KR20200108158A - Uroflowmetry by using ultrasound - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a urinating condition measuring device using ultrasonic waves. The urinating condition measuring device is configured to sequentially acquire two-dimensional ultrasound images of the bladder while a patient urinates and at the same time, acquire three-dimensional ultrasound images of the bladder at the start of urination and the end of urination, measure the change in the volume of the bladder, the urine velocity, and determine the amount according to the time of urination by using the plurality of two-dimensional ultrasound images which are sequentially acquired, measuring the amount of urine in the bladder at the start of urination and the amount of residual urine in the bladder at the end of urination by using the three-dimensional ultrasound images, and correct the urine velocity and the amount of urination in the bladder by urination time by using information on the amount at the start and the amount of residual urine in the bladder at the end of urination, thereby measuring more accurate urination condition information.

Description

Device for measuring urination conditions using ultrasound {Uroflowmetry by using ultrasound}

The present invention relates to a urine velocity measuring apparatus, and more specifically, measuring the cross-sectional areas or volumes of the bladder that change according to the time course by urination using ultrasound, and measuring the urine velocity and urine flow using the measured cross-sectional areas of the bladder. It relates to a urine velocity measuring apparatus and a urine velocity measuring method using ultrasonic waves configured to be measured.

Uroflowmetry is a device that measures conditions related to urination, for example, the amount of urination once, urinary rate during urination, time of urination once, maximum urinary rate during urination, and delay time of urination. Such a urine rate measurement device is a device that is necessarily used to examine and diagnose disorders related to urination for a patient.

A conventional general urine rate measuring device measures the weight of the amount of urination per unit time when the patient urinates and measures the urination state based on this. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a urine measurement system according to the prior art. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional apparatus for measuring urine speed includes a chair similar to a toilet and a urine collector and a scale for measuring the amount of urine placed under the chair. The urine rate measurement device, urine collected in a urine collector is measured through the scale, the measured amount of urination information is transmitted to a computer in real time, and the urinating state of the patient is examined using the transmitted information on the amount of urination for each time period. .

The above-described conventional urine rate measurement device has to be collected in the lower urine collector as the patient urinates.In this collection process, urine may be lost due to protruding out of the device or not properly collected in the urine collector, so accurate measurement of the amount of urination is possible. Difficult problems arise. In addition, when urine protrudes out of the urine collector, there is a problem that the surroundings are contaminated. In addition, the conventional urine rate measuring device is a device combined with a urine collector specially manufactured for measuring urination, and since the patient must urinate in a urine collector rather than a general toilet, the patient cannot urinate comfortably as usual. It may be difficult to accurately measure the state of urination.

Accordingly, the present invention is to propose a method for measuring the urination state by using a technique of measuring the amount of urine remaining in the bladder using an ultrasound image.

Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2003-0097305 Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2002-0074589

It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-described problem to provide an apparatus for measuring a urinary state, which enables measuring a state of urination using 2D ultrasound images of a bladder during urination.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for measuring a urinary state, which enables measuring the state of urination using 3D ultrasound images of a bladder during urination.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for measuring a urination state, which enables the measurement of a urination state using 2D ultrasound images of a bladder during urination and 3D ultrasound images at the start/end of urination.

An apparatus for measuring a urination state according to a first aspect of the present invention for achieving the above-described technical problem includes: an ultrasonic probe for obtaining a 2D ultrasound image of a bladder; Using the ultrasound probe, 2D ultrasound images of the bladder are sequentially acquired at each preset unit time interval from the urination start point to the urination end point, and cross-sectional areas of the bladder are measured from the acquired 2D ultrasound images. And, the control unit for measuring the urination state information by using the change state of the measured cross-sectional areas; And a display unit for outputting the urine state information measured by the control unit on a screen.

In the urination state measuring apparatus according to the above-described first feature, the urination state information is one of a urine rate for each time slot during urination, an amount of urination for each time slot during urination, a total amount of urination during urination, a delay time during urination, and a total time required for urination It is preferable to include two or more.

In the apparatus for measuring a urination state according to the above-described first aspect, the controller drives the ultrasound probe to sequentially perform two-dimensional ultrasound images including the bladder at predetermined unit time intervals from the start of urination to the end of urination. An acquired 2D ultrasound image acquisition module; A bladder cross-sectional area measurement module configured to detect a bladder from the plurality of sequentially acquired 2D ultrasound images and measure a cross-sectional area of the bladder for each urination time; A bladder volume measurement module for calculating the volume of the bladder for each urination time by using the cross-sectional areas of the bladder for each urination time measured by the bladder cross-sectional area measurement module; A urine rate measurement module for calculating a urine rate for each urination time by using the volumes of the bladder for each urination time calculated by the bladder volume measurement module; And it is preferable to include a; urinary volume measurement module for measuring the amount of urination for each urination time using the urine speeds calculated by the urine rate measurement module.

