KR20150005739A - Ultrasound imaging apparatus and control method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an ultra sound imaging apparatus and a control method thereof. The ultra sound imaging apparatus includes a probe which transmits an ultrasound signal from an object and receives an echo signal reflected from the object; an image processing unit which generates a first image corresponding to the received echo signal according as the probe transmits the ultrasound signal and generates a second image corresponding to the received echo signal according as the probe transmits the ultrasound signal during or after the injection of contrast medium into the object; and a volume data generator which generates the volume data of the object based on the first image. The image processing unit obtains a third image corresponding to the second image by slicing the volume data. The ultrasound imaging data and the control method thereof increases the duration time of the contrast medium injected into the object and increases the frame rate of an image implemented in real time. The present invention helps a tested part of the object to be checked by improving the performance of the displayed image.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to an ultrasonic imaging apparatus,

The present invention relates to an ultrasound imaging apparatus and a control method thereof, which display an image before injecting a contrast agent into a target object, together with an image of the injected object during or after injection, using three-dimensional volume data of the object.

An ultrasound imaging apparatus irradiates ultrasound to a target object on a surface of a target object and detects ultrasound reflected from the target object, that is, echo ultrasonic waves to generate an image of a target site within a target body such as a tomogram or blood flow Provide information on the required test site.

Ultrasound imaging devices are small, inexpensive, non-invasive and non-destructive in comparison to other imaging devices such as X-ray devices, CT scanners, MRI (Magnetic Resonance Images) and nuclear medicine diagnostic devices It is widely used for diagnosis of obstetrics and gynecology, heart, abdomen and urology.

Recently, Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS) using ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) has begun to be applied to the diagnosis of vascular diseases.

The contrast enhancement ultrasound (CEUS) images the contrast agent flowing along the blood vessel of the part to be examined. In the dual live mode, it is possible to output an image showing only the contrast agent and an image showing the anatomical structure of the part to be examined .

The present invention relates to an ultrasound imaging apparatus and a control method thereof, which display an image before injecting a contrast agent into a target object, together with an image of the injected object during or after injection, using three-dimensional volume data of the object.

The ultrasound imaging apparatus includes: a probe that transmits an ultrasound signal to a target object and receives an echo signal reflected from the target object; A first image is generated corresponding to an echo signal received by the probe before the contrast agent is injected into the object, and after the contrast agent is injected into the object, the probe responds to the received echo signal as the ultrasonic signal is transmitted An image processor for generating a second image; And a volume data generation unit for generating volume data of the object based on the first image. And the image processor may acquire a third image corresponding to the second image by slicing the volume data.

Wherein the image processing unit is configured to acquire a plurality of first images corresponding to a plurality of echo signals to be received as a plurality of ultrasonic signals are transmitted while the probes move in a three-dimensional area of the object before the contrast agent is injected into the object Or an ultrasound imaging device.

Wherein the image processing unit generates a second image corresponding to an echo signal received by the probe when the probe transmits the ultrasound signal at a position selected by the user in the three-dimensional region during or after injecting the contrast agent into the object Which is an ultrasound imaging device.

The ultrasound imaging apparatus may further include: a storage unit for storing the generated volume data; As shown in FIG.

The probe may be an ultrasound imaging apparatus including a position sensor for sensing a position and a direction of the probe.

The position sensor may be an ultrasound imaging apparatus that senses the position and direction of the probe when the probe transmits the ultrasound signal to generate the first image or the second image.

The volume data generation unit may acquire spatial positional information of the first image using the position and direction of the probe sensed by the positional sensor, and generate a pixel of the first image based on the obtained spatial positional information, To generate the volume data of the object.

Wherein the image processing unit obtains spatial position information of the second image using the position and direction of the probe sensed by the position sensor and slice the volume data based on the obtained spatial position information, Thereby obtaining a third image corresponding to the second image.

The ultrasound imaging apparatus includes a display unit for displaying the second image and the third image; As shown in FIG.

