KR20110096902A - Method and apparatus of forming multiple scanning lines - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for generating multiple scan lines, wherein a maximum value of a channel integer delay time corresponding to each of the plurality of scan lines is selected, and a channel is stored by shifting a register each time the selected maximum value is changed, Selecting the stored channel data based on a difference between the value and the channel integer delay time corresponding to each of the plurality of scan lines, and synthesizing the selected channel data for each scan line, by generating several scan lines at a time. The scan line resolution may be increased while increasing the frame rate of the image or maintaining the same frame rate.

Description

Method and apparatus for forming multiple scanning lines

The present invention relates to a multi-scan line generation method, and more particularly, to a multi-scan line generation method and apparatus for increasing the scan line resolution while increasing the frame rate of an image or maintaining the same frame rate by generating several scan lines at once. .

Ultrasound medical device systems are supporting a variety of modes of operation as technology advances. B-mode, which displays an image with the size of sound waves reflected from human tissue, Color Flow Imaging mode, which qualitatively shows the velocity and dispersion of blood flow in the region of interest of the image, and the velocity of blood flow quantitatively. Informational spectral Doppler modes exist to provide clinical information in diagnosing a patient's condition. In addition, many application methods such as composite caliber imaging, 3D image generation, and elastic imaging have been proposed. In implementing all of these methods, in order to more effectively carry out clinical information transfer, it is necessary to generate multiple scan lines because it is necessary to process various acquisitions and image configurations simultaneously.

Accordingly, the first problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a method for generating multiple scan lines by increasing the scan line resolution while increasing the frame rate of the image or maintaining the same frame rate by generating several scan lines at one time.

A second problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a multi-scan line generating apparatus that increases the scanning line resolution by increasing the frame rate of the image or maintaining the same frame rate by generating several scan lines at one time.

Further, the present invention provides a computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the above method on a computer.

The present invention includes the steps of selecting the maximum value of the channel integer delay time corresponding to each of the plurality of scan lines in order to achieve the first object; Shifting a register to store channel data each time the selected maximum value is changed; Selecting the stored channel data based on a difference between the selected maximum value and a channel integer delay time corresponding to each of the plurality of scan lines; And synthesizing the selected channel data for each scan line.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the method may further include performing a fractional delay filtering on the channel data synthesized for each scan line.

The synthesizing of the selected channel data for each scan line may include synthesizing channel data having the same channel fractional delay time for each scan line, and performing the fractional delay filtering may include synthesizing the same channel synthesized for each scan line. It is desirable to perform fractional delay filtering of channel data having channel fractional delay time.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the method may further include storing the channel data in a memory corresponding to each channel, and the storing of the channel data may include shifting a register whenever the selected maximum value is changed. It is preferable to store the channel data stored in the register.

Also, the change in the maximum value can be detected from the change in the integer portion of the maximum value.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a channel integer delay time maximum value selector which selects a maximum value of a channel integer delay time corresponding to each of a plurality of scan lines; A register block unit for shifting a register to store channel data each time the selected maximum value is changed; A multiple scan line multiplexer unit for selecting the stored channel data based on a difference between the selected maximum value and a channel integer delay time corresponding to each of the plurality of scan lines; And a combiner configured to synthesize the selected channel data for each scan line.

In order to solve the above other technical problem, the present invention provides a computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the above-described method for generating multiple scan lines in a computer.

According to the present invention, by generating several scan lines at a time, the scan line resolution can be increased while increasing the frame rate of the image or maintaining the same frame rate. In addition, according to the present invention, by performing the fractional delay filtering after synthesizing the channel data having the same channel fractional delay time, it is not necessary to have a fractional delay filter for each channel, and it is possible to perform filtering with one fractional delay filter. Therefore, hardware complexity can be reduced.

1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for generating multiple scan lines according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a detailed diagram of the multiple access register block unit 120 and the delay time interpolation calculator 140 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for generating multiple scan lines according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Prior to the description of the specific contents of the present invention, for the convenience of understanding, the outline of the solution of the problem to be solved by the present invention or the core of the technical idea will be presented first.

The multi-scan line generation method according to an embodiment of the present invention selects a maximum value of a channel integer delay time corresponding to each of a plurality of scan lines, and shifts a register every time the selected maximum value is changed to store channel data. The method may include selecting the stored channel data based on a difference between the selected maximum value and a channel integer delay time corresponding to each of the plurality of scan lines, and synthesizing the selected channel data for each scan line.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to preferred examples. However, these examples are intended to illustrate the present invention in more detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the scope of the present invention is not limited thereby. The configuration of the invention for clarifying the solution to the problem to be solved by the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings based on the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the same in the reference numerals to the components of the drawings The same reference numerals are given to the components even though they are on different drawings, and it is to be noted that in the description of the drawings, components of other drawings may be cited if necessary. In addition, when it is determined that the detailed description of the known function or configuration and other matters related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The dynamic beam focusing system receives the signal transmitted by the focused system through the medium and reflects the signal reflected from the tissue as a digital signal, and then models it as a signal from the point source by focused transmission, and thus reaches the ultrasonic array transducer. It means adding the same delay time. In an embodiment of the present invention, it is assumed that there are several transmitting point sources at the same time for such a dynamic beam focusing, and by simultaneously receiving and receiving signals from several transmitting point sources, a plurality of focusing data can be generated at a time, thereby reducing the frame rate of an image. The scan line resolution can be increased while increasing or maintaining the same frame rate.

