JPH09220226A - Ultrasonic diagnostic system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To clearly display the range of a reproduction time phase by the slow motion display at the time of displaying images by slow motion while fetching real time ultrasonic tomographic images. SOLUTION: Inside a biological waveform display part 5, a marker memory 13 for writing a certain time phase marker on a biological waveform as the start painter of slow motion reproduction and writing the end pointer of the reproduction is provided and a reproduction time phase range display part 14 for turning the image display of a prescribed range between the start pointer and the end pointer on the marker memory 13 to the display different from the, other time phase is provided. Thus, at the time of displaying the images by the slow motion while fetching the ultrasonic tomographic images of the real time, the range of the reproduction time phase by the slow motion display is clearly displayed.

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 for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to a diagnostic site in a subject, collecting and displaying a tomographic image of the diagnostic site, and particularly capturing a real-time ultrasonic tomographic image. However, the present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of clearly displaying the range of the reproduction time phase by the slow motion display when the image is displayed in the slow motion.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of this type is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, a probe 1 that transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from a diagnostic site in a subject, and an ultrasonic beam is generated by driving the probe 1 to emit ultrasonic waves and amplifying a received reflected echo signal. The ultrasonic transmitting / receiving unit 2 to be formed, and the digital scan converter unit (hereinafter referred to as “DSC”) for converting the ultrasonic beam data from the ultrasonic transmitting / receiving unit 2 into image data for display.
3), a biological signal detection unit 4 that detects and amplifies the biological signal of the subject, and a biological waveform display unit 5 that displays the biological signal from the biological signal detection unit 4 as a biological waveform. It has a cine memory unit 6 for recording a plurality of ultrasonic beam data from the DSC unit 3 for each ultrasonic scanning, and a display device 7 for displaying the image data from the DSC unit 3 as an ultrasonic tomographic image. It was possible to display the image in slow motion while capturing the real-time ultrasonic tomographic image. Note that the image display is such that the same screen of the display device 7 is divided into two areas, a real-time image is displayed on one side and a slow motion image is displayed on the other side. Such image display is referred to as real-time slow motion display or on the fly slow motion display.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 8 is the DSC unit 3.
Fig. 1 shows a console having a keyboard for inputting various operation commands, a trackball, and the like. Although not shown, the biological waveform display unit 5 also has a waveform memory for inputting a biological signal (for example, an electrocardiographic signal) detected by the biological signal detection unit 4 therein and recording the waveform signal, and this waveform memory. And a display signal creating section for creating a signal for display by inputting the waveform signal from.

Here, the above-mentioned real-time slow-motion display means, as shown in FIG. 4, a trigger point Tp at an arbitrary time phase on the electrocardiographic waveform 9 shown in FIG. As shown in (b), a plurality of real-time ultrasonic images (F ₁ , F ₂ , F ₃ ,
F ₄ , ...) While fetching to the cine memory unit 6 shown in FIG. 1, the fetched ultrasonic image data is read from the cine memory unit 6 at the slow motion display timing shown in (c), so that the slow motion is displayed during real time display. The motion is displayed. At this time, in order to indicate the trigger point Tp, a time-phase marker 10 is set up on the electrocardiographic waveform 9 as shown in FIG. 4A. The time-phase marker 10 is the slow motion shown in FIG. 4C. reference numeral 10 ₁ as shown in the diagram (a) in accordance with advances in display,
It moves sequentially like 10 ₂ . And the electrocardiographic waveform 9
At the time of entering the second heartbeat, the temporal marker 10 ₂ moving on the electrocardiographic waveform 9 is displayed by jumping to the position corresponding to the trigger point Tp of the second heartbeat as indicated by reference numeral 10 '. It was supposed to be done.

