WO2017041668A1

WO2017041668A1 - Doppler imaging method and apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2017041668A1
Application number: PCT/CN2016/097866
Authority: WO
Inventors: 李瑞军; 蒋勇
Original assignee: 深圳华声医疗技术有限公司
Priority date: 2015-09-10
Filing date: 2016-09-02
Publication date: 2017-03-16
Also published as: CN105167802B; CN105167802A

Abstract

A Doppler imaging method. The method comprises the following steps: transmitting ultrasonic waves to a pre-set area to be detected, wherein the pre-set area contains a sample gate selected by a user (S10); receiving echoes fed back from the pre-set area (S20); performing beamforming processing on the echoes, and acquiring scanning information corresponding to the sample gate in the pre-set area (S30); and performing Doppler imaging based on the scanning information (S40). Also disclosed is a Doppler imaging apparatus. By means of the method, Doppler imaging is performed on a plurality of sample gates at the same time, thus a motion speed of a blood flow or a tissue at different locations corresponding to the plurality of sample volumes can be accurately compared at the same time.

Description

Doppler imaging method and device

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of ultrasonic imaging technology, and in particular, to a Doppler imaging method and apparatus.

Background technique

Pulse Doppler (Pulse Wave Doppler (referred to as PWD) is a commonly used imaging technique in medical ultrasound. By sampling the user to the sampling gate (Sample Volume, referred to as SV), transmits ultrasonic waves at fixed time intervals, and then detects phase/frequency changes in the echoes. It can quantitatively calculate the velocity distribution of blood flow/tissue at the position where SV is located, and the blood flow distribution at different times is put together. In other words, the blood flow/tissue corresponding to the SV position is fed back with time.

In the existing Doppler imaging method, since only one sampling gate can transmit ultrasonic waves, only one sampling gate can be Doppler imaging at the same time, so the blood flow/tissue moving speed at different positions cannot be simultaneously compared. Although it can be compared by sequentially moving the sampling gate to different positions for Doppler imaging, it is difficult to compare the blood flow/tissue at different times at the same time. It is ensured that the patient's body does not move or that the doctor's hand does not move, making it impossible to accurately compare the blood flow/tissue at different locations at the same time.

The above content is only used to assist in understanding the technical solutions of the present invention, and does not constitute an admission that the above is prior art.

Summary of the invention

The main object of the present invention is to provide a Doppler imaging method and apparatus for simultaneously performing Doppler imaging on a plurality of sampling gates to simultaneously compare blood flow/tissue motion speeds at different locations.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a Doppler imaging method, the method comprising the following steps:

Transmitting ultrasonic waves to a preset area to be detected, wherein the preset area includes a sampling gate selected by a user;

Receiving an echo fed back from the preset area;

Performing beam combining processing on the echo to obtain scan information corresponding to the sampling gate in the preset area;

Doppler imaging is performed based on the scan information.

Preferably, the preset area is a two-dimensional area or a three-dimensional area.

Preferably, the step of transmitting ultrasonic waves to the preset area to be detected includes:

A pulse signal is applied to the transducer for transmitting the ultrasonic wave, and the ultrasonic sound field emitted by the transducer is controlled to cover the preset area to be detected.

Preferably, the step of performing beamforming processing on the echo to obtain scan information corresponding to the sampling gate in the preset area includes:

Performing beam combining processing on the echo to acquire all scan line information in the preset area;

The scan information corresponding to the sampling gate position is extracted from all the scan line information according to the sampling gate position selected by the user.

Preferably, after the step of performing the beamforming process on the echo to obtain the scan information corresponding to the sampling gate in the preset area, the method further includes:

All scan line information in the preset area is buffered, so that the user selects scan information of the sampling gate at any position from all the scan line information of the cache.