A method of controlling an ultrasound imaging apparatus includes the steps of generating a first image corresponding to an echo signal received by a probe before injecting a contrast agent into a target object; Generating volume data of the object based on the first image; Generating a second image corresponding to an echo signal received by the probe as the probe transmits the ultrasound signal after injecting the contrast agent into the object; And obtaining a third image corresponding to the second image by slicing the volume data; . ≪ / RTI >

The step of generating the first image corresponding to the echo signal received by the probe before the injection of the contrast agent into the object comprises the steps of moving the probe over the three- And generating a plurality of first images corresponding to the plurality of echo signals to be transmitted according to the transmission.

The step of generating the second image corresponding to the received echo signal as the probe transmits the ultrasound signal after injecting the contrast agent into the target object may include the steps of: And generating a second image corresponding to the received echo signal when the probe transmits the ultrasound signal at the selected position.

A method of controlling an ultrasound imaging apparatus, the method comprising: storing the generated volume data; As shown in FIG.

The probe may include a position sensor, and may be a control method of an ultrasonic imaging apparatus that senses a position and a direction of the probe.

The position sensor may be a control method of the ultrasonic imaging apparatus that detects the position and the direction of the probe when the probe transmits the ultrasonic signal in the step of generating the first image or the step of generating the second image .

The step of generating volume data of the object based on the first image may include obtaining spatial position information of the first image using the position and direction of the probe sensed by the position sensor, And converting the pixels of the first image into voxels based on the position information to generate volume data of the object.

Acquiring spatial position information of the second image using the position and direction of the probe sensed by the position sensor, and slicing the volume data based on the obtained spatial position information, Acquiring a third image corresponding to the second image; And a control method of the ultrasound imaging apparatus.

A method of controlling an ultrasound imaging apparatus, the method comprising: displaying the second image and the third image; As shown in FIG.

According to the ultrasound imaging apparatus and the control method thereof, the duration of the contrast agent injected into the target object can be increased, and the frame rate of the image realized in real time can be increased.

In addition, by improving the performance of the displayed image, it can be helpful to diagnose the part to be examined of the object.

1 is an external perspective view of an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram of an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a block diagram according to an embodiment of the image processing unit.
4 is a diagram illustrating generation of a first image.
5 is a diagram illustrating generation of a second image.
6 is a diagram illustrating generation of volume data.
7 is a diagram illustrating a process of matching a first image and a second image.
8 is a diagram illustrating output of the second image and the third image.
9 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the ultrasonic imaging apparatus control method.

Hereinafter, a method of controlling an ultrasound imaging apparatus and an ultrasound imaging apparatus will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is an external perspective view of an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ultrasound imaging apparatus may include a probe 100, a main body 300, an input unit 400, and a display unit 500.

The probe 100 is a portion that is in direct contact with a target object and can transmit and receive an ultrasonic signal to obtain an ultrasound image of the target portion of the target object. Here, the object may be a living body of a human or an animal, and the part to be examined may be an in vivo tissue combined with blood vessels such as brain, heart, kidney, stomach and the like.

A position sensor 110 may be mounted on the outside or inside of the probe 100 to sense the position and direction of the probe.

The main body 300 can accommodate main components of the ultrasound imaging apparatus, for example, a transmission signal generating unit (200 of FIG. 2). When a user inputs an ultrasonic diagnostic command, the transmission signal generating unit 200 may generate a transmission signal and transmit the generated transmission signal to the probe 100.

The body 300 may be provided with at least one female connector 35 and may be physically coupled to a male connector 25 connected to the cable 45 so that the body 300 and the probe 100 So that mutually generated signals can be mutually transmitted and received. For example, the transmission signal generated by the transmission signal generator 200 may be transmitted to the probe 100 via a male connector and a cable connected to the female connector of the main body 300.

The input unit 400 is a part capable of receiving commands related to the operation of the ultrasound imaging apparatus. For example, an ultrasound diagnostic start command, a command for a display mode, and the like can be input. The command received from the input unit 400 may be transmitted to the main body 300 through wired communication or wireless communication.

