JPH078497A - Ultrasonic diagnostic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an ultrasonic diagnostic device capable of making puncture while checking the puncture section by three-dimensional images and checking, in real time, a puncture needle by one time of an operation to insert an ultrasonic probe. CONSTITUTION:This ultrasonic diagnostic device is provided with an ultrasonic probe 1 having a puncture hole to be passed with the puncture needle and an ultrasonic transducer, image constituting sections 4, 6 for constituting the two-dimensional images and three-dimensional images from the image signals obtd. from the ultrasonic probe 1 and a display section 10 for displaying the two-dimensional images and three-dimensional images. The device described above has an image data constituting section 7 for displaying a marker in the puncture section in the three-dimensional images and displaying a puncture passage indicating line connecting this marker and the center of the puncture hole and a system control section 11 and console 12 for controlling the transducer position in such a manner that the puncture indicating line is included on the two-dimensional images and controlling the puncture hole position in such a manner that the puncture hole exists on the puncture passage indicating line.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus,
In particular, the present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of performing puncture while monitoring the inside of a subject with an ultrasonic image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A three-dimensional image of the inside of a subject is displayed in an intracorporeal ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that inserts an ultrasonic probe into the body cavity of a subject to visualize the wall of the body cavity and organs in the vicinity of the body cavity for diagnosis. A device for doing so has been proposed. However, in such an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, it takes time to form a three-dimensional image, and therefore, when the lesioned part is punctured by the puncture needle, the position of the puncture needle cannot be confirmed in real time. For this reason, first, an ultrasonic probe is inserted inside the subject for collection of three-dimensional image data, a three-dimensional image is displayed, and a lesion (puncture site) to be punctured is confirmed by the three-dimensional image. The sonic probe must be inserted into the subject again to perform the puncture, which increases the burden on both the operator and the subject.

[0003]

As described above, in the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for displaying a three-dimensional image, when performing a puncture, the position of the puncture needle cannot be confirmed in real time, so that the three-dimensional image is collected. For this purpose, a two-step probe insertion operation is required: inserting an ultrasonic probe inside the subject and confirming the puncture site with a three-dimensional image, and then inserting the ultrasonic probe inside the subject again to perform puncture. Therefore, there is a problem that both the operator and the subject are burdensome.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of confirming a puncture site by a three-dimensional image and performing puncture while confirming a puncture needle in real time with a single ultrasonic probe insertion operation. And

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention displays a three-dimensional image for confirming the puncture site and the position of the puncture needle in real time by one insertion operation of the ultrasonic probe. A two-dimensional image is displayed for monitoring with, and the puncture needle is positioned.

That is, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention is obtained from an ultrasonic probe having a puncture hole through which a puncture needle passes and an ultrasonic transducer for obtaining an image signal inside the subject, and the ultrasonic transducer. Two-dimensional image composing means for composing a two-dimensional image from image signals, three-dimensional image composing means for composing a three-dimensional image from image signals obtained from the ultrasonic transducer, two-dimensional image composing means and three-dimensional image An image display unit configured to display the two-dimensional image and the three-dimensional image configured by the configuration unit; and a marker setting unit configured to set a marker at a desired puncture site in the three-dimensional image displayed by the image display unit. A line connecting the marker set by the marker setting means and the center of the puncture hole is used as the puncture passage instruction line on the image display means. The ultrasonic wave so that a two-dimensional image including the puncture passage display means displayed in the three-dimensional image displayed and the puncture passage instruction line displayed by the puncture passage display means is displayed on the image display means. Transducer position control means for controlling the position state of the transducer, and puncture hole for controlling the position state of the puncture hole so that the puncture hole is located on the puncture path instruction line displayed by the puncture path display means. And a position control means.

[0007]

Function: The puncture site is confirmed by displaying a three-dimensional image near the puncture site inside the subject. When the operator sets a marker at the puncture site, a line connecting the marker and the center of the puncture hole is displayed in the three-dimensional image as a puncture passage display line. The puncture passage instruction line represents the passage through which the puncture needle should pass, and is located on a certain two-dimensional plane.

