WO2013017105A1 - Ultrasonic imaging system and method for measuring elasticity of biological tissues - Google Patents

Ultrasonic imaging system and method for measuring elasticity of biological tissues Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2013017105A1
WO2013017105A1 PCT/CN2012/079668 CN2012079668W WO2013017105A1 WO 2013017105 A1 WO2013017105 A1 WO 2013017105A1 CN 2012079668 W CN2012079668 W CN 2012079668W WO 2013017105 A1 WO2013017105 A1 WO 2013017105A1
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WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
ultrasonic
biological tissues
array transducer
low frequency
controlling
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Ceased
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PCT/CN2012/079668
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French (fr)
Inventor
Hairong Zheng
Tao LING
Yanming Li
Hui Yao
Chengzhi ZENG
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Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology of CAS
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Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology of CAS
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S7/00—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00
    • G01S7/52—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S15/00
    • G01S7/52017—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S15/00 particularly adapted to short-range imaging
    • G01S7/52023—Details of receivers
    • G01S7/52036—Details of receivers using analysis of echo signal for target characterisation
    • G01S7/52042—Details of receivers using analysis of echo signal for target characterisation determining elastic properties of the propagation medium or of the reflective target
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B8/00—Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves
    • A61B8/08—Clinical applications
    • A61B8/0833—Clinical applications involving detecting or locating foreign bodies or organic structures
    • A61B8/085—Clinical applications involving detecting or locating foreign bodies or organic structures for locating body or organic structures, e.g. tumours, calculi, blood vessels, nodules
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B8/00—Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves
    • A61B8/48—Diagnostic techniques
    • A61B8/485—Diagnostic techniques involving measuring strain or elastic properties
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B8/00—Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves
    • A61B8/08—Clinical applications
    • A61B8/0825—Clinical applications for diagnosis of the breast, e.g. mammography

Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates to ultrasonic imaging technology, more particularly, to an ultrasonic imaging system for measuring elasticity of biological tissues and a method thereof.
  • the conventional B-mode ultrasonic imaging technology is mainly used for obtaining biological structure information of biological tissues, and it is not sensitive to early lesion.
  • mechanical features of the biological tissues with early lesion have already changed much.
  • the mechanical features of the biological tissues such as elastic modulus, depend on cells' composition and micro structures of the biological tissues, which are closely related to physiological and pathological changes of the biological tissues.
  • there are differences between the mechanical features of a normal tissue and that of a lesion tissue so the changes of the mechanical features of the biological tissues can be measured to provide important evidence in diagnosing many diseases.
  • An ultrasonic elastography technology is a new type of ultrasonic diagnosing imaging technology developed in recent years.
  • the ultrasonic elastography technology uses ultrasonic signals to trace deformation of stressed biological tissues, in order to further obtain the mechanical features of the biological tissues, such as strain, shear modulus or Young's elastic modulus of the biological tissues. Since the lesion of the biological tissues is closely related to their mechanical features, the ultrasonic elastography technology can provide additional important information in diagnosing.
  • the ultrasonic elastography technology has very wide application prospect in detecting breast cancer, staging diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis, early diagnosis of atheromatous plaque and radio frequency ablation.
  • the ultrasonic elastography technology has been developed to many different branches. According to different ways of generating strain on the biological tissues, the ultrasonic elastography technology can be divided to static elastography, dynamic elastography, transient elastography and remote elastography.
  • the hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis can be detected and quantized by the transient elastography method.
  • the method includes the following steps. An ultrasonic transducer with a single element is combined in series with an oscillating shaft of a low frequency oscillator which can generate shear waves to form an integrated probe. Low frequency and low amplitude oscillation generated by the low frequency oscillator forms shear waves in the biological tissues, and induces slight deformation of the biological tissues.
  • the ultrasonic transducer emits ultrasonic signals and receive ultrasonic echo signals in order to record the above deformation of the biological tissues, then propagating velocity of the shear waves propagating in the biological tissues can be further obtained. Since the propagating velocity of the shear waves is directly related to the shear modulus of the biological tissues, the shear modulus and Young's modulus can then be calculated. Elastic modulus of the liver generally increases obviously when the hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis occur and develop, so the method has very good sensitivity and specificity.
  • the ultrasonic transient elastography is a non-invasive, fast and repeatable method in quantized detecting the hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis.
  • An ultrasonic imaging system for measuring elasticity of biological tissues includes a probe, an ultrasonic imaging device, a controlling and processing device, and a display device.
  • the probe includes a low frequency oscillating device and an ultrasonic array transducer.
  • the low frequency oscillating device is configured for generating oscillation and forming shear waves propagating from body surface to the inside biological tissues.
  • the ultrasonic array transducer is configured for emitting ultrasonic signals to the biological tissues and receiving ultrasonic echo signals reflected from the biological tissues.
  • the ultrasonic imaging device drives the ultrasonic array transducer to emit the ultrasonic signal to the biological tissues, and receives and processes the ultrasonic echo signals from the ultrasonic array transducer.
  • the controlling and processing device controls the low frequency oscillating device and the ultrasonic imaging device, and processes the ultrasonic echo signals from the ultrasonic imaging device to obtain a 2D ultrasonic image together with the mapping elasticity information of the biological tissues.
  • the display device displays the 2D ultrasonic image together with the mapping elasticity information of the biological tissues.
  • the ultrasonic array transducer comprises a plurality of ultrasonic array array transducer, and defines a viavia hole in the middle of the ultrasonic array transducer, and an oscillating shaft of the low frequency oscillating device passes through the via hole.
  • the via hole is matched with the oscillating shaft.
  • a length of the oscillating shaft protruding from the via hole is about 0.5- 1.5mm.
  • the low frequency oscillating device is a low frequency oscillator or a motor.
  • the ultrasonic array transducer is selected from a group in consist of a linear array ultrasound transducer, a convex array ultrasound transducer and a phased array ultrasonic transducer.
  • the ultrasonic imaging device comprises: an ultrasonic emitting module for controlling the ultrasonic array transducer to emit the ultrasonic signals; an ultrasonic receiving module for receiving and processing the ultrasonic echo signals from the ultrasonic array transducer; and a switch circuit for isolating high voltage.
  • controlling and processing device is further configured for controlling oscillating amplitude, oscillating frequency and oscillating time of the low frequency oscillating device, as well as providing control of the imaging parameters and processing the ultrasonic echo signals from the ultrasonic imaging device.
  • the ultrasonic imaging device loads the imaging parameters provided by the controlling and processing device to drive the ultrasonic array transducer to emit the ultrasonic signals, and receives and processes the ultrasonic echo signals from the ultrasonic array transducer to composite wave beams.
  • the ultrasonic echo signals processed by a wave beam-forming module enter the controlling and processing device, and processed by the controlling and processing device to obtain a real time 2D ultrasonic image of the biological tissues.