The input unit 400 may include at least one of a switch, a keyboard, a trackball, and a touch screen, but is not limited thereto.

One or more probe holders 55 for holding the probe 100 may be provided around the input unit 400. Therefore, the user can store the probe 100 on the probe holder 55 when the ultrasound imaging apparatus is not used.

The display unit 500 may display the ultrasound images obtained in the ultrasound diagnostic process on the screen and may be mounted to the main body 300 in combination with the main body 300 as shown in FIG. .

The display unit 500 may be applied to a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (LED), or the like, but is not limited thereto .

Next, the configuration of the ultrasound imaging apparatus will be described in more detail. Referring to FIGS.

2 is a block diagram of an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The probe 100 includes a plurality of transducer elements to convert an electric signal and an ultrasonic signal into each other, transmit an ultrasonic signal to the object, and receive an echo signal reflected from the object.

The main body 300 may include a transmission signal generating unit 200, a beam forming unit 210, an image processing unit 310, a volume data generating unit 320, a control unit 330, and a storage unit 340.

The transmission signal generator 200 may generate a transmission signal according to a control command of the controller 330 and may transmit the generated transmission signal to the probe 100. Here, the transmission signal refers to a high-voltage electrical signal for vibrating the plurality of conversion elements of the probe 100. [

The beamforming unit 210 can convert an analog signal and a digital signal and converts the transmission signal (digital signal) generated from the transmission signal generating unit 200 into an analog signal or an echo signal (Analog signal) into a digital signal so that the probe 100 and the main body 300 can communicate with each other.

In addition, the beamforming section 210 also plays a role of applying a time delay to the digital signal in consideration of the position and the focus of the conversion element, in order to overcome the time difference in which the ultrasonic wave reaches the focus or the time difference arriving from the focus.

The beam forming unit 210 may be included in the main body 300 as shown in FIG. 2, but it may be provided in the probe 100 itself.

3 is a block diagram according to an embodiment of the image processing unit.

3, the image processing unit 310 may include an image generating unit 311, an image matching unit 312, and an image correcting unit 313. [

The image generating unit 311 may generate two-dimensional images of a target object before the contrast medium is injected into the target object, and during or after injecting the contrast medium into the target object.

Here, the contrast agent is a marker capable of indicating the flow of the bloodstream, and has a fine bubble structure having a size of about 7 mu m or less. When injected into a target, the contrast agent remains in the bloodstream for about several minutes.

In addition, the contrast agent can respond to ultrasonic waves. Specifically, when the contrast agent is exposed to ultrasonic waves, the fine bubbles constituting the contrast agent can generate a strong echo signal while resonating vibrations through repeated shrinkage and expansion.

However, when the contrast agent is exposed to ultrasonic waves with high acoustic power, the contraction of the microbubbles occurs slowly, and the expansion rapidly occurs and the microbubbles are decomposed. That is, the contrast agent is destroyed.

Therefore, in order to minimize the destruction of the contrast agent, an ultrasonic signal having low acoustic power must be transmitted to the object.

On the other hand, when an ultrasonic signal having a low acoustic power is transmitted to the object, the magnitude of the echo signal reflected from the tissue of the part to be examined becomes weak.

Therefore, in order to image both the contrast medium and the tissue of the part to be examined, it is necessary to transmit ultrasound signals having different acoustic powers to the object. That is, by transmitting an ultrasound signal having a low sound power to a target object, the surrounding tissue can be removed and a result image showing only the contrast agent can be obtained. By transmitting an ultrasound signal having a high sound power to the object, You can get the result image that shows. However, the higher the acoustic power of the ultrasonic signal transmitted to the object, the more the contrast agent is destroyed. Therefore, the acoustic power of the transmitted ultrasonic signal needs to be limited to a certain value. As a result, the SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) of the ultrasound image obtained may also be lowered.