In addition, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention also provides a Doppler imaging apparatus, the Doppler imaging apparatus comprising:

a transmitting module, configured to transmit an ultrasonic wave to a preset area to be detected, where the preset area includes a sampling gate selected by a user;

a receiving module, configured to receive an echo fed back from the preset area;

a beam synthesizing module, configured to perform beam combining processing on the echo, and acquire scan information corresponding to the sampling gate in the preset area;

An imaging module for performing Doppler imaging based on the scan information.

Preferably, the transmitting module is further configured to:

Preferably, the beamforming module comprises:

An acquiring unit, configured to perform beam combining processing on the echo, and acquire all scan line information in the preset area;

And an extracting unit, configured to extract scan information corresponding to the sampling gate position from all scan line information according to the sampling gate position selected by the user.

Preferably, the Doppler imaging device further comprises:

And a cache module, configured to cache all scan line information in the preset area, so that the user selects scan information of the sampling gate at any position from all the scan line information cached.

The present invention provides a Doppler imaging method and apparatus for transmitting ultrasonic waves to a preset area including a sampling gate selected by a user; beam synthesizing echoes fed back from the preset area to acquire the preset area Scanning information of the sampling gate. Doppler imaging is performed based on the scan information. Since the ultrasonic wave is transmitted to the entire preset area at the same time, the user can select a plurality of sampling gates in the preset area, and finally can obtain the scanning information of the plurality of sampling gates for Doppler imaging, thereby implementing Doppler for multiple sampling gates simultaneously. Imaging, thereby accurately comparing the velocity of blood flow/tissue at different times corresponding to multiple sampling gates at the same time.

DRAWINGS

1 is a schematic flow chart of an embodiment of a Doppler imaging method according to the present invention;

2 is a comparison diagram of a transmitted sound field in an embodiment of the Doppler imaging method of the present invention and a transmitted sound field in the prior art;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a refinement process of acquiring the scan information corresponding to the sampling gate in the preset area by performing beam combining processing on the echo in an embodiment of the Doppler imaging method according to the present invention;

4 is a comparison diagram of a sound beam formed by beam combining and a sound beam formed by beam combining in the prior art in an embodiment of the Doppler imaging method of the present invention;

5 is a schematic flow chart of another embodiment of a Doppler imaging method according to the present invention;

6 is a schematic diagram of functional modules of an embodiment of a Doppler imaging apparatus according to the present invention;

7 is a schematic diagram of a refinement function module of a beamforming module in an embodiment of the Doppler imaging apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of functional modules of another embodiment of the Doppler imaging apparatus of the present invention.

The implementation, functional features, and advantages of the present invention will be further described in conjunction with the embodiments.

detailed description

It is understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention.

In an ultrasound imaging system, the main components include: a probe, a transmitting circuit, a receiving circuit, a receiving beam synthesizer, a data buffer, a signal processor, etc., and the working principle is that a piezoelectric transducer in the ultrasonic probe is applied to the ultrasonic transducer. The voltage pulse excitation is converted into mechanical vibration to emit ultrasonic waves externally; the ultrasonic wave propagates in the medium such as the human body, and generates reflected waves and scattered waves, which are returned to the transducer; the transducer converts the returned ultrasonic vibration energy into The electrical signal is then amplified by the electronic system and converted into an image processor by AD conversion; the signal processor generally includes a receiving beam combining section to form a receiving line of a position of interest, and further performs B/COLOR/ according to different imaging modes. Signal processing such as PWD completes ultrasound imaging.

Doppler imaging is a commonly used imaging technique in medical ultrasound. Doppler imaging technology can quantitatively measure blood flow/tissue velocity, and can also show the regularity of blood flow/tissue velocity with time. It has a very large clinical value. For the diagnosis of some diseases, it is necessary to compare the blood flow velocity of different parts. For example, when there are plaques in the blood vessels, the blood flow velocity flowing from the plaque-free and non-plaque blood vessels will be significantly different, and the different parts can be directly compared. The difference in blood flow velocity helps to determine the degree of vascular occlusion. In order to prevent the influence of the patient's body movement or the movement of the doctor's hand on the comparison result during the comparison process, directly comparing the blood flow velocity of different parts at the same time can more accurately determine the degree of clogging of the blood vessel. Moreover, by performing Doppler imaging on a sampling gate, the blood flow/tissue velocity at the position of the sampling gate can be quantitatively measured. Therefore, in order to accurately compare the velocity of blood flow/tissue at different positions at the same time, it is required to simultaneously A Doppler imaging method that images multiple sampling gates.