  • a method for measuring elasticity of biological tissues including: determining a detecting area by locating it on a real time 2D ultrasonic image of the biological tissue; controlling the low frequency oscillating driving device to oscillate and form shear waves, inducing the biological tissues to deform slightly; emitting ultrasonic signals according to the delay parameters provided by the controlling and processing device and a repetition rate of about lkHz ⁇ lOkHz, the ultrasonic echo signals being received and processed to obtain ultrasonic echo signal sequences along the axis of the oscillating shaft by forming wave beams, or to obtain ultrasonic echo signal sequences in the imaging plane of the transducer including dozens of scan lines; obtaining the elasticity information of the detecting area of the biological tissues by processing and calculating the ultrasonic echo signal sequences through the elastic imaging algorithm; displaying the elasticity information of the detecting area of the biological tissues.
  • the step of obtaining the elasticity information of the detecting area of the biological tissues by processing and calculating the ultrasonic signal sequences through the elastic imaging algorithm comprising: filtering the ultrasonic signal sequences; calculating displacement of the biological tissues caused by the propagation of the shear waves based on the filtered ultrasonic signal sequences; filtering the displacement of the biological tissues by smooth filtering and match filtering; calculating strain of the biological tissues according to the displacement of the biological tissues; calculating the propagating velocity of the shear waves in the tissues according to the strain of the biological tissues; calculating the elastic modulus of the biological tissues according to the propagating velocity of the shear waves in the biological tissues and experience formula.
  • the 2D ultrasonic image and elasticity information of the biological tissues can be obtained at the same time, such that accuracy of clinical diagnosing is promoted.
  • the probe can locate accurately with the aid of the 2D ultrasonic image.
  • the low frequency oscillating drive device and the ultrasonic array transducer are independent, so the ultrasonic array transducer will not move with the low frequency oscillating drive device. Even if the ultrasonic array transducer moves slightly caused by the low frequency oscillating drive device, displacement caused by the slight move of the ultrasonic array transducer can be compensated by strain estimating, so there is no need to considerate displacement compensation, such that convenience and accuracy is promoted in measuring elastic modulus and process difficulty is decreased.
  • FIG.1 is a schematic view of structure of an ultrasonic imaging system for measuring elasticity of biological tissues in accordance with an embodiment.
  • FIG.2 is a schematic view of structure of the probe shown in FIG.1.
  • FIG.3 is similar to FIG. 2, but viewed from other aspect.
  • FIG.4 is a schematic view of calculating emitting and receiving delay in accordance with an embodiment.
  • FIG.5 is a flowchart of measuring elasticity of the biological tissues in accordance with an embodiment.
  • FIG.6 is a flowchart of obtaining the elasticity information of the detecting area of the tissue by processing and calculating the ultrasonic signal sequences through the elastic imaging algorithm.
  • FIG.7 shows a 2D ultrasonic image of a liver used in an imaging system.
  • FIG.8 shows variations of strain at the position corresponding to the white lines in FIG.7 in respect to time.
  • FIG.1 is a schematic structure diagram of an ultrasonic imaging system for measuring elasticity of biological tissues in accordance with an embodiment.
  • the system includes a probe 10, an ultrasonic imaging device 310, a controlling and processing device 330 and a displaying device 350.
  • the probe 10 includes a low frequency oscillating device 110, and an ultrasonic array transducer 130.
  • the low frequency oscillating device 110 is used for generating oscillation and forming shear waves propagating from a body surface to biological tissues.
  • the low frequency oscillating device 110 is to make the biological tissues deform slightly by outside or inside force, and the low frequency oscillating device 110 may be a low frequency oscillator or a motor.
  • a low frequency and low amplitude oscillation of an oscillating shaft 111 of the low frequency oscillating device 110 can generate shear waves propagating to the tissue and make the biological tissues deform slightly.
  • the frequency of the shear waves is too high, the shear waves will be damped much. If the frequency is too low, a diffraction effect will be strong, such that too high or too low frequency is not suitable for the propagation of the shear waves. If the amplitude of the shear waves is too small, depth of will be limited. If the amplitude is too big, it will cause uneasy to a human body. In a preferred embodiment, the frequency is about 10 to 1000 Hz, and the amplitude is about 0.2 to 2 mm.
  • the ultrasonic array transducer 130 is used for emitting ultrasonic signals to the biological tissues and receiving ultrasonic echo signals reflected from the biological tissues.
  • the ultrasonic array transducer 130 is selected from a group in consist of a linear array ultrasonic transducer, a convex array ultrasonic transducer and a phased array ultrasonic transducer.
  • the ultrasonic array transducer 130 is contacted with a body surface of a human or an animal to obtain a 2D ultrasonic image of the biological tissues.
  • the ultrasonic array transducer 130 obtains the 2D ultrasonic image to help and lead the probe 10 to locate accurately. More specifically, an area corresponding to scanning lines in the middle of the 2D ultrasonic image or another area in the imaging plane is the area ready to be detected, such that the 2D ultrasonic image can provide an accurate locating in a clinical imaging process.
  • the ultrasonic array transducer 130 and the low frequency oscillating device 110 are integrated together to form the probe 10 of the ultrasonic imaging system for measuring elasticity. Practically, the probe 10 may be moved freely to obtain a real time 2D ultrasonic image of the biological tissues.
  • a via hole is defined in the middle of the ultrasonic array transducer 130, and the oscillating shaft 111 of the low frequency oscillating device 110 passes through the via hole.
  • the ultrasonic array transducer 130 includes a plurality of array elements 133, and diameter of the via hole is in accordance with the oscillating shaft 111.
  • a length of the oscillating shaft 111 protruding from the via hole should not be too long, in case the ultrasonic array transducer 130 cannot be contacted with the body surface of the human and the animal, which will make the probe 10 be hard to image.
  • the length of the oscillating shaft 111 protruding from the via hole is about 0.5 to 1.5 mm.
  • the ultrasonic imaging device 310 is used for, according to loaded imaging parameters, driving the ultrasonic array transducer 130 to emit the ultrasonic signals to the biological tissues, and receiving and processing the ultrasonic echo signals from the ultrasonic array transducer 130.
  • the ultrasonic imaging device 310 is used for loading the imaging parameters, such as emitting and receiving delay, provided by the controlling and processing device 330 and for driving the ultrasonic array transducer 130 to emit the ultrasonic signals, to receive and process the ultrasonic echo signals for wave beam-forming.
  • the imaging parameters such as emitting and receiving delay, provided by the controlling and processing device 330 and for driving the ultrasonic array transducer 130 to emit the ultrasonic signals, to receive and process the ultrasonic echo signals for wave beam-forming.
  • the ultrasonic echo signals processed by the ultrasonic imaging device 310 enter the controlling and processing device 330, and then are processed by the controlling and processing device 330 to obtain the real time 2D ultrasonic image of the biological tissues.
  • the ultrasonic imaging device 310 includes an ultrasonic emitting module 311, an ultrasonic receiving module 313 and a switch circuit 315.
  • the ultrasonic emitting module 311 is used for controlling the ultrasonic array transducer 130 to emit ultrasonic signals.
