WO2019127621A1

WO2019127621A1 - Ultrasonic imaging method, system and device

Info

Publication number: WO2019127621A1
Application number: PCT/CN2018/070069
Authority: WO
Inventors: 邱维宝; 刘荣; 郑海荣
Original assignee: 深圳先进技术研究院
Priority date: 2017-12-28
Filing date: 2018-01-02
Publication date: 2019-07-04
Also published as: CN109975814A; CN109975814B

Abstract

Provided are an ultrasonic imaging method, a system and a device, relating to the technical field of ultrasonics. Said method comprises: performing the following steps for each pixel point: acquiring echo data received by a plurality of array elements; acquiring the coordinates of a pixel point in a Cartesian coordinate system, the coordinates of receiving array elements for receiving the echo data of the pixel point, and the coordinates of transmitting array elements for transmitting ultrasonic waves to the pixel point; converting the coordinates of the receiving array elements in the Cartesian coordinate system into the coordinates of the receiving array elements in a polar coordinate system; calculating a delay time of the pixel point according to the coordinates of the pixel point and the transmitting array elements in the Cartesian coordinate system and the coordinates of the receiving array elements in the polar coordinate system; and obtaining, according to the delay time and the echo data, an intensity value of the pixel point under beam forming. By computationally converting the coordinates of the receiving array elements in a Cartesian coordinate system into coordinates in a polar coordinate system, the present technical solution is able to complete beam forming under the transmission of convex-array plane waves at single/multiple angles, so as to realize ultrafast convex-array ultrasonic imaging.

Description

Ultrasound imaging methods, systems and devices

Cross-reference to related applications

The present application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. PCT Application No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of ultrasound technology, and more particularly to an ultrasound imaging method, system and apparatus.

Background technique

Usually, the working principle of the ultrasonic imaging device is that the probe receives the ultrasonic wave reflected from the target, converts it into a digital signal through A/D, and then uploads it from the front end to the back end GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) for beam. Synthesizing, the plane wave delay superposition, weighting and coherent combining under multiple angles are completed in the GPU to form a frame of the original RF RF data, which is sent to the display by the digital signal processor in the computer system. The ultrasonic imaging device utilizes the ultrasonic plane wave imaging method to scan the detection area by using the plane wave scanning. The scanning of the full-width region of interest can be completed by one shot control, and the time taken for one image is much lower than that of the conventional focus-by-line scan.

Based on the fact that the plane wave is a non-focusing wave and the imaging quality is poor, a multi-angle plane wave coherent composite imaging method is adopted to radiate a plurality of plane waves of different angles to the region of interest, and the image quality can be improved after coherent superposition. In the calculation of multi-angle plane wave synthesis, a line coordinate system is needed. By calculating the delay time of the pixel point by the coordinate value of the pixel point and the coordinate value of the array element in the linear coordinate system, the coherent superimposed image can be calculated. However, in the beamforming process of a convex array plane wave, the position of different array elements in the convex array surface involves the change of the angle between the array element and the coordinate axis, so this method using only the line coordinate system is not It is suitable for the scanning transformation under the convex angle of the convex array, so the beamforming process under the multi-angle of the convex array plane wave can not be completed by the conventional coherent composite algorithm.

Summary of the invention

In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasound imaging method, system and apparatus for converting a coordinate of a receiving element in a Cartesian coordinate system into a calculation mode when a plurality of array elements are arranged in a convex array form. The coordinates of the receiving array elements in the polar coordinate system, that is, the coordinate values of the receiving array elements are converted from linear coordinates to angled coordinates, and the beam synthesis under the convex array multi-angle or single-angle plane wave emission can be completed. Fast ultrasound imaging.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an ultrasound imaging method, which is applied to an ultrasound imaging apparatus, the ultrasound imaging apparatus including a probe, the probe includes a plurality of array elements, and the plurality of array elements are used to transmit an ultrasonic pair The object is scanned and receives echo data, and the ultrasonic imaging method comprises: performing, for each pixel, the following steps: acquiring echo data received by the plurality of array elements; acquiring coordinates of the pixel points in the Cartesian coordinate system, and receiving The coordinates of the receiving array element of the pixel echo data, the coordinates of the transmitting array element transmitting the ultrasonic wave to the pixel point; converting the coordinates of the receiving array element in the Cartesian coordinate system to receiving the array element in the polar coordinate system The coordinates of the pixel points are calculated according to the coordinates of the pixel points and the transmitting array elements in the Cartesian coordinate system and the coordinates of the receiving array elements in the polar coordinate system; according to the delay time and the echo data, The pixel intensity value under beam synthesis.