At this time, the resultant image showing only the contrast agent is removed and the resultant image showing the anatomical structure of the region to be examined is referred to as 'tissue image'.

In order to realize a dual live mode during or after injection of a contrast agent into a subject, i.e., to simultaneously output the contrast image and the tissue image in real time, two ultrasonic signal transmissions (having a low sound power Transmission of an ultrasonic signal and transmission of an ultrasonic signal having a relatively high sound power) must be repeatedly performed.

That is, not only transmission of ultrasound signals with low sound power is repeatedly performed while injecting or injecting contrast agent into a target object, and ultrasound signals having relatively high sound power must be repeatedly transmitted.

The image generating unit 311 may be configured not to use the transmission of the ultrasonic signal having the high sound power that is performed during or after injecting the contrast agent into the object so as to minimize the destruction of the contrast agent and increase the duration time .

Specifically, the image generating unit 311 generates a tissue image using transmission of an ultrasonic signal having a high sound power, which is performed before a contrast medium is injected into a target object, It is possible to generate the contrast image in real time using the transmission of the ultrasonic signal having the low sound power. When obtaining tissue images, it is unnecessary to consider the destruction of the contrast agent, so that a high SNR image can be obtained as compared with the image used in the existing dual live mode.

First, the image generating unit 311 may generate the tissue image corresponding to the received echo signal as the probe 100 transmits the ultrasound signal before injecting the contrast agent into the target object. Here, the ultrasonic signal transmitted by the probe 100 is an ultrasonic signal having a high sound power, and the tissue image thus generated will be referred to as a 'first image'.

When the probe 100 transmits an ultrasonic signal for generating the first image, the position sensor 110 mounted on the probe 100 can sense the position and direction of the probe, The spatial position information of the first image can be obtained.

4 is a diagram illustrating generation of a first image.

4, before the contrast medium is injected into the object, the probe 100 transmits a plurality of ultrasound signals while moving the three-dimensional region R of the object with a constant distance d, Signal. That is, as the probe 100 moves to the positions of R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5, it transmits ultrasound signals at each position and receives echo signals. At this time, the position sensor 110 of the probe 100 senses the positions and directions of R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5.

The image generation unit 311 generates a plurality of first images P1, P2, P3, P4, and P5 corresponding to the plurality of echo signals. That is, the first images P1, P2, P3, P4, and P5 corresponding to the positions of R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5 are generated, And spatial position information of the first images P1, P2, P3, P4, and P5, respectively.

In the first images P1, P2, P3, P4, and P5, the tissue of the part to be examined is expressed, and the user can grasp the anatomical structure of the part to be examined.

Next, the image generating unit 311 may generate a contrast image corresponding to the received echo signal as the probe 100 transmits the ultrasonic signal during or after injecting the contrast agent into the object. Here, the ultrasonic signal transmitted by the probe 100 is an ultrasonic signal having a low sound power, and the thus generated contrast image will be referred to as a 'second image'.

When the probe 100 transmits an ultrasonic signal for generating the second image, the position sensor 110 mounted on the probe 100 can sense the position and direction of the probe, and the position and direction of the probe The spatial position information of the second image can be obtained.

5 is a diagram illustrating generation of a second image.

Referring to FIG. 5, in the three-dimensional region R of the object to which the probe 100 has moved before injection of the contrast agent, the user selects a position to be inspected. At this time, the selected position is referred to as Rx.

During or after injection of the contrast agent into the object, at the selected location Rx, the probe 100 transmits the ultrasound signal and receives the echo signal. At this time, the position sensor 110 of the probe 100 senses the position and direction of Rx.

The image generating unit 311 generates the second image Qx corresponding to the echo signal. That is, the second image Qx corresponding to the Rx position is generated, and the spatial position information of the corresponding second image Qx can be obtained from the detected position and direction of Rx.

The surrounding tissue is darkened in the generated second image Qx so that the user can grasp only the contrast agent. In addition, during the time that the contrast agent is sustained, the user can update the second image Qx in real time by changing the position of Rx.