An apparatus for measuring a urination state according to a second aspect of the present invention includes: an ultrasound probe for obtaining a 3D ultrasound image of a bladder; Using the ultrasound probe, 3D ultrasound images of the bladder are sequentially acquired at each preset unit time interval from the urination start point to the urination end point, and the amount of residual urine in the bladder is sequentially obtained from the obtained 3D ultrasound images. A control unit that measures and measures urination state information using the measured state of changes in the amount of residual urine in the plurality of bladder; And a display unit for outputting the urine state information measured by the control unit on a screen.

In the urination state measuring apparatus according to the second feature described above, the urination state information may be one of a urine rate for each time slot during urination, an amount of urination for each time slot during urination, a total amount of urination during urination, a delay time during urination, and a total time required for urination It is preferable to include two or more.

In the apparatus for measuring a urination state according to the second aspect described above, the control unit drives the ultrasound probe to sequentially sequentially perform 3D ultrasound images including a bladder at predetermined unit time intervals from a urination start point to an urination end point. An acquired 3D ultrasound image acquisition module; A residual urine amount measurement module for detecting bladder from the plurality of sequentially acquired 3D ultrasound images, and sequentially measuring residual urine amounts in the bladder from the detected bladder; A urine rate measurement module that calculates a urine rate for each urination time by using information on the amount of urine remaining in the bladder for each urination time calculated by the residual urine amount measurement module; And a urine amount measuring module for calculating an amount of urination for each urination time by using the urine speeds for each urination time calculated by the urine speed measuring module.

An apparatus for measuring a urination state using ultrasound according to a third aspect of the present invention includes: an ultrasound probe for acquiring a 2D ultrasound image and a 3D ultrasound image of a bladder; Using the ultrasonic probe, a 3D ultrasound image of the bladder at the start of urination, a 3D ultrasound image of the bladder at the end of urination, and a two-dimensional ultrasound of the bladder every preset unit time from the start of urination to the end of urination. A control unit for acquiring images, measuring cross-sectional areas of the bladder from the obtained plurality of 2D ultrasound images, and measuring urination state information using change states of the measured cross-sectional areas; And a display unit for outputting information on the urination state measured by the control unit on a screen, wherein the control unit measures amounts of residual urine in the bladder at the start/end time of urination using 3D ultrasound images of the bladder, and the It is preferable to correct the urinary state information by using the measured residual urine amount information in the bladder.

In the urination state measurement device according to the third feature described above, the urination state information is one or two of urinary rate by time slot during urination, urination volume by time slot during urination, total urination volume during urination, delay time during urination, and required time during urination. It is preferable to include the above.

In the apparatus for measuring a urination state according to the third aspect described above, the control unit drives the ultrasound probe to sequentially perform 2D ultrasound images including the bladder at predetermined unit time intervals from a urination start point to an urination end point. An acquired 2D ultrasound image acquisition module; A bladder cross-sectional area measurement module configured to measure a cross-sectional area of the bladder according to urination time by using a plurality of sequentially acquired 2D ultrasound images; A 3D ultrasound image acquisition module for driving the ultrasound probe to obtain 3D ultrasound images including a bladder at a urination start point and a urination end point; A residual urine volume measurement module configured to measure the volume of the bladder by using the 3D ultrasound images to measure the amount of urine remaining in the bladder at the start of urination and the end of urination; A bladder volume measurement module configured to measure the volume of the bladder by urination time by using the cross-sectional areas of the bladder by urination time measured by the bladder cross-sectional area measurement module; A urine rate measurement module for calculating a urine rate for each urination time by using the volumes of the bladder for each urination time measured by the bladder volume measurement module; An urination amount measurement module for calculating an urination amount for each urination time by using the urine speeds for each urination time calculated by the urinary speed measurement module; And a correction module for correcting the urinary state information by using the information on the amount of residual urine in the bladder at the time of the start of urination and the information on the amount of residual urine in the bladder at the time of the end of urination calculated by the residual urine amount measurement module.

The apparatus for measuring urination status according to the present invention measures urination status information using an ultrasound image, so that equipment such as a conventional urine collector is not required, and it is possible to measure the urination status information cleanly and accurately.

In addition, the apparatus for measuring urination status according to the first embodiment of the present invention sequentially measures the cross-sectional areas of the bladder for each urination time from 2D ultrasound images, and measures urination status information using the two-dimensional ultrasound images, thereby quickly obtaining information on the urination status. You can do it.