In conjunction with the first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a first possible implementation of the first aspect, wherein the position of receiving an array element in a Cartesian coordinate system is converted to a position of receiving an array element in polar coordinates Specifically, the method includes: calculating an angle of a radius of curvature of the receiving array element and a first direction axis of the Cartesian coordinate system, wherein the Cartesian coordinate system is a center of the curved surface formed by the plurality of array elements, and the curved surface is the coordinate zero point The axis where the center line is located is the first direction axis, and the axis perpendicular to the center line of the curved surface is the second direction axis; according to the angle, the position of the receiving element in the Cartesian coordinate system is converted to the polar coordinate Receive the position of the array element.

With reference to the first aspect, the embodiment of the present invention provides a second possible implementation manner of the first aspect, wherein the angle is calculated as:

Where β _n is the angle of curvature of the receiving array element and the first direction axis of the Cartesian coordinate system, num is the number of multiple array elements, pitch is the separation distance of multiple array elements, and R is the radius of curvature, n For the nth receiving array element, n has a value range of [1, num].

With reference to the first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a third possible implementation manner of the first aspect, wherein the receiving frame is in a polar coordinate system according to coordinates of a pixel point and a transmitting array element in a Cartesian coordinate system. Calculating the delay time of the pixel, including: setting the point near the radius of curvature of the surface formed by the pixel and the plurality of array elements as a transmitting array element, wherein calculating the delay time of the pixel point The formula is:

τ(E _n ,x _m ,z _m )*c=sqrt((x _m -C _x ) ² +(z _m -C _z ) ² )-R+sqrt((x _m -E _nx ) ² +(z _m +E _nz ) ² )

Where (x _m , z _m ) is the coordinate of the pixel point P _m in the Cartesian coordinate system, and (E _nx , E _nz ) is the coordinate of the receiving element E _n in the polar coordinate system, (C _x , C _z ) is the coordinates of the center C of the surface in the Cartesian coordinate system.

With reference to the first aspect, the embodiment of the present invention provides a fourth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, wherein the coordinates of the center of the surface of the Cartesian coordinate system are calculated as:

C _x =(-1)*(R ² +R ² -2*R*R*COSθ)*cos((num/2+0.5)*pitch/R-θ/2)

C _z =(-1)*(R ² +R ² -2*R*R*COSθ)*sin((num/2+0.5)*pitch/R-θ/2)

Where (C _x , C _z ) is the coordinate of the center of the circle in the Cartesian coordinate system, R is the radius of curvature, pitch is the separation distance of multiple array elements, num is the number of multiple array elements, and θ is Multiple array elements deflect the sweep angle.

With reference to the first aspect, the embodiment of the present invention provides a fifth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, wherein, according to the delay time and echo data, the pixel point intensity value under beamforming is obtained, The method includes: searching, according to the acquisition frequency and the delay time, the echo data from the pixel points received by the plurality of array elements; performing weighted summation on the echo data to obtain the pixel intensity value under beam combining .

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an ultrasound imaging system, including: an acquiring module, configured to acquire echo data received by a plurality of array elements, acquire coordinates of pixel points in a Cartesian coordinate system, and receive the The coordinates of the receiving array element of the pixel echo data, the coordinates of the transmitting array element transmitting the ultrasonic wave to the pixel point; the conversion module, the conversion module being connected to the acquiring module for receiving in the Cartesian coordinate system Converting the coordinates of the array elements to the coordinates of the receiving array elements in the polar coordinate system; the computing module, the computing module being coupled to the conversion module for using the coordinates of the pixel points and the transmitting array elements in the Cartesian coordinate system, Receiving the coordinates of the array element in polar coordinates, calculating the delay time of the pixel; the imaging module, the imaging module is respectively connected to the obtaining module and the calculating module, and is configured to obtain a beam according to the delay time and the echo data. The pixel intensity value under synthesis.

