KR101097630B1 - Ultrasound system and method for providing measurement information of target object based on three-dimensional ultrasound data - Google Patents

Abstract

An ultrasound system and method for providing measurement information about an object based on three-dimensional ultrasound data are disclosed. According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ultrasound system comprising: an ultrasound data acquisition unit configured to transmit an ultrasound signal to an object and receive an ultrasound echo signal reflected from the object to obtain a plurality of ultrasound data; And forming 3D ultrasound data using the plurality of ultrasound data, performing position alignment of the 3D ultrasound data, and measuring the size of the object using the aligned 3D ultrasound data to form measurement information. It includes a processor.

Ultrasound, ultrasound data, RF data, alignment, measurement

Description

ULTRASOUND SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING MEASUREMENT INFORMATION OF TARGET OBJECT BASED ON THREE-DIMENSIONAL ULTRASOUND DATA}

The present invention relates to an ultrasound system, and more particularly, to an ultrasound system and method for providing measurement information of an object based on three-dimensional ultrasound data.

Ultrasound systems have non-invasive and non-destructive properties and are widely used in the medical field for obtaining information inside an object. Ultrasound systems are very important in the medical field because they can provide a doctor with a high-resolution image of the inside of a subject in real time without the need for a surgical operation in which the subject is directly incised and observed.

The ultrasound system transmits an ultrasound signal to an object, receives an ultrasound signal reflected from the object (that is, an ultrasound echo signal), obtains ultrasound data, forms volume data using the ultrasound data, and renders the volume data by 3D. Form an ultrasound image. In addition, the ultrasound system uses a 3D ultrasound image to measure the size of the object (nuchal translucency (NT) thickness of the fetus, intima-media thickness (IVT) of the blood vessel, area or volume of the plug in the blood vessel), and measure the measurement information. Is offering.

The 3D ultrasound image is formed through data processing such as interpolation and rendering on volume data. That is, the volume of the data processed data is reduced compared to the ultrasonic data before performing the data processing, that is, the radio frequency (RF) data. Accordingly, there is a need for an ultrasound system that provides measurement information by measuring the size of an object using ultrasound data before performing data processing, that is, RF data.

The present invention provides an ultrasound system and method for forming 3D ultrasound data using ultrasound data of radio frequency (RF) data and providing measurement information by measuring the size of an object using 3D ultrasound data.

The present invention also provides an ultrasonic system and method for forming a plurality of three-dimensional ultrasound data synchronized to the synchronization signal having a predetermined period, and providing measurement information by measuring the change in the size of the object using the plurality of three-dimensional ultrasound data to provide.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ultrasound system comprising: an ultrasound data acquisition unit configured to transmit an ultrasound signal to an object, and to receive a ultrasound echo signal reflected from the object to obtain a plurality of ultrasound data; And connected to the ultrasound data acquisition unit to form 3D ultrasound data using the plurality of ultrasound data, perform position alignment of the 3D ultrasound data, and use the 3D ultrasound data that is aligned. And a processor operative to measure the size of the object to form measurement information.

In addition, the method for providing measurement information of an object according to the present invention comprises the steps of: a) transmitting an ultrasound signal to an object and receiving an ultrasound echo signal reflected from the object to obtain a plurality of ultrasound data; b) forming three-dimensional ultrasound data using the plurality of ultrasound data; c) performing position alignment of the three-dimensional ultrasound data; And d) measuring the size of the object using the positionally aligned 3D ultrasound data to form measurement information.

Further, a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for performing a method for providing measurement information of an object according to the present invention, the method comprising: a) transmitting an ultrasound signal to an object and an ultrasound echo signal reflected from the object Receiving a plurality of ultrasound data; b) forming three-dimensional ultrasound data using the plurality of ultrasound data; c) performing position alignment of the three-dimensional ultrasound data; And d) measuring the size of the object using the positionally aligned 3D ultrasound data to form measurement information.

