KR20100059682A - Ultrasound system and method for providing volume information on periodically moving target object - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An ultrasound system and a method thereof are provided to offer the exact volume information by measuring the volume of an object based on reconstituted volume data. CONSTITUTION: A volume data forming part(121) forms the volume data by using ultrasonic data. A first image formation part(122) forms a plurality of slice images by using the volume data. A period detector(123) establishes the movement cycle of an object at based on a feature point set in the slice image. A volume data reconstruction part(124) reconstructs the volume data to a plurality of sub-volume data. A contour setting part(125) establishes the contour of the object to each sub-volume data. A measuring part(126) forms the volume information by measuring the volume of the object.

Description

ULTRASOUND SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING VOLUME INFORMATION ON PERIODICALLY MOVING TARGET OBJECT}

The present invention relates to an ultrasound system, and more particularly, to an ultrasound system and method for providing volume information of a periodically moving object.

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.

In general, a static three-dimensional image acquires three-dimensional raw data (data on x, y, z coordinates) regardless of time through a three-dimensional probe, and then synthesizes successive frames. This is an image composed through 3D rendering technique. Such static three-dimensional images have been widely used in recent years because they can be used for ultrasound diagnosis to observe and diagnose the inside of a human body without cumbersome procedures such as surgery.

However, since the static three-dimensional image is a still image, it is difficult to observe a moving object such as a fetus in real time. Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a live 3-dimensional imaging technique has recently been used as a method for providing a 3D video instead of a static 3D image. Live three-dimensional imaging can represent a certain degree of movement of the object.

On the other hand, the interest in the fetal heart is increasing in order to diagnose the developmental state of the fetus and the presence of disease early. However, there is a difficulty in accurately measuring the volume of a subject contracting and expanding at a very high speed such as the fetal heart.

The present invention detects a movement period of an object in volume data including a plurality of frames continuously obtained from a periodically moving object, reconstructs the volume data based on the detected movement period, and based on the reconstructed volume data. It provides an ultrasound system and method for measuring the volume of the volume information.

According to an aspect of the present invention, an ultrasound system includes: an ultrasound data acquisition unit configured to transmit an ultrasound signal to a moving object periodically and to receive a plurality of ultrasound data by receiving an ultrasound echo signal reflected from the object; And forming volume data including a plurality of frames using the ultrasound data, setting a movement period of the object using the volume data, and converting the volume data into a plurality of sub-volume data based on the movement period. And a processor operative to form volume information by measuring a volume of the object using the plurality of sub-volume data.

In addition, the volume information providing method according to the present invention comprises the steps of: a) transmitting an ultrasonic signal to a moving object periodically and receiving the ultrasonic echo signal reflected from the object to obtain a plurality of ultrasonic data; b) forming volume data including a plurality of frames using the ultrasonic data; c) setting a movement period of the object using the volume data; d) reconstructing the volume data into a plurality of sub-volume data based on the movement period; e) setting a contour of the object on each sub-volume data; And f) measuring volume of the object based on the contour to form volume information.

In addition, a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for performing a method for providing volume information of a periodically moving object according to the present invention, the method comprising: a) transmitting an ultrasonic signal to a periodically moving object and the object Receiving a ultrasonic echo signal reflected from the optical signal to obtain a plurality of ultrasonic data; b) forming volume data including a plurality of frames using the ultrasonic data; c) setting a movement period of the object using the volume data; d) reconstructing the volume data into a plurality of sub-volume data based on the movement period; e) setting a contour of the object on each sub-volume data; And f) measuring volume of the object based on the contour to form volume information.

The present invention can provide volume information by accurately measuring the volume of a periodically moving object.

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 the present invention. The ultrasound system 100 includes an ultrasound data acquisition unit 110, a processor 120, a user input unit 130, and a display unit 140.

The ultrasound data obtaining unit 110 transmits an ultrasound signal to the object and receives the ultrasound signal (that is, the ultrasound echo signal) reflected from the object to obtain the ultrasound data. The ultrasound data acquisition unit 110 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 110 includes an ultrasonic probe 112 including a transmission signal forming unit 111, a plurality of transducer elements (not shown), a beam former 113, and an ultrasonic data forming unit 114. ).

The transmission signal forming unit 111 forms a transmission signal in consideration of the position and focus point of the conversion element. The transmission signal forming unit 111 repeatedly forms the transmission signal at predetermined time intervals, thereby forming a plurality of transmission signals for obtaining the frame _Pi (1 ≦ _i ≦ N) as shown in FIG. 6. . The frame may represent a cross section of the object.

