KR102069949B1 - Method for reconstructing high quality ultrasound image and ultrasound imaging device thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of reconstructing an ultrasound image by an ultrasound imaging apparatus and an ultrasound imaging apparatus thereof are disclosed. The ultrasound image reconstruction method includes: acquiring a three-dimensional ultrasonic echo signal on a first coordinate system from a subject for each channel, acquiring transmission / reception delay time for each channel based on physical position information on a second coordinate system of a target cross section; Obtaining a phase value corresponding to the transmission / reception delay time, phase-rotating the three-dimensional ultrasonic echo signal based on the phase value, obtaining a signal value corresponding to each physical position information on the second coordinate system, and Restoring an ultrasound image of the target cross-section as a basis.

Description

3D ultrasound image restoration method and its ultrasonic imaging device {METHOD FOR RECONSTRUCTING HIGH QUALITY ULTRASOUND IMAGE AND ULTRASOUND IMAGING DEVICE THEREOF}

The present invention relates to a 3D ultrasound image restoration method and an ultrasonic imaging apparatus, and more particularly, to a method of restoring a high quality ultrasound image based on a 3D ultrasound echo signal focused for each pixel based on a resolution of a target cross section. And the ultrasonic imaging apparatus.

Ultrasound imaging system is a medical imaging technique that can non-invasively observe the shape of tissue in real time. The ultrasonic impedance is irradiated while scanning ultrasound on a specific part of the body, and the acoustic impedance is reflected from the boundary of other tissues. It is a technology to receive and image ultrasound. The B mode, which is commonly used among ultrasound imaging methods, is an imaging method that obtains a tomographic image of a plane perpendicular to the moving direction by sequentially changing the intensity of reflected ultrasonic waves to brightness points and moving the points sequentially. Compared with other imaging systems such as X-ray systems, X-ray CT scanners, MRIs, and nuclear medical diagnostics, ultrasound imaging systems are compact, inexpensive, real-time displayable, and safe with no exposure to X-rays. It has advantages and is widely used for cardiac, abdominal, urinary and gynecological diagnosis.

Recently, ultrasound imaging technology is capable of displaying 3D information in a living body in 3D. Various methods have been developed to easily display the necessary information for this increase in the amount of spatial information. Three-dimensional information can be displayed using voxel data, multi-planar reformatting (MPR), Tomographic Ultrasound Imaging (TUI), Volume Contrast Imaging (VCI), Maximum Intensity Projection (MIP), and surface rendering. , Volume rendering, etc.

In particular, Multi Planar Reformatting (MPR) is a volume visualization technique for generating an image of a user-specified cross section from three-dimensional medical data, which is essentially used in an ultrasound imaging system.

This MPR requires ultrasound data representing a plurality of spaced apart planes, and large data sets consisting of dozens or hundreds of images or frames of data are acquired. Each image or frame consists of a grid of samples. The samples are then sampled in an acquisition format (eg, polar or cylindrical coordinate format) and then converted to Cartesian coordinates (ie, rectangular coordinates) for visualization. Conversion techniques for this include direct scan line conversion and separable scan line conversion. However, using this scanning line conversion process, an unacquired pixel value is calculated through an interpolation process, and thus blurring artifacts in which an image is blurred with respect to pixel values for pixel points relatively far from a transmission scanning line. Is generated.

Therefore, the conventional technique has been continued for the pixel-by-pixel beamforming technique for minimizing blurring artifacts in the ultrasound image. However, the conventional technology is only applied to two-dimensional ultrasound image, and has not been applied to a technique for providing a three-dimensional ultrasound image such as MPR. In addition, the application of the conventional technique to a three-dimensional image has a problem that it requires a large amount of computation and is difficult to use.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. KR 10-2014-0070009 (Name of the invention: Method for configuring a pixel unit image of the photoacoustic and ultrasonic image and its device

The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to remove blurring artifacts (blurring artifacts) that reduce the quality of the image in reconstructing the three-dimensional ultrasound image, and improve the sharpness and contrast of the image It is to present an imaging method that can be done. In addition, in reconstructing a high quality three-dimensional ultrasound image, the purpose is to minimize the amount of computation.

However, the technical problem to be achieved by the present embodiment is not limited to the technical problem as described above, and other technical problems may exist.

