KR101232012B1 - Belt-type probe and method for forming an ultrasound image by using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The belt-type ultrasonic probe according to the present invention includes a plurality of ultrasonic transceiver units disposed at predetermined intervals on a belt having flexibility and each including a transducer array; A signal transmission unit embedded in the belt for transmitting and receiving a signal to each of the ultrasonic transceiver units; And fastening portions formed at both ends of the belt.

Belt Probes, Transducer Arrays, Region Segmentation, Image Synthesis, Tomography

Description

Belt-type probe and method for forming an ultrasound image by using the same}

1 is a schematic view showing a conventional ultrasonic probe.

Figure 2 is an exemplary view schematically showing an example in which the ultrasonic signal transmitted from the ultrasonic probe is reflected and scattered.

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention.

4 is a perspective view of a belt-type probe according to the present invention.

5 is a cross-sectional view of the belt-shaped probe according to the present invention.

6 is an exemplary view showing a process of transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic signal in the belt-type probe according to the present invention.

7 is an exemplary view showing a process of forming an ultrasound image using a belt-type probe according to the present invention.

8 is an exemplary view showing an example of wearing a belt-type probe according to the present invention in the abdominal region of the human body.

The present invention relates to an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, and more particularly, to a band-type probe with a plurality of transducer arrays and an ultrasound image forming method using the same.

The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is one of important diagnostic apparatuses that have been applied in various applications. In particular, an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus having non-invasive and non-destructive characteristics is widely used in the medical field for obtaining information inside an object. Ultrasonic diagnostic devices are very important in the medical field because they can provide a high-resolution image of the internal tissue of the human body to a doctor in real time without the need for an observation technique that invades human tissue such as a surgical operation. Modern high-frequency ultrasound diagnostic systems have been used to generate two-dimensional or three-dimensional diagnostic images of the internal shape of a subject (eg, internal organs of a patient).

Ultrasonic diagnostic devices generally use a conversion element formed of a piezoelectric material for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic signals. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus electrically stimulates the acoustic transducer to generate an ultrasonic signal transmitted to the human body and transmit the ultrasonic signal to the human body. The ultrasonic signal transmitted to the human body is reflected at the boundary of discontinuous human tissue, and the ultrasonic echo signal transmitted from the boundary of the human tissue to the conversion element is converted into an electrical signal. The converted electrical signal is amplified and signal processed to generate ultrasonic image data about the tissue.

As such, the ultrasound diagnosis apparatus may include a probe for converting the ultrasound signal and the electrical signal to obtain an ultrasound image. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional probe 10 used in the ultrasound diagnosis apparatus includes an ultrasound transceiver 12 including a body 11 and a transducer array for transmitting and receiving ultrasound to and from an object. The body 11 is designed to be easily grasped by the user, and the ultrasonic transceiver 12 has a piezoelectric layer for converting an electrical signal and an ultrasonic signal while the piezoelectric material vibrates, and an ultrasonic signal generated from the piezoelectric layer. Matching layer to reduce the difference in acoustic impedance between the piezoelectric layer and the human body so as to be delivered to the target point of the human body as much as possible, a lens layer that focuses the ultrasonic waves traveling in front of the piezoelectric layer to a specific point, and the ultrasonic wave is behind the piezoelectric layer It is composed of a sound absorbing layer to block the progression to prevent image distortion. An ultrasound image of the biological tissue is obtained by using characteristics such as reflection and scattering of the ultrasound generated when the ultrasound signal transmitted from the ultrasound transceiver 12 of the probe 10 passes through the tissue in the object. Reference numeral "13" shown in Figure 1 is a cable connecting the probe 10 and the body (not shown) of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 2, the conventional probe forms an ultrasound image using only the ultrasound signal reflected toward the probe 10 among the ultrasound signals reflected when the ultrasound signal passes through the tissue. Therefore, the ultrasound diagnosis apparatus using the conventional probe has a problem in that it is necessary to acquire an ultrasound image only for a limited area of the object, and there is a limitation in improving the image quality of the ultrasound image.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus that can obtain an improved ultrasound image as well as ultrasound tomography image of the object using a belt-type probe including a plurality of transducer array. .