Before describing the image matching unit 312, the volume data generating unit 320 will be described first.

The volume data generation unit 320 can generate the volume data of the object based on the first image generated by the image generation unit 311. [

Here, the volume data means a set of discrete three-dimensional arrays formed by stacking two-dimensional sectional images of a target object in order according to positions.

Volume data consists of elements called voxels. A voxel is a compound of volume and pixel. If a pixel defines a point in a two-dimensional plane, the voxel defines a point in three-dimensional space. Thus, a pixel contains x, y coordinates, whereas a voxel contains x, y, z coordinates.

6 is a diagram illustrating generation of volume data.

6 (a), before the contrast medium is injected into the object, a plurality of first images generated as a plurality of ultrasonic signals are transmitted while the probe 100 moves in the three-dimensional region of the object is referred to as P1 , P2, P3, P4, P5. When a plurality of first images P1, P2, P3, P4, and P5 are arranged in three dimensions according to their positions and data interpolation is performed on the values between the images, as shown in FIG. 6 (b) The volume data V can be generated.

Specifically, a pixel having a two-dimensional spatial coordinate (x, y) is represented by P1xy in a first image P1, which is a set of pixels, and three-dimensional spatial coordinates (x, y, z ) Is represented by Vxyz, the pixel P100 is converted into a voxel V000, the pixel P150 is converted into a voxel V500, and the pixel P155 is converted into a voxel V550. By converting all pixels of the first images P1, P2, P3, P4, and P5 into voxels of the volume data V in this manner, volume data V of the object including the anatomical structure of the part to be examined can be generated.

In this case, the position sensor 110 mounted on the probe 100 may be used in converting the pixels of the first image into voxels of the volume data for the object.

That is, the spatial position information of the first image is obtained from the position and direction of the probe 100 sensed by the position sensor 110, and based on the obtained spatial position information, Into a voxel.

Also, one of the previously known functions can be applied to the transformation function for converting the pixels of the first image into voxels of the volume data for the object.

For example, a conversion function such as the following expression can be applied.

　

와

는 각각 제 1 영상의 픽셀과 대상체에 대한 볼륨 데이터의 복셀이고,

　는 제 1 영상과 프로브(100)에 장착된 위치 센서(110) 간의 좌표를 변환시키는 트랜스폼(Transform)이고,

　는 위치 센서(110)와 트랙커(tracker)간의 좌표를 변환시키는 트랜스폼(Transform)이며,

는 트랙커(tracker)와 대상체의 볼륨 데이터 간의 좌표를 변환시키는 트랜스폼(Transform)이다. 프로브(100)에는 위치 센서(110)가 부착될 수 있고, 트랙커(tracker)는 각 위치 센서의 위치 및 방향을 추적할 수 있다.here,

Wow

Are voxels of the pixels of the first image and the volume data of the object, respectively,

Is a transform that transforms the coordinates between the first image and the position sensor 110 mounted on the probe 100,

Is a transform that transforms the coordinates between the position sensor 110 and the tracker,

Is a transform that transforms the coordinates between the volume data of the tracker and the object. The probe 100 may be attached with a position sensor 110, and a tracker may track the position and direction of each position sensor.

However, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-described example and can be implemented by any other form of function known in the art.

The volume data of the object generated by the volume data generation unit 320 may be stored in the storage unit 340.

The image matching unit 312 may perform image registration.

When one object is scanned at another apparatus, another time, or another viewpoint, images having different coordinate systems are obtained. A processing scheme that transforms images with different coordinate systems and shows them in one coordinate system is called image matching.

As described above, since the first image and the second image are generated at different times from the image generating unit 311, a process of matching the first image and the second image is required.

Accordingly, the image matching unit 312 matches the previously generated first image based on the second image generated in real time. More precisely, the image matching unit 312 acquires the tissue image corresponding to the second image from the first image that has been generated in advance. Hereinafter, the obtained tissue image will be referred to as a 'third image'.

