KR20200069846A - Untrasonic Imaging Apparatus having needle guiding function using marker - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is an image display control technique of an ultrasonic imaging apparatus. Specific anatomical area information for each needle procedure portion is prepared and stored in advance. One or more markers are fixed around a procedure portion of a patient to undergo a procedure. The position of a needle is tracked by a positioning system. If a needle procedure portion is selected, specific anatomical area information corresponding to the selected procedure portion in the stored specific anatomical area information is extracted, and an ultrasonic image is received and recognized by receiving assistance of the specific anatomical area information to determine an anatomical area in a real image. The determined specific anatomical area information is stored with position information of the markers. If the needle position approaches the anatomical area, a warning is generated. When a procedure on a corresponding procedure portion of a corresponding patient is resumed, an ultrasonic imaging system extracts and uses stored specific anatomical area information of the corresponding procedure portion of the patient. The specific anatomical area information can be easily matched to a real image by using position information of the markers detected again.

Description

Ultrasonic imaging equipment with needle procedure guide function using markers{Untrasonic Imaging Apparatus having needle guiding function using marker}

Disclosed is an image display control technology of an ultrasonic imaging device.

U.S. Patent No. 9,292,654 discloses an ultrasound imaging device that provides tutorial information. Instruction information including text, images, and videos is provided for each operation step of the ultrasound imaging apparatus. In addition, reference parameters of a setting status corresponding to each operation step are prepared, and they are set according to the operation step.

US Patent Publication No. 2014/0039304A9 discloses a technique that detects blood flow by driving an ultrasound imaging device in a Doppler mode, generates location information of the blood flow, and warns when the needle approaches the blood vessel.

However, it is technically very difficult to recognize a biological tissue in a low-resolution ultrasound image.

An ultrasonic imaging device suitable for needle surgery is proposed. Guidance information suitable for users who do not have much experience in the operation of the ultrasound imaging apparatus is provided for each region to be treated. When a needle is approached to a specific anatomical region during a needle procedure, an ultrasound imaging device recognizes it and provides a warning. Furthermore, a method is proposed in which the ultrasound imaging device can detect the needle entering a specific anatomical region more quickly and reliably.

In addition, a method for reducing the time required for image recognition is proposed by storing and recycling specific anatomical area information recognized for a patient for each acupuncture point. Furthermore, a needle surgical technique is proposed that can further reduce the time required for image recognition by recognizing the location of the marker fixed on the surface of the patient's skin and reusing the specific anatomical region information stored based on the location of the marker.

According to one aspect of the proposed invention, specific anatomical region information is prepared and stored in advance for each needle treatment site. A specific anatomical region refers to a region of a biological tissue that is paying attention to a specific organ, nerve, or the like. For example, a specific anatomical region may refer to an organ in which the needle is to be treated, an area of danger to which the needle should be avoided, or an area of an organ prone to damage. One or more markers are fixed near the patient's desired site. The position of the needle is tracked by the positioning system. When the needle treatment region is selected, specific anatomical region information corresponding to the selected treatment region is extracted from the stored specific anatomical region information, and the ultrasound image is recognized with the help of this specific anatomical region information to recognize the anatomical region in the actual image. Decide. The determined specific anatomical region information is stored together with the marker location information. Warn if the needle position is close to a specific anatomical area. When the treatment of the corresponding part of the patient is resumed, when the marker is recognized, the ultrasound imaging system extracts and utilizes specific anatomical region information of the patient's corresponding treatment site. This particular anatomical region information can be easily matched to the actual currently acquired ultrasound image using the detected location information of the marker.

According to an additional aspect, a warning may be output when the position of the tip of the needle is close to a specific anatomical region even if it is outside the range of the ultrasound image displayed on the screen.

According to the proposed invention, it is possible to reduce the risk of the needle procedure. Furthermore, it is advantageous for real-time processing because it can quickly and accurately detect the entry of the anatomical region. Furthermore, by re-matching the ultrasound image when the same procedure is performed again on the patient, by using markers fixed on the skin surface, etc., the specific anatomical region information about the same procedure region of the patient is recognized and stored. It can reduce the time required to prepare for the procedure.

1 shows the configuration of a needle procedure system according to an embodiment.
2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a probe according to an embodiment.
3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasound imaging apparatus for needle surgery according to an embodiment.
4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an anatomical region determining unit according to an embodiment.
5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a needle position detection unit according to another embodiment.
6 is a flowchart illustrating a configuration of an ultrasound image display control method according to an embodiment.
7 is a flow chart showing the configuration of one embodiment of the sensor-based position calculation step.