In addition, the apparatus for measuring urination status according to the second embodiment of the present invention sequentially measures the amount of urine remaining in the bladder according to urination time from 3D ultrasound images, and by using this to measure the urination status information, very accurately obtains urination status information. You can do it.

In addition, the apparatus for measuring the urination state according to the third embodiment of the present invention sequentially measures the cross-sectional areas of the bladder according to urination time from 2D ultrasound images, and at the same time, urination starts and starts from the 3D ultrasound images at the time when urination starts and ends. By measuring the amount of urine remaining in the bladder at the end, measuring the urinary state information by using the cross-sectional areas of the bladder by urination time, and correcting the information on the urinary state using the amount of remaining urine in the bladder at the beginning and end of urination, the measurement error is quickly and Reduced, it is possible to accurately obtain information on the state of urination.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a urine measurement system according to the prior art.
2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an apparatus 1 for measuring a urination state using ultrasonic waves according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a graph showing the cross-sectional areas of the bladder obtained at each unit time interval during the urination period by the bladder cross-sectional area measuring module in the apparatus for measuring urination according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a graph showing cross-sectional areas of a bladder filtered by a bladder cross-sectional area filtering module in the apparatus for measuring urination according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a graph showing the volumes of the bladder sequentially obtained during the urination period by the bladder volume measurement module in the apparatus for measuring the urination state according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a graph showing urine speeds sequentially measured during a urination period by a urine speed measurement module in the apparatus for measuring a urine state according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a graph showing the amounts of urination sequentially measured during the period of urination by the urine amount measurement module in the apparatus for measuring a urination state according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a block diagram showing an apparatus for measuring a urination state using ultrasonic waves according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an apparatus 3 for measuring a urine state using ultrasonic waves according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
10 is a graph showing the volumes of the bladder obtained from the 2D cross-sectional area by the bladder volume measurement module and the amounts of residual urine before and after urination measured by the residual urine quantity measurement module in the apparatus for measuring the urination state according to the third embodiment of the present invention to be.
11 is a graph showing bladder volumes for each urination time period corrected by a bladder volume correction module in the apparatus for measuring a urination state according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail with respect to the configuration and operation of the urination state measuring apparatus using ultrasound according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

<First embodiment>

The apparatus 1 for measuring the urination state according to the first embodiment of the present invention sequentially acquires 2D ultrasound images of the bladder during urination of a patient, and uses a plurality of sequentially acquired 2D ultrasound images to measure urination. It is characterized in that the volume change of the bladder over time is measured, and information on the state of urination is measured through the change in the volume of the bladder.

2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an apparatus 1 for measuring a urination state using ultrasonic waves according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the apparatus for measuring a urine state according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes an ultrasonic probe 10, a control unit 12, a display unit 14, and a start/stop button 16.

The ultrasound probe 10 acquires a 2D ultrasound image of the bladder and provides it to the controller 12. On the other hand, the ultrasonic probe may be composed of a transducer module that transmits and receives an ultrasonic signal and a motor that drives the transducer module, and the transducer module is composed of a single transducer or a plurality of transducers is an array. ) Can be arranged in the form. When the transducer module is composed of a single transducer, the motor sequentially acquires 1D ultrasound data while rotating the transducer through a preset angle range, and provides the obtained plurality of 1D ultrasound data to the control unit to provide 2 A dimensional ultrasound image is generated. On the other hand, when the transducer module is composed of a plurality of transducers arranged in an array form, all transducers transmit and receive ultrasonic signals at once to obtain a plurality of one-dimensional ultrasonic data, and thus one-dimensional received from each transducer. Ultrasonic data may be provided to the controller to generate a 2D ultrasound image. The technology for the above-described ultrasonic probe is already widely known, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted herein.

The display unit 14 outputs urination status information provided from the control unit on a screen.

The start/end button 16 is pressed by a patient or a medical staff at the start and end times of urination, and starts or ends the measurement of the urination state according to the input signal of the button. The start/end button may be configured as a single button or switch, or may be configured separately from each other.

The control unit 12 sequentially acquires 2D ultrasound images of the bladder at predetermined unit time intervals from the start of urination to the end of urination using the ultrasound probe, and the obtained 2D ultrasound images From, cross-sectional areas of the bladder are measured, and urination state information is measured using the state of change of the measured cross-sectional areas. The urination status information preferably includes one or more of one or more of a urine rate for each time slot during urination, an amount of urination for each time slot during urination, a total amount of urination during the urination, a delay time for urination, and a total time required for urination.

The above-described control unit includes a 2D ultrasound image acquisition module 100, a bladder cross-sectional area measurement module 110, a bladder volume measurement module 120, a urine velocity measurement module 130, and a urine volume measurement module 140.