With reference to the second aspect, the embodiment of the present invention provides a first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, wherein the converting module is specifically configured to: calculate a radius of curvature of the receiving array element and a first direction of the Cartesian coordinate system An angle of the axis, wherein the Cartesian coordinate system is a coordinate zero point formed by a plurality of array elements, and an axis of the curved surface is a first direction axis perpendicular to a center line of the curved surface The axis is a second direction axis; according to the angle, the position of the receiving element in the Cartesian coordinate system is converted to the position at which the element is received in polar coordinates.

With reference to the second aspect, the embodiment of the present invention provides a second possible implementation manner of the second aspect, wherein the angle is calculated as:

Where β _n is the angle of curvature of the receiving array element and the first direction axis of the Cartesian coordinate system, num is the number of multiple array elements, pitch is the separation distance of multiple array elements, and R is the radius of curvature, n For the nth receiving array element, n has a value range of (1, num).

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an ultrasound imaging apparatus, including: a probe, the probe includes a plurality of array elements, wherein the plurality of array elements are configured to emit ultrasonic waves to scan an object, and receive echo data; An ultrasound imaging system according to any of claims 7-9.

The embodiment of the invention brings about the following beneficial effects: by acquiring the coordinates of the pixel point in the Cartesian coordinate system, the coordinates of the receiving array element of the pixel point, the coordinates of the transmitting array element of the pixel point, and then the Cartesian coordinate system The coordinates of the receiving element are converted to the coordinates of the receiving element in the polar coordinate system, and the total distance of the pixel is calculated according to the coordinate value to calculate the delay time of the pixel, which is obtained by delay time and echo data. The pixel points under beamforming, such that when a plurality of array elements are arranged in a convex array form, the coordinates of the receiving array elements in the Cartesian coordinate system are converted into the receiving array elements in the polar coordinate system in a computational manner. The coordinates, that is, the coordinate values of the receiving array elements are converted from linear coordinates to angled coordinates, and the synthesis of beams under multi-angle or single-angle plane wave emission under convex array can be completed, and ultrafast ultrasound imaging is realized.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and The objectives and other advantages of the invention are realized and attained by the invention particularly pointed in

The above described objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the aspects of the appended claims.

DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the specific embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings to be used in the specific embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly described below, and obviously, the attached in the following description The drawings are some embodiments of the present invention, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without any creative work.

1 is a structural diagram of an ultrasound imaging method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a schematic diagram of calculation of a pixel point of a convex array probe without deflection according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a schematic diagram showing a relationship between coordinates of a Cartesian coordinate system and coordinates of a polar coordinate system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a schematic diagram of calculation of a pixel point under deflection of a convex array probe according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a structural diagram of an ultrasound imaging system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

FIG. 6 is a structural diagram of an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

icon:

200-ultrasound imaging system; 210-acquisition module; 220-conversion module; 230-calculation module; 240-imaging module; 300-ultrasonic imaging device; 310-probe; 311-array; 320-display.

Detailed ways

The embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. An embodiment. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts are within the scope of the present invention.

At present, only the linear array multi-angle plane wave correlation composite imaging algorithm is disclosed for ultrasound imaging. The linear array refers to the linear array structure of multiple array elements in the ultrasonic transducer, and the linear array multi-angle plane wave coherent composite imaging. The method is not applicable to the method of convex array multi-angle or convex array single-angle plane wave coherent composite imaging. Based on this, an ultrasound imaging method, system and device provided by the embodiments of the present invention obtain pixel points in a Cartesian coordinate system. The coordinates, the coordinates of the receiving element of the pixel, the coordinates of the transmitting element of the pixel, and the coordinates of the receiving element in the Cartesian coordinate system are converted to the coordinates of the receiving element in the polar coordinate system, according to The coordinate value calculates the total distance of propagation of the pixel to calculate the delay time of the pixel, and obtains the pixel under beamforming through the delay time and the echo data, so that when the plurality of array elements are arranged in a convex array form, In the calculation method, the coordinates of the receiving array element in the Cartesian coordinate system are converted into the coordinates of the receiving array element in the polar coordinate system, that is, the receiving array element Standard values are converted by the linear coordinate angled coordinates, it is possible to complete the synthesis of the beam angles of the convex array or a single plane wave emission angle, to achieve ultrafast ultrasound imaging.