The foregoing and additional aspects are embodied through the embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is understood that various combinations of elements in each embodiment are possible within the embodiment, unless otherwise stated or contradictory to each other. That is, although the drawings are shown as one embodiment, it should not be understood as being limited to one embodiment. As described in the following description as a separate optional or additional aspect, each block is understood to represent various embodiments by adding a combination of one, two, or more numbers of blocks that are not necessary to essential blocks. Should be.

1 shows the configuration of a needle procedure system according to an embodiment. As shown, the needle treatment system according to an embodiment includes an ultrasound imaging apparatus 50, a probe 10, and a needle 30. The operator selects the treatment site, and the main body of the ultrasound imaging apparatus 50 is a document explaining a needle treatment method of the treatment site in response to a user's manipulation through the operation unit, 2D or 3D showing the anatomical structure of the treatment site Video, graphic animation or video showing the needle procedure of the corresponding acupuncture points is displayed on the screen. According to one aspect, a positioning system for positioning the needle 30 is mounted. On the screen of the ultrasound imaging apparatus 50, the position of the needle 30 detected by the positioning system is displayed on the image scanned by the probe 10.

According to one aspect, the marker 70 is fixed to the skin surface of the acupuncture points to be treated by the patient. The marker 70 can be clearly recognized in an ultrasound image and can be anything as long as it is fixed to a certain extent. In addition, the marker 70 is not limited to being attached to the skin surface, and may be, for example, a pattern drawn with a paint or pen, made of a paint that absorbs or reflects ultrasound. As another example, it may be a shape deeply embedded in the skin.

2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a probe according to an embodiment. As illustrated, a probe according to an embodiment includes an ultrasonic element array 250 and an ultrasonic element driver 225 driving the ultrasonic element array 250. Additionally, the probe according to an embodiment may further include an acceleration sensor 230 and an acceleration sensor driver 223. The acceleration sensor 230 may be, for example, a gyro sensor. The absolute position of the probe can be calculated using an acceleration sensor. Additionally, the probe according to an embodiment may further include magnetic position sensors 210-1, 210-2, ..., 210-n, and a magnetic sensor driver 221 for driving them. In one embodiment, the needle positioning system is a magnetic force based positioning system. The needle is magnetized, and a plurality of magnetic position sensors provided in the probe measures the intensity of the magnetic field to calculate the position of the magnetized needle. In another embodiment, the needle positioning system is an RF based positioning system. The RF transmitter is fixed to the needle, and a plurality of receivers provided in the probe measures the intensity of the RF field to calculate the position of the needle. The proposed invention is not limited to a specific positioning system, and may be one of known positioning systems that are not based on ultrasound images.

3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasound imaging apparatus for needle surgery according to an embodiment. The ultrasound imaging apparatus for needle treatment provides an image of a biological tissue at the treatment site during needle treatment. As illustrated, the ultrasound imaging apparatus for needle treatment according to an embodiment includes an ultrasound signal processing unit 370, a needle position detection unit 330, and a procedure risk warning unit 310. In the illustrated embodiment, the ultrasound signal processing unit 370, the needle position detection unit 330, and the procedure risk warning unit 310 are all or part of one or more of a microprocessor or a digital signal processing processor. It can be implemented with program instructions executed by computational elements. The computing elements process data by reading and executing program instructions stored in the storage unit 320. The storage 320 may be, for example, one or a combination of mass storage such as hard disk, SSD, and network storage, and memory such as nonvolatile memory and volatile RAM.

The ultrasound signal processing unit 370 generates an image by processing an ultrasound signal obtained by driving an array of ultrasound elements. The imaging mode of the ultrasound imaging apparatus includes a B mode (brightness mode), an M mode (motion mode), a D mode (Doppler mode) using a Doppler effect, and a C mode (color Doppler mode). The ultrasonic signal processing unit 370 drives the ultrasonic element array 250 in one of these modes to generate ultrasonic image information from the output signal.

The needle position detection unit 330 calculates the position of the needle from at least two sensor inputs. U.S. Patent No. 9,597,008, issued to EZONO AG on March 21, 2017, measures the strength of the magnetic field of a magnetized needle using a plurality of magneto-metric detectors and uses it to locate the needle Disclosed is a technique for measuring. Needle positioning systems from EZONO AG are commercially available and the applicants are using this technology in developing the proposed invention in cooperation with EZONO AG. The self-positioning system of EZONO AG uses a plurality of self-positioning detection elements built into the probe, and can calculate the position of the needle and output it superimposed on the ultrasound image. However, the proposed invention is not limited to this, and various known positioning techniques, such as the above-described RF method, an anchor method, and a positioning system using radio wave fingerprint, can be applied.