The 2D ultrasound image acquisition module 100 sequentially acquires 2D ultrasound images including the bladder at predetermined unit time intervals from the start of urination to the end of urination by driving the ultrasound probe. The 2D ultrasound image acquisition module sets the urination start point and the urination end point according to the input of the start/end button.

The bladder cross-sectional area measurement module 110 detects the bladder from the plurality of 2D ultrasound images sequentially acquired by the 2D ultrasound image acquisition module, and cross-sectional areas of the bladder according to urination time from the detected bladder ( S(t1), S(t2), S(t3), …, S(tn)) are measured. 3 is a graph showing the cross-sectional areas of the bladder obtained at each unit time interval during the urination period by the bladder cross-sectional area measuring module in the apparatus for measuring urination according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Figure 3, it can be seen the change in the cross-sectional area of the bladder according to the transition of urination time.

Meanwhile, it is preferable that the control unit further includes a bladder cross-sectional area filtering module 115 to filter the cross-sectional areas of the bladder measured by the bladder cross-sectional area measurement module. Although the cross-sectional area and volume of the bladder must actually decrease as the urination time elapses, as can be seen in the graph of FIG. 3, due to a slight change in the acquisition position of the ultrasound image or an error in measurement, the cross-sectional area of the bladder is temporarily Increasing intervals are generated. Therefore, it is preferable that the control unit filter and remove sections in which the cross-sectional area of the bladder is temporarily increased in order to decrease the cross-sectional area of the bladder as the urination time elapses through the bladder cross-sectional area filtering module. 4 is a graph showing cross-sectional areas of a bladder filtered by a bladder cross-sectional area filtering module in the apparatus for measuring urination according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, it can be seen that the bladder cross-sectional areas are continuously reduced according to the transition of the urination time.

The bladder volume measurement module 120 uses cross-sectional areas (S(t1), S(t2), S(t3), …, S(tn)) of the bladder for each urination time measured by the bladder cross-sectional area measurement module. Thus, the bladder volumes (V(t1), V(t2), V(t3), …, V(tn)) for each urination time are calculated. Assuming that the bladder is a sphere, the radii ((R(t1), R(t2)) from the cross-sectional areas of the bladder (S(t1), S(t2), S(t3),…, S(tn)) ), R(t3),…, R(tn))), and using the radii (R(t1), R(t2), R(t3),…, R(tn)) ) By mathematically calculating the volumes (V(t1), V(t2), V(t3),…, V(tn)), the bladder volumes are estimated from the cross-sectional areas of the bladder.

5 is a graph showing the volumes of the bladder sequentially obtained during the urination period by the bladder volume measurement module in the apparatus for measuring the urination state according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5, changes in bladder volumes according to the transition of urination time can be seen. The amount of reduction in bladder volumes according to the change of urination time is directly proportional to the amount of urination according to the change of urination time.

The urine rate measurement module 130 calculates the urine rate for each urination time by using the volumes of the bladder for each urination time calculated by the bladder volume measurement module. The urinary velocity for each urination time can be measured by differentiating the volumes of the bladder for each urination time to obtain a slope value. 6 is a graph showing urine speeds sequentially measured during a urination period by a urine speed measurement module in the apparatus for measuring a urine state according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Figure 6, it can be seen the change in urine speed according to the transition of urination time. The urine rate measurement module extracts and provides urination status information such as a maximum flow rate, a time to maximum flow rate, and an average flow rate through the measured urine rates for each urination time. I can.

The amount of urination measurement module 140 calculates the amount of urination for each time of urination using the urine speeds for each time of urination measured by the urine speed measurement module. The amount of urination by urination time can be obtained by integrating urine rates by urination time. 7 is a graph showing the amounts of urination sequentially measured during the period of urination by the urine amount measurement module in the apparatus for measuring a urination state according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 7, an increase in the amount of urination according to the transition of the urination time can be seen. The urine volume measurement module uses the measured urine volumes for each urination time, and provides information on urination status such as a total voided volume, a total voiding time, a flow time, and a delay time. It can be extracted and provided.

As described above, the apparatus for measuring a urination state according to the first embodiment of the present invention obtains 2D ultrasound images for each urination time and estimates the volume of the bladder from the two-dimensional ultrasound images to measure the urine velocity and the amount of urination. Since the urination state measuring apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention measures the urine velocity and the amount of urination using 2D ultrasound images, the amount of calculation is reduced compared to the apparatus for measuring urination state according to the second embodiment to be described later. It can be implemented, but the accuracy can be reduced compared to the device according to the second embodiment.