Thus, the present invention provides a Doppler imaging method.

Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 is a schematic flow chart of an embodiment of a Doppler imaging method according to the present invention.

In an embodiment, the Doppler imaging method comprises:

Step S10: transmitting an ultrasonic wave to a preset area to be detected, where the preset area includes a sampling gate selected by a user;

In this embodiment, when it is necessary to compare the blood flow velocities of different parts at the same time, it is necessary to respectively set the sampling gates in different parts, that is, it is necessary to set a plurality of sampling doors, and simultaneously perform Doppler imaging on the plurality of sampling doors. A preset area is set according to a plurality of sampling gate positions set by the user, and the preset area includes a plurality of sampling gates set by all users. Wherein, when the plurality of sampling gate positions selected by the user are located on the same plane, the preset area may be a two-dimensional area, and includes multiple sampling gates in the same two-dimensional plane; when the plurality of sampling gate positions selected by the user are located In different planes, the preset area may be a three-dimensional area containing a plurality of sampling gates in different planes.

After the preset area including the plurality of sampling gates selected by all the users is set, the ultrasonic waves are transmitted to the preset area. In this embodiment, the transducer is used to transmit ultrasonic waves, and the probe is generally composed of a plurality of elongated piezoelectric transducers of the same size, wherein each single piezoelectric transducer is called an array element; or The array elements are arranged in a two-dimensional matrix shape. In an ultrasound imaging system, a pulse signal, such as an electrical pulse, is applied to the transducer to cause the transducer to emit ultrasonic waves. The shape of the ultrasonic sound field emitted by the probe can be changed by applying different pulse signals to different transducers at different times, such as using different pulse energies, frequencies, and the like.

In this embodiment, by applying different pulse signals to the transducer for transmitting ultrasonic waves, controlling the emission condition of the transducer in the ultrasound imaging system, such as transmitting, not transmitting, transmitting delay, etc., thereby controlling the final transducer The transmitted ultrasonic sound field contains a set preset area, that is, the ultrasonic sound field emitted by the transducer covers the entire preset area including a plurality of sampling gates selected by all users. Thus, the plurality of sampling gates selected by the user in this embodiment can simultaneously receive the transmitted ultrasonic waves. As shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is a comparison diagram of a transmitted sound field in an embodiment of the Doppler imaging method of the present invention and a transmitted sound field in the prior art. In the comparative figure, the left side is an embodiment of the Doppler imaging method of the present invention. The emitted sound field of the present embodiment can cover a preset area including a plurality of sampling gates in comparison with the prior art transmitting sound field in the right side of the comparison chart, whereas the prior art transmitting sound field can only be concentrated into one The sampling gate can only cover the area of one sampling door.

Step S20, receiving an echo fed back from the preset area;

After the transducer emits ultrasonic waves to the set preset area, the human tissue in the preset area will scatter or reflect the ultrasonic waves back to the probe, and each transducer on the probe receives the backscattered or reflected back from the preset area. The wave converts the echo into an electrical signal, and the receiving circuit amplifies the electrical signal and converts it into a digital signal through AD for subsequent processing.

Step S30: Perform beamforming processing on the echo to obtain scan information corresponding to the sampling gate in the preset area.

