JPH0736819B2 - Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment with cineloop memory - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a cineloop memory for storing data of a predetermined period of data obtained from reflected echo signals.

[Conventional technology]

Generally, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus transmits an ultrasonic wave from an ultrasonic transducer called a probe into a living body such as a human body, and analyzes a reflected ultrasonic echo from the living body to determine an internal tissue structure in the living body. And blood flow information.

In such an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, an apparatus provided with a cine loop memory is provided. Cineloop memory
When the diagnostic image is frozen, the diagnostic image data within a predetermined period near the freeze timing is stored. Therefore, by reading and reproducing the contents of the cine loop memory after freezing, it is possible to observe images before and after the freeze timing, and to record and measure even if the freeze timing is inappropriate. Become.

Recently, an apparatus provided with a cine loop memory having a large storage capacity has been proposed, and images of a plurality of frames can be stored in the cine loop memory and multi-screen display can be performed on one CRT. .

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

When data is reproduced from the cine loop memory for multi-screen display, for example, when two-screen simultaneous moving image reproduction is performed, the frame rate of one screen is halved. In addition, when playing back four screens simultaneously, the frame rate drops to 1/4. When the frame rate is lowered in this way, the diagnosis image is distorted for the diagnosis of the circulatory system site, and the accurate diagnosis cannot be performed.

In order to perform multi-screen simultaneous playback without reducing the frame rate, it is conceivable to increase the transmission frequency. For example, when two-screen simultaneous moving image display is performed, if the transmission frequency is doubled as compared with the conventional device, reproduction can be performed at a normal frame rate. However, when the transmission frequency is increased, there is a problem in that the reflected echo of the preceding wave adversely affects the next image due to the reverberation reception wave, a virtual image appears in the displayed image, and causes a false diagnosis.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with a cine loop memory, which can perform multi-screen display with a simple configuration without lowering the frame rate.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with a cineloop memory according to the present invention has a cineloop memory for storing data of a predetermined period of data obtained from a reflected echo signal, and stores the data stored in the cineloop memory as one data. Multi-screen simultaneous reproduction is possible on the display device, and is provided with a clock frequency setting means, a condition setting means, and a read clock control means. The clock frequency setting means is means for setting the frequency of the clock signal for writing data to the cine loop memory and the frequency of the reading clock signal. The condition setting means is means for setting the number of screens to be simultaneously reproduced on the display device. The read clock control means is a means for controlling the frequency of the read clock signal of the data from the cine loop memory according to the number of screens set by the condition setting means.

[Action]

In the present invention, during normal operation, ultrasonic waves are transmitted at the transmission timing set by the clock frequency setting means, and a display image is obtained at the same timing as this transmission timing. At this time, the display image data is stored in the cine loop memory at the same timing as the transmission timing.

Next, when reproduction of the cine loop memory is instructed from a condition setting means such as a keyboard on the operation panel, or when a two-screen display is instructed, the reading clock control means changes the clock in response to the instruction. By controlling the frequency setting means, the frequency of the read clock signal of the cine loop memory is set to be twice the frequency of the write clock signal. As a result, even when two screens are simultaneously reproduced as a moving image, the one screen can be reproduced at the same frame rate as the frame rate when the cineloop memory is stored.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a schematic block configuration diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with a cine loop memory according to an embodiment of the invention.

The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is composed of a probe 1 and a diagnostic apparatus main body to which the probe 1 is detachably attached. The probe 1 is composed of a plurality of minute vibrators.
The diagnostic apparatus main body has a wave sending unit 2 and a wave receiving unit 4, and the wave sending unit 2 is connected to a timing generation unit 3 for setting the wave sending timing and the like. The wave transmitter 2 and the wave receiver 4 are connected to the probe 1, the wave transmitter 2 includes a delay circuit, a pulser, and the like, and the wave receiver 4 includes a delay circuit, an amplifier, and the like. The wave receiving unit 4 is connected with a wave detecting unit 5 for detecting a received analog signal and an A / D converting unit 6 for converting an analog output signal of the wave detecting unit 5 into a digital signal. The output of the A / D converter 6 is input to the data processor 7. The data processing section 7 performs processing such as smoothing and edging on the output from the A / D conversion section 6.

