KR20120059738A - Portable ultrasound apparatus and ultrasound image providing system with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A portable ultrasonic apparatus and an ultrasonic image providing system with the same are provided to obtain ultrasonic data using a pencil-type portable ultrasonic probe. CONSTITUTION: An ultrasonic image providing system comprises an ultrasonic probe(110), a portable ultrasonic diagnosis part(120), and an image providing part(130). The ultrasonic probe transmits an ultrasonic signal to an object and receives an ultrasonic signal reflected from the object to generate a reception signal. The ultrasonic probe comprises a pencil-type ultrasonic probe including one transmission channel and one reception channel. The portable ultrasonic diagnosis part is connected to the ultrasonic probe, provides transmission pulse to the ultrasonic probe for obtaining continuous-wave Doppler images, and receives the reception signal from the ultrasonic probe to create ultrasonic data corresponding to the continuous-wave Doppler images. The image providing part is connected to the portable ultrasonic diagnosis part and provides ultrasonic images using the ultrasonic data.

Description

Portable ultrasound apparatus and ultrasonic image providing system having the same {PORTABLE ULTRASOUND APPARATUS AND ULTRASOUND IMAGE PROVIDING SYSTEM WITH THE SAME}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasound system, and more particularly, to a portable ultrasound apparatus for a pencil type ultrasound probe for obtaining a continuous wave Doppler image and an ultrasound image providing system having the same.

Ultrasound systems have non-invasive and non-destructive properties and are widely used in the medical field for obtaining information inside an object. Without the need for a surgical operation to directly incise and observe a subject, an ultrasound system is very important in the medical field because it can provide a doctor with a high-resolution image of the inside of a subject in real time.

The ultrasound system transmits an ultrasound signal to an object through an ultrasound probe, receives an ultrasound signal reflected from the object (ie, an ultrasound echo signal), and forms an ultrasound image of the object using the received ultrasound echo signal.

Meanwhile, the ultrasound system provides a continuous wave Doppler image using a pencil type ultrasound probe including one transmit channel and one receive channel.

Conventionally, in order to provide a CW Doppler image using a pencil-type ultrasound probe, a CW board capable of using a pencil-type ultrasound probe must be provided in an ultrasound system.

On the other hand, the ultrasonic system by processing the signal received from the pencil-type ultrasonic probe to form ultrasonic data corresponding to the CW Doppler image, and provided the formed ultrasonic data to a personal computer (PC), portable display system and the like. Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus that minimizes the influence of the ultrasound system to form ultrasound data corresponding to the CW Doppler image.

The present invention particularly provides a portable ultrasound apparatus for a pencil type ultrasound probe and a ultrasound image providing system having the same for obtaining a continuous wave Doppler image.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a portable ultrasound apparatus for a pencil type ultrasound probe includes: a transmission pulse generator configured to form a transmission pulse for obtaining a continuous wave Doppler image; A first connector connected to the pencil ultrasonic probe, for transmitting the transmission pulse provided from the transmission pulse forming unit to the pencil ultrasonic probe and receiving a received signal provided from the pencil ultrasonic probe; A signal processor operable to form ultrasonic data corresponding to the CW Doppler image using the received signal provided from the first connector; And a control unit operative to control the formation of the transmission pulse and the formation of the ultrasound data.

In addition, the ultrasound image providing system according to the present invention, a pencil-type ultrasound probe including one transmit channel (transmit channel) and one receive channel (receive channel); The pulsed probe is connected to the pencil-type ultrasound probe, provides a pulse of transmission to obtain a CW Doppler image to the pencil-type ultrasound probe, and receives ultrasonic data corresponding to the CW Doppler image by using a received signal provided from the pencil-type ultrasound probe. A portable ultrasound diagnosis unit operable to form; And an image providing unit connected to the portable ultrasound diagnosis unit and operable to provide an ultrasound image using the ultrasound data.

The present invention can provide a CW Doppler image without having a CW board that can use a pencil type ultrasonic probe in a general ultrasonic system.

In addition, the present invention can obtain the ultrasound data by using a portable ultrasound device for the pencil-type ultrasound probe, it is possible to minimize the impact of forming the ultrasound data corresponding to the CW Doppler image in a general ultrasound system.

In addition, the present invention can provide a CW Doppler image not only in a general ultrasound system but also in a personal computer (PC), a portable display system, and the like.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasound image providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a portable ultrasound apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a signal processing unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a signal processing unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

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 ultrasound image providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, an ultrasound probe 110, a portable ultrasound diagnosis unit 120, and an image providing unit 130 are included.

The ultrasound probe 110 transmits an ultrasound signal to the object and receives an ultrasound signal (that is, an ultrasound echo signal) reflected from the object to form a received signal. The received signal is an analog signal. In the present embodiment, the ultrasound probe 110 includes a pencil type ultrasound probe including one transmit channel and one receive channel.