As a technical means for achieving the above-described technical problem, the ultrasonic image restoration method of the ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the step of acquiring a three-dimensional ultrasonic echo signal on a first coordinate system from the object for each channel; Acquiring a transmission / reception delay time for each channel based on physical location information on a second coordinate system of a target cross section; Obtaining a phase value corresponding to a transmission / reception delay time; Phase-rotating the three-dimensional ultrasonic echo signal based on the phase value to obtain a signal value corresponding to each physical position information on the second coordinate system; And restoring an ultrasound image of the target cross-section based on the signal value.

In addition, the ultrasound imaging apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the storage unit (memory) for storing a program for restoring the ultrasound image; And a processor for executing the program. In this case, as the program is executed, the controller acquires a three-dimensional ultrasonic echo signal on a first coordinate system from a subject for each channel, and transmits and receives a transmission / reception delay time for each channel based on physical location information on a second coordinate system of a target cross section. Acquire a phase value corresponding to the transmission and reception delay time, phase-rotate the 3D ultrasonic echo signal based on the phase value, obtain a signal value corresponding to each physical position information on the second coordinate system, and obtain a signal value. The ultrasound image of the target cross section is restored as a basis.

Also, an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention may include a probe including a plurality of channels for receiving a 3D ultrasound echo signal on a first coordinate system; Based on the three-dimensional ultrasonic echo signal received from each channel and the physical position information on the second coordinate system of the target cross section, the transmission and reception delay time for each channel is obtained, a phase value corresponding to the transmission and reception delay time is obtained, and a phase value is obtained. RX beam forming unit for phase-rotating the three-dimensional ultrasonic echo signal based on the, to obtain a signal value corresponding to each physical position information; And an image processor configured to reconstruct an ultrasound image of a target cross section based on a signal value corresponding to each physical location information.

A fourth aspect of the present invention also provides a computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for implementing the method of the first aspect.

According to various embodiments as described above, by omitting the digital scan conversion process in reconstructing the ultrasound image, it is possible to eliminate the occurrence of distortion and blurring artifacts generated during the digital scan conversion process. Therefore, a high quality ultrasound image can be restored.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 illustrates an example of calculating a transmission / reception delay time according to Equation (1).
3 is a view showing in detail the configuration of the RX beam forming unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an example illustrating in detail a process in which each configuration of the RX beam forming unit of FIG. 3 generates a signal value corresponding to each pixel point from a three-dimensional ultrasonic echo signal.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of reconstructing an ultrasound image by the ultrasound imaging apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 6 illustrates a result of reconstructing a coronal view from a 3D ultrasound echo signal obtained by applying the ultrasound imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention to a human body phantom.
FIG. 7 is a view comparing the result of image restoration by a method according to an embodiment of the present invention with respect to an enlarged portion of the box indicated by a dotted line of FIG.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. In the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted in order to clearly describe the present invention, and like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the specification.

In addition, while describing with reference to the drawings, even if the configuration shown by the same name may be different according to the drawing number, the drawing number is just described for convenience of description and the concept, features, functions of each configuration by the corresponding reference number Or the effect is not limited to interpretation.

Throughout the specification, when a part is "connected" to another part, it includes not only "directly connected" but also "electrically connected" with another element in between. . In addition, when a part is said to "include" a certain component, which means that it may further include other components, without excluding other components, unless specifically stated otherwise, one or more other features It is to be understood that the present disclosure does not exclude the possibility of adding or presenting numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

In the entire specification, an object may be a measurement object of an ultrasound imaging apparatus, and may include a person, an animal, or a part thereof. In addition, the subject may include various organs such as the heart, brain or blood vessels, or various kinds of phantoms.

In addition, in the entire specification, the user may be a doctor, a nurse, a clinical pathologist, a medical imaging expert, or the like as a medical expert, but is not limited thereto.

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

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 according to an exemplary embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 may include a probe 11, a beam former 12, an image processor 13, and a display 14.

In addition, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 may further include a user input unit 15 that operates to receive user input information. The input information may include input information for setting a region of interest (ROI), input information for setting an operation mode, and the like. In addition, the user input unit 15 may include various input means such as a keypad, a mouse, a touch panel, a trackball, a jog wheel, a jog switch, and the like. However, the above components are not essential components of the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10, and the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 may be implemented with more or fewer components than the above components. Hereinafter, each component will be described.