A digital scan converter 8 for converting data into a signal for CRT display is connected to the data processing unit 7. The output of the digital scan converter 8 is input to the image memory 9, and the image memory 9 is connected to the display device 10 composed of a CRT.

The output of the data processing unit 7 is a digital scan
It is input to the converter 8 and also to the cine loop memory 11 via the data bus. The cine-loop memory 11 continuously stores image data for a predetermined period while sequentially updating it. The cine loop memory 11 is a central processing unit that controls the entire device.
Cine address is sent from 12. An operation panel 13 as a condition setting means is connected to the central processing control section 12. Further, the cine-loop memory 11 and the digital scan converter 8 are adapted to receive data from the biological signal measuring section 14. The data from the biological signal measuring unit 14 is input to the display device 10 via the digital scan converter 8.

The timing generation unit 3 is for setting the transmission timing from the transmission unit 2 and for setting the data writing period and the data reading period in the cine loop memory 11. Then, as shown in FIG.
It is composed of a frequency division register 16. Divider register 16
On the basis of control data from the central processing unit 12, the basic clock signal output from the oscillating unit 15 is frequency-divided and the clock signal is sent to the transmitting unit 2 and the central processing unit 12.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

When a main switch (not shown) is turned on, initialization is performed in step S1. In this initialization step, the operation mode is set to B mode, and each parameter is set to the initial value. In addition, the reference data is output to the timing generation unit 3, so that the timing generation unit 3 outputs about
A clock signal having a cycle of 300 μs is output to the wave transmitting unit 2 and the central processing unit 12.

In the B mode, the received analog signal from the receiving unit 4 is input to the detection unit 5, and the echo signal subjected to the detection processing is A / D.
The conversion unit 6 converts the digital signal. This digital signal is input to the data processing unit 7 and subjected to data processing such as smoothing and edging. Then, the processed data is stored in the digital scan converter 8 and also in the cine loop memory 11.
Further, the biological signal data from the biological signal measuring unit 14 is also stored in the cine loop memory 11. The digital scan converter 8 performs linear conversion or sector conversion as needed, performs beam interpolation, and outputs data to the image memory 9. The data stored in the image memory 9 is output to the display device 10 and the B mode image is displayed on the CRT.
Displayed above. At this time, change the number of B-mode display beams
With around 120 lines, the display image rate is about 30 frame rates.

In addition, in the recent two-dimensional blood flow color display mode,
Since the data processing unit 7 requires a large amount of original data for data processing (about 8 times or more) and the processing time also increases, the frame rate is maintained by narrowing the display range, performing thinning scanning, and the like. Also, for parts such as the abdomen,
Since image distortion does not occur even if the frame rate is reduced, there are cases where the image quality is displayed as an important point without skipping the scanning and narrowing the display range.

Next, in step S2, it is determined whether or not an interrupt signal is generated. The interrupt signal is generated by a clock signal from the timing generator 3 or a key input from the operation panel 13, and the interrupt signal by the clock signal from the timing generator 3 is prioritized.

The clock signal from the timing generator 3 is generated in a predetermined cycle based on the data set in the frequency dividing register 16 from the central processing unit 12, so if this clock signal is generated, the step The process moves to step S4 via S2 and step S3. In step S4, it is determined whether or not the cine loop reproduction mode is set. If the instruction for cineloop reproduction has not been input from the operation panel 13, NO is determined in step S4 and the process proceeds to step S5. In step S5, a transmission / reception subroutine is executed. That is, a code for transmitting the ultrasonic beam is output to the wave transmitting unit 2. Based on this code, the wave transmission unit 2 sets the focus in a predetermined direction and at a predetermined depth position, and transmits the ultrasonic beam from the probe 1. On the other hand, the reflected echo is received by the wave receiving unit 4 and output to each signal processing system in the subsequent stage.

In this way, the B-mode image is displayed on the CRT of the display device 10.

Next, a case where the operation panel 13 gives an instruction for a cine loop reproduction operation will be described.