The present invention can measure the size of the object using the three-dimensional ultrasound data of the RF data, it can provide more accurate measurement information.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described an embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasonic system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The ultrasound system 100 may include a synchronization signal forming unit 110, a storage unit 120, an ultrasound data acquisition unit 130, a processor 140, a user input unit 150, and a display unit 160.

The synchronization signal forming unit 110 forms a synchronization signal having a predetermined period with respect to the object. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the synchronization signal forming unit 110 forms a synchronization signal based on a minute electrical change generated by contraction and relaxation of the object. Here, the synchronization signal includes an electrocardiogram (ECG) signal.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the synchronization signal forming unit 110 acquires a Doppler signal corresponding to a sample volume set in a B mode (brightness mode) image in real time and uses the obtained Doppler signal. A D mode image is formed. The synchronization signal forming unit 110 analyzes the D mode image provided in real time and forms a synchronization signal whenever a preset pattern is detected in the D mode image. Here, the preset pattern includes at least one of arbitrary velocity (or frequency) of the Doppler spectrum and blood flow backflow. Blood flow reflux can be detected through a variety of known methods and will not be described in detail in this example.

The storage unit 120 stores reference position information corresponding to each of the plurality of objects. The reference position information is information for aligning 3D ultrasound data including an object to a preset position. As an example, the reference position information may include pixel distance between pixels corresponding to the boundary point of the object. On the other hand, the preset position may be a position that can accurately measure the nucleus translucency (NT) thickness of the fetus, a position that can accurately measure the intima-media thickness (IMT) of the blood vessel, the area or volume of the plug in the vessel And the like may be included. In the present embodiment, the storage 120 may store a mapping table that provides reference position information corresponding to each of the plurality of objects.

The ultrasound data acquisition unit 130 transmits an ultrasound signal to the object and receives ultrasound signals (that is, ultrasound echo signals) reflected from the object to obtain ultrasound data. In addition, the ultrasound data acquisition unit 130 may obtain ultrasound data synchronized with the synchronization signal provided from the synchronization signal forming unit 110. The ultrasound data acquisition unit 130 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 2.

2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an ultrasonic data acquisition unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The ultrasonic data acquiring unit 130 may include a transmission signal forming unit 131, an ultrasonic probe 132 including a plurality of transducer elements (not shown), a beam former 133, and an ultrasonic data forming unit 134. ).

The transmission signal forming unit 131 forms a transmission signal in consideration of the position and focus point of the conversion element. In addition, the transmission signal forming unit 131 may form a transmission signal in synchronization with the synchronization signal provided from the synchronization signal forming unit 110. The transmission signal forming unit 131 sequentially and repeatedly forms the transmission signal to form a transmission signal for obtaining each of the frames Pi (1 ≦ i ≦ N) as shown in FIG. 6. In FIG. 6, the frame _Pi (1 ≦ _i ≦ N) is described as being obtained in the form of a fan, but is not limited thereto.

When the transmission signal is provided from the transmission signal forming unit 131, the ultrasound probe 132 converts the transmission signal into an ultrasound signal and transmits the ultrasound signal to the object, and receives the ultrasound echo signal reflected from the object to form a reception signal. The received signal is an analog signal. The ultrasonic probe 132 sequentially and repeatedly transmits and receives an ultrasonic signal according to transmission signals sequentially provided from the transmission signal forming unit 131 to form a plurality of reception signals.

When the received signal is provided from the ultrasonic probe 132, the beam former 133 converts the received signal into analog and digital to form a digital signal. In addition, the beam former 133 receives and focuses the digital signal in consideration of the position and the focusing point of the conversion element to form a reception focus signal. The beam former 133 sequentially and repeatedly performs analog to digital conversion and reception focusing according to the reception signals sequentially provided from the ultrasonic probe 132 to form a plurality of reception focusing signals.