[0005]

However, in the real-time slow motion display in such a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), an arbitrary time phase on the electrocardiographic waveform 9 is set as a trigger point Tp. Then, the time phase marker 10 is set up here to start the slow motion display as shown in FIG. 4C, and the time phase markers are sequentially moved as 10 ₁ and 10 _{2 as} the slow motion display progresses. Therefore, on the electrocardiographic waveform 9 shown in FIG. 4 (a), there is no display indicating which time phase to which time phase the slow reproduction has been performed, and the range of the reproduction time phase by the slow motion display cannot be known. there were. In particular, the start point of the slow motion display can be set to an arbitrary time phase at the trigger point Tp, but the end point is indicated by the reference numeral 10 ₂ shown in FIG. 4 (a) due to the arrival of the trigger point Tp in the next heartbeat.
Since it is jumped and displayed as → 10 ', the position on the electrocardiographic waveform 9 could not be accurately grasped.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, since the end point 10e of the time phase marker of the first heartbeat depends on the time phase marker 10 'standing at the trigger point of the second heartbeat, the time of the first heartbeat is reduced. If the time of the second heartbeat at T ₁ is T ₂ (T ₁ <T ₂ ), the number of ultrasonic images in slow motion display is greater in the second heartbeat. However, as described above, the range of the reproduction time phase by the slow motion display is not known, and it is not known how much time phase the ultrasonic image is captured. Therefore, it is impossible for the operator to arbitrarily set the range to be reproduced by the slow-motion display, from which time phase to which time phase.

Therefore, the present invention addresses such a problem, and when a real-time ultrasonic tomographic image is captured and the image is displayed in slow motion, the range of the reproduction time phase by the slow motion display is clarified. It is an object to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can display.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention includes a probe for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from a diagnostic site in a subject, and driving the probe. An ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving unit that emits ultrasonic waves and amplifies the received reflected echo signal to form an ultrasonic beam, and a digital scan converter that converts the ultrasonic beam data from the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving unit into image data for display. Section, a biological signal detection section for detecting and amplifying a biological signal of the subject, a biological waveform display section for displaying a biological signal from this biological signal detection section as a biological waveform, and a digital scan converter section Cine memory unit that records multiple ultrasonic beam data for each ultrasonic scan, and image data from the digital scan converter unit is displayed as an ultrasonic tomographic image. In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of displaying a real-time ultrasonic tomographic image in slow motion while capturing the real-time ultrasonic tomographic image, in the biological waveform display section, an arbitrary time phase on the biological waveform is displayed. A marker memory for writing a marker as a start pointer for slow motion playback and writing an end pointer for that playback is provided, and an image display in a predetermined range between the start pointer and the end pointer on this marker memory is different from other phases. A reproduction time phase range display section for displaying differently is provided to clearly display the range of the reproduction time phase by the real-time slow motion display.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the overall configuration showing an embodiment of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention. This ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is capable of transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from a diagnostic site in a subject, collecting and displaying a tomographic image of the diagnostic site, and displaying the image in slow motion while capturing a real-time ultrasonic tomographic image. I did it,
As shown in FIG. 1, a probe 1, an ultrasonic wave transceiver 2,
DSC unit 3, biological signal detection unit 4, biological waveform display unit 5
And a cine memory unit 6 and a display device 7.

The probe 1 transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to a diagnostic site in the subject. Although not shown in the drawing, the probe 1 is a source of ultrasonic waves and an ultrasonic wave which receives reflected echoes. It has a sound wave oscillator. The ultrasonic transceiver 2 is
The probe 1 is driven to emit an ultrasonic wave, and the reflected echo signal received is amplified to form an ultrasonic beam. Although not shown, a drive pulse is sent to the probe 1 inside. And a preamplifier for amplifying the reflected echo signal received by the probe 1.
The DSC unit 3 receives the ultrasonic beam data output from the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit 2 and converts the ultrasonic beam data into image data for display. The DSC unit 3 creates a black and white tomographic image of the diagnostic region. There is.