1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for generating multiple scan lines according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the apparatus for generating multiple scan lines according to the present exemplary embodiment includes an ultrasonic array transducer 100, a data buffer unit 110, a multiple access register block unit 120, a fractional synthesis delay block unit 130, and The delay time interpolation calculator 140 is configured. The multiple access register block unit 120 is composed of a register block unit 121 and a multiple scan line multiplexer unit 122, and the prime synthesis delay block unit 130 includes a prime delay select synthesizer 131 and a prime delay filter unit 132. It is composed of

The ultrasonic array transducer 100 receives a signal from which the focused signal is reflected by the tissue passing through the medium and converts the signal into a digital signal.

The data buffer unit 110 stores the digital signal converted by the ultrasonic array transducer 100 in a memory corresponding to each channel.

The multiple access register block unit 120 receives and stores data of each channel to be dynamically focused from the data buffer unit 110 and uses the integer delay time of each channel in which data of each channel is calculated for each scan line. To select and output each scan line. The multiple access register block unit 120 is composed of a register block unit 121 and a multiple scan line multiplexer unit 122.

The register block unit 121 stores the digital signal stored in the data buffer unit 110 in the register for each channel based on the channel integer delay time of the delay time interpolation calculator 140. In addition, the register block 121 outputs the digital signal stored in the register for each channel to the multiple scan line multiplexer 122 according to the channel integer delay time of the delay time interpolation calculator 140. The channel constant delay time means an integer part of the delay time corresponding to each scan line.

That is, the register block unit 121 receives each channel data to be dynamically focused from the data buffer unit 110 using the address value calculated by the delay time interpolation calculator 140. Received channel data is stored in registers which exist for each channel in turn. The method of storing channel data selects the maximum value of each channel integer delay time calculated for each scan line and shifts the register whenever this value changes. Save the data.

The multiple scan line multiplexer unit 122 outputs the channel data stored in the register block unit 121 for each scan line using the channel integer delay time.

The fractional synthesis delay block unit 130 receives the channel data for each scan line from the multiple scan line multiplexer unit 122 and performs the same channel based on the channel fractional delay time received from the delay time interpolation calculator 140. Channel data with channel fractional delays are selected, synthesized, and passed through a fractional delay filter. The channel fractional delay time means a finer delay value used for each channel in order to increase the accuracy of beam focusing, and uses a fractional part (fractional value) of the delay time for this purpose. A fractional delay filter is used to obtain the corresponding received value using the fractional part of the delay. The prime synthesis delay block 130 is composed of a prime delay select synthesizer 131 and a prime delay filter 132.

The fractional delay select synthesizer 131 receives the channel data for each scan line from the multiple scan line multiplexer unit 122 and the same channel based on the channel fractional delay time received from the delay time interpolation calculator 140. Channel data having a fractional delay time is selected and synthesized, and then output to the fractional delay filter unit 132. In this case, it is preferable that there is a decimal delay select synthesizer 131 corresponding to each scan line.

The fractional delay filter unit 132 is provided for each channel fractional delay time, and when the number of taps is four, the channel fractional delay time D is expressed as 0.00, 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75. The number of taps of the fractional delay filter used can vary depending on the performance desired by the beam focusing system, and the number of sets of filters is determined by the accuracy of the delay time desired. The set (coefficient) of the delay delay filter is determined according to the fractional part of the delay time. In an embodiment of the present invention, post-filtering is a structure in which channels using the same coefficient are collected beforehand, and then filtered only once. Is preferably used. This post-filtering technique can significantly reduce hardware complexity by enabling beam focusing with only one filtering regardless of the number of channels in the beam focusing system.

Accordingly, the fractional synthesis delay block unit 130 according to an embodiment of the present invention blocks summing data of all channels to which the same fractional delay is to be given, and the summed channel data is a corresponding fractional delay filter (i.e. , 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 fractional delay filter).

The delay time interpolation calculator 140 outputs the channel integer delay time to the data buffer unit 110 and the multiple access register block unit 120, and outputs the channel fractional delay time to the fractional synthesis delay block unit 130. The delay time interpolation calculator 140 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 2.

2 is a detailed diagram of the multiple access register block unit 120 and the delay time interpolation calculator 140 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Since the multiple access register block unit 120 has been described in detail with reference to FIG. 1, description thereof will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 2, the delay time interpolation calculator 140 includes a channel integer delay time calculator 141, a channel integer delay time maximum selector 142, a channel integer delay time change detector 143, and a difference. It consists of a comparator 144.

The channel integer delay time calculator 141 calculates the channel integer delay time for each scan line. The channel integer delay time corresponding to each of the four scan lines may be expressed as M, M + 1, M + 2, and M + 3.

The channel integer delay time maximum value selector 142 selects a maximum value from the channel integer delay times calculated by the channel integer delay time calculator 141.