The belt-type ultrasonic probe according to the present invention includes a plurality of ultrasonic transceiver units disposed at predetermined intervals on a belt having flexibility and each including a transducer array; A signal transmission unit embedded in the belt for transmitting and receiving a signal to each of the ultrasonic transceiver units; And fastening portions formed at both ends of the belt.

Ultrasound using a belt-type ultrasonic probe consisting of a plurality of ultrasonic transceivers each comprising a transducer array disposed at predetermined intervals on a belt with flexibility according to the present invention, the fastening means are provided at both ends of the belt-type ultrasonic probe Method for forming an ultrasound image in a diagnostic system, the method comprising the steps of: wearing on the object using the fastening means provided in the belt-type ultrasound probe; b) transmitting an ultrasound signal from an ultrasound transceiver to an object; c) receiving ultrasonic echo signals reflected from the object in all ultrasonic transceivers; d) obtaining ultrasonic image data based on all the ultrasonic echo signals; e) acquiring a plurality of ultrasound image data by sequentially performing steps a) to c) in one direction with respect to the plurality of ultrasound transceivers; And f) synthesizing the plurality of ultrasound image data to form an ultrasound image.

Ultrasound using a belt-type ultrasonic probe consisting of a plurality of ultrasonic transceivers each comprising a transducer array disposed at predetermined intervals on a belt with flexibility according to the present invention, the fastening means are provided at both ends of the belt-type ultrasonic probe Method for forming an ultrasound image in a diagnostic system, the method comprising the steps of: wearing on the object using the fastening means provided in the belt-type ultrasound probe; b) dividing the object in the fastened belt-shaped ultrasound probe into a plurality of areas to each include the ultrasound transceiver; c) transmitting an ultrasound signal from the ultrasound transceiver to the object; d) receiving ultrasonic echo signals reflected from the object in all ultrasonic transceivers; e) acquiring ultrasound image data of an area including an ultrasound transceiver which transmits the ultrasound signal based on the ultrasound echo signal; f) acquiring a plurality of ultrasound image data by sequentially performing steps c) to e) in one direction with respect to the plurality of ultrasound transceivers; And g) synthesizing the plurality of ultrasound image data to form an ultrasound image.

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention.

As illustrated, the ultrasound diagnosis apparatus 300 includes a belt probe 310, a beamformer 320, an image processor 330, and a display unit 340. The belt-type probe 310 according to the present invention includes a plurality of transducer arrays spaced at predetermined intervals on a flexible belt. Each transducer array includes a plurality of transducer elements. The band-type probe 310 receives an ultrasonic signal reflected from an object of an ultrasonic signal transmitted from each transducer array, converts the ultrasonic signal into an electrical signal (hereinafter, referred to as a received signal), and outputs the converted ultrasonic signal to the beamformer 320.

The beamformer 320 appropriately delays the received signal output from each conversion element of each transducer array in consideration of the distance from the focusing point to the conversion element, and sums the energy levels of the ultrasonic signals reflected from the focus point of the object. A receiving focused focusing beam is formed and output.

The image processor 330 processes the received focused beam output from the beamformer 320 to form ultrasound image data of the object, and the display unit 340 displays the ultrasound image of the object with respect to the ultrasound image data on the screen. .

4 is a perspective view of a belt probe according to the present invention. The belt probe 310 according to the present invention includes a plurality of ultrasonic transceiver units 311_1 to 311_5. The ultrasonic transceiver unit 311_1 to 311_5 includes an ultrasonic input / output unit 312 for transmitting ultrasonic waves to the object in contact with the surface of the object, and each ultrasonic transceiver unit is disposed at predetermined intervals on the flexible belt 313. It is fixed. A fastening portion 314 is provided for fastening both ends of the belt 313 to each other. The fastening part 314 not only secures the belt-type probe 310 to the abdomen when the belt-type probe 310 according to the present invention is worn on an object, for example, the abdomen of the human body, and also the ultrasonic transceiver unit 311_1 to 311_5. Ultrasonic input / output unit 312 is used to contact the abdominal surface. Fastening unit 314 according to the present invention is used to fasten the means for adjusting the circumference of the belt-type probe 310 fastened in accordance with the circumference of the object. As the fastening part 314 according to the embodiment of the present invention, a female velcro tape 314A provided at one end of the belt 313 and a male velcro tape 314B provided at the other end may be used. The belt probe 310 according to the present invention is connected to a main body (not shown) of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus through a cable 315.