The probe 11 includes a plurality of 1D / 2D / 3D transducers (not shown). Here, the transducer is a piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (pMUT) for converting ultrasonic signals and electrical signals with pressure changes while vibrating, and a capacitive transducer for converting ultrasonic signals and electrical signals with a change in capacitance. capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer, cMUT (Optical ultrasonic detection) and the like. In addition, the probe 11 may use any geometry probe as long as it can perform fast beam interleaving.

The probe 11 includes a transmitter that drives an array (i.e., a channel) of elements (e.g., piezoelectric crystals, etc.) formed in or as part of a transducer to radiate an ultrasonic signal into a body or a predetermined volume. . The ultrasound signal generates an ultrasound echo that is scattered back from a high density interface and / or structure, such as, for example, blood flow or tissue within the subject and returned to the device (eg piezoelectric crystal). The ultrasonic echo is received at the receiver and provided to the RX beamformer 12b. That is, the probe 11 transmits the focused ultrasound beam to the object along the transmission scan line by appropriately delaying the input time of the pulses input to each transducer. Meanwhile, the 3D ultrasound echo signals reflected from the object are input to each transducer with different reception times, and each transducer amplifies the input 3D ultrasound echo signals and outputs them to the RX beam forming unit 12b. . Meanwhile, the probe 11 may be integrally formed with the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 or may be implemented with a separate type connected to the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 by wire or wireless.

The beam forming unit 12 includes a transmission (TX) beam forming unit 12a for focusing an ultrasound signal transmitted by each transducer of the probe 11 on the object, and a three-dimensional reflection reflected from the object and received by each transducer. And a reception (RX) beam forming unit 12b for focusing the ultrasonic echo signal by applying a time delay to the ultrasonic echo signal.

In general, the RX beam focusing process is performed on a polar coordinate system (or cylindrical coordinate system) in which a 3D ultrasonic echo signal is sampled, and is later converted into a 3D Cartesian coordinate system according to the resolution of the image during image restoration. That is, the interpolation process for the unacquired ultrasonic echo signal is performed in the image reconstruction process after signal processing, thereby increasing the loss of the related signals or generating distortion, which may degrade the image quality. Cause problems.

Therefore, the RX beam forming unit 12b according to the embodiment of the present invention focuses the ultrasound echo signal for each pixel based on the resolution of the target cross section in the 3D ultrasound image. In this case, the RX beam forming unit 12b may perform a signal-focusing process on a pixel basis by acquiring a time-delayed signal corresponding to each position based on the physical position information on the 3D Cartesian coordinate system of the target cross section. Here, the target cross section may include an axial view, a coronal view, and a sagittal view, and the physical location information of the target cross section is based on the resolution of the ultrasound image. The position of each pixel point in the determined three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system may be indicated. Accordingly, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention omits a digital scan converting process in a subsequent image restoration process, and uses an ultrasound value using pixel values corresponding to each pixel point. You can restore the image.

More specifically, the RX beam forming unit 12b may acquire transmission / reception delay time for each channel based on each physical position (ie, pixel point) of the target cross section. Specifically, the RX beam forming unit 12b calculates a transmission delay time based on the coordinates of each pixel point in the three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system, the transmission coordinates of the ultrasonic signal in the polar coordinate system, and the speed of the ultrasonic waves, and three-dimensional Cartesian The reception delay time can be calculated based on the coordinates of each pixel point in the coordinate system, the channel coordinates for the ultrasonic echo signal in the polar coordinate system, and the speed of the ultrasonic waves. For example, the RX beamformer 12b may calculate a transmission delay time and a reception delay time by using Equations 1 and 2 below.