The channel constant delay time change detector 143 detects that the maximum value of the channel constant delay time changes. Whenever the channel constant delay time change detector 143 detects that the maximum value of the channel integer delay time changes, the register of the register block 121 is shifted.

The difference comparator 144 compares the difference between the maximum value selected by the channel integer delay time maximum value selector 142 and the channel integer delay time corresponding to each scan line, and according to the comparison result, the multiple scan line multiplexer 122 Output the control value.

The channel data stored in the register block unit 121 shown in FIG. 2 is coupled to the multi-scan line multiplexer unit 122 in which eight adjacent channel data are bundled together, which blocks the block data to be input to the fractional synthesis delay block unit 130. The selection in the multiple scan line multiplexer section 122 is made by the difference between the channel integer delay time maximum value obtained by the channel integer delay time maximum selector 142 and the channel integer delay time for each scan line. .

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for generating multiple scan lines according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the method for generating a multi-scan line according to the present embodiment includes steps that are processed in time series in the multi-scan line generating apparatus shown in FIG. 1. Therefore, even if omitted below, the above descriptions of the apparatus for generating a multi-scan line shown in FIG. 1 also apply to the method for generating a multi-scan line according to the present embodiment.

In operation 300, the apparatus for generating multiple scan lines selects pixel points for beam focusing.

In operation 310, the apparatus for generating multiple scan lines selects the maximum value of the channel integer delay time corresponding to the selected pixel point.

In operation 320, the apparatus for generating multiple scan lines detects a change in the maximum value of the channel integer delay time.

In operation 330, the apparatus for generating multiple scan lines determines whether the maximum value of the channel integer delay time has changed. As a result of the determination, if the maximum value of the channel constant delay time is changed, the process proceeds to step 340, and if it does not change, the process proceeds to step 310.

In operation 340, the apparatus for generating multiple scan lines shifts the register whenever the maximum value of the channel integer delay time changes, and stores the channel data in the register.

In operation 350, the apparatus for generating multiple scan lines calculates a difference between the maximum value of the channel integer delay time and the channel integer delay time for each scan line.

In operation 360, the multi-scan line generating apparatus selects and outputs channel data stored in the register block using the difference calculated in operation 350.

In operation 370, the apparatus for generating multiple scan lines receives channel data for each scan line, and selects and synthesizes channel data having the same channel fractional delay time based on the channel fractional delay time.

In operation 380, the apparatus for generating multiple scan lines passes the channel data synthesized in operation 370 to the fractional delay filter corresponding to the channel fractional delay time.

Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed by various computer means and recorded in a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc. alone or in combination. Program instructions recorded on the media may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or they may be of the kind well-known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape, optical media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, and magnetic disks, such as floppy disks. Magneto-optical media, and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include not only machine code generated by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware device described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the present invention, and vice versa.

As described above, the present invention has been described by specific embodiments such as specific components and the like. For those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains, various modifications and variations are possible. Therefore, the spirit of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, and all of the equivalents or equivalents of the claims as well as the claims to be described later will belong to the scope of the present invention. .

Claims (11)

Selecting a maximum value of a channel integer delay time corresponding to each of the plurality of scan lines;
Shifting a register to store channel data each time the selected maximum value is changed;
Selecting the stored channel data based on a difference between the selected maximum value and a channel integer delay time corresponding to each of the plurality of scan lines; And
And synthesizing the selected channel data for each scan line. The method of claim 1,
And performing a fractional delay filtering of the channel data synthesized for each scan line. The method of claim 2,
Synthesizing the selected channel data for each scan line
And synthesizing channel data having the same channel fractional delay time for each scan line,
The fractional delay filtering
And prime-delay filtering channel data having the same channel fractional delay time synthesized for each scan line. The method of claim 1,
Storing the channel data in a memory corresponding to each channel;
The storing of the channel data may include
And shifting a register each time the selected maximum value is changed to store channel data stored in the memory in the register. The method of claim 1,
And wherein the change in the maximum value is detected from a change in the integer portion of the maximum value. A channel integer delay time maximum value selector selecting a maximum value of a channel integer delay time corresponding to each of the plurality of scan lines;
A register block unit for shifting a register to store channel data each time the selected maximum value is changed;
A multiple scan line multiplexer unit for selecting the stored channel data based on a difference between the selected maximum value and a channel integer delay time corresponding to each of the plurality of scan lines; And
And a synthesizer for synthesizing the selected channel data for each scan line. The method according to claim 6,
And a fractional delay filter unit for fractional delay filtering the channel data synthesized for each scan line. The method of claim 7, wherein
The synthesis unit synthesizes channel data having the same channel fractional delay time for each scan line,
And the fractional delay filter unit performs fractional delay filtering on channel data having the same channel fractional delay time synthesized for each scan line. The method according to claim 6,
Further comprising a memory for storing the channel data for each channel,
The register block portion
And shifting a register each time the selected maximum value is changed to store the channel data stored in the memory in the register. The method according to claim 6,
And wherein the change in the maximum value is detected from a change in the integer portion of the maximum value. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the method of any one of claims 1 to 5.

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