The image matching unit 312 may acquire the third image by slicing the portion corresponding to the second image from the volume data of the object generated based on the first image.

The position sensor 110 mounted on the probe 100 may be used in the process of acquiring the third image.

That is, spatial position information of the second image is acquired from the position and direction of the probe 100 sensed by the position sensor 110, and slice volume data of the object is obtained based on the obtained spatial position information 2 < / RTI > image.

In this case, the third image may be the first image itself according to the spatial position of the second image, or may be a tissue image obtained by data interpolation from the first image.

7 is a diagram illustrating a process of matching a first image and a second image.

A plurality of first images corresponding to the three-dimensional region R of the object are generated before the contrast medium is injected into the object, and based on this, the volume data V of the object is generated as shown in Fig. 7 (a) lets do it. When generating the first image, it is assumed that the position sensor 110 senses the position and the direction of the probe 100, and the plurality of first images are three-dimensionally arranged by using the detected position and direction of the probe 100 It is assumed that the volume data V of the object is generated.

Assume that a second image Qx corresponding to the position Rx selected by the user in the three-dimensional region R is generated as shown in FIG. 7 (b) during or after injecting the contrast agent into the object . When the second image Qx is generated, it is assumed that the position sensor 110 senses the position and direction of the probe 100, that is, the position and direction of Rx.

7 (c), a third image Px corresponding to the second image Qx can be acquired by slicing a portion having the position value L and the direction value D in the volume data of the object .

The image correcting unit 313 corrects the brightness level, contrast, color, size, and direction of the second image generated in real time from the image generating unit 311 and the third image obtained from the image matching unit 312 .

The image correction unit 313 can transmit the corrected second image and the third image to the display unit 500 connected to the main body 300 through a wired / wireless communication network. Accordingly, the user can check the corrected result image for the object.

The control unit 330 may include a command signal output unit 331 and a signal processing unit 332.

The command signal output unit 331 may first output the control command signal to the transmission signal generation unit 210. [

When the user inputs the ultrasonic diagnostic command to the input unit 400, the command signal output unit 331 outputs a command signal to the transmission signal generator 200 to generate a transmission signal.

The command signal output unit 331 can output a control command signal to the image processing unit 310. [

The command signal output unit 331 can output a command signal to the image processing unit 350 to display the images obtained in the ultrasound diagnostic process on the display unit 500. [

At this time, the command signal output unit 331 may output a command signal for the display mode to the image processing unit 310 together. Here, the display mode may be a B-mode for displaying the intensity of the echo signal by converting the intensity of the echo signal into brightness or brightness, an M-mode for displaying the distance from the moving subject region in terms of temporal change, a D-mode using pulse wave or continuous wave, And a CFM-mode represented by a color image using, for example, but are not limited thereto. A command signal may be output in an automatically selected display mode according to the position, size, shape, or the like of the region to be inspected, or a command signal may be output in a display mode input by the user through the input unit 400.

Since the echo signal output from the beamforming unit 210 is small in size and difficult to be expressed in an actual image, the signal processing unit 332 performs an overall gain control process for amplifying the size of the echo signal as a whole .

The signal processing unit 332 may include a process such as TCG (Time Gain Compensation) that compensates for the attenuation of ultrasonic waves in the medium of the object and increases the echo signal in proportion to the distance.

The signal processing unit 332 may remove the noise of small size included in the echo signal, thereby making the signal sharp.

The storage unit 340 may store data and algorithms for operating the ultrasound imaging apparatus.

The storage unit 340 stores the positions of the probes 100 sensed by the position sensor 110 when the probes 100 transmit ultrasound signals to generate the first and second images, Values and direction values can be stored.

As another example of data storage, the storage unit 340 may store the second image generated in real time from the image generating unit 311 and the image data of the third image obtained from the image matching unit 312.