  • the ultrasonic receiving module 313 is used for controlling the ultrasonic array transducer 130 to receive the ultrasonic echo signals.
  • the switch circuit 315 is used for isolating high voltage.
  • the controlling and processing device 330 is used for controlling the low frequency oscillating device 110 and the ultrasonic imaging device 310, and also for processing the ultrasonic echo signals from the ultrasonic imaging device 310 to obtain the 2D ultrasonic image and elasticity information of the biological tissues.
  • the controlling and processing device 330 is further used for controlling oscillating amplitude, oscillating frequency and oscillating time of the low frequency oscillating device 110, while also providing control of the imaging parameters and processing the ultrasonic echo signals from the ultrasonic imaging device 310. More specifically, according to the propagating velocity of the ultrasonic, displacement between the array elements 133 and detecting depth, the controlling and processing device 330 can calculate to control an open time, a close time, pulse width and pulse repetition rate of the ultrasonic array transducer 130 and so on. The controlling and processing device 330 provides accurate parameters to the ultrasonic imaging device 310 for scanning focusing.
  • controlling and processing device 330 may be a computer, a single chip, a field - programmable gate array or an ARM processor.
  • the controlling and processing device 330 includes a low frequency oscillating driving control unit 331, an ultrasonic imaging control unit 333 and a signal processing unit 335.
  • the low frequency oscillating driving control unit 331 is used for controlling the low frequency oscillating device 110.
  • the ultrasonic imaging control unit 333 is used for providing the ultrasonic imaging device 310 with imaging parameters.
  • the signal processing unit 335 is used for processing the received ultrasonic echo signals and calculating the elasticity information.
  • the signal processing unit 335 performs algorithms of filtering, displacement estimating and strain estimating on the ultrasonic echo signals to calculate propagating velocity that the low frequency shear waves propagating in the biological tissues, and then the elasticity information of the biological tissues is calculated and the 2D ultrasonic image is reconstructed.
  • the elastic modulus can be calculated according to relationship between the elastic modulus and the propagating velocity of the shear waves.
  • the elasticity information is further obtained according to the elastic modulus.
  • the elasticity information combined with the structure information of the biological tissues and organs will provide more comprehensive and reliable information in clinic diagnosing.
  • the first time filtering that the signal processing unit 335 performs on the ultrasonic echo signals uses band-pass filtering method, which is used for filtering low frequency and high frequency signals in the ultrasonic echo signals, and for reserving signals that adapted to the center frequency and bandwidth of the ultrasonic array transducer 130.
  • the displacement estimating generally adopts time-domain cross-correlation, self-correlation or other signal processing methods.
  • the target of the displacement estimating is to obtain displacement of the biological tissues caused by the propagation of the shear waves.
  • the second time filtering that the signal processing unit 335 performs on the ultrasonic echo signals uses smooth filtering and match filtering, of which the function is to filter singular points generated in the process of displacement estimating and to amplify the displacement signal components with frequency near the frequency of the shear waves.
  • the strain estimating may adopt the least square method, low pass filtering method or wavelet analysis method, the target is to obtain distribution of the strain according to the distribution of the displacement, and to decrease noise interference brought in the process of differential as much as possible.
  • the controlling and processing device 330 calculates the emitting delay E delay and receiving delay R delay of the ith array element by the following formulas:
  • d e represents distance between neighborhood array elements of the ultrasonic array transducer 130
  • D F represents focus depth of ultrasonic scanning lines corresponding to position of the nth array element
  • D 0 represents distance between the focus position and the array element the most far away from the focus position
  • D represents distance between the focus position and the ith array element
  • C represents propagating velocity of the shear waves in the biological tissues.
  • the controlling and processing device 330 processing the emitting and the receiving delay, the ultrasonic signals match with the corresponding depth.
  • the display device 350 is used for displaying the 2D ultrasonic image and the elastic information of the biological tissues.
  • the ultrasonic array transducer 130 is further used to emit ultrasonic signals to a body surface area and to receive echo signal.
  • the controlling and processing device 330 is further used to generate a 2D ultrasonic image of the under body surface area according to the received echo signal.
  • the probe 10 is further used to determine a detecting area under the body surface area by locating it on the real time 2D ultrasonic image.
  • the ultrasonic array transducer 130 will first emit ultrasonic signal after being contacted with the body surface of a human or an animal, and then generate a 2D ultrasonic image of the under body surface area accordingly.
  • the 2D image will be displayed in the display device 350.
  • the real time 2D image of the under body surface area will lead the probe 10 to locate for determining the detecting area.
  • FIG.5 shows a method of measuring elasticity of a biological tissue of an embodiment. The method includes the following steps.
  • a detecting area is determined by locating according to a real time 2D ultrasonic image of the biological tissue.
  • step S130 the low frequency oscillating driving device is controlled to oscillate and form shear waves, which induces the biological tissues to deform slightly.
  • step S150 ultrasonic signals are emitted according to the delay parameters provided by the controlling and processing device 330 and a repetition rate of about 1kHz ⁇ 10kHz.
  • the ultrasonic echo signals are received and processed to obtain ultrasonic signal sequences along the axis of the oscillating shaft by wave beam-forming, or to obtain ultrasonic echo signal sequences in the imaging plane of the transducer including dozens of scan lines.
  • the repetition rate of the pulse is relative high.
  • step S170 the elasticity information of the detecting area of the biological tissues is obtained by processing and calculating the ultrasonic signal sequences through the elastic imaging algorithm.
  • step 171 the ultrasonic signal sequences are filtered.
  • the filtering performed on the ultrasonic signal sequences can filtering low frequency and high frequency signals in the ultrasonic echo signals.
  • step 172 displacement of the biological tissues caused by the propagation of the shear waves is estimated based on the filtered ultrasonic signal sequences.
  • step SI 73 the displacement of the biological tissues is filtered by smooth filtering and match filtering.
  • the singular points of the displacement are removed.
  • the signal components of the displacement with frequency near the frequency of the shear waves are amplified after the displacement of the biological tissues is obtained by estimating.
  • step S174 strain of the biological tissues is calculated according to the displacement of the biological tissues.
  • the strain estimating may adopt the least square method, low pass filtering method or wavelet analysis method.
  • the target is to obtain distribution of the strain according to the distribution of the displacement, and to decrease noise interference brought in the process of differential as much as possible.
  • step SI 75 the propagating velocity of the shear waves in the biological tissues is calculated according to the strain of the biological tissues.
  • step S176 the elastic modulus of the biological tissues is calculated according to the propagating velocity of the shear waves in the biological tissues and experience formula.
  • step SI 90 the elasticity information of the detecting area of the biological tissues is displayed.
  • the frequency of the emitted ultrasonic signal is 50Hz
  • the signal processing unit 335 starts the cross-correlation algorithm, two pieces of data ready to be matched are obtained, wherein the first piece is the abovementioned 4000x300 matrix.
  • the second piece of data is obtained from the first piece of data according to the following method.