When this key operation is performed, an interrupt signal is generated, and steps S2 to S3 and step S6 are followed by step S7.
Move to. In step S7, the code of the operated key is analyzed. In step S8, it is determined whether or not the code of the key indicates the cineloop reproduction mode, and when it is determined that the key code indicates the cineloop reproduction mode, the process proceeds to step S9. In step S9, the operation mode is set to the cine loop playback mode, and step S1
Move to 0. In step S10, reproduction conditions are read. That is, it is detected whether the two-screen simultaneous moving image reproduction is instructed on the operation panel 13 or the four-screen simultaneous moving image reproduction is instructed. In step S11, the read cycle is determined based on this reproduction condition data, and this is sent to the frequency division register 16 of the timing generator 3 as control data.

For example, if two-screen simultaneous video playback is instructed,
The cycle of the clock signal from the timing generator 3 is set to be half the cycle of the clock signal at the time of writing in the cine loop memory. As a result, the timing generator 3 generates a clock signal having a frequency twice the frequency of the clock signal at the time of cineloop writing.

If there is an instruction from the operation panel 13 to set the operation mode to the M mode, for example, the program proceeds from step S8 to step S12. In step S12, a subroutine for the M mode corresponding to the analyzed code is executed.

After performing the process of step S11 or step S12, the process proceeds to step S13. In this step S13, the process temporarily saved at the time of interruption is continuously executed, and when this process is completed, the process returns to step S2 again.

In this way, in the reproduction mode of the cine loop memory, when the two-screen simultaneous moving image reproduction is instructed, the timing generation unit 3 outputs a clock signal having a frequency twice that at the time of writing. When this clock signal is generated, the program moves from step S3 to step S4. Then, since the operation mode is set to the cine loop reproduction mode in step S9 described above, the program proceeds from step S4 to step S14. In step S14, the cine address for reading the data from the cine loop memory 11 is calculated. Then, in step S15, the cine address calculated in step S14 is sent to the register of the cine loop memory 11, whereby the data stored in the cine loop memory 11 is sequentially sent to the digital scan converter 8 via the data bus. To be done.

The processes of steps S3, S4, S14, and S15 are performed for each clock signal output from the timing generator 3 and having a frequency twice as high as that at the time of writing. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the B-mode moving image F1 synchronized with the R wave R1 on the first screen is displayed based on the EGC waveform of the biological signal, and the R image on the second screen is displayed.
The B-mode moving image F2 synchronized with the wave R2 is displayed. At this time, the read cycle is half the cycle at the time of writing to the cine loop memory, so that two-screen simultaneous moving image reproduction of the images F1 and F2 can be performed at the same frame rate.

As described above, in the present embodiment, since the two-screen simultaneous moving image reproduction can be performed at the same frame rate as that at the time of writing, for example, the diagnosis can be performed on the long-axis and short-axis heartbeat synchronous simultaneous moving images of the heart in the circulatory system part. Moreover, the timing generator 3
It can be realized only by changing the frequency division ratio, and the hardware configuration does not become complicated as compared with the conventional device.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the frame rate at which data is stored in the cine loop memory and the frame rate at the time of reproduction can be made different. Playback can be performed at the same display image frame rate as above, and especially when diagnosing circulatory system parts, it is possible to display diagnostic images of the long axis and short axis of the heart at the same heartbeat at the same time, and improve diagnostic efficiency. To do.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with cineloop memory according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram of a timing generator of the apparatus, FIG. 3 is a control flowchart of the apparatus, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the display screen. 3 ... Timing generating section, 11 ... Cineloop memory, 12 ... Central processing unit section, 13 ... Operation panel, 15 ... Oscillating section, 16 ... Dividing register.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cineloop memory for storing data of a predetermined period of data obtained from a reflected echo signal, and the data stored in the cineloop memory is simultaneously reproduced on one display device in multi-screens. In a possible ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a clock frequency setting means for setting a frequency of a clock signal for writing data to the cine-loop memory and a frequency of a read clock signal, and a screen for simultaneous reproduction on the display device. A condition setting means for setting the number, and a frequency of a clock signal for reading data from the cine loop memory, which is set by the clock frequency setting means, according to the number of screens set by the condition setting means An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with a cine-loop memory, comprising: