WO2021129746A1

WO2021129746A1 - Ultrasonic imaging method and system

Info

Publication number: WO2021129746A1
Application number: PCT/CN2020/139056
Authority: WO
Inventors: 史志伟; 王彦; 董永强
Original assignee: 深圳迈瑞生物医疗电子股份有限公司
Priority date: 2019-12-24
Filing date: 2020-12-24
Publication date: 2021-07-01
Also published as: CN114599292A; CN114599292B; WO2021128010A1

Abstract

An ultrasonic signal processing method, and an ultrasonic imaging method and system (10). The ultrasonic signal processing method comprises: transmitting a first ultrasonic beam to a region of interest of a target object, and executing an ultrasound scan (S110); receiving a first ultrasonic echo of the first ultrasonic beam to obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal (S120); determining a first receiving line within a sound field energy range of the first ultrasonic beam, the line density of the first receiving line of a focal zone of the sound field energy range being greater than the line density of the first receiving line of a near field of the sound field energy range, and the line density of the first receiving line of the focal zone being greater than the line density of the first receiving line of a far field of the sound field energy range (S130); and performing beam synthesis on the first ultrasonic echo signal according to the first receiving line so as to obtain a beam synthesized first ultrasonic echo signal (S140). Thus, sampling frequency in a focal zone can be guaranteed to be higher, thereby ensuring beam synthesis efficiency when carrying out compounding.

Description

Ultrasound imaging method and system

Technical field

The embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of ultrasound, and more specifically, to an ultrasound signal processing method, ultrasound imaging method and system.

Background technique

The basic principle of emission continuous focus imaging is to coherently composite the echoes of the adjacent emission beams with the current echo, record the energy of the non-focus area as much as possible, and “retrospectively” accumulate it to synthesize and reconstruct the emission. The effect of point-by-point focusing. One of the key points of this technology is to record the echo energy of the transmitting beam, which depends on the sampling method of the receiving beam, which essentially determines the way in which the echoes of multiple transmissions are combined.

In the receiving beam sampling method of transmitting continuous focusing, methods such as equal intervals and equal angles are often used at present, but the energy range of the actual transmitting beam is not "regular", resulting in an imbalance in the echo collection, and some areas of the sound field are collected. Too dense and insufficient collection in some places. In order to ensure the quality, the beam synthesis system has to collect according to the densest scheme, resulting in low beam synthesis efficiency.

Summary of the invention

The embodiment of the present invention provides an ultrasonic imaging method and system.

In a first aspect, a method for processing ultrasonic signals is provided, the method including:

Transmit the first ultrasound beam to the region of interest of the target object, and perform an ultrasound scan;

Receiving the first ultrasonic echo of the first ultrasonic beam to obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal;

Determine the first receiving line within the sound field energy range of the first ultrasonic beam, wherein the linear density of the first receiving line at the focal area of the sound field energy range is greater than that at the near field of the sound field energy range The linear density of the first receiving line, and the linear density of the first receiving line at the focal zone is greater than the linear density of the first receiving line at the far field of the sound field energy range;

Perform beam synthesis processing on the first ultrasonic echo signal according to the first receiving line to obtain a beam synthesized first ultrasonic echo signal.

In a second aspect, an ultrasound imaging method is provided, and the method includes:

Send multiple ultrasound beams to the region of interest of the target object;

Receiving ultrasonic echoes of the multiple ultrasonic beams to obtain multiple ultrasonic echo signals;

Determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beam emitted in each of multiple transmissions, where:

The sound field energy range includes a plurality of depth sections divided along a depth direction, each depth section includes several receiving sections of the receiving line, and the receiving sections of different depth sections are arranged discretely;

Or, at least part of the receiving line is a curve;

The multiple ultrasonic echo signals of the receiving line are processed to obtain an ultrasonic image.

In a third aspect, an ultrasound imaging method is provided, and the method includes:

Control the ultrasound probe to emit multiple ultrasound beams to the region of interest of the target object;

Controlling the ultrasonic probe to receive the ultrasonic echoes of the multiple ultrasonic beams to obtain multiple ultrasonic echo signals;

Determining the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beam emitted in each of the multiple transmissions, wherein the receiving line has a varying linear density in the depth direction of the sound field energy range;

Composite the multiple ultrasonic echo signals of the receiving line that have been transmitted multiple times to obtain a composite ultrasonic echo signal;

The composite ultrasonic echo signal is processed to obtain an ultrasonic image.

In a fourth aspect, an ultrasound imaging method is provided, and the method includes:

Transmit an ultrasonic beam to the region of interest of the target object and perform multiple ultrasonic scans

Receiving the ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic beam to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal;

Determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasound beam during each ultrasound scan in multiple ultrasound scans, wherein the sound field energy range is divided into at least a first sub-segment and a second sub-segment along its depth direction. The receiving line of the first subsection is a straight receiving line, and the receiving line of the second subsection is curved or includes several receiving sections;

Processing and compounding the ultrasound echo signals of the receiving line of each ultrasound scan to obtain a combined ultrasound echo signal; and

In a fifth aspect, an ultrasound imaging method is provided, and the method includes:

Determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasound beam during each ultrasound scan in multiple ultrasound scans, wherein the sound field energy range is divided into at least a first sub-segment and a second sub-segment along its depth direction. The receiving line of the first sub-segment has a uniform linear density along the depth direction, and the receiving line of the second sub-segment has a varying linear density in the depth direction;

Perform beam synthesis processing on the ultrasonic echo signal according to the receiving line of each ultrasonic scan to obtain multiple beam synthesized ultrasonic echo signals; and

The ultrasonic echo signals synthesized by the multiple beams are composited to obtain a composite ultrasonic echo signal, and an ultrasonic image is obtained accordingly.

In a sixth aspect, an ultrasound imaging method is provided, the method including:

Transmit an ultrasonic beam to the region of interest of the target object;

Receiving the ultrasonic echo of the primary ultrasonic beam to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal;

Determining the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the primary ultrasonic beam, wherein the area where the receiving line is located matches the sound field energy range;

The ultrasonic echo signal is processed according to the receiving line to obtain an ultrasonic image.

In a seventh aspect, an ultrasound imaging system is provided, including:

Ultrasound probe

A transmit/receive selection switch for stimulating the ultrasonic probe to transmit an ultrasonic beam to the region of interest of the target object via a transmitting circuit to perform ultrasonic scanning, and receive the ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic beam to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal;

A memory for storing programs executed by the processor;

Processor for:

Determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beam of an ultrasound scan, wherein the line density of the receiving line at the focal area of the sound field energy range is greater than the receiving line at the near field of the sound field energy range The linear density of the receiving line at the focal zone is greater than the linear density of the receiving line at the far field of the sound field energy range;

In an eighth aspect, an ultrasound imaging system is provided, which is characterized in that it includes:

Ultrasound probe

A transmit/receive selection switch for stimulating the ultrasonic probe to transmit multiple ultrasonic beams to the region of interest of the target object via the transmitting circuit, and receive ultrasonic echoes of the multiple ultrasonic beams, to obtain multiple ultrasonic echo signals;

A memory for storing programs executed by the processor;

The processor is configured to execute the method described in any one of the foregoing second aspect to the sixth aspect.

In a ninth aspect, a computer storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method described in any one of the first to sixth aspects are realized.

It can be seen that the embodiment of the present invention determines the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beam, so that the linear density of the focal area is greater than the linear density of the near field and greater than the linear density of the far field, which can ensure that the sampling frequency in the focal area is higher. High, thus ensuring the efficiency of beam synthesis when performing compounding.

Description of the drawings

In order to explain the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention more clearly, the following will briefly introduce the drawings that need to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some of the present invention. Embodiments, for those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative labor, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings.

Figure 1(a)-(d) is a schematic diagram of the emission sound field energy diagram and several receiving line sampling methods;

Figure 2 is a block diagram of the ultrasound imaging system;

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of an ultrasonic signal processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of the energy concentration degree of different positions in the sound field energy range;

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a receiving line including a receiving section according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 6 is another schematic diagram of a receiving line including a receiving section according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a receiving line including a curve according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a receiving line for multiple transmissions according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 9 is another schematic diagram of a receiving line for multiple transmissions according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic flowchart of an ultrasound imaging method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic flowchart of an ultrasound imaging method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic flowchart of an ultrasound imaging method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic flowchart of an ultrasound imaging method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic flowchart of an ultrasound imaging method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative work shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

At present, the most commonly used ultrasonic imaging systems are focused wave imaging. Figure 1(a) shows the emission sound field energy diagram of the focused wave. The aperture is about 18mm, the emission focal depth is 80mm, and the emission waveform is weighted. Figure 1(b) is the equal interval distance sampling method, Fig. 1(c) is the equal interval angle sampling method, and Fig. 1(d) is the equal interval and angle sampling method. Because the lateral energy of the focal zone varies greatly, it requires careful receiving sampling to ensure quality. It is assumed that 8 receiving beams are needed near 80mm to ensure sampling quality. Figure 1(b) In the far field, about 3 times (relative to the 8 beams in the focal area) of the receive beam is required to cover the effective sound field energy range. The same conclusion is also applicable to the near field of Figure 1(c), which requires 2 times The above receiving beam covers the effective sound field range of the near field. Figure 1(d) is based on the equal interval distance, which is equivalent to a compromise between (b) and (c), which is relatively uniform, but it also faces the close and focus sampling of the near field and the far field. There is a problem of invalid beams in the area.

Too high receiving beam density will have an adverse effect on the point-by-point focusing of the transmission: under the same number of beams, too high linear density will result in incomplete acquisition of the transmitted sound field by receiving beam synthesis, resulting in a decrease in the effective number of recombinations and reducing the effect of point-by-point focusing . Take Figure 1(c) as an example. Since the sound beams in the near field are wider, sampling at equal intervals in the figure requires 17 beams to cover about 90 degrees and complete the sound field. Only when the record is complete can you better trace back. Refactoring. If the number of beams is less than 17 beams, such as 9 beams (enough to cover the effective area of the mid- and far-field), the effective number of recombinations in the near-field area will be reduced, and the point-by-point focus of the near-field emission cannot be fully realized.

It can be seen that the existing sampling method will lead to low efficiency of beam synthesis. Whether it is equal interval sampling, equal interval angle sampling or the combination of the two methods, it will cause the problem of over-sampling or incomplete sampling.

The embodiment of the present invention provides an ultrasound imaging system, as shown in FIG. 2 is a structural block diagram of an ultrasound imaging system. Wherein, the ultrasound imaging system 10 includes an ultrasound probe 110, a transmitting/receiving control circuit 120, a memory 130, a processor 140, and a display 150. The transmitting/receiving control circuit 120 may include a transmitting circuit, a receiving circuit, and a transmitting/receiving selection switch. The transmitting circuit is used to excite the ultrasonic probe 110 to transmit an ultrasonic beam to the target object, and the receiving circuit is used to receive the ultrasonic return from the target object through the ultrasonic probe 110. Echo to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal. The processor 140 may process the first ultrasonic echo signal.

Exemplarily, the processor 140 may determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beam, and perform beam synthesis processing on the ultrasonic echo signal according to the receiving line to obtain the beam synthesized ultrasonic echo signal. For more detailed description, please refer to the subsequent embodiments of this specification.

Optionally, the processor 140 may also obtain an ultrasound image of the target object according to the ultrasound echo signal. For example, processing such as beam synthesis, quadrature demodulation, and envelope calculation can be performed, and processing such as beam synthesis, wall filtering, velocity variance energy calculation, etc. can be performed. The ultrasound image obtained by the processor 140 may be stored in the memory 130. And, the ultrasound image may be displayed on the display 150.

Optionally, the display 150 in the ultrasound imaging system 10 can be a touch screen, a liquid crystal display, etc.; or the display 150 can be an independent display device such as a liquid crystal display, a TV, etc., independent of the ultrasound imaging system 10; or the display 150 It can be the display screen of an electronic device such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, and so on. Wherein, the number of displays 150 may be one or more.

Optionally, the memory 130 in the ultrasound imaging system 10 may be a flash memory card, a solid-state memory, a hard disk, or the like. It can be a volatile memory and/or a non-volatile memory, a removable memory and/or a non-removable memory, etc.

Optionally, the processor 140 in the ultrasound imaging system 10 may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof, and may use circuits, single or multiple application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), single or multiple applications. A general-purpose integrated circuit, a single or multiple microprocessors, a single or multiple programmable logic devices, or any combination of the foregoing circuits and/or devices, or other suitable circuits or devices, so that the processor 140 can execute this specification Corresponding steps of the method in each embodiment.

It should be understood that the components included in the ultrasound imaging system 10 shown in FIG. 2 are only schematic, and it may include more or fewer components. For example, the ultrasound imaging system 10 may also include input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, a scroll wheel, a trackball, etc., and/or include an output device such as a printer other than the display 150. The corresponding external input/output port can be a wireless communication module, a wired communication module, or a combination of the two. The external input/output ports can also be implemented based on USB, bus protocols such as CAN, and/or wired network protocols. The present invention is not limited to this.

Based on the ultrasound imaging system of the foregoing embodiment, FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of the ultrasound imaging method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method shown in Figure 3 includes:

S110: Transmit a first ultrasound beam to the region of interest of the target object, and perform an ultrasound scan;

S120, receiving the first ultrasonic echo of the first ultrasonic beam to obtain the first ultrasonic echo signal;

S130. Determine the first receiving line within the sound field energy range of the first ultrasonic beam, wherein the linear density of the first receiving line at the focal area of the sound field energy range is greater than the first receiving line at the near field of the sound field energy range The linear density of the first receiving line at the focal zone is greater than the linear density of the first receiving line at the far field of the sound field energy range;

S140: Perform beam synthesis processing on the first ultrasonic echo signal according to the first receiving line to obtain a beam synthesized first ultrasonic echo signal.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the sound field energy range of the first ultrasonic beam may be as shown in FIG. 1(a), wherein along the depth direction, the center energy of different depth positions is also different. The position with the largest center energy can be called the center of the focal zone, and the energy range where the central energy attenuates by a certain threshold is defined as the focal zone. Further, the range whose depth is smaller than the focal region is called the near field, and the range whose depth is larger than the focal region is called the far field.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the receiving line refers to the line formed by the position of the synthesis point used for beam synthesis calculation within the energy range of the sound field. Since the beam synthesis process is digital beam synthesis, the synthesis points are discretely existed between each other, and the connection composed of multiple discrete synthesis points constitutes the receiving line. The linear density of the first receiving line determined in S130 in the focal area is greater than the linear density of the near field and greater than the linear density of the far field, so that the sampling frequency of the focal area is high. Among them, the line density can be used to indicate the number of receiving lines or the interval between adjacent receiving lines (distance interval or angular interval). Specifically, the more the number of receiving lines per unit width, the more The smaller the interval, the greater the linear density.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the first receiving line is determined in S130 in consideration of the different levels of energy concentration at different positions within the energy range of the sound field. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the depths drawn on the right are 10mm, 80mm, and 160mm, respectively. It can be seen that the energy of the sound beam near the focal area (80mm) is concentrated, which changes drastically in the lateral direction, and requires a higher sampling frequency; while the far field is not focused because the emitted energy is not focused, the sound wave energy is scattered and relatively flat , The final image resolution is weaker than near the focal area (large F-number), so the required sampling frequency is relatively low; similarly, the near field is relatively flat, but the F-number is small, and the resolution is achieved after continuous focusing of the emission The rate is better than the far field, so the lateral sampling frequency is higher than the far field. In this way, the linear density of the first receiving line determined in S130 in the focal region is greater than the linear density in the far field and greater than the linear density in the near field. In some examples, the maximum linear density of the first receiving line determined in S130 in the near field may be greater than the maximum linear density of the far field.

Exemplarily, the area where the first receiving line is located matches the energy range of the sound field. In this way, the first receiving line can effectively cover the energy range of the transmitted sound field, thereby solving the problem of over-sampling or incomplete sampling, and greatly improving the efficiency of beam synthesis.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the first receiving line has a varying line density in the depth direction of the sound field energy range. That is to say, in the depth direction of the sound field energy range, there are at least two different depths where the linear density is different.

In one of the implementation manners, along the depth direction of the energy range of the sound field, the linear density from the near field to the focal area increases from small to large, and the linear density from the focal area to the far field decreases from large to small. The linear density changes along the depth direction, which can be continuous, or the linear density at part of the depth is different, but the overall formation changes from the near field to the focal area from small to large, and from the focal area to the far field from large to small .

In one of the implementation manners, the sound field energy range can be divided into at least a first sub-segment and a second sub-segment along its depth direction. The first receiving line of the first sub-segment has a uniform linear density along the depth direction, and the second The first receiving line of the sub-segment has a varying line density in the depth direction. Wherein, the first receiving line of the second sub-segment can be several receiving segments or a curve, as described below in conjunction with the embodiments of FIG. 5 to FIG. 7.

Illustratively, as an example, the emission scan line of the first ultrasonic beam is perpendicular to the array element arrangement plane, at this time the first sub-segment corresponds to the near field of the sound field energy range, and the first receiving line of the near field has a uniform line density ; The second sub-segment corresponds to the focal zone and the far field of the sound field energy range, and the linear density of the first receiving line in the focal zone is greater than the linear density of the first receiving line in the far field. Optionally, along the depth direction, the linear density from the focal zone to the far field changes from large to small. Exemplarily, the second sub-segment may include a curve. Exemplarily, the second sub-segment may also include several receiving sections of different depth sections, and the receiving sections of different depth sections are arranged discretely, where the discrete arrangement refers to at least part of the receiving section at least one end of the receiving section and other depth sections. The segments are not continuous in space.

Illustratively, as another example, the first ultrasonic beam originates from the same beam starting point on or behind the array element arrangement plane. At this time, the first sub-segment corresponds to the far field of the sound field energy range, and the far field is received The lines have a uniform line density; the second sub-segment corresponds to the near field and the focal area of the sound field energy range, and the linear density of the first receiving line in the focal area is greater than the linear density of the first receiving line in the near field. Optionally, along the depth direction, the linear density from the near field to the focal zone changes from small to large. Exemplarily, the second sub-segment may include several receiving segments discretely arranged in different depth segments, and the second sub-segment may also include a curve.

Hereinafter, the first receiving line will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

As an implementation manner, the first receiving line may include several receiving sections of different depth sections. That is, the first receiving line is not a continuous line extending from the near field to the far field.

It should be understood that the embodiment of the present invention does not limit the emission direction of the first ultrasonic beam emitted in S110. Exemplarily, the emission direction of the first ultrasonic beam may have a certain angle with the plane where the array element is located, and the angle may be an acute angle or a right angle. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 5 below, the emission direction of the first ultrasonic beam is vertically downward, that is, perpendicular to the plane where the array element is located. Exemplarily, the first ultrasonic beam may also be transmitted in a phased array deflection mode. For example, as shown in Figure 6.

Exemplarily, in S130, the sound field energy range may be divided into multiple depth sections along the depth direction, each depth section includes multiple receiving sections, and the width of the sound field energy range where each depth section is located is equal to the depth The ratio of the interval between two adjacent receiving segments in the segment is equal to the preset value.

Or, for example, in S130, the sound field energy range may be divided into multiple depth sections along the depth direction, each depth section includes multiple receiving sections, and the width of the sound field energy range in which each depth section is located is equal to The interval between two adjacent receiving sections in this depth section is positively correlated.

As an example, refer to FIG. 5, where the dashed line shows the sound field energy range and is divided into 16 depth segments along the depth direction, such as 1 to 16 shown in order from top to bottom on the right side in FIG. 5. And each depth segment includes multiple receiving segments. For example, the lower part of FIG. 5 shows that the depth segment 16 includes 8 receiving segments, which are marked as 1 to 8 respectively.

As another example, refer to FIG. 6, where the dashed line shows the sound field energy range, and is divided into multiple depth segments along the depth direction, but to simplify the illustration, only 3 non-adjacent depth segments are shown in FIG. , Which are respectively a, b, and c, and those skilled in the art can easily obtain other depth sections not shown.

Exemplarily, when dividing the depth segments, the sound field energy ranges in the depth direction whose widths of the sound field energy range differ by no more than a preset threshold may be divided into the same depth segment. That is to say, for a depth segment, the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the width of the sound field energy range is smaller than the preset threshold. With reference to Figure 5, it is assumed that the preset threshold can be expressed as δ. Taking the lowest depth section 16 in FIG. 5 as an example, assuming that the maximum value of the width of the sound field energy range in the depth section 16 is L, then the minimum value of the width of the sound field energy range in the depth section 16 should not be less than L-δ. Among them, at a certain depth, the maximum value L of the width of the sound field energy range can be determined by the following way: if the highest energy of the received sound field at this depth is α decibels, then L is the sound field with energy higher than the energy range of the α-β sound field Width, where β is a system preset value.

Exemplarily, when dividing the depth section, the sound field energy range may be uniformly divided into a plurality of depth sections along the depth direction. In other words, the depth ranges of different depth segments can be equal. With reference to Figure 5, suppose the depth range of the sound field energy range is H. If it is divided into 16 depth sections, then the depth range of each depth section is H/16.

Exemplarily, when dividing the depth section, the sound field energy range may be unevenly divided into a plurality of depth sections along the depth direction. In other words, the depth ranges of different depth segments may be unequal. For example, the depth range of the depth section of the focal zone is larger than the depth range of the depth section of the near field (or far field).

Exemplarily, when the depth segments are divided, the depth range contained in each depth segment depends on the beam characteristics of the ultrasonic beam (the characteristics of the sound field energy range) and the processing capability of the processor. In addition to the division methods described above, other criteria can also be considered, and/or other parameters are used as the basis for division. This will not list them one by one to ensure that the energy distribution in the depth direction within the same depth section after division is uniform. The division methods are all within the protection scope of the present invention. In addition, when the processor performs signal processing based on software beam synthesis, the division of the depth segment is not fixed, and the depth range included in the depth segment can be flexibly adjusted.

Wherein, the width of the sound field energy range where each depth section is located may be the width of the sound field energy range at the center position of the depth section. For example, referring to FIG. 5, the width of the sound field energy range where the depth section 16 is located may be the width of the center thereof. Or, when the energy distribution of each depth position in each depth section is basically the same, the width of the sound field energy range where each depth section is located is the width of the sound field energy range at any depth position of the depth section. For example, still referring to FIG. 5, the width of the sound field energy range where the depth section 6 is located may be the width of the sound field energy range at any depth position of the depth section.

In addition, it can be seen from Figure 5 that from the near field to the focal zone, such as from the depth section 1 to the depth section 6, the linear density increases from small to large, that is, the interval between two adjacent receiving sections increases from large to small. From the focal zone to the far field, such as from the depth section 6 to the depth section 16, the linear density is from large to small, that is, the interval between two adjacent receiving sections is from small to large. Similarly, it can be seen from Figure 6 that from the near field to the focal zone, such as from the depth section a to the depth section b, the linear density increases from small to large, that is, the interval between two adjacent receiving sections increases from large to small . From the focal zone to the far field, such as from the depth section b to the depth section c, the linear density increases from large to small, that is, the interval between two adjacent receiving sections increases from small to large.

Exemplarily, there may be a linear relationship between the width of the sound field energy range in which a depth section is located and the interval between two adjacent receiving sections.

Still referring to FIG. 5, taking the depth section 16 as an example, assuming that the width of the sound field energy range where the depth section 16 is located is L, and the depth section 16 includes even 8 receiving sections, then the interval between two adjacent connecting sections It is L/9. Therefore, the ratio of the width of the sound field energy range in which the depth section is located to the interval between two adjacent receiving sections in the depth section is equal to a preset value, for example, the preset value is 1/9; or understood as the depth The width of the sound field energy range in which the segment is located has a linear relationship with the interval between two adjacent receiving segments in the depth segment, and the coefficient of the linear relationship is, for example, 1/9.

It should be noted that although the multiple receiving sections in one depth section in FIG. 5 are uniform, that is to say, the interval between every two adjacent receiving sections in one depth is equal. However, the present invention is not limited to this, for example, it may be uneven, and the interval between two different adjacent receiving sections may not be equal.

In addition, it should be noted that the number of receiving segments included in different depth segments can be equal, for example, each of the 16 depth segments in FIG. 5 includes 8 receiving segments. Alternatively, the number of receiving segments included in different depth segments may not be equal. For example, the difference in the number of receiving segments included in different depth segments is less than the threshold. For example, assuming that the threshold is N (for example, equal to 1 or 2 or other values), then the difference between the number of receiving segments in any two depth segments is less than N.

In this way, in the implementation of the number of receiving sections included in different depth sections, the first receiving line may include several discrete receiving sections in different depth sections. Exemplarily, one first receiving line includes multiple receiving segments corresponding to multiple depth segments one-to-one. In addition, several receiving sections are discrete, and two adjacent receiving sections are not continuous, for example, they may be staggered with each other. Exemplarily, two adjacent receiving segments included in one first receiving line are staggered in the transverse direction of the sound field energy range. The lateral direction of the sound field energy range can be considered as the width direction of the sound field energy range. Or in other words, two adjacent receiving segments included in a first receiving line are staggered in the orthogonal direction of the transmitting direction. Referring to FIG. 5, two of the first receiving lines are shown by receiving sections with arrows. Specifically, one first receiving line includes 16 receiving segments corresponding to the 16 depth segments in a one-to-one manner. And the 16 receiving sections are staggered from each other, specifically in the horizontal direction. Referring to FIG. 6, a portion of the two first receiving lines is shown by the receiving section with arrows. One first receiving line may include several receiving sections, and the several receiving sections are not parallel to each other and staggered with each other, specifically staggered with each other in a direction orthogonal to the transmitting direction.

Optionally, several receiving sections included in one depth section may be parallel to each other. Exemplarily, the direction of each receiving section and the transmitting direction of the first ultrasonic beam form a first preset angle, or in other words, the angle between the direction of each receiving section and the transmitting direction of the first ultrasonic beam is less than the error angle . For example, in Figure 5, the transmitting direction is vertically downward, the direction of the receiving section may be vertically upward, both of which are vertical, and the first preset angle may be 0 degrees and less than the error angle ( For example, 2 degrees or other values); or, optionally, the transmitting direction is vertically downward, and there is a certain angle between the direction of the receiving section and the vertical direction, such as 1 degree, that is, the first preset angle It can be 1 degree and smaller than the error angle (for example, 2 degrees or other values). As shown in FIG. 5, the directions of the several receiving ends in each depth section of the first receiving line are vertically upward, and the first preset angle with the transmitting direction in the figure is 0 degrees.

Optionally, several receiving segments included in one depth segment may intersect at one point. Exemplarily, each receiving section intersects at a point with an extension line in a direction opposite to the emission direction of the first ultrasonic beam. For example, in FIG. 6, the upward extension lines of the six receiving sections of the depth section a intersect at the point M.

As another implementation manner, the first receiving line may include a curve, or at least part of the first receiving line is a curve. In the embodiment of the present invention, that the first receiving line includes a curve means that the curvature of at least one segment of the first receiving line is not equal to zero. Exemplarily, the first receiving line may be a continuous smooth curve, or a broken line segment, a combination of the two, or the like. Among them, a smooth curve refers to a curve with continuous curvature.

As an example, with respect to the central axis of the sound field energy range, the first receiving line may be a concave curve extending in the depth direction of the sound field energy range. Optionally, the curvature of the first receiving line at the central axis of the sound field energy range is the smallest, for example, the curvature of the first receiving line at the central axis is equal to zero. As shown in FIG. 7, seven first receiving lines are shown, and each of the first receiving lines extends along the depth direction. In FIG. 7, 7 first receiving lines are marked with serial numbers 1 to 7 respectively. Among them, the first receiving line located at the central axis of the sound field energy range is the first receiving line 4, the curvature of which is the smallest. Specifically, the receiving line is from 1 to 4, and the curvature is changed from large to small, and the receiving line is from 4 to 7, and the curvature is from small to large.

As another example, the first receiving line may include at least one of the following line types extending in the depth direction of the sound field energy range: a smooth curve, a polyline, a combination of a polyline and a smooth curve, a combination of a straight line and a polyline, a straight line and a smooth curve , Or a combination of straight lines and smooth curves and polylines.

For example, the straight line from the near field to the focal zone is a straight line downward, and the curve from the focal zone to the far field is a smooth curve or the receiving section as the depth section 6-16 in FIG. 5. For example, from the near field to the focal zone is the receiving section of the depth range 1-6 in Fig. 6, and from the focal zone to the far field is a straight line or a smooth curve. and many more.

As another implementation manner, the sound field energy range of the first ultrasonic beam is divided into at least a first sub-segment and a second sub-segment along its depth direction. Accordingly, the first receiving line includes the first sub-segment receiving line and the second sub-segment. A segment receiving line, the first sub-segment receiving line is a straight receiving line, and the second sub-segment receiving line is a curve or includes several receiving segments.

Illustratively, as an example, the emission scan line of the first ultrasonic beam is perpendicular to the array element arrangement plane, at this time the first sub-segment corresponds to the near field of the sound field energy range, and the first receiving line of the near field has a uniform line density ; The second sub-segment corresponds to the focal zone and the far field of the sound field energy range, and the linear density of the first receiving line of the focal zone and the far field is variable. Optionally, along the depth direction, the linear density from the focal zone to the far field changes from large to small.

Illustratively, as another example, the first ultrasonic beam originates from the same beam starting point on or behind the arrangement plane of the array element. At this time, the first sub-segment corresponds to the far field of the sound field energy range, and the far field The receiving line has a uniform linear density; the second sub-segment corresponds to the near field and the focal zone of the sound field energy range, and the linear density of the first receiving line of the focal zone and the near field is variable. Optionally, along the depth direction, the linear density from the near field to the focal zone changes from small to large.

It should be noted that although the first receiving line is described above in conjunction with a number of examples, the embodiment of the present invention does not list all possible situations of the first receiving line. Those skilled in the art are based on the above disclosed embodiments. The other obtained first receiving lines still fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

In the embodiment of the present invention, after S110, for example, after S140, it may further include: transmitting a second ultrasonic beam to the region of interest, and performing another ultrasonic scan; receiving the second ultrasonic echo of the second ultrasonic beam to obtain the second ultrasonic wave. Ultrasonic echo signal; determine the second receiving line within the sound field energy range of the second ultrasonic beam, and perform beam synthesis processing on the second ultrasonic echo signal according to the second receiving line to obtain a beam synthesized second ultrasonic echo signal; The first ultrasonic echo signal of beam synthesis and the second ultrasonic echo signal of beam synthesis are composited to obtain a composite ultrasonic echo signal; and the composite ultrasonic echo signal is processed to obtain an ultrasonic image.

In an implementation manner, the first receiving line includes several receiving sections of different depth sections. In this implementation manner, after S110, it may include: transmitting a second ultrasonic beam to the region of interest and performing another ultrasonic scan; receiving the second ultrasonic echo of the second ultrasonic beam to obtain the second ultrasonic echo signal; The second receiving line within the sound field energy range of the two ultrasonic beams. The second receiving line also has a varying linear density in the depth direction of the sound field energy range of the second ultrasonic beam. The linear density of the second receiving line at the area is greater than the linear density of the second receiving line at the near field, and the linear density of the second receiving line at the focal area is greater than the linear density of the second receiving line at the far field; this realization In the method, within the sound field energy range where the first ultrasonic beam and the second ultrasonic beam overlap, the first receiving line can coincide with the second receiving line; the second ultrasonic echo signal is subjected to beam synthesis processing according to the second receiving line to obtain beam synthesis The second ultrasonic echo signal; the first ultrasonic echo signal of the beam synthesis and the second ultrasonic echo signal of the beam synthesis in the overlapping sound field energy range are combined to obtain the combined ultrasonic echo signal; and After the ultrasonic echo signal is processed, an ultrasonic image is obtained.

As an example, for the sound field energy range of the first ultrasonic beam and the first receiving line shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 8 also shows the sound field energy range of the second ultrasonic beam and the second receiving line. Specifically, in FIG. 8, the sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beam is represented by a dotted line, and in the overlapping area of the sound field energy range of the two transmissions, the first receiving line and the second receiving line are overlapped. In addition, as an example, FIG. 8 also shows the sound field energy range of the third ultrasonic beam, and the receiving lines in the overlapping sound field energy range are also coincident with each other.