<Second Example>

The apparatus for measuring a urination state according to the second embodiment of the present invention sequentially acquires 3D ultrasound images of the bladder by urination time, and calculates the amount of residual urine in the bladder by urination time from a plurality of sequentially acquired 3D ultrasound images. And, using this, it characterized in that the urine rate and the amount of urination are calculated.

8 is a block diagram showing an apparatus for measuring a urination state using ultrasonic waves according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 8, an apparatus for measuring a urination state according to a second embodiment of the present invention includes an ultrasonic probe 20, a control unit 22, a display unit 24, and a start/end button 26.

The ultrasound probe 20 acquires a 3D ultrasound image of the bladder and provides it to the controller 22. Meanwhile, although the configuration of the ultrasonic probe is similar to that of the ultrasonic probe of the first embodiment, a motor for rotating the transducer module as a whole may be additionally provided in order to obtain a 3D ultrasonic image. A technology for an ultrasound probe for acquiring a 3D ultrasound image is a well-known technology, and a detailed description thereof is omitted herein. Since the display unit 24 and the start/end button 16 are the same as those of the first embodiment, a repeated description will be omitted.

The control unit 22 includes a 3D ultrasound image acquisition module 200, a residual urine quantity measurement module 220, a urine rate measurement module 230, and a urine quantity measurement module 240.

The 3D ultrasound image acquisition module 200 drives the ultrasound probe to sequentially acquire 3D ultrasound images including the bladder at predetermined unit time intervals from the start of urination to the end of urination. The 3D ultrasound image acquisition module sets the urination start point and the urination end point according to the input of the start/end button.

The residual urine quantity measurement module 220 detects bladder from 3D ultrasound images of the bladder according to the urination time, and the volumes of the bladder (V(t1), V(t2), V(t3),…, V(tn)) is measured. Since the volume of the bladder detected from the 3D ultrasound image actually represents the amount of urine remaining in the bladder, the amount of urine remaining in the bladder according to the urination time (Q(t1), Q(t2), Q(t3)) is measured by measuring the volume of the bladder by urination time. ,…, Q(tn)) can be measured.

The urine rate measurement module 230 calculates a urine rate for each urination time by using the amount of urine remaining in the bladder for each urination time calculated by the residual urine amount measurement module. The amount of urine remaining in the bladder by urination time is actually in inverse proportion to the amount of urination by time of urination. Accordingly, the urinary velocity for each urination time can be calculated by differentiating the amounts of residual urine in the bladder for each urination time to obtain a slope value.

The amount of urination measurement module 240 calculates the amount of urination for each time of urination using the urine speeds for each time of urination calculated by the urine rate measurement module.

Meanwhile, the urinary state information measured by the urine rate measurement module and the urine amount measurement module is the same as those of the first embodiment.

Since the apparatus for measuring urination status according to the second embodiment of the present invention must acquire 3D ultrasound images of the bladder, the ultrasound probe must have excellent performance, and the control unit is composed of a CPU with excellent performance that can perform a large amount of calculation. Should be.

Since the apparatus for measuring urination status according to the second embodiment directly measures the amount of urine remaining in the bladder from 3D ultrasound images, the apparatus for measuring urination status according to the first embodiment indirectly measures the volume of the bladder from 2D ultrasound images It is possible to improve the accuracy of the measurement compared to the field. However, since the apparatus for measuring the urination state according to the second embodiment of the present invention has to perform many complex calculations within a predetermined time in order to acquire 3D ultrasound images of the bladder, the ultrasonic probe must have excellent performance and the control unit also has a large amount of computation. It must be configured with a high-performance CPU, etc. that can perform, resulting in an increase in manufacturing cost.

<Third embodiment>

The apparatus 3 for measuring the urination state according to the third embodiment of the present invention sequentially acquires 2D ultrasound images of the bladder during the urination of the patient, and at the same time, the 3D ultrasound for the bladder at the start and end of urination. After acquiring images, using a plurality of sequentially acquired 2D ultrasound images, the volume change of the bladder, urine velocity, and volume of urination according to the time transition of urination are measured, and the inside of the bladder at the start of urination using the 3D ultrasound images It is characterized by measuring the amount of residual urine and the amount of residual urine in the bladder at the end of urination, and the urinary rate and the amount of urination of the bladder by urination time are corrected using information on the amount of residual amount in the bladder at the beginning and end of urination, and more accurate information on the state of urination is measured. do.

9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an apparatus 3 for measuring a urine state using ultrasonic waves according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 9, an apparatus 3 for measuring a urination state according to a third embodiment of the present invention includes an ultrasonic probe 30, a control unit 32, a display unit 34, and a start/stop button 36. .