The biological signal detecting section 4 detects and amplifies a biological signal of a subject, and is, for example, an electrocardiograph for detecting an electrocardiographic signal, and has electrodes on the hands and feet of the subject. It is supposed to be attached. In addition, the biological waveform display unit 5
Is for inputting a biological signal output from the biological signal detecting unit 4 and displaying it as a biological waveform. Inside, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, a waveform memory 11 for recording a signal of an electrocardiographic waveform, It has a display signal creation unit 12 which creates a signal for display by inputting the waveform signal from the waveform memory 11.

The cine memory unit 6 records a plurality of ultrasonic beam data output from the DSC unit 3 for each ultrasonic scanning. Then, the display device 7 has the above-mentioned D
Image data output from the SC unit 3 is input and displayed as an ultrasonic tomographic image, and a D / A converter that converts digital image data into an analog signal and a television monitor that displays an analog video signal as an image have.

Here, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, a marker memory 13 and a reproduction time phase range display unit 14 are added inside the biological waveform display unit 5. The marker memory 13 is for writing an arbitrary time phase marker on the biological waveform as a start pointer for slow motion reproduction and also for writing an end pointer for the reproduction, and inputs a biological signal output from the biological signal detection unit 4. A time phase marker set at an arbitrary time phase timing is detected and written as a start pointer or an end pointer. Also, the playback phase range display section 1
Reference numeral 4 is for displaying an image in a predetermined range between the start pointer and the end pointer on the marker memory 13 differently from other phases, for example, a predetermined area between the start pointer and the end pointer. The range is given a specific color, the line on the biological waveform in the predetermined range is thickened, or the black and white shading of the line on the biological waveform in the predetermined range is changed.

The marker memory 13 and the reproduction time phase range display section 14 have the same size. The memory size of the cine memory unit 6 may not be the same as the size of the marker memory 13 and the reproduction time phase range display unit 14. Then, the output signals from the marker memory 13 and the reproduction time phase range display section 14 are the same as the output signals from the waveform memory 11 in the display signal creating section 12.
The display signal from the display signal creating section 12 is input to the DSC section 3.

Next, the operation of the biological waveform display section 5 in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention thus constructed will be described. First, when a tomographic image is collected in real time with respect to a diagnostic region of a subject and the tomographic image is displayed on the screen of the display device 7, for example, the lower part of the screen is displayed as shown in FIG.
As shown in, the electrocardiographic waveform 9 as the biological waveform is displayed. Next, by operating the console 8 shown in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 4A, an arbitrary time phase on the electrocardiographic waveform 9, for example, a certain timing starting from the R wave is set as a trigger point Tp. Set phase marker 10. At this time, the time phase marker 10 is displayed on the electrocardiographic waveform 9 on the screen of the display device 7, and the slow motion display start pointer is displayed at an address Ad ₀ on the marker memory 13 as shown in FIG. Written as Ps.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4C, the slow motion display progresses, and when the slow motion image is updated from the first frame F ₁ to the second frame F ₂ , FIG.
At the other address Ad ₁ on the marker memory 13 shown in FIG. 2, the end pointer Pe for slow motion display is written, and a color display of, for example, 5 pixels between the start pointer Ps and the end pointer Pe is displayed at the time of reproduction shown in FIG. Change the phase range display section 14 and change the address
_The time phase marker 10 ₁ shown in FIG. 4A is displayed on the time phase on the electrocardiographic waveform 9 corresponding to ₁ .

From this point, the slow motion display of the second frame F ₂ starts as shown in FIG. 4C, and at the time of updating to the next frame, the end pointer Pe of the address Ad _{1 in} FIG. 3 is erased, Move to another address Ad ₂ on the marker memory 13 and move to the end pointer P
While writing e ′, the time phase marker 10 ₂ is displayed at the corresponding time phase on the electrocardiographic waveform 9 as shown in FIG. Then, the color display of, for example, 5 pixels between the erased previous end pointer Pe and the moved new end pointer Pe 'in FIG. 3 is changed by the reproduction phase range display unit 14 shown in FIG. As a result, the color display from the start pointer Ps at the address Ad ₀ to the end pointer Pe ′ at another address Ad ₂ in FIG. 3 is changed, and the color display from the position of the temporal marker 10 to 1 in FIG.
Time phase marker 10 when the slow motion display of the heartbeat ends
The color display of the electrocardiographic waveform 9 up to the position ₂ can be changed.