5 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a belt probe according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the ultrasonic transceiver unit 311_1 to 311_5 includes an array of transducers including a plurality of converters for generating an ultrasonic signal by receiving a transmission pulse signal and generating an electrical signal by receiving an ultrasonic echo signal ( 316 and transducer array fixture 317 for securing the transducer array 316 to the belt. In addition, the ultrasonic transceiver unit 311_1 to 311_5 includes a position sensor 319 for checking the position of each ultrasonic transceiver unit. It is used to synthesize ultrasound images formed based on the ultrasound echo signals received by each ultrasound transceiver by using the location information of each ultrasound transceiver of the ultrasound sensor obtained by the position sensor 319 in each ultrasound transceiver. As shown in FIG. 5, the transducer array 316 included in each ultrasonic transceiver unit is connected to a signal connection line 318 provided through a cable 315 connected to a main body.

6 is a diagram schematically illustrating a process of transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic signal for obtaining an ultrasound image of an object using a belt-type probe according to the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 6, when the first ultrasound transceiver 311_1 transmits an ultrasound signal (Tx), all ultrasound transceivers including the first ultrasound transceiver 311_1 receive an ultrasound echo signal (Rx). . Thus, the first ultrasound image is formed based on the ultrasound echo signals received by all the ultrasound transceivers 311_1 to 311_5. Here, the first ultrasound image is formed by synthesizing the ultrasound data generated based on the ultrasound echo signals received by each ultrasound transceiver by using location information of the ultrasound transceiver. Thereafter, when the second ultrasound transceiver 311_2 transmits an ultrasound signal, all ultrasound transceivers including the second ultrasound transceiver 311_2 receive an ultrasound echo signal. In this way, a second ultrasound image is formed based on the ultrasound echo signals received from each ultrasound transceiver. In the above-described method, the ultrasonic signal is transmitted to all the ultrasonic transceivers to form the ultrasonic images as many as the ultrasonic transceivers, and synthesize the ultrasonic images to generate the ultrasonic images of the object.

Meanwhile, depending on the type of elements constituting the object, there may be an ultrasonic transceiver that the ultrasonic echo signal of the ultrasonic signal transmitted from one ultrasonic transceiver does not reach. Therefore, in another embodiment of the present invention, an ultrasound image of the object may be generated by dividing the object into a plurality of areas, obtaining an ultrasound image of each area, and synthesizing the ultrasound image.

7 is a diagram illustrating a method of forming an ultrasound image of an object according to another exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, an object wearing the belt-shaped probe 310 according to the present invention is divided into a plurality of areas 710 to 750, and an ultrasound image corresponding to each area is formed. Preferably, the plurality of regions 710 are divided based on the ultrasonic transceiver, and the region division is performed by using the positions of the ultrasonic transceivers sensed by the position sensor 319 included in each ultrasonic transceiver. Thereafter, the first ultrasound transceiver 311_1 transmits an ultrasound signal and forms a first ultrasound image of the first region 710 based on the ultrasound echo signal received from each ultrasound transceiver. Subsequently, the second ultrasound transceiver 311_2 transmits an ultrasound signal and forms a second ultrasound image of the second area 720 based on the ultrasound echo signal received from each ultrasound transceiver. In this way, an ultrasound image is formed on all regions, and then synthesized to form an ultrasound image of the object.

Subsequently, the first ultrasound transceiver 311_1 transmits an ultrasound signal to form an ultrasound image of the first region 710. The updated ultrasound image may be obtained by updating an image corresponding to the first area in the ultrasound image synthesized as the ultrasound image of the first area 710. In this way, the ultrasound image may be obtained without updating the frame rate of the ultrasound image by obtaining only the partial region.

Meanwhile, an ultrasound image of each divided region is obtained to overlap an ultrasound image of an adjacent region with a predetermined portion, and an ultrasound image of each region using a method such as image block matching in the overlapping partial image. Can be synthesized.