In one embodiment, the probe 10 includes an acceleration sensor 230, for example a gyro sensor. The probe position detector 350 measures the position and posture of the probe, that is, the tilted direction, from the output of the acceleration sensor 230. The needle position detection unit 330 first calculates the position of the needle 30 in the reference coordinate system of the probe 10 from the output of the magnetic position detection elements 210. Thereafter, the needle position detection unit 330 converts the coordinate system using the position and posture information of the probe detected by the probe position detection unit 350 to calculate the position of the probe of the needle 30 in the reference coordinate system. However, when the needle position is detected using another method, the acceleration sensor 230 of the probe 10 may be unnecessary to detect the needle position.

The operation risk warning unit 310 determines a specific anatomical region in 3D from the ultrasound image generated by the ultrasound signal processing unit 370, and the position of the needle tip according to the position of the needle calculated by the needle position detection unit 330 It outputs a warning signal when it approaches the specific anatomical region. According to an aspect, the operation risk warning unit 310 includes a marker position detection unit 312, an anatomical region determination unit 313, and a risk determination unit 311.

The marker position detection unit 312 recognizes a marker from an image output from the ultrasound signal processing unit 370. Markers can be fixed one, two, or three. If only one marker is fixed, the location of a specific skin surface near the treatment site can be determined. When two or more markers are fixed, the position and orientation of a specific skin surface near the treatment site can be determined. When the marker is on the skin surface, the ultrasound signal processing unit 370 can more easily calculate the position of the marker on a plane.

In one embodiment, the marker position detection unit 312 identifies the marker from the ultrasound volume image. When a 3D space is defined for image recognition in an ultrasound volume image generated by ultrasound scanning around the treatment area, the position of the marker can be a reference for defining the 3D space. Subsequently, by using an acceleration sensor inside the probe, the ultrasound imaging apparatus may start positioning the corresponding treatment site of the patient based on the marker. For example, the scanned volume images can be identified based on the marker location. For example, the position of the needle detected by the needle position detector 330 may be calculated based on the marker position. Detecting a clearly visible marker in an ultrasound image and setting a position in a space identified by an acceleration sensor can be processed relatively accurately and quickly in image processing. The calculated position information of the marker may be stored in the database as a part of a record for a corresponding procedure of the storage unit 320.

According to another aspect, the marker may include identification information. Numerals or barcodes recorded with ultrasound sensitive inks that can be identified on ultrasound images can help to quickly identify the patient and the site of the procedure. The identification information of the recognized marker may be stored in the database as a part of a record for a corresponding procedure of the storage unit 320.

The anatomical region determination unit 313 determines a specific anatomical region in 3D from the ultrasound image generated by the ultrasound signal processing unit 370. In one embodiment, the anatomical region determining unit 313 generates a volume image from an ultrasound image generated by scanning a periphery of a treatment subject with a probe. The surgical risk warning unit 310 processes a 3D volume image to recognize the boundary of a biological tissue such as a bone or an organ, and recognizes a specific anatomical region such as a blood vessel or an organ during a needle procedure. In addition, when the anatomical region determination unit 313 calculates specific anatomical region information of the selected surgical site of the operator, it stores it in the database as a part of a record of the procedure of the corresponding operator of the storage unit 320. According to an aspect, the stored specific anatomical region information may be extracted when the same subject is subsequently operated on the same region and used for re-recognition of the corresponding anatomical region. In this case, the anatomical region recognition can be processed much faster and simpler by matching processing.

According to one aspect, the anatomical region determining unit 313 uses the specific anatomical region information of the same marker previously detected and the location information of the marker detected by the marker location detector 312 to correspond to the corresponding anatomical region of the patient. Generate information.

The ultrasound imaging apparatus stores the markers in the database of the storage unit 320 as a part of a record of the corresponding procedure when the position of the marker is calculated and the specific anatomical region is recognized in the ultrasound image obtained at the procedure site from the operator. The position of the marker and the specific anatomical region information may be independently stored based on the probe coordinate system. As another example, a position relative to a corresponding anatomical region of a marker may be stored. As another example, a position relative to a corresponding marker in a specific anatomical region may be stored. In these two cases, the ultrasound imaging apparatus may further include a relative position calculator 314. The relative position calculating unit 314 calculates a position relative to the anatomical region of the marker or a position relative to the marker of the anatomical region and stores the relative location of the marker in the storage unit 320.