As another example, for the sound field energy range of the first ultrasonic beam and the first receiving line shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 9 also shows the sound field energy range of the second ultrasonic beam and the second receiving line. Specifically, in FIG. 9, the sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beam is represented by a dotted line, and in the overlapping area of the sound field energy range of the two transmissions, the first receiving line and the second receiving line are overlapped. In addition, as an example, FIG. 9 also shows the sound field energy range of the third ultrasonic beam, and the receiving lines in the overlapping sound field energy range are also coincident with each other.

Wherein, combining the first ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam and the second ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam in the overlapping sound field energy range includes: along the first receiving line and the second receiving within the overlapping sound field energy range The overlapping positions of the lines are combined to obtain the combined ultrasonic echo signal. With reference to Figure 8, where p is on both the first receiving line and the second receiving line. Then the composite is performed at point p, and the composite ultrasonic echo signal at this point can be obtained. With reference to Figure 9, where p is on both the first receiving line and the second receiving line. Then the composite is performed at point p, and the composite ultrasonic echo signal at this point can be obtained.

Wherein, combining the first ultrasonic echo signal of beam synthesis and the second ultrasonic echo signal of beam synthesis within the energy range of the overlapping sound field includes: combining the first ultrasonic echo signal of beam synthesis and the second ultrasonic echo signal of beam synthesis The ultrasonic echo signals are time aligned; the time-aligned beam-synthesized first ultrasonic echo signal and the beam-synthesized second ultrasonic echo signal are weighted and summed to obtain a composite ultrasonic echo signal.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when performing compounding, it can be realized by means of weighted summation. For point p, k echo data corresponding to k transmissions are obtained one-to-one, expressed as Echo _i (p), i=1, 2,...,k. Among them, if p is located on the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the i-th transmitted ultrasonic beam, then the echo data Echo _i (p) obtained from the i-th transmission is the echo signal synthesized by the beam on the receiving line.

The composite echo signal can be expressed as:

Among them, w _i is the weight. In this way, through multiple (k) transmitted echo signals, the image reconstruction of point p can be realized, and the effect of focusing the transmission point by point can be achieved.

The embodiment of the present invention can be aimed at strong focus imaging, and the linear density of the receiving line in the depth direction is not uniform. This kind of sampling _{can have the following promotion effect in calculating the emission point-by-point focus weight w i} : (1), in the case of strong focus imaging The energy of the focal zone within the energy range of the sound field changes drastically. In the embodiment of the present invention, the line density of the receiving line in the focal zone is large, so more samples can be taken to record the echo characteristics caused by the energy difference of the emitted ultrasonic beams. Difference (this difference describes the whole picture of the entire transmitted ultrasound beam), which in turn facilitates retrospective reconstruction in the subsequent; (2), the transmitted ultrasound beam has a “pulling” effect on the received beam in the case of strong focus imaging , The result is that the actual receiving position is more biased towards the transmitting center position; the actual position of point p in Figure 8 or Figure 9 may be inclined to the center of the respective emitted ultrasonic beams. This detailed sound field characteristic requires effective sampling to reflect In order to calculate the optimal focus weight w _i and deflection parameters to achieve the best balance of detail resolution and signal-to-noise ratio.

Exemplarily, the direction of the receiving section and the beam movement direction of the first ultrasonic beam to the second ultrasonic beam form a second preset angle. Wherein, the second preset angle may be equal to 90 degrees. Referring to FIG. 8, the beam movement direction of the first ultrasonic beam to the second ultrasonic beam is the horizontal direction (such as the horizontal direction from left to right), and the direction of the receiving section is the vertical direction, and the two are vertical. 9, the beam moving direction of the first ultrasonic beam to the second ultrasonic beam is the arc direction (such as the direction of rotation around the M point, or understood as the tangent direction of the depth section), and the direction of the receiving section is toward M Direction, the two are perpendicular.

It should be understood that after S110, in addition to transmitting the second ultrasonic beam, more ultrasonic beams can also be transmitted (as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 as the sound field energy range of the third ultrasonic beam), and the echo signals are combined Obtain ultrasound images. The compounding of multiple echo signals is similar to the compounding of two echo signals, and will not be repeated here.

In another implementation, the first receiving line includes a curve extending in the depth direction of the sound field energy range. In this implementation manner, after S110, it may include: transmitting a second ultrasonic beam to the region of interest to perform another ultrasonic scan; receiving the second ultrasonic echo of the second ultrasonic beam to obtain the second ultrasonic echo signal; The second receiving line within the sound field energy range of the two ultrasonic beams. The second receiving line is also a curve extending in the depth direction of the sound field energy range of the second ultrasonic beam, where the sound field where the first ultrasonic beam and the second ultrasonic beam coincide Within the energy range, the first receiving line and the second receiving line overlap at most; the second ultrasonic echo signal is beam-synthesized according to the second receiving line to obtain the beam-synthesized second ultrasonic echo signal; the overlapping sound field energy The first ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam and the second ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam within the range are composited to obtain a composite ultrasonic echo signal; and the composite ultrasonic echo signal is processed to obtain an ultrasonic image.

Wherein, compounding the first ultrasonic echo signal of beam synthesis and the second ultrasonic echo signal of beam synthesis within the energy range of the overlapping sound field includes: performing a first interpolation calculation according to the second ultrasonic echo signal of beam synthesis, Obtain the second ultrasonic echo signal at a non-coincident position within the energy range of the coincident sound field. The non-coincident position is the position located on the first receiving line but not on the second receiving line, and the beams at the non-coincident position are combined into the first ultrasound The echo signal is composited with the second ultrasonic echo signal at the non-coincident position to obtain the first composite ultrasonic echo signal.