As another example of the data storage, the storage unit 340 may store the volume data of the object generated by the volume data generation unit 320. [

As an example of algorithm storage, the storage unit 340 may store an algorithm for generating volume data of a target object based on the first image, an algorithm for acquiring a third image corresponding to the second image, and the like.

The storage unit 340 may be a nonvolatile memory device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory), an EPROM (EPROM), a flash memory, A random access memory (RAM)), or a storage device such as a hard disk or an optical disk. However, the present invention is not limited thereto and may be implemented in any other form known in the art.

The display unit 500 may display images obtained from the image processing unit 310 on the screen.

8 is a diagram illustrating output of the second image and the third image.

The display unit 500 may include first and second surfaces as shown in FIG. Here, the left side is referred to as the first side and the right side as the second side.

And a second image generated in real time can be output to the first surface.

And a third image corresponding to the second image may be output to the second surface.

The display unit 500 can update the second image and the third image in real time and output the updated image, thereby realizing a dual live mode.

The user can visually check the position of the part to be examined by comparing the second image outputted in real time with the corresponding third image.

9 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the ultrasonic imaging apparatus control method.

Referring to FIG. 9, a plurality of first images are generated (600).

The probe 100 transmits a plurality of ultrasonic signals while moving in the three-dimensional region of the object. As the probe 100 transmits a plurality of ultrasonic signals, the image generating unit 311 generates a plurality of first images corresponding to the plurality of echo signals to be received.

Here, suppose that the ultrasonic signal transmitted by the probe 100 is an ultrasonic signal having a high sound power. When the probe 100 transmits ultrasonic signals for generating the first image, the position sensor 110 mounted on the probe 100 senses the position and direction of the probe.

Volume data of the object is generated based on the plurality of first images and stored (610).

The spatial position information of the first image is acquired from the position and direction of the probe 100 sensed by the position sensor 110 when generating the first image. And converts the pixels of the first image into voxels in the three-dimensional space based on the obtained spatial position information. And generates volume data of the object including the anatomical structure of the part to be examined by performing the processing on all the pixels of the plurality of first images.

The volume data of the generated object is stored in the storage unit 340.

Contrast agent is injected into the object (620).

During or after injecting the contrast agent, a second image is generated (630).

The user selects a position to be inspected within the three-dimensional region of the object to which the probe 100 has moved before injection of the contrast agent. During or after injection of the contrast agent, the probe 100 transmits the ultrasound signal at the selected location. As the probe 100 transmits the ultrasonic signal, the image generating unit 311 generates the second image corresponding to the received echo signal.

Here, it is assumed that the ultrasonic signal transmitted by the probe 100 is an ultrasonic signal having a low sound power. When the probe 100 transmits an ultrasonic signal to generate the second image, the position sensor 110 mounted on the probe 100 detects the position and the direction of the probe.

And acquires a third image corresponding to the second image (640).

The spatial position information of the second image is acquired from the position and direction of the probe 100 sensed by the position sensor 110 when generating the two-dimensional contrast image. And acquires a third image corresponding to the second image by slicing the volume data of the object based on the acquired spatial position information.

That is, when a position value of the probe 100 sensed by the position sensor 110 at the time of generating the second image is L and a direction value is D, a portion having the position value L and the direction value D in the volume data of the object To obtain a third image.

The second image and the third image are output together (650).

It is determined whether the ultrasound diagnosis is terminated (660).

If the user selects ' Yes ', the ultrasound diagnosis is terminated.

If the user selects 'No', the process returns to step 630.

That is, the user changes the position to be inspected in the three-dimensional region in which the probe 100 has moved before injection of the contrast agent, and newly generates a second image corresponding to the changed position.

A dual live mode can be realized by updating and outputting the second image and the third image in real time.

The user can visually check the position of the part to be examined by comparing the second image outputted in real time with the corresponding third image.

Although the embodiments of the medical imaging device and the medical imaging device control method have been described with reference to the drawings exemplified above, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention is not limited to the technical ideas and essential features It will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive.