  • the first column of the first piece of data is abandoned, and then the second column of the first piece of data, including 4000 points, is made the first column of the second piece of data;
  • the third column of the first piece of data is made the second column of the second piece of data, and the rest columns can be done in the same manner until the 301 s column of the first piece of data is made the 300 column of the second piece of data, and finally a 4000x300 array is obtained.
  • a window length of the cross-correlation matching algorithm is about 100 points, duplication between windows is about 90%, and a step size is about 10 points.
  • the first column of the first piece of data being taken as a matching template and the first column of the second piece of data being taken as a slide block are matched.
  • the template includes about 200 points; the slide block includes about 100 points including a start point and successive points corresponding to the template.
  • the match algorithm starts from the same position of the template and the slide block, after each match, the slide block will slide one point along the direction of the depth and match again. The match process will repeat over and over again until the end point of the slide block reach the end point of the template. A maximum value of the match result and the position it locates will be finally found.
  • a result will be stored in a relative displacement matrix.
  • an absolute displacement matrix will be obtained by accumulating corresponding columns of the relative displacement matrix, that is, the first column of the absolute displacement matrix is the same as the first column of the relative displacement matrix, the second column of the absolute displacement matrix is the sum of the first column and the second column of the relative displacement matrix, the third column of the absolute displacement matrix is the sum of the first three column of the relative displacement matrix, and the rest columns of the absolute displacement matrix can be done in the same manner.
  • a match filter will be applied to the absolute displacement matrix to amplify the displacement signal.
  • the strain of the biological tissues is obtained from processing the absolute displacement matrix. Firstly, the strain is estimated by processing the absolute displacement matrix through a least square method using 5 points. The least square method using 5 points to fit will get a straight line, wherein the slope of the line is the strain of the center point. The slope is stored in a strain matrix of 375x300.
  • FIG.7 shows a 2D ultrasonic image of a liver used in an imaging system.
  • the white line represents an area of the liver ready to be detected; the white block represents a position the ultrasonic array transducer 130 focusing on.
  • FIG.8 shows variations of strain at the position corresponding to the white lines in FIG.7 in respect to time.
  • the vertical axis represents depth of the liver
  • horizontal axis represents time
  • slope of black line represents the propagation velocity the shear waves propagating in the liver.
  • the abovementioned system and method can obtain the 2D ultrasonic image and elasticity information of the biological tissues at the same time, such that accuracy of clinical diagnosing is promoted.
  • the probe can locate accurately with the aid of the 2D ultrasonic image.
  • the low frequency oscillating drive device and the ultrasonic array transducer are independent, so the ultrasonic array transducer will not move with the low frequency oscillating drive device. Even if the ultrasonic array transducer moves slightly caused by the low frequency oscillating drive device, displacement caused by the slight move of the ultrasonic array transducer can be compensated by strain estimating, so there is no need to considerate displacement compensation, such that convenience and accuracy is promoted in measuring elastic modulus and process difficulty is decreased.

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Abstract

An ultrasonic imaging system for measuring elasticity of biological tissues, including a probe (10), an ultrasonic imaging device (310), a controlling and processing device (330), and a display device (350). The probe(10) includes a low frequency oscillating device (110) and an ultrasonic array transducer (130). The low frequency oscillating device (110) is configured for generating oscillation and forming shear waves propagating from a body surface to the biological tissues. The ultrasonic array transducer (130) is configured for emitting ultrasonic signals to the biological tissues and receiving ultrasonic echo signals reflected from the biological tissues. The ultrasonic imaging device (310), according to loaded imaging parameters, drives the ultrasonic array transducer (130) to emit the ultrasonic signal to the biological tissues, and receives and processes the ultrasonic echo signals from the ultrasonic array transducer (130). The controlling and processing device (330) controls the low frequency oscillating device (110) and the ultrasonic imaging device (310) to obtain a 2D ultrasonic image and elasticity information of the biological tissues. The display device (350) displays the 2D ultrasonic image and the elasticity information of the biological tissues. The 2D ultrasonic image and elasticity information of the biological tissues can be obtained at the same time, such that accuracy of clinical diagnosing is promoted. The low frequency oscillating device (110) and the ultrasonic array transducer (130) are independent, so the ultrasonic array transducer (130) will not move with the low frequency oscillating device (110), and there is no need to considerate displacement compensation. The probe (10) can locate accurately with the aid of the 2D ultrasonic image, such that convenience and accuracy is promoted in measuring elastic modulus and process difficulty is decreased.

Description

ULTRASONIC IMAGING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MEASURING ELASTICITY OF BIOLOGICAL TISSUES
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present disclosure relates to ultrasonic imaging technology, more particularly, to an ultrasonic imaging system for measuring elasticity of biological tissues and a method thereof.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The conventional B-mode ultrasonic imaging technology is mainly used for obtaining biological structure information of biological tissues, and it is not sensitive to early lesion. However, mechanical features of the biological tissues with early lesion have already changed much. The mechanical features of the biological tissues, such as elastic modulus, depend on cells' composition and micro structures of the biological tissues, which are closely related to physiological and pathological changes of the biological tissues. Generally, there are differences between the mechanical features of a normal tissue and that of a lesion tissue, so the changes of the mechanical features of the biological tissues can be measured to provide important evidence in diagnosing many diseases.
[0003] An ultrasonic elastography technology is a new type of ultrasonic diagnosing imaging technology developed in recent years. The ultrasonic elastography technology uses ultrasonic signals to trace deformation of stressed biological tissues, in order to further obtain the mechanical features of the biological tissues, such as strain, shear modulus or Young's elastic modulus of the biological tissues. Since the lesion of the biological tissues is closely related to their mechanical features, the ultrasonic elastography technology can provide additional important information in diagnosing. The ultrasonic elastography technology has very wide application prospect in detecting breast cancer, staging diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis, early diagnosis of atheromatous plaque and radio frequency ablation.
[0004] So far, the ultrasonic elastography technology has been developed to many different branches. According to different ways of generating strain on the biological tissues, the ultrasonic elastography technology can be divided to static elastography, dynamic elastography, transient elastography and remote elastography.
[0005] For example, according to a principle that propagating velocity of shear waves is related to stiffness of the biological tissues, the hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis can be detected and quantized by the transient elastography method. The method includes the following steps. An ultrasonic transducer with a single element is combined in series with an oscillating shaft of a low frequency oscillator which can generate shear waves to form an integrated probe. Low frequency and low amplitude oscillation generated by the low frequency oscillator forms shear waves in the biological tissues, and induces slight deformation of the biological tissues. Meanwhile, the ultrasonic transducer emits ultrasonic signals and receive ultrasonic echo signals in order to record the above deformation of the biological tissues, then propagating velocity of the shear waves propagating in the biological tissues can be further obtained. Since the propagating velocity of the shear waves is directly related to the shear modulus of the biological tissues, the shear modulus and Young's modulus can then be calculated. Elastic modulus of the liver generally increases obviously when the hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis occur and develop, so the method has very good sensitivity and specificity. The ultrasonic transient elastography is a non-invasive, fast and repeatable method in quantized detecting the hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis.