,

는 각각 송, 수신 지연시간을 나타낸다. 또한, c는 초음파의 속도, x _k , y _k , z _k 는 극좌표계에서의 k번째 송신 좌표를 나타내며, x _n , y _n , z _n 는 극좌표계에서의 수신 신호에 대한 n번째 채널 좌표를 나타내고, x _p , y _p , z _p 는 3차원 데카르트 좌표계에서의 타겟 단면의 화소들에 대한 좌표를 나타낸다. 한편, 도 2는 수학식 1에 따른 송수신 지연시간의 산출 과정을 도시한 예이다. In the above equations,

,

Indicates the transmission and reception delay time, respectively. In addition, c is the velocity of the ultrasound, x _k , y _k , z _k represents the k- th transmission coordinates in the polar coordinate system, x _n , y _n , z _n represents the n- th channel coordinates for the received signal in the polar coordinate system And x _p , y _p , z _p represent coordinates for the pixels of the target cross section in the three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system. 2 illustrates an example of calculating a transmission / reception delay time according to Equation (1).

Thereafter, the RX beamformer 12b may acquire a phase value corresponding to the calculated transmission / reception delay time. For example, the RX beamformer 12b may obtain a phase value corresponding to a transmission / reception delay time by using Equation 3 below.

는 송수신 지연시간에 대응되는 위상값을 나타낸다. In the above formula, f _c represents the transmission frequency of the ultrasonic waves,

Denotes a phase value corresponding to the transmission / reception delay time.

Thereafter, the RX beam forming unit 12b performs phase rotation on the ultrasonic echo signal received for each channel based on the calculated phase value. In detail, the RX beamformer 12b may extract an I-signal and a Q-signal from an ultrasonic echo signal obtained in each channel. The RX beam forming unit 12b may perform phase rotation on each of the I signal and the Q signal based on the phase value. For example, the RX beam forming unit 12b may phase rotate the ultrasonic echo signal received as the phase value by using Equation 4 below.

In the above formula, I represents an in-phase component of the received signal, Q represents a quadrature-phase, and I 'and Q' represent a phase-rotated in-phase signal value and a quadrature-phase signal value, respectively.

Thereafter, the RX beamformer 12b calculates scanline data based on the sum of the respective signal values. In this case, the RX beamformer 12b may obtain scanline data V using Equation 5 below.

Thereafter, the RX beamformer 12b may acquire a signal value corresponding to each pixel point based on the plurality of scan line data. In detail, the signal value corresponding to each pixel point may be a combination of a plurality of scan line data selected from at least one frame adjacent to the pixel point, wherein the scan line data is a weight value set based on a distance from the pixel point. It may include. In exemplary embodiments, the RX beam forming unit 12b may be synthesized from two or more neighboring frames with respect to the pixel point and two or more neighboring scanline data on each frame. For example, the RX beam forming unit 12b synthesizes the data V1, V2, V3, and V4 of four scan lines, as shown in Equation 6 below, to thereby correspond to a signal value Va corresponding to each pixel point. ) Can be obtained.

In the above formula, w1, w2, w3, and w4 represent preset weights based on the distance between each scanline and the pixel point.

Through the above synthesis process, the disclosed embodiments can minimize blocky artifacts caused by lack of data. Furthermore, the RX beam forming unit 12b may directly obtain a signal value corresponding to each pixel point, thereby eliminating a digital scan converter process.

3 is a view showing in detail the configuration of the RX beam forming unit 12b according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the RX beam forming unit 12b includes an analog-digital converter 301 for converting an ultrasonic echo signal received for each channel into a digital signal, and a demodulation for demodulating I and Q signals from the converted signal. A pixel unit 302, a filter unit 303 for extracting the baseband signal, a phase rotation unit 304 for phase rotating the I and Q signals, and a signal value for each pixel is extracted based on the phase rotated I and Q signals. The calculation unit 305 is included.

The analog-digital converter 301 may include a plurality of analog-digital converters (ADCs) for converting the ultrasonic echo signal received for each channel into a digital signal. The demodulator 302 may include a plurality of mixers for extracting the I and Q signals from the converted signal.

The filter unit 303 may include a plurality of low pass filters (LPFs) for extracting baseband signals from channel-specific I and Q signals. In addition, the phase rotation unit 304 receives an I signal and a Q signal. At this time, the phase rotation unit 304 receives a phase value calculated from the transmission / reception delay signal corresponding to each pixel point, and phase rotates each of the I and Q signals to the corresponding phase value.

The calculator 305 may acquire scan line data from the sum of the output values from the phase rotation unit 304, and may calculate a signal value corresponding to each pixel point by synthesizing the plurality of scan line data.