The ultrasound probe 30 acquires a 2D ultrasound image and a 3D ultrasound image of the bladder and provides it to the controller 32. Meanwhile, the configuration of the ultrasonic probe may be the same as that of the ultrasonic probes of the first and second embodiments. The technology for the ultrasonic probe is already widely known, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted herein.

Since the display unit 34 and the start/end button 36 are the same as those of the first embodiment, repeated descriptions are omitted.

The control unit 32 acquires 3D ultrasound images of the bladder at the start and end of urination by using the ultrasound probe, and at the same time, the control unit 32 obtains 3D ultrasound images of the bladder from the start of urination to the end of urination. Obtain dimensional ultrasound images sequentially, measure cross-sectional areas of the bladder according to urination time from the obtained two-dimensional ultrasound images, and measure volumes, urinary velocities and amount of urination for each urination time by using the cross-sectional areas , Using 3D ultrasound images of the bladder at the beginning and end of urination, the amount of residual urine in the bladder at the start and end of urination is measured, and the urinary velocities and amounts of urination for the bladder according to the urination time are measured at the start and end of urination. It corrects using the information on the amount of residual urine, and measures the urinary state information using the corrected information.

The urination status information preferably includes one or more of one or more of a urine rate for each time slot during urination, an amount of urination for each time slot during urination, a total amount of urination during the urination, a delay time for urination, and a total time required for urination.

The above-described control unit 32 includes a 2D ultrasound image acquisition module 300, a 3D ultrasound image acquisition module 305, a bladder cross-sectional area measurement module 310, a bladder volume measurement module 320, and a residual urine quantity measurement module 325. ), a bladder volume correction module 327, a urine velocity measurement module 330, and a urine volume measurement module 340. The control unit may further include a bladder cross-sectional area filtering module 315.

The 2D ultrasound image acquisition module 300, the bladder cross-sectional area measurement module 310, the bladder cross-sectional area filtering module 315, the bladder volume measurement module 320, the urine velocity measurement module 330, the urine volume measurement module 340 Is operated in the same manner as those of the first embodiment, so a repeated description is omitted.

The bladder cross-sectional area measurement module 310 detects the bladder from the plurality of 2D ultrasound images sequentially acquired by the 2D ultrasound image acquisition module, and cross-sectional areas of the bladder according to urination time from the detected bladder ( S(t1), S(t2), S(t3), …, S(tn)) are measured. The bladder cross-sectional area filtering module 315 filters the cross-sectional areas of the bladder measured by the bladder cross-sectional area measuring module.

10 is a graph showing the volumes of the bladder obtained from the 2D cross-sectional area by the bladder volume measurement module and the amounts of residual urine before and after urination measured by the residual urine quantity measurement module in the apparatus for measuring the urination state according to the third embodiment of the present invention to be.

Referring to FIG. 10, the bladder volume measurement module 320 includes cross-sectional areas of the bladder according to urination time measured by the bladder cross-sectional area measurement module (S(t1), S(t2), S(t3), …, S (tn)) is used to calculate the bladder volumes (V(t1), V(t2), V(t3),…, V(tn)) by urination time. Assuming that the bladder is a sphere, the radii ((R(t1), R(t2)) from the cross-sectional areas of the bladder (S(t1), S(t2), S(t3),…, S(tn)) ), R(t3),…, R(tn))), and using the radii (R(t1), R(t2), R(t3),…, R(tn)) ) By mathematically calculating the volumes (V(t1), V(t2), V(t3),…, V(tn)), the bladder volumes are estimated from the cross-sectional areas of the bladder.

The residual urine amount measurement module 325 detects the bladder from 3D ultrasound images of the bladder at the start of urination and the end of urination, and calculates the volume of the detected bladder to measure the amount of residual urine (Q1, Q2) in the bladder. Is done. The bladder volume correction module 327 uses the bladder volume information Q1 and Q2 at the start and end of the urination, and the bladder volumes (V) measured by the bladder volume measurement module 320 (t1), V(t2), V(t3), …, V(tn)) are corrected. A brief description of the correction mechanism will be given. First, the actual amount of urination corresponds to the difference value (Qdiff = Q1-Q2) between the amount of residual urine in the bladder (Q1) at the beginning of urination and the amount of residual urine in the bladder (Q2) at the end of urination. Therefore, the total amount of urination (F(tn)) measured from the 2D ultrasound images acquired for each urination time is the volume of the bladder at the start of urination (V(t1)) and the volume of the bladder at the end of urination (V(t2)). It can be calculated as V(t1)-V(t2) as the difference value of. And, the total amount of urination (F(tn)) measured from the two-dimensional ultrasound images acquired for each urination time is actually the difference between the amount of residual urine in the bladder (Q1) at the start of urination and the amount of residual urine in the bladder (Q2) at the end of urination ( Should be the same as Qdiff = Q1-Q2 ).