[0006] However, both method and apparatus of the ultrasonic elastography technology are very complicated, and are very difficult to realize, so it is very inconvenient in the process of obtaining the elasticity information of the biological tissues.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] It is an object of the present invention to provide a convenient ultrasonic imaging system for measuring elasticity of biological tissues.
[0008] An ultrasonic imaging system for measuring elasticity of biological tissues includes a probe, an ultrasonic imaging device, a controlling and processing device, and a display device. The probe includes a low frequency oscillating device and an ultrasonic array transducer. The low frequency oscillating device is configured for generating oscillation and forming shear waves propagating from body surface to the inside biological tissues. The ultrasonic array transducer is configured for emitting ultrasonic signals to the biological tissues and receiving ultrasonic echo signals reflected from the biological tissues. The ultrasonic imaging device, according to defined imaging parameters, drives the ultrasonic array transducer to emit the ultrasonic signal to the biological tissues, and receives and processes the ultrasonic echo signals from the ultrasonic array transducer. The controlling and processing device controls the low frequency oscillating device and the ultrasonic imaging device, and processes the ultrasonic echo signals from the ultrasonic imaging device to obtain a 2D ultrasonic image together with the mapping elasticity information of the biological tissues. The display device displays the 2D ultrasonic image together with the mapping elasticity information of the biological tissues.
[0009] In a preferred embodiment, the ultrasonic array transducer comprises a plurality of ultrasonic array array transducer, and defines a viavia hole in the middle of the ultrasonic array transducer, and an oscillating shaft of the low frequency oscillating device passes through the via hole.
[0010] In a preferred embodiment, the via hole is matched with the oscillating shaft.
[0011] In a preferred embodiment, a length of the oscillating shaft protruding from the via hole is about 0.5- 1.5mm.
[0012] In a preferred embodiment, the low frequency oscillating device is a low frequency oscillator or a motor.
[0013] In a preferred embodiment, the ultrasonic array transducer is selected from a group in consist of a linear array ultrasound transducer, a convex array ultrasound transducer and a phased array ultrasonic transducer.
[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the ultrasonic imaging device comprises: an ultrasonic emitting module for controlling the ultrasonic array transducer to emit the ultrasonic signals; an ultrasonic receiving module for receiving and processing the ultrasonic echo signals from the ultrasonic array transducer; and a switch circuit for isolating high voltage.
[0015] In a preferred embodiment, the controlling and processing device is further configured for controlling oscillating amplitude, oscillating frequency and oscillating time of the low frequency oscillating device, as well as providing control of the imaging parameters and processing the ultrasonic echo signals from the ultrasonic imaging device.
[0016] In a preferred embodiment, the ultrasonic imaging device loads the imaging parameters provided by the controlling and processing device to drive the ultrasonic array transducer to emit the ultrasonic signals, and receives and processes the ultrasonic echo signals from the ultrasonic array transducer to composite wave beams.
[0017] In a preferred embodiment, the ultrasonic echo signals processed by a wave beam-forming module enter the controlling and processing device, and processed by the controlling and processing device to obtain a real time 2D ultrasonic image of the biological tissues.
[0018] Furthermore, it is another object to provide a convenient method for measuring elasticity of biological tissues.
[0019] A method for measuring elasticity of biological tissues, including: determining a detecting area by locating it on a real time 2D ultrasonic image of the biological tissue; controlling the low frequency oscillating driving device to oscillate and form shear waves, inducing the biological tissues to deform slightly; emitting ultrasonic signals according to the delay parameters provided by the controlling and processing device and a repetition rate of about lkHz^lOkHz, the ultrasonic echo signals being received and processed to obtain ultrasonic echo signal sequences along the axis of the oscillating shaft by forming wave beams, or to obtain ultrasonic echo signal sequences in the imaging plane of the transducer including dozens of scan lines; obtaining the elasticity information of the detecting area of the biological tissues by processing and calculating the ultrasonic echo signal sequences through the elastic imaging algorithm; displaying the elasticity information of the detecting area of the biological tissues.
[0020] In a preferred embodiment, the step of obtaining the elasticity information of the detecting area of the biological tissues by processing and calculating the ultrasonic signal sequences through the elastic imaging algorithm comprising: filtering the ultrasonic signal sequences; calculating displacement of the biological tissues caused by the propagation of the shear waves based on the filtered ultrasonic signal sequences; filtering the displacement of the biological tissues by smooth filtering and match filtering; calculating strain of the biological tissues according to the displacement of the biological tissues; calculating the propagating velocity of the shear waves in the tissues according to the strain of the biological tissues; calculating the elastic modulus of the biological tissues according to the propagating velocity of the shear waves in the biological tissues and experience formula.
[0021] By using the aforementioned system and method, the 2D ultrasonic image and elasticity information of the biological tissues can be obtained at the same time, such that accuracy of clinical diagnosing is promoted. The probe can locate accurately with the aid of the 2D ultrasonic image. The low frequency oscillating drive device and the ultrasonic array transducer are independent, so the ultrasonic array transducer will not move with the low frequency oscillating drive device. Even if the ultrasonic array transducer moves slightly caused by the low frequency oscillating drive device, displacement caused by the slight move of the ultrasonic array transducer can be compensated by strain estimating, so there is no need to considerate displacement compensation, such that convenience and accuracy is promoted in measuring elastic modulus and process difficulty is decreased.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] FIG.1 is a schematic view of structure of an ultrasonic imaging system for measuring elasticity of biological tissues in accordance with an embodiment.
[0023] FIG.2 is a schematic view of structure of the probe shown in FIG.1.
[0024] FIG.3 is similar to FIG. 2, but viewed from other aspect.
[0025] FIG.4 is a schematic view of calculating emitting and receiving delay in accordance with an embodiment.
[0026] FIG.5 is a flowchart of measuring elasticity of the biological tissues in accordance with an embodiment.
[0027] FIG.6 is a flowchart of obtaining the elasticity information of the detecting area of the tissue by processing and calculating the ultrasonic signal sequences through the elastic imaging algorithm.
[0028] FIG.7 shows a 2D ultrasonic image of a liver used in an imaging system.
[0029] FIG.8 shows variations of strain at the position corresponding to the white lines in FIG.7 in respect to time.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0030] The invention will be described in detail with the following embodiments and drawings.
[0031] FIG.1 is a schematic structure diagram of an ultrasonic imaging system for measuring elasticity of biological tissues in accordance with an embodiment. The system includes a probe 10, an ultrasonic imaging device 310, a controlling and processing device 330 and a displaying device 350.
[0032] The probe 10 includes a low frequency oscillating device 110, and an ultrasonic array transducer 130.
[0033] The low frequency oscillating device 110 is used for generating oscillation and forming shear waves propagating from a body surface to biological tissues.