Therefore, by controlling the position state of the ultrasonic transducer in the ultrasonic probe, a two-dimensional image (tomographic image) of the cross section including the puncture passage instruction line is displayed, and the ultrasonic probe is further provided. The position of the puncture hole is controlled by controlling the position of the puncture hole so that the puncture hole is located on the puncture passage instruction line.

After positioning the puncture hole, the puncture needle is inserted to perform the puncture. Unlike the three-dimensional image, the two-dimensional image is a real-time image that can be obtained in a short time. Therefore, the puncture can be performed while the position of the puncture needle is monitored in real time by the two-dimensional image.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, an ultrasonic probe 1 is a probe for body cavity such as a transrectal probe, and is configured as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. 2 is a sectional view taken along the axial direction of the ultrasonic probe 1, and FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b) are sectional views taken along lines AA and BB of FIG. 2, respectively.

That is, the ultrasonic probe 1 is formed into a cylindrical shape as a whole, and the tip end side in the axial direction is the non-rotating portion 2.
1. The rotating portion 22 is configured such that the rear end side is rotatable around an axis.
Has become. The non-rotating part 21 is provided with an array type ultrasonic transducer 23 configured by arranging a plurality of piezoelectric vibrators on the circumference. The ultrasonic transducer 23 can be rotated in the direction of arrow a by the motor 24, and can be moved in the direction of arrow b, that is, the axial direction of the ultrasonic probe 1 by the screw 26 rotated by the motor 25 and the gear 27 meshing with the screw 26. Has become.
The motor 24 and the motor 25 are controlled by the transducer position control signal from the system control unit 11 in FIG. The end of the screw 26 opposite to the motor 25 is supported by a bearing 28.

Further, the non-rotating portion 21 is provided with a transducer position detector (not shown) which detects the position of the ultrasonic transducer 23 in the axial direction b and outputs transducer position information. The transducer position detector is composed of, for example, an encoder connected to the rotation shafts of the motors 24 and 25. The transducer position information output from the transducer position detector is supplied to the system control unit 11 in FIG.

On the other hand, the rotating portion 22 has a gear 29 provided on the inner periphery of the base end thereof, and a gear 30 and a gear 3 which mesh with the gear 29.
A motor 31 that rotates 0 can rotate about an axis indicated by an arrow c. A puncture hole 32 is formed in the rotating portion 22 obliquely with respect to the axial direction, and its center 33 is located on the axis of the rotating portion 22. At the time of puncturing, the puncture needle 34 is inserted into the patient subject through the puncture hole 32.

Further, the rotating portion 22 is provided with a puncture hole position detector for detecting the position state (mainly the angle) of the puncture hole 32 and outputting the puncture hole position information. The puncture hole position detector is composed of, for example, an encoder connected to the rotation shaft of the motor 31. The puncture position information output from the puncture hole position detector is supplied to the system control unit 11 in FIG. The cable 35 is for connecting the ultrasonic transducer 23 and the motors 24 and 25 in the non-rotating part 21 to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body.

Returning to FIG. 1, the ultrasonic probe 1 is connected to the ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver 2. The ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 2 is a circuit that supplies a driving pulse to the ultrasonic transducer 23 and receives and processes a reflected wave signal received by the ultrasonic transducer 23, and is configured as shown in FIG. 4, for example. To be done.

In FIG. 4, the pulse generator 4 is used during transmission.
The rate pulse that determines the repetition period of the ultrasonic pulse is output from 1. The rate pulse is input to the N-channel transmission delay circuit 42, where a delay time for electron focusing of the transmission beam is given, and then the rate pulse is supplied to the N-channel drive circuit 43. The drive circuit 43 drives the ultrasonic transducer 23 to generate a transmission pulse for generating an ultrasonic wave. The timing of the drive pulse is determined by the output of the transmission delay circuit 42.