FIG. 4 is an example illustrating in detail a process of generating a signal value corresponding to each pixel point from each of the configurations of the RX beam forming unit 12b of FIG. 3.

Meanwhile, the RX beamformer 12b may further include a memory and a processor for storing and executing at least one instruction for calculating a transmission / reception delay time, a phase value, and a signal value.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the image processor 13 reconstructs a multi-plane image (or a three-dimensional volume image) and displays it on the display unit 14 based on the signal value for each pixel output from the RX beam forming unit 12b. do. In this case, the method for reconstructing the image by the image processing unit may be easily inferred by those skilled in the art of the present invention, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The image processor 13 may include at least one processor (eg, a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), etc.).

In addition, the image processor 13 may perform imaging on an arbitrary cross section located in a volume corresponding to the 3D ultrasound data. Here, the arbitrary cross section may be a cross section corresponding to an arbitrary position in the volume corresponding to the 3D ultrasound echo signal, in addition to the axial view, the coronal view, and the digital view of the preset position. In this case, the image processor 13 may provide the physical position information of the arbitrary cross section to the RX beam forming unit 12b so that the RX beam forming unit 12b may perform the focusing process on the arbitrary cross section. The physical position information for the arbitrary cross section may be calculated from the movement direction and the rotation value of the arbitrary cross section to be targeted based on the coordinates on the second coordinate system of the reference cross section. In this case, the reference cross section may be an initial cross section, but is not limited thereto.

For example, the image processor 13 may calculate physical location information of an arbitrary cross section by using Equation 7 below.

는 스케일링 파라미터이며,

는 x, y, z 축에 대한 회전값이며, [X Y Z]^T는 기준 단면의 각 화소에 대`한 좌표를 나타낸다. In the above formula, [X 'Y' Z '] ^T represents transformed coordinates, [xyz] ^T is a parameter for movement,

Is the scaling parameter,

Is a rotation value about the x, y, z axis, and [XYZ] ^T represents the coordinates for each pixel of the reference cross section.

Meanwhile, in the above description, the RX beam forming unit 12b calculates a phase value corresponding to the transmission / reception delay time and the transmission / reception delay time, but this may be performed by the image processor 13. In this case, the phase value calculated by the image processor 13 may be provided to the RX beamformer 12b. For example, the image processor 13 may acquire, for each channel, a 3D ultrasound echo signal on the first coordinate system from the object and transmit / receive for each channel based on physical location information (ie, pixel point) on the second coordinate system of the target cross section. The delay time may be obtained, and a phase value corresponding to the transmission / reception delay time may be obtained, and the phase value may be provided to the phase rotation unit 304 of the RX beam forming unit 12b.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of reconstructing an ultrasound image by the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 according to an exemplary embodiment. The method shown in FIG. 5 relates to the embodiments described in FIGS. 1 to 4 described above. Therefore, even if omitted below, the contents described above in FIGS. 1 to 4 may be applied to the method of FIG. 5.

First, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 obtains, for each channel, a 3D ultrasound echo signal on a first coordinate system from an object. Here, the first coordinate system may be a polar coordinate system or a cylindrical coordinate system.

Thereafter, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 obtains a transmission / reception delay time for each channel based on the physical position information on the second coordinate system of the target cross section (S510). Here, the second coordinate system may be a 3D Cartesian coordinate system. In addition, the target cross section may include an axial view, a coronal view, and a digital view, and the physical position information of the target cross section includes a position of each pixel point in the second coordinate system determined based on the resolution of the ultrasound image. Can be.

For example, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 may calculate a transmission delay time based on the coordinates of each pixel point in the second coordinate system, the transmission coordinates of the ultrasound signal in the first coordinate system, and the speed of the ultrasound. Also, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 may calculate a reception delay time based on the coordinates of each pixel point in the second coordinate system, the channel coordinates for the ultrasound echo signal in the first coordinate system, and the speed of the ultrasonic waves.

Thereafter, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 obtains a phase value corresponding to the transmission / reception delay time (S520). For example, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 may acquire a phase value by using a transmission / reception delay time and a transmission frequency of the ultrasound.