When the same procedure is performed again for the patient, specific anatomical region information of the patient using the anatomical region information of the same marker previously detected and stored and the location information of the marker detected by the marker location detector 312 Produces If the position of the marker has not changed and the anatomy of the subject has not changed significantly, the position and direction of the corresponding anatomical region from the currently detected position of the marker can be easily determined by the stored information. The anatomical region can be determined by confirming the determined anatomical region by matching with an actually acquired ultrasound volume image or one to several ultrasound images. It can be applied more easily if it is repeatedly performed for a certain period of time or a small area is operated. For example, when applied to acupuncture acupuncture in the field of oriental medicine, this aspect can reduce the processing time and increase reliability by reducing the burden of image processing.

The risk determination unit 311 outputs a warning signal when the position of the needle tip according to the position of the needle calculated by the needle position detection unit 330 approaches a specific anatomical region. A warning message is generated and output when the distance from the tip of the needle to the vertical portion of the boundary of a specific anatomical region is below a certain reference value, or when the direction of movement of the needle tip is toward the corresponding anatomical region and the movement speed is more than a certain value. do. The warning message can be output on the screen and/or audio.

According to one aspect, the needle position is measured by an independent positioning system that does not rely on ultrasound imaging. In addition, 3D modeling information of the anatomical region is calculated and stored from an ultrasound volume image. Accordingly, since the operation risk warning unit 310 compares and processes the position of the end of the needle with the 3D modeling area information of a specific anatomical area, the stored position of the end of the needle is generated by the ultrasound signal processing unit 370 and displayed on the screen. Even when the display range of the displayed ultrasound image is out of range, a warning may be output when the corresponding anatomical region is approached.

According to another aspect, the ultrasound imaging apparatus may further include a storage unit 320 and a user interface unit 390. In the storage unit 320, operation guide information including operation guide content for each operation part is stored. The user interface unit 390 extracts and provides a corresponding operation guide content from the storage unit when a treatment site is selected.

For example, in the acupuncture needle procedure in the field of Oriental medicine, the treatment site is determined according to the acupuncture points. When the operator selects acupuncture points, a corresponding treatment site is selected. The area of acupuncture for needle treatment is defined in the field of Korean medicine. Accurate treatment of acupuncture points requires a lot of experience and anatomical knowledge. The invention proposed in this field can be applied particularly well.

According to one aspect, the manipulation guide content is prepared as a database having a tree structure for each major and sub-classification of the treatment site. In one embodiment, the operation guide content is document information describing a method of needle treatment at a corresponding treatment site, 2D or 3D image information showing an anatomical structure of the treatment region, graphic animation or video showing a needle treatment process at the treatment region It includes. The document information may include a brief description of the corresponding needle procedure, information about the patient posture and the location where the probe is to be located, and a specific method of accurately locating the treatment region using ultrasound.

The user interface unit 390 receives a user's operation command through a control unit such as a mouse, a touch pad, and a keyboard, and outputs ultrasound image or system generated information as visual information through a screen or audio information through a speaker. do. According to an aspect, the user interface unit 390 includes an instruction information providing unit 391. The instruction information providing unit 391 receives the operation guide content from the operator and extracts and provides the corresponding operation guide content from the storage unit 320. According to one aspect, the user selects one of the major categories through, for example, a touch input, and then selects one of the sub-categories to select a treatment site. The user interface unit 390 extracts the operation guide content of the selected treatment site from the database. Document information describing the method of needle treatment at the selected treatment site, 2D or 3D image information showing the anatomical structure of the treatment site, and graphic animation or video showing a needle treatment process at the treatment site are provided according to a user's selection.

The image display control unit 360 combines and displays the ultrasound image generated by the ultrasound signal processing unit 370, the instruction information provided by the user interface unit 390, and the position of the needle detected by the needle position detection unit 330. . For example, the image display control unit 360 overlays and displays a needle image generated as a graphic reflecting the position of the needle detected by the needle position detection unit 330 on the ultrasound image generated by the ultrasound signal processing unit 370. Can be. As another example, the image display control unit 360 may simultaneously display the instruction information provided by the user interface unit 390 on the ultrasound image generated by the ultrasound signal processing unit 370 by dividing the screen.