[0034] In the present embodiment, the low frequency oscillating device 110 is to make the biological tissues deform slightly by outside or inside force, and the low frequency oscillating device 110 may be a low frequency oscillator or a motor. A low frequency and low amplitude oscillation of an oscillating shaft 111 of the low frequency oscillating device 110 can generate shear waves propagating to the tissue and make the biological tissues deform slightly.
[0035] If the frequency of the shear waves is too high, the shear waves will be damped much. If the frequency is too low, a diffraction effect will be strong, such that too high or too low frequency is not suitable for the propagation of the shear waves. If the amplitude of the shear waves is too small, depth of will be limited. If the amplitude is too big, it will cause uneasy to a human body. In a preferred embodiment, the frequency is about 10 to 1000 Hz, and the amplitude is about 0.2 to 2 mm.
[0036] The ultrasonic array transducer 130 is used for emitting ultrasonic signals to the biological tissues and receiving ultrasonic echo signals reflected from the biological tissues.
[0037] In the present embodiment, the ultrasonic array transducer 130 is selected from a group in consist of a linear array ultrasonic transducer, a convex array ultrasonic transducer and a phased array ultrasonic transducer. The ultrasonic array transducer 130 is contacted with a body surface of a human or an animal to obtain a 2D ultrasonic image of the biological tissues. The ultrasonic array transducer 130 obtains the 2D ultrasonic image to help and lead the probe 10 to locate accurately. More specifically, an area corresponding to scanning lines in the middle of the 2D ultrasonic image or another area in the imaging plane is the area ready to be detected, such that the 2D ultrasonic image can provide an accurate locating in a clinical imaging process.
[0038] The ultrasonic array transducer 130 and the low frequency oscillating device 110 are integrated together to form the probe 10 of the ultrasonic imaging system for measuring elasticity. Practically, the probe 10 may be moved freely to obtain a real time 2D ultrasonic image of the biological tissues.
[0039] More specifically, as shown in FIG.2 and FIG.3, a via hole is defined in the middle of the ultrasonic array transducer 130, and the oscillating shaft 111 of the low frequency oscillating device 110 passes through the via hole. In the present embodiment, the ultrasonic array transducer 130 includes a plurality of array elements 133, and diameter of the via hole is in accordance with the oscillating shaft 111. A length of the oscillating shaft 111 protruding from the via hole should not be too long, in case the ultrasonic array transducer 130 cannot be contacted with the body surface of the human and the animal, which will make the probe 10 be hard to image. In a preferred embodiment, the length of the oscillating shaft 111 protruding from the via hole is about 0.5 to 1.5 mm.
[0040] The ultrasonic imaging device 310 is used for, according to loaded imaging parameters, driving the ultrasonic array transducer 130 to emit the ultrasonic signals to the biological tissues, and receiving and processing the ultrasonic echo signals from the ultrasonic array transducer 130.
[0041] In the present embodiment, the ultrasonic imaging device 310 is used for loading the imaging parameters, such as emitting and receiving delay, provided by the controlling and processing device 330 and for driving the ultrasonic array transducer 130 to emit the ultrasonic signals, to receive and process the ultrasonic echo signals for wave beam-forming.
[0042] The ultrasonic echo signals processed by the ultrasonic imaging device 310 enter the controlling and processing device 330, and then are processed by the controlling and processing device 330 to obtain the real time 2D ultrasonic image of the biological tissues.
[0043] More specifically, the ultrasonic imaging device 310 includes an ultrasonic emitting module 311, an ultrasonic receiving module 313 and a switch circuit 315. The ultrasonic emitting module 311 is used for controlling the ultrasonic array transducer 130 to emit ultrasonic signals. The ultrasonic receiving module 313 is used for controlling the ultrasonic array transducer 130 to receive the ultrasonic echo signals. The switch circuit 315 is used for isolating high voltage.
[0044] The controlling and processing device 330 is used for controlling the low frequency oscillating device 110 and the ultrasonic imaging device 310, and also for processing the ultrasonic echo signals from the ultrasonic imaging device 310 to obtain the 2D ultrasonic image and elasticity information of the biological tissues.
[0045] In the present embodiment, the controlling and processing device 330 is further used for controlling oscillating amplitude, oscillating frequency and oscillating time of the low frequency oscillating device 110, while also providing control of the imaging parameters and processing the ultrasonic echo signals from the ultrasonic imaging device 310. More specifically, according to the propagating velocity of the ultrasonic, displacement between the array elements 133 and detecting depth, the controlling and processing device 330 can calculate to control an open time, a close time, pulse width and pulse repetition rate of the ultrasonic array transducer 130 and so on. The controlling and processing device 330 provides accurate parameters to the ultrasonic imaging device 310 for scanning focusing.
[0046] In a preferred embodiment, the controlling and processing device 330 may be a computer, a single chip, a field - programmable gate array or an ARM processor.
[0047] More specifically, the controlling and processing device 330 includes a low frequency oscillating driving control unit 331, an ultrasonic imaging control unit 333 and a signal processing unit 335. The low frequency oscillating driving control unit 331 is used for controlling the low frequency oscillating device 110. The ultrasonic imaging control unit 333 is used for providing the ultrasonic imaging device 310 with imaging parameters. The signal processing unit 335 is used for processing the received ultrasonic echo signals and calculating the elasticity information.
[0048] The signal processing unit 335 performs algorithms of filtering, displacement estimating and strain estimating on the ultrasonic echo signals to calculate propagating velocity that the low frequency shear waves propagating in the biological tissues, and then the elasticity information of the biological tissues is calculated and the 2D ultrasonic image is reconstructed. For example, the elastic modulus can be calculated according to relationship between the elastic modulus and the propagating velocity of the shear waves. The elasticity information is further obtained according to the elastic modulus. The elasticity information combined with the structure information of the biological tissues and organs will provide more comprehensive and reliable information in clinic diagnosing. For a liver tissue, by calculating the propagating velocity v of the shear waves, the Young's elastic modulus is E = 3 rv2 , wherein p represents density of the liver tissue.
[0049] The first time filtering that the signal processing unit 335 performs on the ultrasonic echo signals uses band-pass filtering method, which is used for filtering low frequency and high frequency signals in the ultrasonic echo signals, and for reserving signals that adapted to the center frequency and bandwidth of the ultrasonic array transducer 130. The displacement estimating generally adopts time-domain cross-correlation, self-correlation or other signal processing methods. The target of the displacement estimating is to obtain displacement of the biological tissues caused by the propagation of the shear waves. The second time filtering that the signal processing unit 335 performs on the ultrasonic echo signals uses smooth filtering and match filtering, of which the function is to filter singular points generated in the process of displacement estimating and to amplify the displacement signal components with frequency near the frequency of the shear waves. The strain estimating may adopt the least square method, low pass filtering method or wavelet analysis method, the target is to obtain distribution of the strain according to the distribution of the displacement, and to decrease noise interference brought in the process of differential as much as possible.
[0050] Referring to FIG.4, the controlling and processing device 330 calculates the emitting delay Edelay and receiving delay Rdelay of the ith array element by the following formulas:
Dn - D.
C
2(Di - DF )
C i.e.