Thereafter, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 performs a phase rotation of the 3D ultrasound echo signal based on the phase value (S530), and acquires a signal value corresponding to physical position information on the second coordinate system (S540). For example, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 may extract the I and Q signals from the 3D ultrasound echo signal, and phase-rotate each of the I and Q signals based on the phase value. Subsequently, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 may calculate scan line data based on the phase rotated result values, and may acquire signal values corresponding to each pixel point based on the sum of the plurality of scan line data. In this case, the plurality of scan line data may be selected from at least one frame adjacent to each pixel point, and may include a weight value set based on a distance from each pixel point.

Thereafter, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 restores an ultrasound image of a target cross section based on the acquired signal value (S540).

The target cross section may be any cross section located in a volume corresponding to the 3D ultrasound echo signal, in addition to the axial view, the coronal view, and the digital view of the preset position. In this case, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 may obtain the physical position information of the arbitrary cross section using the moving direction and the rotation value of the arbitrary cross section targeted based on the coordinates on the second coordinate system of the reference cross section.

FIG. 6 illustrates a result of reconstructing a coronal view from a 3D ultrasound echo signal obtained by applying the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention to a human body phantom.

FIG. 7 is a view comparing the result of image restoration by the method according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention with respect to the enlarged portion of the box indicated by the dotted line of FIG. (A) of FIG. 7 shows an ultrasound image reconstruction result according to a conventional split scan conversion technique, and (b) shows an ultrasound image reconstruction result according to a conventional direct scan conversion technique. Shows. 7 (c) shows the ultrasound image reconstruction result according to the method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to (a) to (c) of FIG. 7, it is possible to visually confirm that a sharper speckle pattern appears in the image of (c), and the edge of the structure inside the human body phantom is It can be seen visually that it is more pronounced. This means that by the method according to an embodiment of the present invention, blurring of speckle patterns caused by blurring artifacts is effectively removed.

Meanwhile, the ultrasound image restoration method of the ultrasound imaging apparatus according to the above-described embodiments may be generated by software (that is, a program) and mounted on the ultrasound imaging apparatus, and may be executed by a controller included in the ultrasound imaging apparatus. Can be. In detail, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10 of FIG. 1 further includes a storage unit, and stores various algorithms or software performed in the ultrasound imaging apparatus 10, and intermediates each algorithm or software. The calculated value (for example, pixel point position value, transmission / reception delay time, phase value, etc.) and the result value (ultrasound restored image, etc.) may be stored. Here, the storage unit (not shown) may be a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a multimedia card micro type, a card type memory (SD, XD memory, etc.), Random Access Memory (RAM) Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM) magnetic memory, Magnetic disk It may include at least one type of storage medium of the optical disk. In addition, the controller may include the image processor 13 and / or the RX beam forming unit 12b of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment, and may be used as the same meaning as a “processor”, an “image processor”, and the like. .

Meanwhile, an embodiment of the present invention may also be implemented in the form of a recording medium including instructions executable by a computer, such as a program module executed by the computer. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. In addition, computer readable media may include all computer storage media. Computer storage media includes both volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data.

The foregoing description of the present invention is intended for illustration, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be easily modified in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. will be. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are exemplary in all respects and not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single type may be implemented in a distributed manner, and similarly, components described as distributed may be implemented in a combined form.

The scope of the present invention is shown by the following claims rather than the above description, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention. do.

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and those skilled in the art may make various modifications and changes without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. In addition, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention but are described, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. Therefore, the scope of the call of the present invention should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas falling within the scope of the present invention should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

10: ultrasonic imaging device
11: probe
12: beam forming unit
12a: TX beam forming portion 12b: RX beam forming portion
13: Image Processing Unit
14: display unit
15: user input unit
301: analog-to-digital converter
302: demodulation unit 303: filter unit
304: phase rotation unit 305: calculation unit

Claims (15)