After the transducers on the probe convert and amplify the echoes to obtain digital signals, the digital signals processed by each transducer are combined and added according to the position of the imaging according to different delay relationships, and the pair is completed. Each transducer receives beamforming processing of the echo. Since the echo is formed by scattering or reflecting the ultrasonic wave back to the probe by the human tissue in the preset area, the preset area includes all the sampling gate positions selected by the user, and the echo includes more selected by the user. The sampling gates are scattered or reflected back to the ultrasonic waves of the probe. Therefore, the plurality of sets of scan information corresponding to the plurality of sampling gates selected by the user can be obtained from the data obtained by beam-synthesizing the echoes received by the transducers. The scan information corresponding to the sampling gate may include amplitude, phase information, and the like corresponding to the sampling gate.

Step S40, performing Doppler imaging based on the scan information.

After acquiring a plurality of sets of scan information corresponding to a plurality of sampling gates selected by the user, Doppler imaging may be performed based on the plurality of sets of scan information, respectively. If the sound spectrum map and the audio calculation are performed separately for the plurality of sets of scan information, the operation parameters of each set of scan information may be the same or different. The result of the spectrogram of the plurality of sampling gates selected by the user finally obtained can be simultaneously displayed on the screen for easy comparison. The audio of the plurality of sampling gates can play one or more of the specified ones, and the audio of all the sampling gates can be played at the same time, which is not limited herein.

In this embodiment, the ultrasonic wave is transmitted to a preset area including the sampling gate selected by the user; the echo fed back from the preset area is beam-combined, and the scan information of the sampling gate in the preset area is acquired. Doppler imaging is performed based on the scan information. Since the ultrasonic wave is transmitted to the entire preset area at the same time, the user can select a plurality of sampling gates in the preset area, and finally can obtain the scanning information of the plurality of sampling gates for Doppler imaging, thereby implementing Doppler for multiple sampling gates simultaneously. Imaging, thereby accurately comparing the velocity of blood flow/tissue at different times corresponding to multiple sampling gates at the same time.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the foregoing step S30 may include:

Step S301: Perform beamforming processing on the echo to acquire all scan line information in the preset area.

Step S302, extracting scan information corresponding to the sampling gate position from all scan line information according to the sampling gate position selected by the user.

In this embodiment, when performing beamforming processing on the echo, all the scan line information in the preset area is acquired, that is, all the scan lines in the preset area include the range, and the beam is calculated. The result of the synthesis includes all the information of the entire preset area, and in addition, all the information of the entire preset area can be restored by interpolation.

As shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is a comparison diagram of a sound beam formed by beam combining in an embodiment of the Doppler imaging method of the present invention and a beam formed by beamforming in the prior art. The sound beam formed by beamforming in an embodiment of the present invention is compared with the sound beam formed by beamforming in the prior art in the right side of the comparison image. In the present embodiment, the beam formed by beamforming includes the predetermined area. All the scan line information, while the beam formed by the beam synthesis in the prior art only includes the scan line information of one sampling gate, only a single beam.

When it is required to perform Doppler imaging on a plurality of sampling gates selected by the user, the plurality of sampling gate positions selected by the user may be extracted from all the scanning line information in the preset area after beam combining the echoes. A plurality of sets of scan information corresponding to a plurality of sampling gate positions are output. Specifically, the data segment in the total information of the sampling area corresponding to the sampling area is converted according to the spatial position of the sampling gate selected by the user, and generally needs to be interpolated to extract all the information in the preset area from the user. The scan information corresponding to the selected sampling gate position. If the user selects a plurality of sampling gates, the extraction generates a plurality of sets of scan information corresponding to each of the sampling gates, wherein the scan information may include amplitudes, phase information, and the like corresponding to the sampling gates, which are not limited herein.

As shown in FIG. 5, another embodiment of the present invention provides a Doppler imaging method. On the basis of the foregoing embodiment, after the step S30, the method further includes:

Step S50, buffering all scan line information in the preset area, so that the user selects scan information of the sampling gate at any position from all the scan line information cached.