However, the difference between the total amount of urination (F(tn) = V(t1)-V(t2)) and the amount of residual urine in the bladder (Q2) measured from 2D ultrasound images (Qdiff = Q1-Q2) is not the same. In this case, the volumes of the bladder measured from 2D ultrasound images must be corrected. Thus, the correction factor k for bladder volumes may be defined according to Equation 1.

[Equation 1]

Qdiff = k × V(t1)-V(t2)

k = Qdiff / V(t1)-V(t2)

All bladder volumes (V(t1), V(t2), V(t3), …, V(tn)) measured by the bladder volume measurement module for each urination time are derived as described above, and the correction coefficient k ) By multiplying and correcting the amount of urination information (V'(t1), V'(t2), V'(t3), …, V'(tn)))).

11 is a graph showing bladder volumes for each urination time period corrected by a bladder volume correction module in the apparatus for measuring a urination state according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 11, bladder volumes (V'(t1), V'(t2), V'(t3), …, V) corrected by using a correction coefficient k calculated using information on the amount of residual urine in the bladder. '(tn)) can be seen.

The urine velocity measurement module 330 calculates a urine velocity for each urination time by differentiating the volumes of the bladder for each urination time corrected by the bladder volume correction module.

The urine amount measurement module 340 calculates the amount of urination for each urination time by using the urine speeds for each urination time calculated by the urine speed measurement module.

As described above, the apparatus for measuring urination state according to the third embodiment of the present invention obtains 2D ultrasound images for each urination time and estimates the volume of the bladder from the two-dimensional ultrasound images, and measures the urine velocity and the amount of urination, from the 2D ultrasound images. In order to reduce the error in the amount of urine and urine measured from the obtained cross-sectional area of the bladder, the volumes of the bladder obtained from the 2D ultrasound images are calculated using information on the amount of urine remaining in the bladder measured through 3D ultrasound images at the beginning and end of urination. Will be corrected.

As described above, the third embodiment measures urination status information using 2D ultrasound images, but further includes a correction process of correcting the volumes of the bladder using information on the amount of urine remaining in the bladder, thereby providing more accurate urination status information more quickly. You can get it.

In the above, the present invention has been described with reference to its preferred embodiments, but these are only examples and do not limit the present invention, and those of ordinary skill in the field to which the present invention pertains will not depart from the essential characteristics of the present invention. It will be appreciated that various modifications and applications not illustrated above are possible in the range. And, differences related to these modifications and applications should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention defined in the appended claims.

1, 2, 3: device for measuring urination status
10, 20, 30: ultrasonic probe
12, 22, 32: control unit
14, 24, 34: display unit
16, 26, 36: start/end button
100, 300: 2D ultrasound image acquisition module
200, 305: 3D ultrasound image acquisition module
110, 310: Bladder cross-sectional area measurement module
120, 320: bladder volume measurement module
220, 325: residual urine measurement module
130, 230, 330: urine speed measurement module
140, 240, 340: urine volume measurement module
327: bladder volume correction module

Claims (10)