4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an anatomical region determining unit according to an embodiment. As illustrated, the anatomical region determining unit 313 according to an embodiment may include an anatomical region recognition unit 315 and an anatomical region recognizing unit 316. The anatomical region recognition unit 315 determines an anatomical region from standard specific anatomical region information corresponding to the selected treatment site and real-time ultrasound images generated by the ultrasound signal processing unit.

According to an additional aspect, the procedure guide information stored in the storage unit 320 may further include specific anatomical region information for each treatment region. The specific anatomical region information may be, for example, image patterns or feature information capable of distinguishing specific biological tissues, for example, blood vessels, from an ultrasound image. For example, three-dimensional modeling of an organ existing near a specific surgical site, and image patterns that appear when each modeling is viewed on an ultrasound image may be specific anatomical region information. As another example, when calculating a specific correlation function between a block, for example, 16*16 pixel blocks and blocks of a corresponding size of an actual ultrasound image, a function value is compared with a reference value to determine a blood vessel region pattern value. This may be specific anatomical area information.

In general, it is known that an ultrasound image has a limited resolution, and thus it is not easy to recognize a specific biological tissue from the image. If the treatment location is limited to a very narrow location, the treatment site can be more easily specified. Although the biological tissues differ slightly from person to person, the anatomical region in the ultrasound image is obtained from information such as the pattern or feature information of the image of the corresponding biological tissue commonly seen in ultrasound images, for example, characteristics of luminance distribution or shape of a boundary line. It can increase the accuracy or the likelihood of success. As another example, specific anatomical region information may be three-dimensional region information of biological tissue. The standard 3D region information of the biological tissue indicates the shape of the corresponding biological tissue, and the overall 3D region information may be a map for finding the biological tissue in an ultrasound image.

In one embodiment, the anatomical region recognition unit 315 first stores a plurality of images obtained by scanning the probe 10 around the selected treatment area, and the three-dimensional information surrounding the treatment area from the plurality of images To acquire. This 3D information is not modeled as a 3D volume image. In the ultrasound volume image, specific anatomical region information is recognized using specific anatomical region information. In this embodiment, the 3D image is zoomed and shifted to have the same scale and position as compared with the dangerous 3D anatomical region modeling information stored through the feature point recognition of the 3D image obtained first. Subsequently, the transformed 3D ultrasound image is partitioned into blocks. Thereafter, a correlation function is calculated for a pattern around a position in an image corresponding to specific anatomical region information and a block of the ultrasound image to find a 3D model in the ultrasound image. 3D anatomical region modeling information may be generated from the ultrasound volume image obtained by repeating the above process. However, the proposed invention is not limited to this embodiment, and includes various techniques for detecting an anatomical region in an ultrasound image of a corresponding treatment site using information stored for each treatment site.

Since the needle procedure is limited to a very narrow position of the exact procedure, the treatment site can be specified. Although the biological tissues differ slightly from person to person, the anatomical region in the ultrasound image is obtained from information such as the pattern or feature information of the image of the corresponding biological tissue commonly seen in ultrasound images, for example, characteristics of luminance distribution or shape of a boundary line. In recognizing, processing speed or accuracy can be increased.

According to an additional aspect, the user interface unit 390 may further include a display setting unit 393 for each site. In this case, the procedure guide information stored in the storage unit 320 may further include setting parameters for each treatment site. The display setting unit for each part 393 extracts the setting parameter for each treatment part from the storage unit 320 and sets the display control parameter of the ultrasound image accordingly. By setting the parameters related to the selection of the ultrasound scan depth, zooming magnification, and display range as standard values for each treatment site, it is possible to limit the size and range of the displayed image. Accordingly, a real image closer to the ultrasound image in which specific anatomical region information is assumed in terms of size and range may be obtained, and speed or precision of image recognition may be improved.

The anatomical region re-recognition unit 316 generates specific anatomical region information from the currently input ultrasound image using specific anatomical region information of the same marker previously detected and the location information of the marker detected by the marker location detector. . This has been described in the previous description of the anatomical region determining unit 313 in the embodiment of FIG. 1, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted.

5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a needle position detection unit according to another embodiment. As illustrated, according to another aspect of the proposed invention, the needle position detection unit 330 includes a sensor-based position calculation unit 331, an image-based position calculation unit 333, and a location information output unit 335 It may include. The sensor-based position calculator 331 calculates the position of the needle from at least two sensor inputs. This is as described above.

The image-based position calculator 333 estimates the position of the needle by tracking the movement of the tissue in the ultrasound image. It is advantageous to use other methods in parallel, as certain anatomical zone entry may occur at the moment the magnetic system positioning system is inoperative. The needle is so thin that it is not visible on the ultrasound image.