Figure imgf000012_0001
wherein de represents distance between neighborhood array elements of the ultrasonic array transducer 130, DF represents focus depth of ultrasonic scanning lines corresponding to position of the nth array element, D0 represents distance between the focus position and the array element the most far away from the focus position, D; represents distance between the focus position and the ith array element, C represents propagating velocity of the shear waves in the biological tissues.
[0051] By the controlling and processing device 330 processing the emitting and the receiving delay, the ultrasonic signals match with the corresponding depth.
[0052] The display device 350 is used for displaying the 2D ultrasonic image and the elastic information of the biological tissues.
[0053] Before the system is ready to image, the ultrasonic array transducer 130 is further used to emit ultrasonic signals to a body surface area and to receive echo signal. The controlling and processing device 330 is further used to generate a 2D ultrasonic image of the under body surface area according to the received echo signal. The probe 10 is further used to determine a detecting area under the body surface area by locating it on the real time 2D ultrasonic image.
[0054] In the present embodiment, while imaging, the ultrasonic array transducer 130 will first emit ultrasonic signal after being contacted with the body surface of a human or an animal, and then generate a 2D ultrasonic image of the under body surface area accordingly. The 2D image will be displayed in the display device 350. The real time 2D image of the under body surface area will lead the probe 10 to locate for determining the detecting area.
[0055] FIG.5 shows a method of measuring elasticity of a biological tissue of an embodiment. The method includes the following steps.
[0056] In step SI 10, a detecting area is determined by locating according to a real time 2D ultrasonic image of the biological tissue.
[0057] In step S130, the low frequency oscillating driving device is controlled to oscillate and form shear waves, which induces the biological tissues to deform slightly.
[0058] In step S150, ultrasonic signals are emitted according to the delay parameters provided by the controlling and processing device 330 and a repetition rate of about 1kHz ~ 10kHz. The ultrasonic echo signals are received and processed to obtain ultrasonic signal sequences along the axis of the oscillating shaft by wave beam-forming, or to obtain ultrasonic echo signal sequences in the imaging plane of the transducer including dozens of scan lines.
[0059] In the present embodiment, the repetition rate of the pulse is relative high.
[0060] In step S170, the elasticity information of the detecting area of the biological tissues is obtained by processing and calculating the ultrasonic signal sequences through the elastic imaging algorithm.
[0061] In a specified embodiment, as shown in FIG.6, the detailed process of the abovementioned step of obtaining the elasticity information of the detecting area of the tissue by processing and calculating the ultrasonic signal sequences through the elastic imaging algorithm is described as follows.
[0062] In step 171, the ultrasonic signal sequences are filtered.
[0063] In the present embodiment, the filtering performed on the ultrasonic signal sequences can filtering low frequency and high frequency signals in the ultrasonic echo signals.
[0064] In step 172, displacement of the biological tissues caused by the propagation of the shear waves is estimated based on the filtered ultrasonic signal sequences.
[0065] In the present embodiment, by performing time-domain cross-correlation, self-correlation or other signal processing method on the ultrasonic signal sequences, the displacement of the biological tissues caused by the propagation of the shear waves is estimated.
[0066] In step SI 73, the displacement of the biological tissues is filtered by smooth filtering and match filtering.
[0067] In the present embodiment, the singular points of the displacement are removed. The signal components of the displacement with frequency near the frequency of the shear waves are amplified after the displacement of the biological tissues is obtained by estimating.
[0068] In step S174, strain of the biological tissues is calculated according to the displacement of the biological tissues.
[0069] In the present embodiment, the strain estimating may adopt the least square method, low pass filtering method or wavelet analysis method. The target is to obtain distribution of the strain according to the distribution of the displacement, and to decrease noise interference brought in the process of differential as much as possible.
[0070] In step SI 75, the propagating velocity of the shear waves in the biological tissues is calculated according to the strain of the biological tissues.
[0071] In step S176, the elastic modulus of the biological tissues is calculated according to the propagating velocity of the shear waves in the biological tissues and experience formula.
[0072] In step SI 90, the elasticity information of the detecting area of the biological tissues is displayed.
[0073] A detailed process of the controlling and processing device 330 processing the ultrasonic echo signals to obtain the elasticity information is described in a specified embodiment. In the embodiment, the frequency of the emitted ultrasonic signal is 50Hz, the period is T = 300//s , the propagating velocity of the ultrasonic signal is V = 1500m/ s , a sampling frequency is f = 60MHz . The ultrasonic array transducer 130 will sample to get T * F = 18000 points in one period. However, actually, there are reflection and incidence along the path of the ultrasonic, so the propagating depth of the ultrasonic echo signals in one round is about T *V / 2 = 22.5cm.
[0074] Experiments tell that the 1000~5000th of the 18000 points sampled in each period are useful and enough in the subsequent process of the ultrasonic echo signals. The total time of sampling is about t = 0.1s , which is the same as t /T = 333 periods of the ultrasonic signal. As a result, 300 periods of the ultrasonic signals are picked out to be analyzed and processed, that is, a matrix of 4000x300 is analyzed and processed.
[0075] Before the signal processing unit 335 starts the cross-correlation algorithm, two pieces of data ready to be matched are obtained, wherein the first piece is the abovementioned 4000x300 matrix. The second piece of data is obtained from the first piece of data according to the following method. The first column of the first piece of data is abandoned, and then the second column of the first piece of data, including 4000 points, is made the first column of the second piece of data; the third column of the first piece of data is made the second column of the second piece of data, and the rest columns can be done in the same manner until the 301s column of the first piece of data is made the 300 column of the second piece of data, and finally a 4000x300 array is obtained.
[0076] In order to improve accuracy of the cross-correlation matching, the two pieces of data should be filtered by band-pass filtering before the cross-correlation matching algorithm starts. A window length of the cross-correlation matching algorithm is about 100 points, duplication between windows is about 90%, and a step size is about 10 points.
[0077] Practically, the first column of the first piece of data being taken as a matching template and the first column of the second piece of data being taken as a slide block are matched. The template includes about 200 points; the slide block includes about 100 points including a start point and successive points corresponding to the template. The match algorithm starts from the same position of the template and the slide block, after each match, the slide block will slide one point along the direction of the depth and match again. The match process will repeat over and over again until the end point of the slide block reach the end point of the template. A maximum value of the match result and the position it locates will be finally found. By interpolating fitting the relative displacement of the point, a result will be stored in a relative displacement matrix.
[0078] Until then, the match process between the first column of the first piece of data being taken as the match template and the first column of the second piece of data being taken as the slide block is finished. After that, a next match process will be started, that is, the match process between the second column of the first piece of data being taken as the match template and the second column of the second piece of data being taken as the slide block. Until all the match processes finish, a relative displacement matrix will be obtained. The matrix is 380x300.