When the reception focus signal is provided from the beamformer 133, the ultrasound data forming unit 134 forms the ultrasound data using the reception focus signal. In the present embodiment, the ultrasound data is radio frequency (RF) data. Also, the ultrasound data may be ultrasound data synchronized to a synchronization signal. The ultrasonic data forming unit 134 sequentially and repeatedly forms ultrasonic data according to the reception focus signals sequentially provided from the beamformer 133 to correspond to each of the frames _Pi (1 ≦ _i ≦ N). Form ultrasound data. In this case, the ultrasound data may include geometry information.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the processor 140 forms three-dimensional ultrasound data (that is, three-dimensional RF data) by using the plurality of ultrasound data provided from the ultrasound data acquisition unit 130, and generates three-dimensional ultrasound data. To form measurement information about the object. The processor 140 will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a processor according to an embodiment of the present invention. The processor 140 includes a 3D ultrasound data forming unit 141, an alignment processor 142, an ROI setting unit 143, and a measuring unit 144. In addition, the alignment processor 142 may include a plane setting unit 142a, a projection unit 142b, a boundary point extraction unit 142c, a positional information forming unit 142d, and a skewness calculator. 142e and the alignment portion 142f.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for performing quantitative measurement using three-dimensional ultrasound data according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5, the 3D ultrasound data forming unit 141 forms 3D ultrasound data using a plurality of ultrasound data provided from the ultrasound data obtaining unit 130 (S102). As shown in FIG. 7, the 3D ultrasound data includes a plurality of voxels having a frame _Pi (1 ≦ _i ≦ N) and having brightness values and geometry information. Meanwhile, the 3D ultrasound data forming unit 141 may form a plurality of 3D ultrasound data synchronized to the synchronization signal.

As shown in FIG. 8, the plane setting unit 142a sets a three-dimensional rectangular coordinate system (ie, an XYZ coordinate system) based on the three-dimensional ultrasound data 210 provided from the three-dimensional ultrasound data forming unit 141 ( S104), a plurality of planes (that is, the XY plane 310, the YZ plane 320, and the XZ plane 330) for projecting the 3D ultrasound data 210 are set (S106). In FIG. 8, reference numeral 220 denotes an object.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the projection unit 142b projects the 3D ultrasound data 210 onto the XY plane 310, the YZ plane 320, and the XZ plane 330, respectively, to form the XY plane 310 and the YZ. Two-dimensional ultrasound data corresponding to each of the pixels of the two-dimensional ultrasound image are formed on each of the plane 320 and the XZ plane 330 (S108). The two-dimensional ultrasound data includes brightness values and geometry information.

The boundary point extractor 142c extracts the boundary point of the object using 2D ultrasound data for each of the XY plane 310, the YZ plane 320, and the XZ plane 330 (S110). The boundary point may be detected using an edge mask such as Sobel, Prewitt, Robert or Canny mask. Alternatively, the boundary point can be detected from the difference of eigen values using a structure tensor.

The position information forming unit 142d calculates a pixel distance between boundary points with respect to each of the XY plane 310, the YZ plane 320, and the XZ plane 330 by using the boundary points detected by the boundary point extractor 142c ( S112, position information including the calculated pixel distance is formed (S114).