According to one aspect, the image-based position calculating unit 333 continuously compares the generated ultrasound image to identify a changing portion and a portion that does not change, and calculates a portion changing in a specific direction as a needle position. For example, by calculating a change amount between image frames, a motion vector can be obtained, and accordingly, motion of a biological tissue can be identified. When the needle enters the living tissue, movement occurs because the surrounding living tissue is pushed out. This amount of change can reflect motion relatively well even when the image quality is poor. The position of the tip of the needle can be estimated by analyzing the direction of movement of the biological tissue.

In another embodiment, the ultrasonic signal processing unit 370 drives the array of ultrasonic elements in a Doppler mode, detects the speed of biological tissue pushed out when the needle enters, identifies biological tissue, and estimates the position of the needle therefrom Can be. Compared to the luminance mode, the Doppler mode can sensitively identify moving tissue. While operating in the Doppler mode, the movement of biological tissues can be obtained through the difference between frames of the ultrasound image, and the position of the needle can be estimated by finding the portion of the movement or the central axis of the movement from the distribution of the movement.

The position information output unit 335 synthesizes the outputs of the sensor-based position calculation unit 331 and the image-based position calculation unit 333 to calculate the position of the needle. The location information output unit 335 preferentially selects the output of the sensor-based location calculating unit 331, but when it is determined that there is no output or reliability, the location-based output calculating unit 333 is executed in parallel. Select output. The reliability of the result of calculating the needle position can be judged to be unreliable, for example, when the continuity of movement of the needle tip is largely broken. As another example, the location information output unit 335 preferentially selects the output of the sensor-based location calculation unit 331, but when it is determined that the output is not present or unreliable, the image-based location calculation unit executed in parallel ( 333) Create a location in combination with the output of the task.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a configuration of an ultrasound image display control method according to an embodiment. As shown, the ultrasound image display control method according to an embodiment includes a surgical site selection step 610, a marker position detection step 643, a specific anatomical area information checking step 644, and an anatomical region re-recognition. It includes a step 645, a needle position detection step 660, and a risk determination step 670.

In the operation site selection step 610, the ultrasound imaging apparatus receives a treatment site from the operator through the manipulation unit. The processing configuration of the ultrasound imaging apparatus in the operation site selection step 610 is similar to the processing of the user interface unit 390 described with reference to FIG. 3, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the marker position detection step 620, the ultrasound imaging apparatus detects the position of at least one marker fixed to the surface of the treatment site in the generated ultrasound image. In one embodiment, the marker position detection step 620 includes a surgical site scan step 641 and a marker check step 643. In step 641, the ultrasound imaging apparatus acquires an ultrasound image when the operator scans the area around the selected treatment area with a probe. In the marker check step 643, the ultrasound imaging apparatus checks whether a marker is present in the acquired ultrasound image. If a marker is present, the position of the marker is detected. The configuration for detecting the position of the marker is similar to the processing of the marker position detection unit 312 described with reference to FIG. 3, so a detailed description is omitted.

In the marker check step 643, if a marker is present, it is checked whether there is pre-stored anatomical area information for the corresponding surgical site, that is, specific anatomical area information previously recognized and stored for the operator (step 644). ). If the information exists, an anatomical region re-recognition step 645 is executed. In the anatomical region re-recognition step 645, the ultrasound imaging apparatus extracts the specific anatomical region information stored and generates specific anatomical region information using the information and the location information of the marker detected in the marker location detection step 643. . In the anatomical region re-recognition step 645, the processing configuration of the ultrasound imaging apparatus is similar to the processing of the anatomical region re-recognition unit 316 described with reference to FIG. 4, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the needle position detection step 660, the ultrasound imaging apparatus calculates the position of the needle from at least two sensor inputs. In the needle position detection step 660, the processing configuration of the ultrasound imaging apparatus is similar to the processing of the needle position detection unit 330 described with reference to FIG. 3, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the risk determination and warning steps 670 and 680, the ultrasound imaging apparatus outputs a warning signal when the position of the needle tip according to the position of the needle calculated in the needle position detection step 660 approaches the stored anatomical region. First, in the risk determination step 670, the ultrasound imaging apparatus checks whether the position of the end of the needle calculated in the needle position detection step 660 is close to the calculated specific anatomical region. Subsequently, in operation danger warning step 680, the ultrasound imaging apparatus outputs a danger warning when it approaches. In the risk determination step 670 and the procedure risk warning step 680, the processing configuration of the ultrasound imaging apparatus is similar to that of the risk determination unit 311 described with reference to FIG. 3, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As described above, the needle position is measured by an independent positioning system that does not depend on the ultrasound image, and the 3D modeling information of the anatomical region is calculated and stored from the ultrasound volume image, and then stored, and the procedure risk warning unit ( 310) processes the position of the end of the needle by comparing it with the 3D modeling area information of the stored anatomical region, so that the stored position of the end of the needle is generated by the ultrasound signal processing unit 370 and displayed on the screen. A warning can be issued if the anatomical region is approached even if it deviates.