[0079] In order to improve accuracy of estimating the displacement, the result of the cross-correlation calculating need to be filtered by smooth filtering to remove singular points. After that, an absolute displacement matrix will be obtained by accumulating corresponding columns of the relative displacement matrix, that is, the first column of the absolute displacement matrix is the same as the first column of the relative displacement matrix, the second column of the absolute displacement matrix is the sum of the first column and the second column of the relative displacement matrix, the third column of the absolute displacement matrix is the sum of the first three column of the relative displacement matrix, and the rest columns of the absolute displacement matrix can be done in the same manner. A match filter will be applied to the absolute displacement matrix to amplify the displacement signal.
[0080] The strain of the biological tissues is obtained from processing the absolute displacement matrix. Firstly, the strain is estimated by processing the absolute displacement matrix through a least square method using 5 points. The least square method using 5 points to fit will get a straight line, wherein the slope of the line is the strain of the center point. The slope is stored in a strain matrix of 375x300.
[0081] From an interested area with a depth of about 2.5cm to 4.5cm, that is, the 100~260ώ points of each column of the absolute displacement matrix, a maximum value and minimum value should be found out to be applied to the least square method to obtain the propagating velocity Vs of the shear wave. The Young's elastic modulus will be calculated according to experience formula, wherein the formula is E=3pVs , and p represents density of the biological tissues.
[0082] FIG.7 shows a 2D ultrasonic image of a liver used in an imaging system. The white line represents an area of the liver ready to be detected; the white block represents a position the ultrasonic array transducer 130 focusing on.
[0083] FIG.8 shows variations of strain at the position corresponding to the white lines in FIG.7 in respect to time. Wherein the vertical axis represents depth of the liver, and horizontal axis represents time, slope of black line represents the propagation velocity the shear waves propagating in the liver.
[0084] The abovementioned system and method can obtain the 2D ultrasonic image and elasticity information of the biological tissues at the same time, such that accuracy of clinical diagnosing is promoted. The probe can locate accurately with the aid of the 2D ultrasonic image. The low frequency oscillating drive device and the ultrasonic array transducer are independent, so the ultrasonic array transducer will not move with the low frequency oscillating drive device. Even if the ultrasonic array transducer moves slightly caused by the low frequency oscillating drive device, displacement caused by the slight move of the ultrasonic array transducer can be compensated by strain estimating, so there is no need to considerate displacement compensation, such that convenience and accuracy is promoted in measuring elastic modulus and process difficulty is decreased.
[0085] According to the abovementioned system and method, detailed structure information of the biological tissues and organs can be directly obtained from the 2D ultrasonic image, which can also help and lead the probe and detecting area to locate accurately in the process of practical transient. The 2D ultrasonic image can further be combined with elasticity information to provide the clinical diagnosing with more comprehensive basis, such that accuracy and perspective of the diagnosing is promoted.
[0086] Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments thereof and the best modes for carrying out the present invention, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention, which is intended to be defined by the appended claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:
1. An ultrasonic imaging system for measuring elasticity of biological tissues, comprising:
a probe comprising:
a low frequency oscillating device for generating oscillation and forming shear waves propagating from body surface to the inside biological tissues;
an ultrasonic array transducer for emitting ultrasonic signals to the biological tissues and receiving ultrasonic echo signals reflected from the biological tissues;
an ultrasonic imaging device, according to defined imaging parameters , for driving the ultrasonic array transducer to emit the ultrasonic signal to the biological tissues according to loaded imaging parameters, and receiving and processing the ultrasonic echo signals from the ultrasonic array transducer; a controlling and processing device for controlling the low frequency oscillating device and the ultrasonic imaging device, and processing the ultrasonic echo signals from the ultrasonic imaging device to obtain a 2D ultrasonic image together with the mapping elasticity information of the biological tissues; and
a display device for displaying the 2D ultrasonic image together with the mapping elasticity information of the biological tissues.
2. The ultrasonic imaging system of claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic array transducer comprises a plurality of ultrasonic array transducer elements, and defines a via hole in the middle of the ultrasonic array transducer, and an oscillating shaft of the low frequency oscillating device passes through the via hole.
3. The ultrasonic imaging system of claim 2, wherein the via hole is matched with the oscillating shaft.
4. The ultrasonic imaging system of claim 1, wherein a length of the oscillating shaft protruding from the via hole is about 0.5-1.5mm.
5. The ultrasonic imaging system of claim 1, wherein the low frequency oscillating device is a low frequency oscillator or a motor.
6. The ultrasonic imaging system of claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic array transducer is selected from a group in consist of a linear array ultrasound transducer, a convex array ultrasound transducer and a phased array ultrasonic transducer.
7. The ultrasonic imaging system of claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic imaging device comprises:
an ultrasonic emitting module for controlling the ultrasonic array transducer to emit the ultrasonic signals;
an ultrasonic receiving module for receiving and processing the ultrasonic echo signals from the ultrasonic array transducer; and
a switch circuit for isolating high voltage.
8. The ultrasonic imaging system of claim 1, wherein the controlling and processing device is further configured for controlling oscillating amplitude, oscillating frequency and oscillating time of the low frequency oscillating device, as well as providing control of the imaging parameters and processing the ultrasonic echo signals from the ultrasonic imaging device.
9. The ultrasonic imaging system of claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic imaging device loads the imaging parameters provided by the controlling and processing device to drive the ultrasonic array transducer to emit the ultrasonic signals, and receives and processes the ultrasonic echo signals from the ultrasonic array transducer to composite wave beams.
10. The ultrasonic imaging system of claims 1, wherein the ultrasonic echo signals processed by wave beam-forming enter the controlling and processing device, and processed by the controlling and processing device to obtain a real time 2D ultrasonic image of the biological tissues.
11. A method for measuring elasticity of biological tissues, comprising: determining a detecting area by locating according to a real time 2D ultrasonic image of the biological tissue;
controlling the low frequency oscillating driving device to oscillate and form shear waves inducing the biological tissues to deform slightly;
emitting ultrasonic signals according to the delay parameters provided by the controlling and processing device and a repetition rate of about 1kHz ~ 10kHz, the ultrasonic echo signals being received and processed to obtain ultrasonic signal sequences along the axis of the oscillating shaft by wave beam-forming, or to obtain ultrasonic echo signal sequences in the imaging plane of the transducer including dozens of scan lines;
obtaining the elasticity information of the detecting area of the biological tissues by processing and calculating the ultrasonic signal sequences through the elastic imaging algorithm;
displaying the elasticity information of the detecting area of the biological tissues.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of obtaining the elasticity information of the detecting area of the biological tissues by processing and calculating the ultrasonic signal sequences through the elastic imaging algorithm comprises:
filtering the ultrasonic signal sequences;
calculating displacement of the biological tissues caused by the propagation of the shear waves based on the filtered ultrasonic signal sequences;
filtering the displacement of the biological tissues by smooth filtering, and match filtering;
calculating strain of the biological tissues according to the displacement of the biological tissues;
calculating the propagating velocity of the shear waves in the biological tissues according to the strain of the biological tissues; and
calculating the elastic modulus of the biological tissues according to the propagating velocity of the shear waves in the biological tissues and experience formula.
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