In this embodiment, further, all the scan line information in the acquired preset area may be cached. For example, all the scan line information in the preset area may be stored into a preset data buffer area, such that all scan line information in the preset area includes not only the corresponding sampling gate positions selected by the user. The scan information also includes scan line information within a range of regions near the plurality of sampling gate positions selected by the user. After performing Doppler imaging on the plurality of sampling gates selected by the user, at the time of the review check, based on all the scan line information in the preset area stored in the data buffer area, the user selects the sampling in addition to the inspection. The door data can also be arbitrarily changed to the position of the sampling door, and the sampling door position data near the sampling gate but not selected is checked. In addition, during the review check, the user may also increase/decrease the number of sampling gates based on all the scan line information in the preset area stored in the data buffer area, and the corresponding spectrogram and the number of Doppler audio signals are also played. Increase or decrease, more flexible and practical.

The invention further provides a Doppler imaging device.

Referring to FIG. 6, FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of functional modules of an embodiment of a Doppler imaging apparatus according to the present invention.

In an embodiment, the Doppler imaging device comprises:

The transmitting module 01 is configured to transmit an ultrasonic wave to a preset area to be detected, where the preset area includes a sampling gate selected by a user;

In this embodiment, by applying different pulse signals to the transducer for transmitting ultrasonic waves, controlling the emission condition of the transducer in the ultrasound imaging system, such as transmitting, not transmitting, transmitting delay, etc., thereby controlling the final transducer The transmitted ultrasonic sound field contains a set preset area, that is, the ultrasonic sound field emitted by the transducer covers the entire preset area including a plurality of sampling gates selected by all users. Thus, the plurality of sampling gates selected by the user in this embodiment can simultaneously receive the transmitted ultrasonic waves.

The receiving module 02 is configured to receive an echo fed back from the preset area.

The beam synthesizing module 03 is configured to perform beam combining processing on the echo, and acquire scan information corresponding to the sampling gate in the preset area;

The imaging module 04 is configured to perform Doppler imaging based on the scan information.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the beamforming module 03 may include:

The obtaining unit 031 is configured to perform beam combining processing on the echo to acquire all scan line information in the preset area.

The extracting unit 032 is configured to extract scan information corresponding to the sampling gate position from all scan line information according to the sampling gate position selected by the user.

When it is required to perform Doppler imaging on a plurality of sampling gates selected by the user, the plurality of sampling gate positions selected by the user may be extracted from all the scanning line information in the preset area after beam combining the echoes. A plurality of sets of scan information corresponding to a plurality of sampling gate positions are output. Specifically, the data segment in the total information of the sampling area corresponding to the sampling area is converted according to the spatial position of the sampling gate selected by the user, and generally needs to be interpolated to extract all the information in the preset area from the user. The scan line information corresponding to the selected sampling gate position. If the user selects a plurality of sampling gates, the extraction generates a plurality of sets of scan information corresponding to each of the sampling gates, wherein the scan information may include amplitudes, phase information, and the like corresponding to the sampling gates, which are not limited herein.

As shown in FIG. 8, another embodiment of the present invention provides a Doppler imaging apparatus. Based on the foregoing embodiments, the method further includes:

The cache module 05 is configured to cache all scan line information in the preset area, so that the user selects scan information of the sampling gate at any position from all the scan line information cached.

The serial numbers of the embodiments of the present invention are merely for the description, and do not represent the advantages and disadvantages of the embodiments. Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the foregoing embodiment method can be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and of course, can also be through hardware, but in many cases, the former is better. Implementation. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present invention, which is essential or contributes to the prior art, may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium (such as ROM/RAM, disk, The optical disc includes a number of instructions for causing a terminal device (which may be a cell phone, a computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform the methods described in various embodiments of the present invention.

The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention, and the equivalent structure or equivalent process transformations made by the description of the present invention and the drawings are directly or indirectly applied to other related technical fields. The same is included in the scope of patent protection of the present invention.