100: Probe
200: Transmission signal generator
210: beam forming section
300:
310:
311:
312:
313: Image correction unit
320: Volume data generator
330:
331: Command signal output section
332:
340:
400: input unit
500:

Claims (18)

A probe for transmitting an ultrasonic signal to a target object and receiving an echo signal reflected from the target object;
A first image is generated corresponding to an echo signal received by the probe before the contrast agent is injected into the object, and after the contrast agent is injected into the object, the probe responds to the received echo signal as the ultrasonic signal is transmitted An image processor for generating a second image; And
A volume data generation unit for generating volume data of the object based on the first image; Lt; / RTI >
Wherein the image processing unit obtains a third image corresponding to the second image by slicing the volume data. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the image processing unit comprises:
An ultrasonic imaging apparatus for generating a plurality of first images corresponding to a plurality of received echo signals as a plurality of ultrasonic signals are transmitted while the probes move in a three-dimensional region of the object before the contrast medium is injected into the object, . 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the image processing unit comprises:
Wherein the controller generates a second image corresponding to an echo signal received by the probe when the probe transmits the ultrasonic signal at a position selected by the user in the three-dimensional region after injecting the contrast agent into the object. The method according to claim 1,
A storage unit for storing the generated volume data;
Further comprising an ultrasound imaging device. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the probe comprises:
And a position sensor for sensing a position and a direction of the probe. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the position sensor senses a position and a direction of the probe when the probe transmits an ultrasonic signal for generating the first image or the second image. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the volume data generation unit comprises:
Acquiring spatial position information of the first image using the position and direction of the probe sensed by the position sensor and converting a pixel of the first image into a voxel based on the obtained spatial position information, An ultrasonic imaging apparatus for generating volume data. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the image processing unit comprises:
Acquiring spatial position information of the second image using the position and direction of the probe sensed by the position sensor, and slicing the volume data based on the obtained spatial position information, And acquires a third image corresponding to the second ultrasound image. 10. The method according to claim 1 or 8,
A display unit for displaying the second image and the third image;
Further comprising an ultrasound imaging device. Generating a first image corresponding to an echo signal received by the probe before the contrast agent is injected into the object;
Generating volume data of the object based on the first image;
Generating a second image corresponding to an echo signal received by the probe as the probe transmits the ultrasound signal after injecting the contrast agent into the object; And
Acquiring a third image corresponding to the second image by slicing the volume data;
And controlling the ultrasonic imaging apparatus. 11. The method of claim 10,
The step of generating the first image corresponding to the echo signal received by the probe before the contrast agent is injected into the object,
A step of generating a plurality of first images corresponding to a plurality of echo signals to be received as a plurality of ultrasonic signals are transmitted while a probe moves to a three-dimensional region of the object before the contrast medium is injected into the object, Control method. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the step of generating the second image corresponding to the received echo signal after the probe transmits the ultrasound signal after injecting the contrast agent into the object,
And generating a second image corresponding to an echo signal received by the probe when the probe transmits the ultrasonic signal at a position selected by the user in the three-dimensional region after injecting the contrast agent into the object, . 11. The method of claim 10,
Storing the generated volume data;
And controlling the ultrasonic imaging apparatus. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the probe includes a position sensor to sense a position and a direction of the probe. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the position sensor senses a position and a direction of the probe when the probe transmits the ultrasonic signal in the step of generating the first image or the step of generating the second image. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the step of generating volume data of the object based on the first image comprises:
Acquiring spatial position information of the first image using the position and direction of the probe sensed by the position sensor and converting a pixel of the first image into a voxel based on the obtained spatial position information, And generating volume data. 15. The method of claim 14,
Acquiring spatial position information of the second image using the position and direction of the probe sensed by the position sensor, and slicing the volume data based on the obtained spatial position information, Acquiring a third image corresponding to the second image;
And controlling the ultrasonic imaging apparatus. 11. The method according to claim 10 or claim 17,
Displaying the second image and the third image;
And controlling the ultrasonic imaging apparatus.

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