The portable ultrasound diagnosis unit 120 is connected to the ultrasound probe 110. The portable ultrasound diagnosis unit 120 provides the ultrasound probe 110 with a transmission pulse for obtaining a CW doppler image. Therefore, the ultrasound probe 110 converts the transmission pulse into an ultrasound signal, transmits the ultrasound pulse to the object, and receives the ultrasound echo signal reflected from the object to form a reception signal. In addition, the portable ultrasound diagnosis unit 120 forms ultrasound data corresponding to the CW wave Doppler image by using the received signal provided from the ultrasound probe 110.

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a portable ultrasound diagnostic unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the portable ultrasound diagnosis unit 120 includes a transmission pulse generator 210, a first connector 220, a signal processor 230, a second connector 240, and a controller 250. In addition, the portable ultrasound diagnosis unit 120 further includes a power supply unit (not shown) for supplying power to the portable ultrasound diagnosis unit 120.

The transmission pulse forming unit 210 forms a transmission pulse for obtaining a CW Doppler image. In this embodiment, the transmission pulse forming unit 210 includes a one-channel transmission pulser (not shown) and a transmission pulser drive (not shown).

The first connector 220 is connected to the ultrasonic probe 110. In addition, the first connector 220 is connected to the transmission pulse generator 210 to transfer the transmission pulse provided from the transmission pulse generator 210 to the ultrasonic probe 110. In addition, the first connector 220 is connected to the signal processor 230 to transfer the received signal provided from the ultrasonic probe 110 to the signal processor 230. The first connector 220 may be any connector as long as it can be connected to an ultrasonic probe, more preferably a pencil-type ultrasonic probe.

The signal processor 230 forms ultrasound data by using the received signal provided from the first connector 220. The ultrasound data includes in-phase / quadrature (IQ) data or radio frequency (RF) data.

3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a signal processing unit according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, the signal processor 230 may include a low noise amplifier (LNA) 310, an IQ data forming unit 320, an anti-aliasing filter (AAF) 330, and a high pass filter (HPF) 340. And an analog-digital-converter (ADC) 350.

When the received signal is provided from the first connector 220, the LNA 310 amplifies the received signal and outputs the amplified received signal.

When the received signal amplified from the LNA 310 is provided, the IQ data forming unit 320 forms IQ data using the amplified received signal. In the present embodiment, the IQ data forming unit 320 includes a phase shifter (not shown) and a multiplier (not shown).

The AAF 330 is a low pass filter. When the IQ data is provided from the IQ data forming unit 320, the IAF data is filtered by removing data exceeding the Nyquist frequency with respect to the IQ data. Outputs

The HPF 340 is a clutter filter. When the filtered IQ data is provided from the AAF 330, the HPF 340 removes a clutter signal due to movement of a blood vessel wall, etc., to the filtered IQ data. Outputs clutter filtered IQ data.

When the clutter-filtered IQ data is provided from the HPF 340, the ADC 350 performs analog-to-digital conversion on the clutter-filtered IQ data to output ultrasonic data (ie, digital data). In this embodiment, the ultrasound data includes digital IQ data.

In the above-described embodiment, the signal processor 230 has been described as including a low noise amplifier (LNA) 310, an IQ data forming unit 320, an AAF 330, an HPF 340, and an ADC 350. It is not necessarily limited thereto, and may further include between the LNA 310 and the IQ data forming unit 320.

4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a signal processing unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, the signal processor 230 includes an LNA 410, an AAF 420, an HPF 430, and an ADC 440.

When the received signal is provided from the first connector 220, the LNA 410 amplifies the received signal and outputs the amplified received signal.

The AAF 420 is a low pass filter. When the received signal amplified from the LNA 410 is provided, the AAF 420 removes the signal exceeding the Nyquist frequency and outputs the filtered received signal.

The HPF 430 is a clutter filter. When the filtered reception signal is provided from the AAF 420, the HPF 430 removes a clutter signal caused by movement of a blood vessel wall, etc. with respect to the filtered reception signal. Outputs the clutter-filtered received signal.

When the clutter-filtered received signal is provided from the HPF 430, the ADC 440 outputs ultrasonic data by performing analog-to-digital conversion on the clutter-filtered received signal. In this embodiment, the ultrasound data includes RF data.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the second connector 240 includes a data connector for transmitting ultrasonic data by wire or wirelessly. The second connector 240 is connected to the image providing unit 130. The second connector 240 is connected to the signal processor 230 and transmits the ultrasonic data provided from the signal processor 230 to the image provider 130 by wire or wirelessly. In addition, the second connector 240 may receive data transmitted from the image providing unit 130 and transmit the received data to the controller 250.

