposed manner.

In this case, in the color flow mapping for drawing the running condition of the blood flow in color, in order to display the puncture needle 18 which is delicately vibrated by the manual insertion of the operator as the color flow image 20 by the Doppler effect, Since the puncture needle 18 is made of metal and has a high ultrasonic wave reflection intensity, the color sensitivity is significantly reduced as compared with the normal blood flow drawing, so that the display of the normal blood flow is hindered and the Doppler sensitivity is high. Only the puncture needle 18 is emphasized, and only the color flow image 20 of the puncture needle 18 is displayed. At this time, the reflected Doppler signal from the puncture needle 18 is about 20 to 20 times larger than the reflected signal from the blood flow in the target region 16.
Since the reflection intensity is as strong as 30 dB, it is difficult to display both simultaneously with ordinary color flow mapping.

Therefore, the gain of the variable gain amplifier 12 is changed to reduce the color sensitivity of the color flow image.
That is, the distribution signal from the phasing unit 4 is supplied as the reference voltage input of the variable gain amplifier 12, the digital signal from the gain setting ROM 13 is supplied as the digital input signal, and the output is determined by the multiplication of both signals, and the variable gain The operation of is realized. At this time, by operating the change-over switch 14, a “blood flow mode” for selecting a gain suitable for drawing the blood flow in the target region 16 and a “gain for drawing the puncture needle 18” are selected. The "puncture mode" is manually switched. Then, the variable gain amplifier 12 provides a gain corresponding to the address of the gain setting ROM 13 selected by the changeover switch 14, increases the gain when drawing a normal blood flow, and displays the puncture needle 18. If so, the gain is reduced. It is desirable to set the difference in gain between the two to about 20 to 30 dB. When the "puncture mode" is set, the subject 1
5, the color flow image 20 of the puncture needle 18 inserted into the target site 16 and the tomographic image 19 of the target site 16 can be displayed in a superimposed manner, and the position of the puncture needle 18 in the target site 16 can be determined. Can be clearly displayed.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a changeover switch 14 for instructing the gain setting ROM 13 to change the gain setting is connected to a control section 21 for time-divisionally changing the change instruction for the gain setting ROM 13. The control unit 21 has a mode selection switch 22 that switches between a mode in which the blood flow drawing and the puncture needle drawing are displayed separately or simultaneously, and a CPU (central processing unit) 23 that controls the overall operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. And data for switching the changeover switch 14 between the high gain side of blood flow drawing and the low gain side of puncture needle drawing in a time division manner according to the line address of transmission and reception of the ultrasonic beam 17.
It consists of OM24. In this case, the changeover switch 14 is, for example, an electronic switch.

When the mode selection switch 22 is set to the "separate display" mode, the changeover switch 14 shown in FIG.
The blood flow drawing image and the puncture needle drawing image are separately displayed, as if was manually switched to the “blood flow mode” or the “puncture mode”. When the mode selection switch 22 is set to the "simultaneous display" mode, in FIG.
A mode signal is sent to the ROM 24 via the CPU 23,
From the ROM 24, data for time-division switching between the high gain side for blood flow drawing and the low gain side for puncture needle drawing is read, and the changeover switch 14 composed of an electronic switch is turned on and off in a time sharing manner. As a result, as in the case shown in FIG.
The gain of 2 can be changed to reduce or restore the color sensitivity of the color flow image in a time division manner, and the puncture needle drawing and the blood flow drawing can be displayed on the screen of the display device 11 in a pseudo manner at the same time.

This state will be described with reference to FIG.
Changeover switch 14 according to the data read from OM24
Is turned on and off in a time division manner, and the ultrasonic beam 17
When the line address is in the transmission / reception direction, the blood flow drawing is switched to a high gain, and when the line address is in the same direction, the puncture needle drawing is switched to a low gain, and the line is transmitted / received in the next ultrasonic beam 17. For an address, switching to a high gain for drawing blood flow, and for a line address in the same direction as that, switching to a low gain for drawing a puncture needle, and so on. The high gain and the low gain are alternately switched in a time division manner. As a result, the puncture needle drawing and the blood flow drawing are displayed simultaneously in a pseudo manner as described above. In this case, the time ratio of the time division of the changeover of the changeover switch 14 may be unequal intervals depending on whether the operator is interested in drawing the blood flow or drawing the puncture needle.

[0024]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above,
The changeover switch provided in the input section of the color flow mapping section instructs the gain setting changing means to change the gain setting, and the gain setting changing means receives the instruction to change the gain setting of the variable gain amplifier. The gain can be changed by the variable gain amplifier to increase or decrease the color sensitivity of the color flow image. Thereby, when displaying the puncture needle, the color sensitivity of the color flow image is appropriately reduced, and the color flow image of the puncture needle inserted into the target site in the subject and the tomographic image of the target site are superimposed. It can be displayed, and the position of the puncture needle in the target site can be clearly displayed. Therefore, anyone can accurately grasp the position of the puncture needle in the target site without relying on the experience and intuition of the operator as in the past. From this,
The safety and reliability of the puncture procedure can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with a puncture mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a state in which a puncture needle drawing and a blood flow drawing are displayed simultaneously in a pseudo manner in the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Probe 2 ... Mechanical guide 3 ... Ultrasonic wave transmission / reception part 4 ... Phase adjusting part 5 ... B mode image processing part 6 ... Doppler processing part 7 ... Reference signal generator 8 ... Complex multiplication part 9 ... Velocity calculation part 10 ... DSC 11 ... Display device 12 ... Variable gain amplifier 13 ... Gain setting ROM 14 ... Changeover switch 15 ... Subject 16 ... Target site 18 ... Puncture needle 19 ... Tomographic image 20 ... Color flow image 21 ... Control unit 22 ... Mode selection switch

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A probe for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from a subject, and a mechanical guide provided adjacent to the probe for guiding insertion of a puncture needle toward a target site in the subject.
An ultrasonic wave transmission / reception unit that drives the probe to generate an ultrasonic wave and processes a signal of a reflected echo that is received, and a reception signal from the ultrasonic wave transmission / reception unit are input and a predetermined delay time is given to perform phasing. The phasing unit for addition, the B-mode image processing unit for inputting the processed signal from the phasing unit to form a tomographic image of the target region in the subject, and the processing signal for the phasing unit are also input. A color flow mapping unit that forms a color flow image by detecting a Doppler frequency shift signal of a moving portion around a target region in a subject, a tomographic image formed by the B-mode image processing unit and the color flow mapping unit, and In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with a puncture mechanism, comprising: a display device capable of displaying a color flow image in a superimposed manner, for increasing or decreasing the color sensitivity of the color flow image in the input section of the color flow mapping section. In addition to providing a variable gain amplifier for changing the gain, a gain setting changing means for changing the gain setting of the variable gain amplifier is provided, and a changeover switch for instructing the gain setting changing means to change the gain setting is provided. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with a puncture mechanism, wherein a color flow image of a puncture needle inserted into a target site in a sample and a tomographic image of the target site are displayed in a superimposed manner. 2. The change-over switch is equipped with a control section for time-divisionally changing a change command to a gain setting changing means for changing the gain setting of the variable gain amplifier. Ultrasonic diagnostic device with puncture mechanism.