According to a further aspect, the ultrasound image display control method may further include a specific anatomical region information extraction step 620 and an anatomical region recognition step 650. If a marker is not found in the marker position detection step 643 or the corresponding anatomical area information stored in the anatomical area information check step 644 is not found, the ultrasound imaging apparatus executes a specific anatomical area information extraction step 620 do.

In the specific anatomical region information extraction step 620, the ultrasound imaging apparatus reads specific anatomical region information corresponding to the selected surgical site from the database. The processing configuration of the ultrasound imaging apparatus in the specific anatomical region information extraction step 620 is similar to the processing of the anatomical region determining unit 313 described with reference to FIG. 3, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the anatomical region recognition step 650, the ultrasound imaging apparatus generates specific anatomical region information in three dimensions from the ultrasound volume image generated from the ultrasound images input in the operation region scan step 640, The anatomical area information is extracted and generated by referring to the specific anatomical area information of the corresponding treatment site extracted in step 620. In the anatomical region recognition step 650, the processing configuration of the ultrasound imaging apparatus is similar to the processing of the anatomical region determining unit 313 described with reference to FIG. 3, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

According to an additional aspect, the ultrasound image display control method may further include a display setting step 630 for each region. In the display setting step 630 for each part, the ultrasound imaging apparatus sets the display control parameter of the ultrasound image according to the setting parameter for each treatment part included in the procedure guide information. The processing configuration of the ultrasound imaging device in the display setting step 630 for each part is similar to the processing of the display setting part 393 for each part described with reference to FIG. 3, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

According to a further aspect, the needle position detection step 660 may include a sensor-based position calculation step 661, an image-based position calculation step 663, and a location information output step 665. 7 is a flow chart showing the configuration of one embodiment of the sensor-based position calculation step 661. In the sensor-based position calculating step 661, the ultrasound imaging apparatus calculates the position of the needle from at least two sensor inputs. In the image-based position calculation step 663, the ultrasound imaging apparatus estimates the position of the needle by tracking tissue movement in the ultrasound image. According to a further aspect, in the image-based position calculation step 663, the ultrasound imaging apparatus sequentially compares the generated ultrasound images to identify the changing and unchanging parts, and calculates the changing part in a specific direction as a needle position. can do. In the position information output step 665, the ultrasound imaging device synthesizes the outputs of the sensor-based position calculation step 661 and the image-based position calculation step 663 to calculate the position of the needle. In the needle position detection step 660, the processing configuration of the ultrasound imaging apparatus is similar to the processing of the needle position detection unit 330 described with reference to FIG. 4, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the above, the present invention has been described through embodiments referring to the accompanying drawings, but is not limited thereto, and should be interpreted to cover various modifications that can be obviously derived by those skilled in the art. The described aspects can be freely combined without contradiction with each other, and all of these combinations are included in the scope of the present invention.

The appended claims are intended to cover such combinations or illustrations with omitted or simplified embodiments, but do not claim all such combinations, and such combinations should be allowed to enter the scope of the invention through future amendments. .

10: probe 30: needle
50: ultrasound imaging device 70: marker
210: magnetic position sensor 221: magnetic sensor driver
223: acceleration sensor driver 225: ultrasonic element driver
230: acceleration sensor
240: control unit 250: ultrasonic element array
270: interface
310: operation risk warning unit 311: risk determination unit
312: marker position detection unit 313: anatomical region determination unit
314: relative position calculation unit 315: anatomical area recognition unit
317: anatomical region re-recognition unit 320: storage unit
330: needle position detection unit 331: sensor-based position calculation unit
333: image-based location calculation unit 335: location information output unit
350: probe position detection unit 360: image display control unit
370: ultrasonic signal processing unit 380: display
390: User interface unit 391: Guidance information providing unit
393: display setting unit for each part

Claims (11)