The controller 250 controls the formation and transmission of the transmission pulse. In addition, the controller 250 controls the formation and transfer of the ultrasound data. In addition, the controller 250 may process data provided from the second connector 240.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the image provider 130 is connected to the portable ultrasound diagnosis unit 120 by wire or wirelessly. The image provider 130 forms an ultrasound image by using the ultrasound data provided from the portable ultrasound diagnosis unit 120 and outputs the formed ultrasound image. The image provider 130 may include a connector (not shown) for transmitting data to the portable ultrasound diagnosis unit 120 by wire or wirelessly, a processor (not shown) that operates to form an ultrasound image using ultrasound data, and And a display unit (not shown) operative to display an ultrasound image. The image providing unit 130 includes a general ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a personal computer (PC), a mobile terminal, and the like.

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

100: ultrasonic image providing system 110: ultrasonic probe
120: portable ultrasound diagnostic unit 130: image providing unit
210: transmit pulse forming unit 220: first connector
230: signal processing unit 240: second connector
250: control unit 310, 410: LNA
320: IQ data forming unit 330, 420: AAF
340, 430: HPF 350, 440: ADC

Claims (8)

A portable ultrasound device for a pencil type ultrasound probe,
A transmit pulse generator configured to form a transmit pulse for obtaining a continuous wave Doppler image;
A first connector connected to the pencil ultrasonic probe, for transmitting the transmission pulse provided from the transmission pulse forming unit to the pencil ultrasonic probe and receiving a received signal provided from the pencil ultrasonic probe;
A signal processor operable to form ultrasonic data corresponding to the CW Doppler image using the received signal provided from the first connector; And
A control unit operable to control formation of the transmission pulse and formation of the ultrasound data
Portable ultrasound device comprising a. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal processing unit,
A low noise amplifier (LNA) operable to amplify the received signal to output the amplified received signal;
An IQ data forming unit operable to form in-phase / quadrature (IQ) data using the amplified received signal;
An anti-aliasing filter (AAF) operative to remove data exceeding Nyquist frequency for the IQ data and output filtered IQ data;
A high pass filter (HPF) operable to output a clutter filtered IQ data by removing a clutter signal for the filtered IQ data; And
An analog-digital-converter (ADC) operable to perform analog digital conversion on the clutter filtered IQ data to output the ultrasonic data
Portable ultrasound device that operates to include. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal processing unit,
An LNA operable to amplify the received signal to output the amplified received signal;
An AAF operative to remove a signal exceeding a Nyquist frequency with respect to the amplified received signal to output a filtered received signal;
An HPF operable to remove a clutter signal with respect to the filtered received signal and output a clutter filtered received signal; And
An ADC operable to output the ultrasonic data by performing analog-to-digital conversion on the clutter-filtered received signal
Portable ultrasound device that operates to include. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A second connector connected to an external device and for transmitting the ultrasonic data to the external device
Portable ultrasound device further comprising. An ultrasound image providing system,
A pencil ultrasonic probe including one transmit channel and one receive channel;
The pulsed probe is connected to the pencil-type ultrasound probe, provides a pulse of transmission to obtain a CW Doppler image to the pencil-type ultrasound probe, and receives ultrasonic data corresponding to the CW Doppler image by using a received signal provided from the pencil-type ultrasound probe. A portable ultrasound diagnosis unit operable to form; And
An image providing unit connected to the portable ultrasound diagnosis unit and operative to provide an ultrasound image using the ultrasound data.
Ultrasound image providing system comprising a. The method of claim 5, wherein the portable ultrasound diagnostic unit,
A transmit pulse generator configured to form a transmit pulse for obtaining a continuous wave Doppler image;
A first connector connected to the pencil ultrasonic probe, for transmitting the transmission pulse provided from the transmission pulse forming unit to the pencil ultrasonic probe and receiving a received signal provided from the pencil ultrasonic probe;
A signal processor operable to form ultrasonic data corresponding to the CW Doppler image using the received signal provided from the first connector;
A second connector for transmitting the ultrasound data to the image providing unit;
A control unit operable to control formation of the transmission pulse and formation of the ultrasound data
Ultrasound image providing system comprising a. The method of claim 6, wherein the signal processing unit,
An LNA operable to amplify the received signal to output the amplified received signal;
An IQ data forming unit operable to form in-phase / quadrature (IQ) data using the amplified received signal;
An AAF operative to remove data exceeding a Nyquist frequency for the IQ data to output filtered IQ data;
An HPF operative to remove clutter signals for the filtered IQ data to output clutter filtered IQ data; And
An ADC configured to output analog data by performing analog-to-digital conversion on the clutter-filtered IQ data
Ultrasonic image providing system operative to include. The method of claim 6, wherein the signal processing unit,
An LNA operable to amplify the received signal to output the amplified received signal;
An AAF operative to remove a signal exceeding a Nyquist frequency with respect to the amplified received signal to output a filtered received signal;
An HPF operable to remove a clutter signal with respect to the filtered received signal and output a clutter filtered received signal; And
An ADC operable to output the ultrasonic data by performing analog-to-digital conversion on the clutter-filtered received signal
Ultrasonic image providing system operative to include.

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