As an example, the position information forming unit 142d may include pixels P _{X3 , Y2} , P _{X4 , Y2} , P _{X5 , Y2} , and P _X2 corresponding to boundary points in the XY plane 310 as illustrated in FIG. 9A. _{, Y3} , P _{X6 , Y3} , P _{X1 , Y4} , P _{X7, Y4} , P _{X2 , Y5} , P _{X6 , Y5} , P _{X3 , Y6} , P _{X4 , Y6} , P _{X5 , Y6} ) Calculate the distance between the pixels present at. More specifically, the position information forming unit 142d calculates the pixel distance D _X1 = 0 between the pixels P _{X1 and Y4} present in the X1 coordinates, and calculates the pixels ((P _{X2 , Y3)} present in the X2 coordinates. Calculate a pixel distance (D _X2 = 2) between P _{X2 , Y5} ), and calculate a pixel distance (D _X3 = 4) between pixels P _{X3 , Y2} , P _{X3 , Y6} existing at the X3 coordinate, _Compute the pixel distance (D _X4 = 4) between the pixels (P _{X4 , Y2} , P _{X4 , Y6} ) present in the X4 coordinates, and calculate the pixels (P _{X5 , Y2} , P _{X5 , Y6} ) between the pixels present in the X5 coordinates. _{Compute the} pixel distance (D _X5 = 4), calculate the pixel distance (D _X6 = 2) between the pixels P _{X6 , Y3} , P _{X6 , Y5 at the X6} coordinates, and the pixels present at the X7 coordinates. Calculate the pixel distance D _X5 = 4 between (P _{X7 , Y4} ) The location information forming unit 142d further includes a pixel distance between the pixels P _{X3 , Y2} , P _{X4 , Y2} present at the Y2 coordinates. (D _Y21 = 1), the pixel distance (D _Y22 = 1) between the pixels P _{X4 , Y2} , P _{X5 , Y2} and the pixels P _{X3 , Y2} , Calculate the pixel distance (D _Y23 = 4) between P _{X5 , Y2} ), calculate the pixel distance (D _Y3 = 4) between the pixels P _{X2 , Y3} , P _{X6 , Y3} existing at the Y3 coordinate, and Y4 _Compute the pixel distance (D _Y4 = 6) between the pixels (P _{X1 , Y4} , P _{X7 , Y4} ) present in the coordinates, and the pixels between the pixels (P _{X2 , Y5} , P _{X6 , Y5} ) present in the Y5 coordinates. Calculate the distance (D _Y5 = 4), the pixel distance (D _Y61 = 1) between the pixels (P _{X3 , Y6} , P _{X4 , Y6} ) present in the Y6 coordinate, the pixels (P _{X4 , Y6} , P _{X5 ,} pixel distance (D _Y62 = 1) and the pixels _{(P X3, Y6, P X5} , and calculates a pixel distance (D _Y63 = 2) between _Y6). position information forming section (142d) between _Y6) is in Figure 9b The pixel distance between the pixels corresponding to the boundary points is calculated as described above with respect to the YZ plane 320 and the XZ plane 330 shown in FIG. 9C. The position information forming unit 142d forms position information including the calculated pixel distance.

The distortion calculator 142e calculates the distortion of the 3D ultrasound data by comparing the reference information stored in the storage 120 with the position information formed by the position information forming unit 142d (S116). Distortion can be calculated using a variety of methods known in the art will not be described in detail in the present embodiment.

The arranging unit 142f compares the dwarf calculated in the dwarf calculating unit 142e with a preset threshold value (S118). Position alignment for moving and / or rotating the ultrasound data is performed on the 3D ultrasound data to align the 3D ultrasound data to a preset position (S120). On the other hand, if it is determined that the skewness is less than or equal to the threshold value, the alignment unit 142f does not perform position alignment on the 3D ultrasound data.

The ROI setting unit 143 sets the ROI on the 3D ultrasound data arranged by the alignment processor 142 based on the input information from the user input unit 150 (S122). As an example, the ROI setting unit 143 may set a slice (ie, a digital view) for measuring the NT thickness of the fetus as the ROI in the aligned 3D ultrasound data. As another example, the ROI setting unit 143 may set a slice for measuring IMT of a blood vessel as the ROI on the aligned 3D ultrasound data. As another example, the ROI setting unit 143 may set a slice for measuring the area of the plug in the blood vessel as the ROI in the aligned 3D ultrasound data. As another example, the ROI setting unit 143 may set the 3D region for measuring the volume of the plug in the blood vessel as the ROI to the aligned 3D ultrasound data. However, the region of interest is not limited thereto.