Claims

A Doppler imaging method, characterized in that the method comprises the following steps:

Transmitting ultrasonic waves to a preset area to be detected, wherein the preset area includes a sampling gate selected by a user;

Receiving an echo fed back from the preset area;

Performing beam combining processing on the echo to obtain scan information corresponding to the sampling gate in the preset area;

Doppler imaging is performed based on the scan information.
The Doppler imaging method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined area is a two-dimensional area or a three-dimensional area.
The Doppler imaging method according to claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting ultrasonic waves to the preset area to be detected comprises:

A pulse signal is applied to the transducer for transmitting the ultrasonic wave, and the ultrasonic sound field emitted by the transducer is controlled to cover the preset area to be detected.
The Doppler imaging method according to claim 2, wherein the step of transmitting ultrasonic waves to the preset area to be detected comprises:

A pulse signal is applied to the transducer for transmitting the ultrasonic wave, and the ultrasonic sound field emitted by the transducer is controlled to cover the preset area to be detected.
The Doppler imaging method according to claim 3, wherein the step of performing beam combining processing on the echo to acquire scan information corresponding to the sampling gate in the preset area comprises:

Performing beam combining processing on the echo to acquire all scan line information in the preset area;

The scan information corresponding to the sampling gate position is extracted from all the scan line information according to the sampling gate position selected by the user.
The Doppler imaging method according to claim 4, wherein the step of performing beam combining processing on the echo to acquire scan information corresponding to the sampling gate in the preset area comprises:

Performing beam combining processing on the echo to acquire all scan line information in the preset area;

The scan information corresponding to the sampling gate position is extracted from all the scan line information according to the sampling gate position selected by the user.
The Doppler imaging method according to claim 5, wherein the step of performing beam combining processing on the echo to acquire scan information corresponding to the sampling gate in the preset area further comprises:

All scan line information in the preset area is buffered, so that the user selects scan information of the sampling gate at any position from all the scan line information of the cache.
The Doppler imaging method according to claim 6, wherein the step of performing beamforming processing on the echo to obtain scan information corresponding to the sampling gate in the preset area further comprises:

All scan line information in the preset area is buffered, so that the user selects scan information of the sampling gate at any position from all the scan line information of the cache.
A Doppler imaging apparatus, characterized in that the Doppler imaging apparatus comprises:

a transmitting module, configured to transmit an ultrasonic wave to a preset area to be detected, where the preset area includes a sampling gate selected by a user;

a receiving module, configured to receive an echo fed back from the preset area;

a beam synthesizing module, configured to perform beam combining processing on the echo, and acquire scan information corresponding to the sampling gate in the preset area;

An imaging module for performing Doppler imaging based on the scan information.
The Doppler imaging apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined area is a two-dimensional area or a three-dimensional area.
The Doppler imaging apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the transmitting module is further configured to:

A pulse signal is applied to the transducer for transmitting the ultrasonic wave, and the ultrasonic sound field emitted by the transducer is controlled to cover the preset area to be detected.
The Doppler imaging apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the transmitting module is further configured to:

A pulse signal is applied to the transducer for transmitting the ultrasonic wave, and the ultrasonic sound field emitted by the transducer is controlled to cover the preset area to be detected.
The Doppler imaging apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the beam combining module comprises:

An acquiring unit, configured to perform beam combining processing on the echo, and acquire all scan line information in the preset area;

And an extracting unit, configured to extract scan information corresponding to the sampling gate position from all scan line information according to the sampling gate position selected by the user.
The Doppler imaging apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said beam combining module comprises:

An acquiring unit, configured to perform beam combining processing on the echo, and acquire all scan line information in the preset area;

And an extracting unit, configured to extract scan information corresponding to the sampling gate position from all scan line information according to the sampling gate position selected by the user.
The Doppler imaging apparatus of claim 13 further comprising:

And a cache module, configured to cache all scan line information in the preset area, so that the user selects scan information of the sampling gate at any position from all the scan line information cached.
The Doppler imaging apparatus of claim 14, further comprising:

And a cache module, configured to cache all scan line information in the preset area, so that the user selects scan information of the sampling gate at any position from all the scan line information cached.