In order to facilitate the understanding of the present embodiment, an ultrasound imaging method disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention is first introduced in detail. First, as shown in FIG. 6, the method is applied to an ultrasound imaging apparatus 300, and the ultrasound imaging apparatus 300 includes a probe 310. The probe 310 includes a plurality of array elements 311 for transmitting ultrasonic waves to scan an object and receiving echo data. The specific workflow of the ultrasound imaging apparatus 300 is: after the ultrasound imaging apparatus 300 is activated, the plurality of array elements 311 emit a plane wave to scan the measured object, and the emitted plane wave is reflected by the measured object after encountering the object. The plurality of array elements 311 receive the reflected ultrasonic waves, that is, the plurality of array elements 311 receive the echo data, wherein the echo data records information about the amplitude and phase of the reflected ultrasonic wavefront reflected by the measured object.

Referring to Figure 1, the ultrasound imaging method includes:

Perform the following steps for each pixel:

S110: Acquire echo data received by multiple array elements.

As an example, in conjunction with FIG. 6, a plurality of array elements 311 receive echo data, and a plurality of array elements 311 are uploaded through channels connected thereto to enable acquisition of the echo data for post processing.

S120: Acquire coordinates of a pixel point in a Cartesian coordinate system, coordinates of a receiving array element that receives pixel point echo data, and coordinates of a transmitting array element that transmits an ultrasonic wave to the pixel point.

As an example, taking the pixel point P1 to be synthesized as an example, under the non-deflection scanning or the deflection scanning of the plurality of array elements 311 under the convex array probe, first, in the plane of the curved surface formed by the plurality of array elements 311, a Cartesian coordinate system, in which the coordinates (x, z) of the pixel point P1 are obtained, and in this Cartesian coordinate system, the coordinates of the receiving array element E _n of the received pixel point P1 echo data are acquired. The coordinates of the receiving array element A1 receiving the pixel point P1 echo data.

It is to be noted that the convex array probes referred to herein are merely exemplary, and arcuate probes such as intracavity probes and the like are all within the definition of the present invention.

In some embodiments, before performing step S120, it should also include: filtering the echo data to filter out other ultrasonic waves that are not part of the echo data, so that the echo data can be purified, thereby improving the accuracy of post processing. .

S130: Convert the coordinates of the receiving element in the Cartesian coordinate system to the coordinates of the receiving element in the polar coordinate system.

In some embodiments, converting the position of the receiving element in the Cartesian coordinate system to the position of receiving the element in polar coordinates comprises: calculating a radius of curvature of the receiving element and a first direction axis of the Cartesian coordinate system The angle of the Cartesian coordinate system is a coordinate zero point formed by a plurality of array elements, the axis of the curved line is the first direction axis, and the axis perpendicular to the center line of the curved surface is the second direction axis; Depending on the angle, the position of the receiving element in the Cartesian coordinate system is converted to the position at which the element is received in polar coordinates.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the Cartesian coordinate system has a curved circle C1 (0, 0) formed by a plurality of array elements 311 as a coordinate zero point, and an x-axis of a Cartesian coordinate system is perpendicular to a center line of the curved surface, and a flute The z-axis of the Carl coordinate system is the axis of the centerline of the surface. In this coordinate system, the angle β _n between the receiving element E _n and the z axis is calculated, wherein the angle is calculated as:

As shown in FIG. 3, in order to convert the coordinates of the receiving element E _n in the Cartesian coordinate system into the coordinates in the polar coordinate system, the specific coordinate values are actually expressed by using angles, that is,

E _nx =R*sinβ _n , E _nz =R*cosβ _n ,

Where R is the radius of curvature, combined with the above formula, you can get:

In summary, according to the above formula, when the coordinates of the receiving array element E _n are to be calculated, only the data of num, pitch, and R need to be known.