The measurement unit 144 measures the size of the object in the ROI set by the ROI setting unit 143 to form measurement information about the object (S124). Here, the size may include length, thickness, area, volume, and the like. As an example, the measurement unit 144 may detect the NT contour of the fetus in the slice set in the 3D ultrasound data, and measure the NT thickness using the detected contour to form measurement information. As another example, the measurement unit 144 may detect contours of blood vessels in slices set in 3D ultrasound data, and measure IMT using the detected contours to form measurement information.

Meanwhile, the measurement unit 144 may measure the size of the object in the ROI set in each of the plurality of 3D ultrasound data synchronized to the synchronization signal, and measure the size change between the ROIs of the same or different periods to form measurement information. have. As an example, the measurement unit 144 detects the NT contour of the fetus in the slice set in each of the plurality of 3D ultrasound data synchronized to the synchronization signal, measures the NT thickness using the detected contour, and measures the measured NT thickness. It can be used to form the measurement information including the rate of change of NT thickness between slices of the same or different period. As another example, the measurement unit 144 detects an outline of a blood vessel in a slice set in each of the plurality of 3D ultrasound data synchronized to a synchronization signal, measures an IMT using the detected outline, and uses the measured IMT. Measurement information including an IMT ratio between slices of the same or different period may be formed. However, the measurement information is not limited to this.

Referring to FIG. 3 again, the image forming unit 145 forms a 3D ultrasound image by performing rendering on the 3D ultrasound data provided from the 3D ultrasound data forming unit 141.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the user input unit 150 receives user input information. In the present embodiment, the input information includes position and size information of the ROI set in the 3D ultrasound data. The user input unit 150 may include a control panel, a mouse, a keyboard, and the like.

The display 160 displays the measurement information formed by the processor 140. In addition, the display 160 may display the 3D ultrasound image formed by the processor 140.

While the invention has been described and illustrated by way of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

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

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the ultrasonic data acquisition unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a processor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an alignment processor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart showing a procedure for performing quantitative measurements using three-dimensional ultrasound data according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is an exemplary view showing a scanning direction of a frame.

7 is an exemplary view showing an example of three-dimensional ultrasound data according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is an exemplary view showing an example of projecting three-dimensional ultrasound data to the XY plane, YZ plane and XZ plane according to an embodiment of the present invention.

9A is an exemplary view showing a boundary point of the XY plane according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 9b is an exemplary view showing the boundary point of the YZ plane in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

9C is an exemplary view showing a boundary point of the XZ plane according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (17)