The drive pulse output from the drive circuit 43 is the N ultrasonic transducers (basically N adjacent transducers) to be used at the time of transmission among the M ultrasonic transducers 23 by the electronic switch 44. To be selectively supplied. As a result, N ultrasonic transducers are driven, and ultrasonic pulses are emitted from the ultrasonic probe 1 in the form of a beam toward the inside of the subject (not shown).

The ultrasonic pulse radiated from the ultrasonic probe 1 to the inside of the subject is reflected inside the subject, and the reflected wave is received by the ultrasonic probe 1. At the time of receiving the reflected wave, the same ultrasonic transducer as that at the time of transmission is selected by the electronic switch 44, and only the reflected wave received by the selected ultrasonic transducer is taken out from the electronic switch 44 as a reflected wave signal. Electronic switch 44
The reflected wave signal taken out via is sent to the N-channel reception delay circuit 46, given a delay time similar to that of the transmission delay circuit 42, and then sent to the adder 47 to be added and synthesized. The output signal of the adder 47 is logarithmically compressed and amplified by the logarithmic amplifier 48, and further detected by the envelope detector 49.

The pulse generation timing of the pulse generator 41, the delay time of the transmission delay circuit 42, the ON / OFF of the electronic switch 44, and the delay time of the reception delay circuit 46 in FIG. 4 are controlled by the system control unit 11 in FIG. Controlled.

Returning to FIG. 1, the output signal of the ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver 2 (the output signal of the envelope detector 49 of FIG. 4).
Is converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 3 and becomes image data. This image data is first input to the two-dimensional image forming unit 4, where a two-dimensional image of an arbitrary cross section inside the subject, that is, a tomographic image (B mode image) on the cross section along the array direction of the ultrasonic transducers 23 is obtained. Is configured.

The two-dimensional image data obtained by the two-dimensional image construction unit 4 is input to the two-dimensional image storage unit 5, and the image data output from the two-dimensional image storage unit 5 is
It is input to the three-dimensional image construction unit 6, and three-dimensional image data is constructed here.

Two-dimensional image construction unit 4, two-dimensional image storage unit 5
The image data from the three-dimensional image construction unit 6 and the image data output from the image data construction unit 7 are input to the adder 8 and added. After the output signal of the adder 8 is converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 9,
It is input to the display unit 10 which is a TV monitor.

The system control unit 11 includes an ultrasonic probe 1
The ultrasonic transmitting / receiving unit receives the puncture hole position information from the puncture position detector provided in the ultrasonic probe 1, the transducer position information from the transducer position detector also provided in the ultrasonic probe 1 and the puncture site designation information from the console 12. 2, 2D image construction unit 4, 2D image storage unit 5, 3
This is a circuit for controlling the three-dimensional image construction unit 6 and the image data construction unit 7. The console 12 includes, for example, a trackball, and the display unit 1 is provided by the trackball.
It is configured so that the puncture site can be designated by a marker on the 0.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First,
The ultrasonic probe 1 is inserted into the body cavity of the subject, for example, the rectum, and the ultrasonic transducer 23 is moved stepwise in the axial direction b by the motor 25 to perform three-dimensional scanning.
That is, as shown in FIG.
The ultrasonic wave is transmitted and received through the ultrasonic wave transmitting and receiving section 2 in a state where the scanning surface 3 (the surface along the arrangement direction of the transducers 23) is oriented perpendicular to the axial direction b and is fixed at a position in the axial direction b. When this is performed, image data, which is tomographic image information on the cross section at that position, is obtained from the A / D converter 3. Therefore, if similar ultrasonic wave transmission / reception is repeated for each position in the axial direction b, the three-dimensional space Image data will be obtained.

The image data obtained from the ultrasonic probe 1 through the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving unit 2 and the A / D converter 3 by this three-dimensional scanning is first input to the two-dimensional image forming unit 4 and the two-dimensional image data. Is formed, and is further sent to the three-dimensional image forming unit 6 via the two-dimensional image storage unit 5 to form three-dimensional image data.