Next, when the second heartbeat is entered in FIG. 4 (a), the next time phase marker 1 is set as a trigger point Tp at a certain timing with the R wave as the starting point as described above.
It is only necessary to set 0'and thereafter repeat the same operation as described above.
As a result, in the electrocardiographic waveform 9 shown in FIG. 4A, the positions of all the time phases finally displayed in slow motion are displayed in different colors, and the real time slow motion display indicates the time phase of reproduction. The range is clearly displayed at each heartbeat from the start point Ps to the end point Pe '. Therefore, for example, only by freezing the display image and then designating an arbitrary reproduction time phase range by inputting the start point and end pointer, the slow motion image in the reproduction time phase range can be easily reproduced. Also,
If the tomographic image data of only the time phase of interest reproduced in slow motion as described above is recorded in the cine memory unit 6 shown in FIG. 1, the memory capacity of the cine memory unit 6 can be effectively used.

[0019]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above,
A marker memory for writing a certain temporal marker on the biological waveform as a start pointer for slow motion playback and writing the end pointer for that playback is provided in the biological waveform display section, and between the start pointer and end pointer on this marker memory. By providing a reproduction time phase range display section for displaying the image of a predetermined range of the image differently from other time phases, when displaying the image in slow motion while capturing the real-time ultrasonic tomographic image, The range of the reproduction time phase can be clearly displayed by the slow motion display. Therefore, it is possible to know which time phase range of the ultrasonic image is captured in the real-time slow motion display, and by using this, the operator can determine which time phase to which time phase the reproduction range is based on the slow motion display. You can set whatever you want to.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a biological waveform display unit.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing recorded contents of a marker memory.

FIG. 4 is a timing diagram for explaining the operation of real-time slow motion display.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing display of a reproduction range by moving a time phase marker in a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 probe 2 ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving section 3 DSC section 4 biological signal detecting section 5 biological waveform display section 6 cine memory section 7 display device 8 operation console 9 electrocardiographic waveform 10, 10 ₁ , 10 ₂ , 10 ', 10 "time phase Marker 11 Waveform memory 12 Display signal creation unit 13 Marker memory 14 Reproduction time phase range display unit Ps Start pointer Pe, Pe 'End pointer

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A probe for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves to and from a diagnostic site in a subject, and for driving the probe to emit ultrasonic waves and amplifying a received reflected echo signal to form an ultrasonic beam. An ultrasonic transmitter / receiver unit, a digital scan converter unit for converting the ultrasonic beam data from the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver unit into image data for display, a biological signal detecting unit for detecting and amplifying a biological signal of a subject, A biological waveform display unit for displaying a biological signal from the biological signal detection unit as a biological waveform, a cine memory unit that records a plurality of ultrasonic beam data from the digital scan converter unit for each ultrasonic scan, and A display device for displaying the image data from the digital scan converter section as an ultrasonic tomographic image is provided, and while capturing the real-time ultrasonic tomographic image, the display device is provided. In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of displaying an image in slow motion, a marker memory for writing an arbitrary time phase marker on the biological waveform as a start pointer for slow motion playback and writing an end pointer for the playback in the biological waveform display section. Is provided
In addition, a reproduction time phase range display section is provided for displaying the image in a predetermined range between the start pointer and the end pointer on the marker memory differently from other time phases, and the reproduction time phase of the real time slow motion display is displayed. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized in that the range is clearly displayed.