As an ultrasonic system, An ultrasound data obtaining unit operable to transmit an ultrasound signal to an object and to receive the ultrasound echo signal reflected from the object to obtain a plurality of ultrasound data; And The 3D ultrasound data may be connected to the ultrasound data acquisition unit to form 3D ultrasound data using the plurality of ultrasound data, perform position alignment of the 3D ultrasound data, and adjust the position of the object with respect to the 3D ultrasound data. A processor operative to form measurement information by measuring the size of the object using an outline. Ultrasound system comprising a. The ultrasound system of claim 1, wherein the ultrasound data includes radio frequency (RF) data. The method of claim 1, A user input unit operable to receive input information including position and size information of the ROI Ultrasonic system further comprising. The processor of claim 3, wherein the processor comprises: A three-dimensional ultrasound data forming unit operable to form the three-dimensional ultrasound data using the plurality of ultrasound data; An alignment processor operable to perform position alignment of the 3D ultrasound data; A region of interest setting unit operable to set the region of interest in the 3D ultrasound data based on the input information; And A measurement unit operable to form the measurement information based on the region of interest Ultrasound system comprising a. 5. The method of claim 4, Storage unit for storing the reference position information corresponding to the three-dimensional ultrasound data Ultrasonic system further comprising. The method of claim 5, wherein the alignment processing unit, A plane setting unit configured to set a 3D rectangular coordinate system for the 3D ultrasound image and to set a plurality of planes based on the 3D ultrasound image; A projection unit operable to project the three-dimensional ultrasound data onto each of the plurality of planes to form two-dimensional ultrasound data corresponding to the three-dimensional ultrasound data in each of the plurality of planes; A boundary point extraction unit operable to extract boundary points of the object from the 2D ultrasound data; A location information forming unit operable to calculate the distance between the extracted boundary points to form location information; A skewness calculator operable to calculate a skewness between the reference position information and the position information; And An alignment unit operable to perform position alignment of the 3D ultrasound data based on the calculated skewness Ultrasound system comprising a. The method of claim 1, A synchronization signal forming unit operable to form a synchronization signal having a predetermined period with respect to the object. Ultrasonic system further comprising. The method of claim 7, wherein the ultrasound data obtaining unit is configured to transmit the ultrasound signal to the object in synchronization with the synchronization signal and to receive the ultrasound echo signal reflected from the object to obtain a plurality of ultrasound data synchronized with the synchronization signal. Ultrasonic system in action. The method of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to form a plurality of three-dimensional ultrasound data by using the plurality of ultrasonic data synchronized with the synchronization signal, perform a position alignment of the plurality of three-dimensional ultrasound data, and the location. And a measurement system for measuring the rate of change of the size of the object using the plurality of aligned three-dimensional ultrasound data to form measurement information. As a method of providing measurement information of an object, a) obtaining a plurality of ultrasound data by transmitting an ultrasound signal to an object and receiving an ultrasound echo signal reflected from the object; b) forming three-dimensional ultrasound data using the plurality of ultrasound data; c) performing position alignment of the three-dimensional ultrasound data; And d) forming measurement information by measuring the size of the object using the contour of the object with respect to the 3D ultrasound data aligned; How to include. The method of claim 10, wherein the ultrasound data includes radio frequency (RF) data. The method of claim 10, wherein step c) Setting a 3D rectangular coordinate system for the 3D ultrasound image and setting a plurality of planes based on the 3D ultrasound image; Projecting the three-dimensional ultrasound data onto each of the plurality of planes to form two-dimensional ultrasound data corresponding to the three-dimensional ultrasound data in each of the plurality of planes; Extracting boundary points of the object from the 2D ultrasound data; Calculating location information between the extracted boundary points to form location information; Calculating a distortion degree between the reference position information corresponding to the 3D ultrasound data and the position information; And Performing position alignment of the 3D ultrasound data based on the calculated skewness How to include. The method of claim 10, wherein prior to step d) Receiving input information including position and size information of the ROI; How to include more. The method of claim 13, wherein step d) Setting the ROI in the 3D ultrasound data based on the input information; And Forming the measurement information based on the region of interest How to include. The method of claim 10, wherein, prior to step a), Forming a synchronization signal having a predetermined period with respect to the object; How to include more. The method of claim 15, wherein the step a) comprises: transmitting an ultrasound signal to the object in synchronization with the synchronization signal and receiving an ultrasound echo signal reflected from the object to obtain a plurality of ultrasound data synchronized with the synchronization signal Including steps The step b) includes the step of forming a plurality of three-dimensional ultrasound data using a plurality of ultrasound data synchronized to the synchronization signal, The step d) comprises measuring the rate of change of the size of the object by using the plurality of position-aligned three-dimensional ultrasound data to form the measurement information. A computer-readable recording medium, a) transmitting a ultrasound signal to an object and receiving a ultrasound echo signal reflected from the object to obtain a plurality of ultrasound data; b) forming 3D ultrasound data using the plurality of ultrasound data; c) a function of performing position alignment of the three-dimensional ultrasound data; And d) a function of measuring the size of the object to form measurement information on the position-aligned 3D ultrasound data by using the contour of the object; A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for performing the operation.

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