When the transmission signal is provided from the transmission signal forming unit 111, the ultrasound probe 112 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 ultrasound probe 112 repeatedly transmits and receives an ultrasound signal to form a plurality of reception signals according to transmission signals sequentially provided from the transmission signal forming unit 111.

When the received signal is provided from the ultrasonic probe 112, the beam former 113 converts the received signal into analog and digital to form a digital signal. In addition, the beam former 113 focuses the digital signal in consideration of the position and the focusing point of the conversion element to form the reception focus signal. The beam former 113 repeatedly performs analog-to-digital conversion and reception focusing to form a plurality of reception focusing signals according to the reception signals sequentially provided from the ultrasonic probe 112.

When the reception focus signal is provided from the beamformer 113, the ultrasound data forming unit 114 forms the ultrasound data using the reception focus signal. The ultrasonic data forming unit 114 repeatedly forms the ultrasonic data according to the reception focus signal sequentially provided from the beamformer 113, thereby generating a plurality of ultrasonic data corresponding to the frame _Pi (1 ≦ _i ≦ N). To form.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the processor 120 is connected to the ultrasound data acquisition unit 110. As shown in FIG. 3, the processor 120 includes a volume data forming unit 121, a first image forming unit 122, a period detector 123, a volume data reconstructing unit 124, a contour setting unit 125, The measurement unit 126 and the second image forming unit 127 are included. In addition, the period detecting unit 123 includes a feature point setting unit 123a, a feature point curve forming unit 123b, and a period setting unit 123c as shown in FIG. 4.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of forming volume information of a moving object according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5, the volume data forming unit 121 synthesizes ultrasonic wave data corresponding to the frame _Pi (1 ≦ _i ≦ N) to make the frame Pi _i. Volume data including (1 ≦ i ≦ N) is formed (S502).

The first image forming unit 122 forms a plurality of slice images based on the volume data (S504). The slice image may be a B mode (brightness mode) image corresponding to the frame. In addition, the slice image includes pixels having a brightness value.

The feature point setting unit 123a sets a feature point in each slice image formed by the first image forming unit 122 (S506). The feature point may use a point having a common feature in each slice image. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the center of gravity of the pixel values (intensities) constituting each slice image may be used as the feature point. As illustrated in FIG. 7, a method of determining a center of gravity point in a slice image 200 including M × N pixels 210 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. For convenience of explanation, the slice image 200 has x coordinates of 1, 2,... , M, y coordinates are 1, 2,... For example, an example located at an xy coordinate of N will be described. The feature point setting unit 123a obtains first operation values Sx1, Sx2,..., SxM by summing pixels along the y-axis in each of the coordinates of the x-axis. Subsequently, the feature point setting unit 123a sequentially multiplies each of the first calculation values Sx1, Sx2,..., And SxM by the weights Wx1, Wx2,. ,…, SMxM). Here, the weights Wx1, Wx2, ..., WxM multiplying the first operation values Sx1, Sx2, ..., SxM may use arbitrary values that increase or decrease at regular intervals. For example, the coordinate values of the x-axis, that is, 1, 2,... , M may be used as a weight Wx1, Wx2, ..., WxM that multiplies the first operation values Sx1, Sx2, ..., SxM. The feature point setting unit 123a obtains a third operation value by adding the first operation values Sx1, Sx2,..., And SxM, and adds the second operation values SMx1, SMx2,..., SMxM to a fourth operation value. Get The feature point setting unit 123a may obtain a center point of gravity on the x-axis of pixel values constituting the slice image 200 by dividing the fourth operation value by the third operation value.

In addition, the feature point setting unit 123a obtains fifth calculation values Sy1, Sy2, ..., SyN by summing pixel values along the x-axis in each of the coordinates of the y-axis. Subsequently, the feature point setting unit 123a sequentially multiplies each of the fifth operation values Sy1, Sy2,..., And SyN by the weights Wy1, Wy2,..., And WyM, and the sixth operation values SMy1, SMy2. , ..., SMxN). Here, the weights Wy1, Wy2, ..., WyN multiplied by the fifth calculation values Sy1, Sy2, ..., SyN may use arbitrary values that increase or decrease at regular intervals. For example, the y-axis coordinate values, i.e. 1, 2,... , N may be used as a weight value Wy1, Wy2, ..., WyN that is multiplied by the fifth operation values Sy1, Sy2, ..., SyN. The feature point setting unit 123a obtains the seventh operation value by adding the fifth operation values Sy1, Sy2,..., And SyN, and adds the eighth operation value SMy1, SMy2,..., SMyN to the eighth operation value. Get The feature point setting unit 123a may obtain a center of gravity point along the y-axis of pixel values constituting the slice image 200 by dividing the eighth operation value by the seventh operation value. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the feature point is set using the center of gravity of pixel values of pixels constituting the slice images. In another embodiment, the feature point may be set through SVD (singular value decomposition).