In the ultrasonic image restoration method of the ultrasonic imaging apparatus,
Acquiring a three-dimensional ultrasound echo signal on a first coordinate system for each channel from the object;
Acquiring a transmission / reception delay time for each channel based on physical location information on a second coordinate system of a target cross section;
Obtaining a phase value corresponding to the transmission / reception delay time;
Phase-rotating the three-dimensional ultrasonic echo signal based on the phase value to obtain a signal value corresponding to each physical position information on the second coordinate system; And
And restoring an ultrasound image of the target cross-section based on the signal value. The method of claim 1,
The physical position information of the target cross section is the position of each pixel point in the second coordinate system determined based on the resolution of the ultrasonic image. The method of claim 2,
Computing the transmission and reception delay time,
Calculating a transmission delay time based on the coordinates of each pixel point in the second coordinate system, the transmission coordinates of the ultrasonic signal in the first coordinate system, and the speed of the ultrasonic waves; And
And calculating a reception delay time based on the coordinates of the pixel points in the second coordinate system, the channel coordinates for the ultrasonic echo signal in the first coordinate system, and the speed of the ultrasonic waves. . The method of claim 2,
Acquiring the signal value
Extracting an I signal (In-Phase) and a Q signal (Quadrature) from the 3D ultrasonic echo signal;
Phase-rotating each of the I signal and the Q signal based on the phase value;
Calculating scan line data based on the phase rotated result values; And
And obtaining a signal value corresponding to each pixel point based on a sum of a plurality of scan line data. The method of claim 4, wherein
The plurality of scan line data,
And at least one frame adjacent to each pixel point, the weight value being set based on a distance from each pixel point. The method of claim 1,
The target cross section,
And an arbitrary cross section located in a volume corresponding to the three-dimensional ultrasonic echo signal. The method of claim 6,
Physical position information of the target cross section,
The ultrasound image restoration method is calculated using the direction and the rotation value of the target cross section based on the coordinates on the second coordinate system of the reference cross section. The method of claim 1,
And the first coordinate system is a polar coordinate system and the second coordinate system is a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system. A storage unit for storing a program for restoring the ultrasound image; And
Includes a processor (processor) for executing the program,
The control unit, as the program is executed,
Acquiring a three-dimensional ultrasound echo signal on a first coordinate system for each channel from an object, acquiring a transmission / reception delay time for each channel based on physical location information on a second coordinate system of a target cross section, and a phase corresponding to the transmission / reception delay time Get the value,
Phase-rotating the three-dimensional ultrasonic echo signal based on the phase value to obtain a signal value corresponding to each physical position information on the second coordinate system,
An ultrasound imaging apparatus for restoring an ultrasound image of the target cross section based on the signal value. The method of claim 9,
The physical location information of the target cross section is the location of each pixel point in the second coordinate system determined based on the resolution of the ultrasound image. The method of claim 10,
The control unit
A transmission delay time is calculated based on the coordinates of each pixel point in the second coordinate system, the transmission coordinates of the ultrasonic signal in the first coordinate system, and the velocity of the ultrasonic waves,
And a reception delay time is calculated based on the coordinates of the pixel points in the second coordinate system, the channel coordinates for the ultrasonic echo signal in the first coordinate system, and the speed of the ultrasonic waves. The method of claim 10,
The control unit
Extracting an I signal (In-Phase) and a Q signal (Quadrature) from the 3D ultrasonic echo signal, and phase-rotating each of the I signal and the Q signal based on the phase value,
The method may further include calculating scan line data based on the phase rotated result values and obtaining signal values corresponding to the pixel points based on a sum of a plurality of scan line data. The method of claim 9,
The target cross section,
It is an arbitrary cross section located within the volume corresponding to the three-dimensional ultrasonic echo signal,
The control unit,
The physical imaging information of the arbitrary cross-section is calculated by using a moving direction and a rotation value of the target cross-section based on the coordinates on the second coordinate system of the reference cross-section. In the ultrasonic imaging apparatus,
A probe including a plurality of channels for receiving a three-dimensional ultrasonic echo signal on a first coordinate system;
Obtaining transmission and reception delay time for each channel, and obtaining a phase value corresponding to the transmission and reception delay time, based on the 3D ultrasound echo signal received from each channel and the physical position information on the second coordinate system of the target cross section, An RX beam forming unit configured to phase rotate the three-dimensional ultrasonic echo signal based on the phase value to obtain signal values corresponding to the physical position information; And
And an image processor configured to reconstruct an ultrasound image of the target cross section based on a signal value corresponding to the physical location information. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for implementing the method of any one of claims 1 to 8.

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