S140: Calculate the delay time of the pixel point according to the coordinates of the pixel point and the transmitting array element in the Cartesian coordinate system and the coordinates of the receiving element in the polar coordinate system.

In some embodiments, step S140 includes: setting a pixel point and a point formed by a plurality of array elements along a radius of curvature along a radius of curvature as a transmitting array element, wherein calculating a delay time of the pixel point is:

τ(E _n ,x _m ,z _m )*c=sqrt((x _m -C _x ) ² +(z _m -C _z ) ² )-R+sqrt((x _m -E _nx ) ² +(z _m + E _nz ) ² ) where (x _m , z _m ) is the coordinate of the pixel point P _m in the Cartesian coordinate system, and (E _nx , E _nz ) is the coordinate of the receiving element E _n in the polar coordinate system , (C _x , C _z ) is the coordinate of the center C of the surface of the Cartesian coordinate system.

The delay time of the pixel is the sum of the propagation time of the transmitting array element transmitting the ultrasonic wave to the pixel point and the propagation time of the receiving ultrasonic wave receiving the reflected ultrasonic wave reflected from the pixel point.

For example, when the pixel P1 is calculated in the receiving array element E _n to the pixel position of point P1 and the receiving array element E _n on the basis of the curved surface along a curvature radius P1 and the pixel array element is formed from a plurality of The next closest point is the transmit array element. In conjunction with FIG. 2, in a convex array probe under non-deflection, the pixel P1 receives E _n in the array element, the array element receiving point P1 of the pixel A1. As shown in FIG. 4, when the convex array probe deflection θ is scanned, the pixel point P1 in the array element E _n is received, and the receiving array element of the pixel point P1 is A2.

After determining the receiving array element and the transmitting array element, calculating the delay time of the pixel point according to the coordinates of the receiving array element and the transmitting array element, according to the calculation formula of the delay time, when determining the receiving array element and the transmitting array element At the time of position, the delay time of the pixel point can be calculated by confirming the coordinates of the center of the surface of the surface. The coordinates of the center of the surface of the Cartesian coordinate system are calculated as:

C _x =(-1)*(R ² +R ² -2*R*R*COSθ)*cos((num/2+0.5)*pitch/R-θ/2)

C _z =(-1)*(R ² +R ² -2*R*R*COSθ)*sin((num/2+0.5)*pitch/R-θ/2)

As an example, as shown in FIG. 2, when the coordinates of the center C of the Cartesian coordinate system are the coordinate zeros of the Cartesian coordinate system, (x ₁ , z ₁ ) is the pixel point P ₁ in the Cartesian coordinate system. The coordinates, the center of the circle C (C _x , C _z ) is C (0, 0), then the above calculation of the delay time is:

τ(E _n , x ₁ , z ₁ )*c=sqrt(x ₁ ² +z ₁ ² )-R+sqrt((x ₁ -E _nx ) ² +(z ₁ +E _nz ) ² ).

As another example, in conjunction with FIG. 4, when a plurality of array elements deflect the sweep θ angle, the coordinates of the center C of the curved surface formed by the plurality of array elements 311 are:

C _x =(-1)*(R ² +R ² -2*R*R*COSθ)*cos((num/2+0.5)*pitch/R-θ/2)

C _z =(-1)*(R ² +R ² -2*R*R*COSθ)*sin((num/2+0.5)*pitch/R-θ/2)

It can be seen that the coordinates of the center C can be calculated by the deflection angle θ, the number of the plurality of array elements, the separation distance of the plurality of array elements, and the radius of curvature. When the above parameters are known, the coordinates of the center C at any deflection angle can be calculated.

S150: Obtain a pixel point under beamforming according to the delay time and the echo data.