8 is an exemplary view showing an example of wearing a belt-type probe according to the present invention in the abdominal region of the human body. As shown in FIG. 8, since the ultrasound image data may be obtained using a plurality of ultrasound transceivers after wearing a belt-type probe in the abdomen area of the human body, a tomography ultrasound image of the human abdomen may be obtained without moving the probe.

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

As described above, an improved ultrasound image may be obtained by using a belt type ultrasound probe including a plurality of ultrasound transceivers according to the present invention. In addition, since the ultrasound data may be obtained using a plurality of ultrasound transceivers by wearing a belt probe on the object, a tomography ultrasound image of the entire area of the object in the belt probe may be obtained without moving the probe.

Claims (12)

A plurality of ultrasonic transceivers disposed at predetermined intervals on the belt having flexibility and each including a transducer array; A signal transmission unit embedded in the belt for transmitting and receiving a signal to each of the ultrasonic transceiver units; And Including fastening portions formed at both ends of the belt, And a plurality of ultrasound image data obtained through the plurality of ultrasound transceivers to form an ultrasound image of the object. The method of claim 1, Each of the ultrasonic transceiver unit includes a transducer array support for supporting the transducer array on the belt; And Ultrasonic input / output unit for inputting an ultrasonic signal while contacting the surface of the object Belt type ultrasonic probe further comprising. The method of claim 1, Wherein each of the ultrasonic transceivers further comprises a position sensor for providing position information of each of the ultrasonic transceivers. The method of claim 1, Belt type ultrasonic probe that can adjust the circumference of the belt fastened through the fastening portion. Ultrasound in an ultrasonic diagnostic system using a belt-type ultrasonic probe composed of a plurality of ultrasonic transceivers each including transducer arrays arranged at predetermined intervals on a belt having flexibility, wherein fastening means are provided at both ends of the belt-type ultrasonic probe. The formation method of the image, a) wearing on the object by using the fastening means provided in the belt type ultrasonic probe; b) transmitting an ultrasound signal from an ultrasound transceiver to an object; c) receiving ultrasonic echo signals reflected from the object in all ultrasonic transceivers; d) obtaining ultrasonic image data based on all the ultrasonic echo signals; e) acquiring a plurality of ultrasound image data by sequentially performing steps a) to c) in one direction with respect to the plurality of ultrasound transceivers; And f) synthesizing the plurality of ultrasound image data to form an ultrasound image Method of forming an ultrasound image comprising a. 6. The method of claim 5, And a plurality of ultrasound image data obtained by the number of the ultrasound transceiver. Ultrasound in an ultrasonic diagnostic system using a belt-type ultrasonic probe composed of a plurality of ultrasonic transceivers each including transducer arrays arranged at predetermined intervals on a belt having flexibility, wherein fastening means are provided at both ends of the belt-type ultrasonic probe. The formation method of the image, a) wearing on the object by using the fastening means provided in the belt type ultrasonic probe; b) dividing the object in the fastened belt-shaped ultrasound probe into a plurality of areas to each include the ultrasound transceiver; c) transmitting an ultrasound signal from the ultrasound transceiver to the object; d) receiving ultrasonic echo signals reflected from the object in all ultrasonic transceivers; e) acquiring ultrasound image data of an area including an ultrasound transceiver which transmits the ultrasound signal based on the ultrasound echo signal; f) acquiring a plurality of ultrasound image data by sequentially performing steps c) to e) in one direction with respect to the plurality of ultrasound transceivers; And g) synthesizing the plurality of ultrasound image data to form an ultrasound image Ultrasonic image forming method comprising a. The method of claim 7, wherein And the ultrasonic transceiver unit comprising a position sensor for providing position information, respectively. 9. The method of claim 8, The step b) is the ultrasonic image forming method using the position information provided to the position sensor. The method of claim 9, And the data of each of the divided regions overlap a predetermined portion of the adjacent region. 11. The method of claim 10, And synthesizing the ultrasound image data using an image block matching method for the data partially overlapping the predetermined portion. The method of claim 11, The ultrasound image forming method of updating the synthesized ultrasound image for each ultrasound image of the divided region.

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