In the case of a needle procedure, an ultrasound imaging apparatus that provides an image of a biological tissue at a treatment site,
An ultrasonic signal processor that transmits ultrasonic waves and receives reflected waves to generate ultrasonic images;
A needle position detector for calculating the position of the needle from at least two sensor inputs;
In the generated ultrasound image, a marker position detection unit that detects the position of at least one marker fixed to the surface of the treatment site, and specific anatomical region information of the same marker previously detected and position information of the marker detected by the marker position detection unit are used. The anatomical region determination unit that generates specific anatomical region information corresponding to the ultrasound image generated by the ultrasound signal processing unit, and a warning signal when the position of the end of the needle calculated by the needle position detection unit approaches the generated specific anatomical region Treatment risk warning unit including a risk determination unit for outputting;
Ultrasound imaging apparatus comprising a. The ultrasound imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation danger warning unit outputs a warning when the position of the needle tip is close to the anatomical region even if it is outside the display range of the ultrasound image generated and displayed by the ultrasound signal processing unit. The method according to claim 1, The ultrasound imaging apparatus:
A storage unit in which procedure guide information including operation guide content for each treatment part is stored;
A user interface unit that extracts and provides a corresponding operation guide content from a storage unit when a treatment site is selected;
The ultrasound imaging apparatus further comprising. The method according to claim 1, Anatomical region determining unit:
An anatomical region recognition unit for recognizing a specific anatomical region corresponding to an ultrasound image generated by the ultrasound signal processing unit using standard specific anatomical region information corresponding to the selected surgical site;
An anatomical region re-recognition unit that generates specific anatomical region information corresponding to the ultrasound image generated by the ultrasound signal processing unit by using specific anatomical region information of the same marker previously detected and the location information of the marker detected by the marker location detector.
Ultrasound imaging apparatus comprising a. The method according to claim 4, User interface unit:
A display setting unit for each region for setting a display control parameter of an ultrasound image according to a setup parameter for each treatment region included in the procedure guide information;
The ultrasound imaging apparatus further comprising. The method according to claim 1, needle position detection unit:
A sensor-based position calculator for calculating the position of the needle from at least two sensor inputs;
An image-based position calculator for tracking the movement of tissue in the ultrasound image and estimating the position of the needle;
A position information output unit that calculates the position of the needle by synthesizing the outputs of the sensor-based position calculation unit and the image-based position calculation unit;
Ultrasound imaging apparatus comprising a. A method of controlling display of an ultrasound image providing an image of a biological tissue at a treatment site during a needle procedure,
A surgical site selection step of receiving a surgical site from the operator through the manipulation unit;
A marker position detection step of detecting the position of at least one marker fixed to the surface of the treatment site in the generated ultrasound image;
A specific anatomical region information checking step of checking whether specific anatomical region information of the same marker has been previously detected and stored;
If there is specific anatomical area information stored in the specific anatomical area information checking step, anatomical information that generates specific anatomical area information corresponding to the current ultrasound image using the information and the positional information of the marker detected in the marker position detection step An area recognition step;
A needle position detection step of calculating a position of the needle from at least two sensor inputs;
A risk determination and warning step of outputting a warning signal when the position of the end of the needle calculated in the needle position detection step approaches the anatomical region;
Ultrasonic image display control method comprising a. The method according to claim 7, In the operation danger warning step, the ultrasound image display control method for outputting a warning when the position of the end of the needle is close to the anatomical region even if the position of the end of the needle is outside the display range of the ultrasound image generated and displayed by the ultrasound signal processing unit. . The method of claim 7, wherein the method:
If a marker is not found in the marker position detection step or the corresponding anatomical area information stored in the anatomical area information checking step is not found, specific anatomical area information that reads specific anatomical area information corresponding to the selected surgical site from the database An extraction step;
3D specific anatomical region information is generated from the ultrasound volume image generated from the ultrasound image generated in the procedure region scanning step, and referring to specific anatomical region information of the corresponding treatment region extracted in the specific anatomical region information extraction step Generating and storing an anatomical region recognition step;
The ultrasound image display control method further comprising. The method according to claim 9, wherein the control method:
The ultrasound image display control method further comprising; a display setting step by region for setting a display control parameter of the ultrasound image according to a setup parameter for each treatment site included in the procedure guide information. The method of claim 10, wherein the needle position detection step:
A sensor-based position calculating step of calculating a position of the needle from at least two sensor inputs;
An image-based position calculating step of estimating the position of the needle by tracking tissue movement in the ultrasound image;
A position information output step of synthesizing the outputs of the sensor-based position calculation step and the image-based position calculation step to calculate a needle position;
Ultrasonic image display control method comprising a.

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