When the center of gravity points are obtained for all slice images, the feature point curve forming unit 123b displays the centers of gravity by displaying the xy coordinates as shown in FIG. 8 (S508), and from these, the primary axis, 300 is set (S510). The feature point curve forming unit 123b calculates a distance d between the set center axis 300 and the center of gravity points (S512). The feature point curve forming unit 123b may be graphically displayed as shown in FIG. 9 using the distance d calculated as described above (S514). In FIG. 9, the horizontal axis represents a slice image, and the vertical axis represents a size related to the distance d between the center of gravity and the central axis.

The period setting unit 123c sets the interval between the vertices as the movement period of the object in the graph shown in FIG. 9 (S516). According to an embodiment of the present invention, the period setting unit 123c calculates a slope with respect to the graph shown in FIG. 9. The period setting unit 123c obtains zero crossing points whose calculated slopes change from positive to negative, detects code conversion points having a similar distance between the code conversion points, and sets the period of the code conversion points as the movement period of the object. do.

Referring back to FIG. 5, when the period detection unit 123 detects a movement period, the volume data reconstruction unit 124 performs interpolation on the volume data to have the same number of frames in the movement period of the volume data ( In operation S 520, the interpolated volume data is reconstructed.

10 shows a procedure for reconstructing interpolated volume data. As shown in FIG. 10, when there are 26 periods from A to Z in one volume data, and one period includes six frames, the reconstructed volume includes six sub-volumes. ) And each sub-volume consists of 26 frames from Ai to Zi.

On the other hand, when acquiring a plurality of ultrasound data by scanning the subject, it may be difficult to detect the heart rate of the fetus by the movement of the subject, for example, a pregnant woman or the fetus. Accordingly, the volume data reconstructor 124 may compensate for the movement of the object by using matching with the pixel brightness value. Motion compensation may be performed using various known methods, and thus will not be described in detail in this embodiment.

The contour setting unit 125 sets the contour of the object to each sub-volume data (S522). According to an embodiment of the present invention, the contour setting unit 125 sets a contour on each sub-volume data based on input information provided from the user input unit 130. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the contour setting unit 125 detects a contour point of the object from each sub-sub volume data, and sets a contour on each sub-sub volume data using the detected contour point. The contour point may be detected through various known methods and thus will not be described in detail in this embodiment.

The measuring unit 126 measures volume of the object based on the contour set by the contour setting unit 125 to form volume information (S524). Contour based volume measurement may be performed through various known methods and thus will not be described in detail in this embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3 again, the second image forming unit 127 renders each sub-volume data to form a plurality of 3D ultrasound images. Accordingly, the user may input input information for setting the contour of the object by using the plurality of 3D ultrasound images.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the user input unit 130 receives user input information. The input information includes input information for setting a contour of the object on each of the plurality of 3D ultrasound images. The user input unit 130 may include a control panel (not shown), a mouse (not shown), a keyboard (not shown), and the like.

The display 140 displays volume information formed by the processor 120. In addition, the display 140 displays a plurality of 3D ultrasound images formed by the processor 120.

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.

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 a period detection unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of forming volume information of a periodically moving object according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is an exemplary view showing an example of obtaining ultrasound data corresponding to a plurality of frames according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is an exemplary view showing an example of setting a feature point in each slice image according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is an exemplary view showing a process of obtaining a feature point curve from feature points according to an embodiment of the present invention.

9 is an exemplary view showing an example of a feature point curve according to an embodiment of the present invention.