The two-dimensional image forming section 4
The dimensional image data is added to the adder 8 and D /
It is sent to the display unit 10 via the A converter 9 and is displayed in time series at any time, and is controlled by the system control unit 11 to correspond to transducer position information from the transducer position detector in the ultrasonic probe 1. Attached 2
It is stored in the three-dimensional image storage unit 5. The operator can selectively call the two-dimensional image data at any position from the two-dimensional image data stored in the two-dimensional image storage unit 5 and display it on the display unit 10.

The three-dimensional image construction unit 6 controls the system control unit 11 based on the angle from the viewpoint, the display direction, and the transducer position information from the transducer position detector input by the operator via the console 12. Thus, the two-dimensional image data stored in the two-dimensional image storage unit 5 forms three-dimensional image data. Based on the thus configured 3D image data, the display unit 10 displays a 3D image 50 as shown in FIG. 5, for example. In this three-dimensional image 50, 51 is a lesion, 52
Represents a blood vessel.

At this time, the operator designates the three points on the two-dimensional plane to be inspected in detail by the markers, so that the two-dimensional image data on the plane is constructed by the two-dimensional image construction unit 4,
It is also possible to instantaneously switch the two-dimensional image to the three-dimensional image display and display the two-dimensional image on the display unit 10 or display them in parallel.

Next, in the three-dimensional image 50 of FIG. 5 displayed on the display unit 10 by the operator, a marker such as a trackball on the console 12 is used at a site (puncture site) such as a lesion 51 to be punctured. Set. By this marker setting operation, the marker 53 and the line connecting the marker 53 and the center 33 of the puncture hole 32 shown in FIG. 2, that is, the puncture passage instruction line 54 is displayed in the three-dimensional image 50 by the marker setting operation. To be done. The puncture passage instruction line 54 represents the position where the puncture needle 34 shown in FIG. 2 should pass when puncturing.

The information indicating the marker 53 and the puncture passage instruction line 54 is configured as image data by the image data configuration unit 7 under the control of the system control unit 11. The image data configured by the image data configuration unit 7 is input to the adder 8 and combined with the image data from the two-dimensional image configuration unit 4, the two-dimensional image storage unit 5 and the three-dimensional image configuration unit 6. As a result, the marker 53 and the puncture passage instruction line 54 are superposed and displayed on the two-dimensional image and the three-dimensional image on the display unit 10.

At this time, the operator confirms that the puncture passage instruction line 54 does not pass through the blood vessel 52 or an organ other than the puncture target, and if it passes, the console 12 is operated and the system control unit 11 is operated. Then, the motor 31 in the ultrasonic probe 1 is controlled to rotate the rotating portion 22 to adjust the position state of the puncture hole 32 or the insertion state (angle or the like) of the probe 1.

In this way, after the operator confirms that the puncture passage instruction line 54 is displayed at the appropriate position in the three-dimensional image 50, when the operator instructs the confirmation by the console 12, the system control unit 11 The motors 24 and 25 are controlled by the control from. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the ultrasonic transducer 23 in the ultrasonic probe 1 is moved in the direction of arrow a so that the two-dimensional image 55 including the puncture passage instruction line 54 is displayed on the display unit 10, as shown in FIG. By being rotated to or moved in the direction of arrow b,
The position control of the ultrasonic transducer 23 is performed. In the state of FIG. 7, the ultrasonic transducer 23 is position-controlled so as to obtain a two-dimensional image on a cross section along the axial direction b.

At the same time, the motor 31 is also controlled by the control of the system control unit 11, and the puncture hole 32 is formed on the puncture passage instruction line 54 of the two-dimensional image 55 as shown in FIG.
The positional state of the puncture hole 32 is controlled so that is positioned.
That is, the puncture hole 32 is positioned.

In this way, the operator performing the puncture checks the puncture site in the three-dimensional image, and then the puncture hole 3 is positioned so that the puncture hole 32 is located on the puncture passage instruction line 54 on the two-dimensional image.
Accurate puncture can be performed while performing the positioning of 2 and confirming the position and movement of the puncture needle 34 in real time by the two-dimensional image.