Step S150 includes: searching for echo data from the pixel points received by the plurality of array elements 311 according to the acquisition frequency and the delay time; and performing weighted summation on the echo data to obtain pixel points under beam synthesis.

Specifically, when the probe 310 formed by the plurality of array elements 311 collects echo data, periodic acquisition is performed using a certain frequency. Taking the array element E ₁ , the acquisition frequency is 1 s, and the total acquisition time is 10 s as an example, after the acquisition is completed, the array element E ₁ includes echo data of a plurality of collected pixel points 10 times. Since the time of receiving the echo data of each pixel is different, the echo time of the pixel E ₁ receiving the pixel is the total time of the pixel propagation, that is, the delay time of the pixel, and the delay of the pixel is calculated. At the time, the echo data of the pixel in the element E ₁ can be found. In this way, a plurality of echo data of the pixel point are found in the plurality of array elements 311, and then the plurality of echo data of the pixel point are weighted and summed, that is, the converted optical signal of the pixel point is converted. The signals are weighted and summed. In fact, from the perspective of the ultrasound, all the beams of the pixel are superimposed to obtain a superimposed beam. Wherein, the weighting function is a window function, and the window function may be a Hanning window, a Hamming window, a rectangular window function, or the like.

It is worth noting that when performing the above processing for each pixel, the imaging depth can be set to limit the range of pixels to obtain the highest quality image. According to the above process, each pixel is processed to obtain an image under beamforming.

Referring to the structural diagram of the ultrasound imaging system 200 shown in FIG. 5, the acquisition module 210, the conversion module 220, the calculation module 230, and the imaging module 240 are included.

The acquiring module 210 is configured to acquire echo data received by multiple array elements, and acquire coordinates of pixel points in a Cartesian coordinate system, coordinates of receiving array elements that receive pixel point echo data, and transmit ultrasonic waves to pixel points. The coordinates of the transmitting element. The conversion module 220 is coupled to the acquisition module 210 for converting the coordinates of the receiving array elements in the Cartesian coordinate system to the coordinates of the receiving array elements in the polar coordinate system. The calculation module 230 is connected to the conversion module 220 for calculating the delay time of the pixel point according to the coordinates of the pixel point and the transmission element in the Cartesian coordinate system and the coordinates of the receiving element in the polar coordinate. The imaging module 240 is connected to the acquisition module 210 and the calculation module 230, respectively, for obtaining pixel intensity values under beamforming according to the delay time and the echo data.

The ultrasound imaging system 200 further includes a processing module, and the processing module is connected to the imaging module 240. The processing module is configured to process the digital signal of the result of the imaging module 240 after detection, filtering, logarithmic compression, dynamic range conversion, etc., to the digital signal. Display.

In some embodiments, the conversion module 220 is specifically configured to: calculate an angle of a radius of curvature of the receiving array element and a first direction axis of the Cartesian coordinate system, wherein the Cartesian coordinate system is a surface center formed by a plurality of array elements For the coordinate zero point, the axis of the curved surface is the first direction axis, and the axis perpendicular to the center line of the surface is the second direction axis; according to the angle, the position of the receiving element in the Cartesian coordinate system is converted to the pole The position of the receiving element in coordinates.

In some embodiments, the angle is calculated as:

The implementation principle and the technical effects of the device provided by the embodiments of the present invention are the same as those of the foregoing method embodiments. For a brief description, where the device embodiment is not mentioned, reference may be made to the corresponding content in the foregoing method embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 6, an ultrasound imaging apparatus 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a probe 310, an ultrasound imaging system 200, and a display screen 320.

The probe 310 includes a plurality of array elements 311 for transmitting ultrasonic waves to scan an object and receiving echo data. The ultrasonic imaging system 200 according to any of the above embodiments. Display screen 320 is coupled to ultrasound imaging system 200 for displaying imaging results of ultrasound imaging system 200. It is worth noting that a plurality of array elements 311 are connected to the ultrasound imaging system 200 through channels.

A person skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and brevity of the description, the specific working process of the device described above can refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not described herein again.