10 is an exemplary view illustrating a process of reconstructing volume data using a movement period of an object according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (22)

As an ultrasonic system, An ultrasound data acquisition unit operative to transmit an ultrasound signal to a moving object periodically and to receive a plurality of ultrasound data by receiving an ultrasound echo signal reflected from the object; And Form volume data including a plurality of frames using the ultrasonic data, set a movement period of the object using the volume data, and convert the volume data into a plurality of sub-volume data based on the movement period. A processor operative to reconstruct and form volume information by measuring a volume of the object using the plurality of sub-volume data Ultrasound system comprising a. The method of claim 1, wherein the processor, A volume data forming unit operable to form the volume data using the ultrasonic data; A first image forming unit operable to form a plurality of slice images using the volume data; A period detection unit configured to set a feature point in each slice image and to set a movement period of the object based on the feature point set in the slice image; A volume data reconstruction unit operable to interpolate the volume data and to reconstruct the volume data into a plurality of sub-volume data based on the movement period; A contour setting unit operable to set a contour of the object to the respective sub-volume data; And A measurement unit operable to measure the volume of the object based on the contour to form the volume information Ultrasound system comprising a. The ultrasound system of claim 2, wherein the slice image is a B mode image corresponding to the frame. The method of claim 2, wherein the period detecting unit, A feature point setting unit operable to set the feature point in each slice image; A feature point curve forming unit operable to form a feature point curve using the feature point; And Period setting unit for setting the movement period of the object from the feature point curve Ultrasound system comprising a. The ultrasound system of claim 4, wherein the feature point setting beam is configured to set a center of gravity point for a brightness value of a pixel in each slice image as the feature point. The ultrasound system of claim 4, wherein the feature point curve forming unit is configured to set a center axis using the position of the feature point, and form the feature point curve based on a distance between the center axis and the feature point. The method of claim 4, wherein the period setting unit calculates a slope from the feature point curve, obtains a plurality of zero crossing points from which the slope changes from positive to negative, and based on the interval between the code change points. An ultrasound system operative to set the period of movement of the object. The method of claim 2, wherein the processor, A second image forming unit operable to render the plurality of sub-volume data to form a plurality of 3D ultrasound images Ultrasonic system further comprising. The method of claim 8, A user input unit operable to receive input information for setting a contour of the object on each of the plurality of 3D ultrasound images Ultrasonic system further comprising. The ultrasound system of claim 9, wherein the contour setting unit is configured to set a contour of the object on each of the plurality of 3D ultrasound images according to the input information. The ultrasound apparatus of claim 2, wherein the contour setting unit detects a contour point of the object from the sub-volume data and sets the contour to the sub-volume data using the detected contour point. system. A method of providing volume information of a moving object, a) acquiring a plurality of ultrasound data by transmitting an ultrasound signal to a moving object periodically and receiving an ultrasound echo signal reflected from the object; b) forming volume data including a plurality of frames using the ultrasonic data; c) setting a movement period of the object using the volume data; d) reconstructing the volume data into a plurality of sub-volume data based on the movement period; e) setting a contour of the object on each sub-volume data; And f) measuring volume of the object based on the contour to form volume information Volume information providing method comprising a. The method of claim 12, wherein step c) c1) forming a plurality of slice images using the volume data; c2) setting a feature point on each slice image; And c3) setting a movement period of the object based on the feature point set in the slice image Volume information providing method comprising a. The method of claim 13, wherein the slice image is a B mode image corresponding to the frame. The method of claim 13, wherein step c1) Setting the feature point in each slice image based on a brightness value of a pixel Volume information providing method comprising a. The method of claim 15, wherein a center point for the brightness value of the pixel is set as the feature point. The method of claim 13, wherein step c3) c31) forming a feature point curve based on the feature point; And c32) setting a movement period of the object based on the feature point curve Volume information providing method comprising a. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein step c31) Setting a central axis based on the position of the feature point; And Forming the feature point curve based on the distance between the feature point and the central axis Volume information providing method comprising a. The method of claim 17, wherein step c32), Calculating a slope from the feature point curve; Obtaining zero crossing points at which the slope changes from positive to negative; And Setting a movement period of the object based on an interval between the code conversion points Volume information providing method comprising a. The method of claim 12, wherein step e) Setting a contour of the object on the respective sub-volume data based on user input information; Volume information providing method comprising a. The method of claim 12, wherein step e) Detecting a contour point of the object on the respective sub-volume data; And Setting the contour to the respective sub-volume data using the detected contour point Volume information providing method comprising a. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for performing a method for providing volume information of a periodically moving object, the method comprising: a) acquiring a plurality of ultrasound data by transmitting an ultrasound signal to a moving object periodically and receiving an ultrasound echo signal reflected from the object; b) forming volume data including a plurality of frames using the ultrasonic data; c) setting a movement period of the object using the volume data; d) reconstructing the volume data into a plurality of sub-volume data based on the movement period; e) setting a contour of the object on each sub-volume data; And f) measuring volume of the object based on the contour to form volume information Computer-readable recording medium comprising a.

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