An ultrasound probe for obtaining a 2D ultrasound image of the bladder;
Using the ultrasound probe, 2D ultrasound images of the bladder are sequentially acquired at each preset unit time interval from the urination start point to the urination end point, and cross-sectional areas of the bladder are measured from the acquired 2D ultrasound images. And, the control unit for measuring the urination state information by using the state of change of the measured cross-sectional areas; And
A display unit for outputting the urine state information measured by the control unit on a screen;
An apparatus for measuring urination conditions using ultrasound, characterized in that it comprises a. The method of claim 1, wherein the urination state information,
A device for measuring a urinary state using ultrasound, characterized in that it includes one or more of one or more of a urine rate by time slot during urination, an amount of urination by time slot during urination, a total amount of urination during urination, a delay time during urination, and a total time required during urination. The method of claim 1, wherein the control unit,
A 2D ultrasound image acquisition module that sequentially acquires 2D ultrasound images including the bladder at predetermined unit time intervals from a urination start point to an urination end point by driving the ultrasound probe;
A bladder cross-sectional area measurement module configured to detect a bladder from the plurality of sequentially acquired 2D ultrasound images and measure a cross-sectional area of the bladder for each urination time;
A bladder volume measurement module for calculating the volume of the bladder for each urination time by using the cross-sectional areas of the bladder for each urination time measured by the bladder cross-sectional area measurement module;
A urine rate measurement module for calculating a urine rate for each urination time by using the volumes of the bladder for each urination time calculated by the bladder volume measurement module; And
An urination amount measurement module for calculating an urination amount for each urination time by using the urine speeds for each urination time calculated by the urinary speed measurement module;
An apparatus for measuring urination conditions using ultrasound, characterized in that it comprises a. An ultrasound probe for obtaining a 3D ultrasound image of the bladder;
Using the ultrasound probe, 3D ultrasound images of the bladder are sequentially acquired at each preset unit time interval from the urination start point to the urination end point, and the amount of residual urine in the bladder is sequentially obtained from the obtained 3D ultrasound images. A control unit that measures and measures urination state information using the measured state of changes in the amount of residual urine in the plurality of bladder; And
A display unit for outputting the urine state information measured by the control unit on a screen;
An apparatus for measuring urination conditions using ultrasound, characterized in that it comprises a. The method of claim 4, wherein the urination state information,
A device for measuring a urinary state using ultrasound, characterized in that it includes one or more of one or more of a urine rate by time slot during urination, an amount of urination by time slot during urination, a total amount of urination during urination, a delay time during urination, and a total time required during urination. The method of claim 4, wherein the control unit,
A 3D ultrasound image acquisition module that sequentially acquires 3D ultrasound images including a bladder at predetermined unit time intervals from a urination start point to an urination end point by driving the ultrasound probe;
A residual urine amount measurement module that detects a bladder from the plurality of sequentially acquired 3D ultrasound images, and sequentially measures residual urine amounts in the bladder with respect to the detected bladder;
A urine rate measurement module that calculates a urine rate for each urination time by using information on the amount of urine remaining in the bladder for each urination time measured by the residual urine amount measurement module; And
An urination amount measurement module for calculating an urination amount for each urination time by using the urine speeds for each urination time calculated by the urinary speed measurement module;
An apparatus for measuring urination conditions using ultrasound, characterized in that it comprises a. An ultrasound probe for obtaining a 2D ultrasound image of the bladder;
Using the ultrasound probe, a 3D ultrasound image of the bladder at the start of urination and a 3D ultrasound image of the bladder at the end of urination are acquired, and the bladder is evaluated at each preset unit time interval from the start of urination to the end of urination. Acquiring 2D ultrasound images, measuring cross-sectional areas of the bladder from the obtained plurality of 2D ultrasound images, measuring urination state information using change states of the measured cross-sectional areas, and correcting the urination state information Control unit; And
A display unit for outputting the urine state information measured by the control unit on a screen;
And, the control unit,
Using the 3D ultrasound images of the bladder, the amount of urine remaining in the bladder is measured at the start of urination and the end of urination, and the amount of residual urine in the bladder measured using the 3D ultrasound images is used to determine the 2D ultrasound images. Urinating state measuring device using ultrasound, characterized in that correcting the measured urination state information using. The method of claim 7, wherein the urination state information,
A device for measuring a urinary state using ultrasound, characterized in that it comprises one or more of one or more of a time period for urination, an amount of time for urination, a total amount for urination, a delay time for urination, and a time required for urination. The method of claim 7, wherein the control unit,
A 2D ultrasound image acquisition module that sequentially acquires 2D ultrasound images including the bladder at predetermined unit time intervals from a urination start point to an urination end point by driving the ultrasound probe;
A bladder cross-sectional area measurement module configured to measure a cross-sectional area of the bladder according to urination time by using a plurality of sequentially acquired 2D ultrasound images;
A 3D ultrasound image acquisition module for driving the ultrasound probe to obtain 3D ultrasound images including a bladder at a urination start point and a urination end point;
A residual urine volume measurement module configured to measure the volume of the bladder by using the 3D ultrasound images to measure the amount of urine remaining in the bladder at the start of urination and the end of urination;
A bladder volume measurement module configured to measure the volume of the bladder by urination time by using the cross-sectional areas of the bladder by urination time measured by the bladder cross-sectional area measurement module;
A urine rate measurement module that calculates urine rates by urination time by using the volumes of the bladder by urination time;
An urination amount measurement module for calculating urination amounts for each urination time by using the urine speeds for each urination time calculated by the urine speed measurement module; And
A correction module for correcting the urinary state information by using the information on the amount of residual urine in the bladder at the time of the start of urination and the information on the amount of urine in the bladder at the time of the end of urination calculated by the residual urine amount measurement module;
An apparatus for measuring urination conditions using ultrasound, characterized in that it comprises a. The method of claim 9, wherein the correction module of the control unit,
Using the information on the amount of residual urine in the bladder at the time of the start of urination and the information on the amount of amount of urine in the bladder at the time of the end of urination, measured by the residual urine amount measurement module,
The urine velocity measurement module is a device for measuring urination conditions using ultrasound, characterized in that the urine velocity for each urination time is calculated using the volumes of the bladder for each urination time corrected by the correction module.

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