The relative steps, numerical expressions and numerical values of the components and steps set forth in the examples are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

In all of the examples shown and described herein, any specific values should be construed as merely exemplary, and not as a limitation, and thus, other examples of the exemplary embodiments may have different values.

It should be noted that similar reference numerals and letters indicate similar items in the following figures, and therefore, once an item is defined in a drawing, it is not necessary to further define and explain it in the subsequent drawings.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the invention. In this regard, each block of the flowchart or block diagram can represent a module, a program segment, or a portion of code that includes one or more of the Executable instructions. It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may also occur in a different order than that illustrated in the drawings. For example, two consecutive blocks may be executed substantially in parallel, and they may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It is also noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowcharts, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowcharts, can be implemented in a dedicated hardware-based system that performs the specified function or function. Or it can be implemented by a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

In the ultrasound imaging method of the embodiment of the invention, the synthesis of the beam may be performed in a processor, which may be an image processor, or an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method may be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in a processor or an instruction in a form of software. The above processor may be a general-purpose processor, including a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (Network Processor, NP for short), or a digital signal processor (DSP). , Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component. The methods, steps, and logical block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented or carried out. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor or any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention may be directly implemented by the hardware decoding processor, or may be performed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a conventional storage medium such as random access memory, flash memory, read only memory, programmable read only memory or electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, and the like. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and combines the hardware to complete the steps of the above method.

In addition, in the description of the embodiments of the present invention, the term "connected" shall be understood broadly, and may be, for example, a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection, unless otherwise explicitly defined and defined; It is a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, which can be the internal connection of two components. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present invention can be understood in a specific case by those skilled in the art.

In the description of the present invention, it is to be noted that the orientation or positional relationship of the terms "upper", "lower", "inside", "outside", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, only for the purpose of The invention is not limited by the scope of the invention, and is not intended to be a limitation of the invention. Moreover, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

Finally, it should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments are merely specific embodiments of the present invention, and are used to explain the technical solutions of the present invention, and are not limited thereto, and the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto, although reference is made to the foregoing. The present invention has been described in detail, and those skilled in the art should understand that any one skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention. The changes may be easily conceived, or equivalents may be substituted for some of the technical features. The modifications, variations, or substitutions of the present invention are not intended to depart from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention. Within the scope of protection. Therefore, the scope of the invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

An ultrasound imaging method, characterized in that it is applied to an ultrasound imaging apparatus, the ultrasound imaging apparatus comprising a probe, the probe comprising a plurality of array elements, the plurality of array elements being used for transmitting ultrasonic waves to scan an object, and receiving Echo data, the ultrasound imaging method includes:

Perform the following steps for each pixel:

Acquiring echo data received by multiple array elements;

Obtaining coordinates of a pixel point in a Cartesian coordinate system, coordinates of a receiving array element receiving the pixel point echo data, and coordinates of a transmitting array element transmitting an ultrasonic wave to the pixel point;

Converting the coordinates of the receiving element in the Cartesian coordinate system to the coordinates of the receiving element in the polar coordinate system;

Calculating the delay time of the pixel point according to the coordinates of the pixel point and the transmitting element in the Cartesian coordinate system and the coordinates of the receiving element in the polar coordinate system;

According to the delay time and the echo data, the pixel intensity value under beamforming is obtained.
The ultrasonic imaging method according to claim 1, wherein the converting the position of the receiving element in the Cartesian coordinate system to the position of receiving the element in the polar coordinate comprises:

Calculating an angle of a radius of curvature of the receiving array element and a first direction axis of the Cartesian coordinate system, wherein the Cartesian coordinate system is a coordinate center with a plurality of array elements as a coordinate zero point, where the center line of the curved surface is located The axis is a first direction axis, and an axis perpendicular to a center line of the curved surface is a second direction axis;

Based on the angle, the position of the receiving element in the Cartesian coordinate system is converted to the position at which the element is received in polar coordinates.
The ultrasonic imaging method according to claim 2, wherein the angle is calculated as:

Where β n is the angle of curvature of the receiving array element and the first direction axis of the Cartesian coordinate system, num is the number of multiple array elements, pitch is the separation distance of multiple array elements, and R is the radius of curvature, n For the nth receiving array element, n has a value range of [1, num].
The ultrasonic imaging method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the coordinates of the pixel points and the transmitting array elements in the Cartesian coordinate system and the coordinates of the receiving element elements in the polar coordinate system are Calculate the delay time of the pixel, including:

The point that the pixel point and the surface formed by the plurality of array elements are closest to the radius of curvature is a transmitting array element, wherein the calculation formula of the delay time of the pixel point is:

τ(E n ,x m ,z m )*c=sqrt((x m -C x ) 2 +(z m -C z ) 2 )-R+sqrt((x m -E nx ) 2 +(z m + E nz ) 2 ) where (x m , z m ) is the coordinate of the pixel point P m in the Cartesian coordinate system, and (E nx , E nz ) is the coordinate of the receiving element E n in the polar coordinate system , (C x , C z ) is the coordinate of the center C of the surface of the Cartesian coordinate system.
The ultrasonic imaging method according to claim 4, wherein the coordinates of the center of the surface of the Cartesian coordinate system are calculated as:

C x =(-1)*(R 2 +R 2 -2*R*R*COSθ)*cos((num/2+0.5)*pitch/R-θ/2)

C z =(-1)*(R 2 +R 2 -2*R*R*COSθ)*sin((num/2+0.5)*pitch/R-θ/2)

Where (C x , C z ) is the coordinate of the center of the circle in the Cartesian coordinate system, R is the radius of curvature, pitch is the separation distance of multiple array elements, num is the number of multiple array elements, and θ is Multiple array elements deflect the sweep angle.
The ultrasound imaging method according to claim 1, wherein the obtaining the pixel points under beamforming according to the delay time and echo data comprises:

Finding echo data from the pixel points received by the plurality of array elements according to the acquisition frequency and the delay time;

The echo data is weighted and summed to obtain the pixel intensity values under beamforming.
An ultrasound imaging system, comprising:

An acquiring module, configured to acquire echo data received by the plurality of array elements, acquire coordinates of pixel points in a Cartesian coordinate system, coordinates of receiving array elements that receive the echo data of the pixel points, and transmit ultrasonic waves to the The coordinates of the firing element of the pixel;

a conversion module, the conversion module being connected to the acquisition module, configured to convert coordinates of receiving array elements in a Cartesian coordinate system into coordinates of receiving array elements in a polar coordinate system;

a calculation module, the calculation module being connected to the conversion module, configured to calculate a delay time of the pixel point according to the coordinates of the pixel point and the transmission element in the Cartesian coordinate system and the coordinates of the receiving element in the polar coordinate ;

An imaging module is respectively connected to the obtaining module and the calculating module, and configured to obtain the pixel intensity value under beam combining according to the delay time and echo data.
The ultrasound imaging system according to claim 7, wherein the conversion module is specifically configured to: calculate an angle of a radius of curvature of the receiving array element and a first direction axis of the Cartesian coordinate system, wherein the Cartesian The coordinate system is a coordinate zero point formed by a plurality of array elements, wherein the axis of the curved surface is the first direction axis, and the axis perpendicular to the center line of the curved surface is the second direction axis; Angle, the position of the receiving element in the Cartesian coordinate system is converted to the position of the receiving element in polar coordinates.
The ultrasonic imaging method according to claim 8, wherein the angle is calculated as:

Where β n is the angle of curvature of the receiving array element and the first direction axis of the Cartesian coordinate system, num is the number of multiple array elements, pitch is the separation distance of multiple array elements, and R is the radius of curvature, n For the nth receiving array element, n has a value range of (1, num).
An ultrasonic imaging apparatus, comprising:

a probe comprising a plurality of array elements, wherein the plurality of array elements are configured to emit ultrasonic waves to scan an object and receive echo data;

An ultrasound imaging system according to any of claims 7-9;

A display screen coupled to the ultrasound imaging system for displaying imaging results of the ultrasound imaging system.