In the above embodiment, the ultrasonic transducer 23 is position-controlled so that the two-dimensional image 55 including the puncture passage instruction line 54 is displayed on the display unit 10, and the two-dimensional image 55 is displayed. The position control (positioning) of the puncture hole so that the puncture hole 32 is positioned on the puncture passage instruction line 54 is automatically performed by the control from the system control unit 11. It may be manually performed by operating the console 12 while looking at the above screen. Besides, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications can be carried out.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, a marker is set at a desired puncture site in a three-dimensional image of the inside of a subject, and a puncture passage indicator line connecting the marker and the center of the puncture hole is set. The position of the ultrasonic transducer is controlled so that the two-dimensional image including the puncture passage instruction line is displayed, and the position of the puncture hole is controlled so that the puncture hole is positioned on the puncture passage instruction line. By doing,
It is possible to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of confirming a puncture site with a three-dimensional image and further performing accurate puncture while confirming the puncture needle in real time with a two-dimensional image.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the ultrasonic probe unit in FIG. 1 and a state at the time of collecting three-dimensional image data.

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA and the line BB of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an ultrasonic wave transmission / reception unit in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of a three-dimensional image in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which a marker and a puncture passage instruction line are displayed on the three-dimensional image of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state when the ultrasonic probe of FIG. 2 is punctured.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display example of a two-dimensional image at the time of puncturing in the same embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ultrasonic probe 2 ... Ultrasonic wave transmission / reception part 3 ... A / D converter 4 ... Two-dimensional image construction part 5 ... Two-dimensional image storage part 6 ... Three-dimensional image construction part 7 ... Image data storage part 8 ... Adder 9 ... D / A converter 10 ... Display section 11 ... System control section 12 ... Console 21 ... Non-rotating section 22 ... Rotating section 23 ... Ultrasonic transducer 24 ... Rotating motor 25 ... Moving motor 26 ... Screw 27 ... Gear 28 ... Bearing 29 ... Gear 30 ... Gear 31 ... Puncture position control motor 32 ... Puncture hole 33 ... Puncture hole center 34 ... Puncture needle 35 ... Cable 50 ... Three-dimensional image 51 ... Puncture site 52 ... Blood vessel 53 ... Marker 54 ... Puncture passage instruction Line 55 ... 2D image

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Toru Hirano 1385-1 Shimoishigami, Otawara-shi, Tochigi Stock company Toshiba Nasu factory (72) Inventor Yoshitaka Mine 1385 Shimoishi-ue, Otawara, Tochigi Company Toshiba Nasu Plant (72) Inventor Takeshi Sato 1 Stock No. 1385 Shimoishigami, Otawara, Tochigi Prefecture Toshiba Nasu Factory No. 1 (72) Inventor Shin Hirama 1385 No. 1 Shimoishi, Otawara City, Tochigi Stock Company Toshiba Nasu Plant (72) Inventor Akihiro Sano 1385-1 Shimoishigami, Otawara City, Tochigi Prefecture Stock Company Toshiba Nasu Plant

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ultrasonic probe having a puncture hole through which a puncture needle passes and an ultrasonic transducer for obtaining an image signal inside a subject, and a two-dimensional image is constructed from the image signal obtained from the ultrasonic transducer. Two-dimensional image composing means, three-dimensional image composing means for composing a three-dimensional image from the image signal obtained from the ultrasonic transducer, two-dimensional image composed of the two-dimensional image composing means and the three-dimensional image composing means And image display means for displaying a three-dimensional image, marker setting means for setting a marker at a desired puncture site in the three-dimensional image displayed by the image display means, and the marker setting means. The line connecting the marker and the center of the puncture hole is displayed in the three-dimensional image displayed by the image display means as a puncture passage instruction line. And a transducer for controlling the position of the ultrasonic transducer so that a two-dimensional image including the puncture passage display means and the puncture passage indication line displayed by the puncture passage display means is displayed on the image display means. A position control means, and a puncture hole position control means for controlling the position state of the puncture hole so that the puncture hole is positioned on the puncture passage instruction line displayed by the puncture passage display means. And ultrasonic diagnostic equipment.