Wherein, combining the first ultrasonic echo signal of beam synthesis and the second ultrasonic echo signal of beam synthesis within the energy range of the overlapping sound field further includes: the first ultrasonic echo signal synthesized according to the beam and the first ultrasonic echo signal of beam synthesis Perform the second interpolation calculation on the two ultrasonic echo signals to obtain the second combined ultrasonic echo signal of the non-receiving line position within the coincident sound field energy range. The non-receiving line position here is the non-receiving line position within the coincident sound field energy range and is neither located in the first A receiving line is also not located at the position of the second receiving line.

Wherein, combining the first ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam and the second ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam within the overlapping sound field energy range also includes: along the first receiving line and the second receiving line within the overlapping sound field energy range The overlapping position of the receiving line is combined with the beam-synthesized first ultrasonic echo signal and the beam-synthesized second ultrasonic echo signal to obtain the third combined ultrasonic echo signal.

Referring to FIG. 7, the curvature of each first receiving line may be different. Therefore, it can be understood that the receiving lines of the ultrasonic beams transmitted for different times are not completely coincident. Taking five consecutive launches as an example, the overlapping sound field energy range includes: coincident position, non-coincident position, and non-receiving line position; coincident position refers to the position where the receiving line of five transmissions coincides, and non-coincident position includes two situations: Partially (At least twice and at most four times in this example) The position where the receiving lines of the transmission overlap and the position of the receiving line of only one of the transmissions; the non-receiving line position refers to the position where there is no receiving line. Specifically, the second receiving line in the sound field energy range of the second ultrasonic beam may not completely coincide with the first receiving line in the sound field energy range of the first ultrasonic beam. Then, a certain point on the first receiving line may not be on the second receiving line. Of course, there may be an intersection between the first receiving line and the second receiving line, that is to say, there may be some points on the first receiving line. Up is also on the second receiving line.

For a point on the first receiving line but not on the second receiving line (called a non-coincident position), the first interpolation calculation can be performed on the second ultrasonic echo signal of the beam synthesis to obtain the point (that is, the non-coincident position). The echo signal at) is then combined with the first ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam at that point. Wherein, the interpolation calculation can be performed based on the second ultrasonic echo signals synthesized by the beams on two or several second receiving lines near the point.

When compounding non-coincident positions, it can also be realized by weighted summation. For point p, k echo data corresponding to k transmissions are obtained one-to-one, expressed as Echo _i (p), i=1, 2,...,k. Among them, if p is located on the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the i-th transmitted ultrasonic beam, then the echo data Echo _i (p) obtained from the i-th transmission is the echo signal synthesized by the beam on the receiving line. If p is not located on the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the i-th transmitted ultrasonic beam, then the echo data Echo _i (p) obtained from the i-th transmission can be an echo signal synthesized by beams on the receiving line Echo data obtained after interpolation calculation.

The composite echo signal can be expressed as:

For points on both the first receiving line and the second receiving line (referred to as coincidence positions), the first ultrasonic echo signal of beam synthesis and the second ultrasonic echo signal of beam synthesis can be directly combined.

For points that are neither on the first receiving line nor on the second receiving line (referred to as the non-receiving line position), the second ultrasonic echo signal of the beam-synthesized first ultrasonic echo signal and the second ultrasonic echo signal of the beam-synthesis can be performed. Interpolation calculation is performed to obtain multiple interpolated echo signals at the point (that is, the position of the non-receiving line), and the multiple interpolated echo signals are combined to obtain the second combined ultrasonic echo signal. In the second interpolation calculation, it can be performed based on the ultrasonic echo signals synthesized by the beams on two or several receiving lines near the point. The second interpolation calculation and compound processing can be independent two-step processing operations, that is, multiple second interpolation calculation results are obtained first, and then the compound processing result is obtained; the second interpolation calculation and compound processing can also be a single step that is grouped together Operation, that is, directly output the composite processing result of the non-receiving line position.

In one of the embodiments, the second interpolation calculation can be performed based on the first ultrasonic echo signals synthesized by the beams on the two or several first receiving lines near the point to obtain the first interpolated ultrasonic echo of the point Signal, and then perform a second interpolation calculation based on the second ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beams on the two or several second receiving lines near the point to obtain the second interpolated ultrasonic echo signal of the point, and then perform the second interpolation calculation on the second ultrasonic echo signal of the point. An interpolated ultrasonic echo signal and a second interpolated ultrasonic echo signal are combined to obtain the second combined ultrasonic echo signal. When compounding the position of the non-receiving line, it can also be realized by weighted summation.

In one of the embodiments, the second interpolation calculation and composite processing can be performed based on the ultrasonic echo signals on two or more first receiving lines and two or more second receiving lines near the point to directly obtain The second composite ultrasonic echo signal.

Based on the ultrasound imaging system of the foregoing embodiment, FIG. 10 is a schematic flowchart of the ultrasound imaging method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method shown in Figure 10 includes:

S210: Transmit multiple ultrasound beams to the region of interest of the target object;

S220: Receive multiple ultrasonic echoes of ultrasonic beams to obtain multiple ultrasonic echo signals;

S230: Determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beam emitted in each of the multiple transmissions, where the receiving line includes several receiving sections or at least part of the receiving line is a curve;

S240: Process multiple ultrasonic echo signals of the receiving line to obtain an ultrasonic image.

Exemplarily, the area where the receiving line is located can match the energy range of the sound field. Specifically, the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the first ultrasonic beam emitted for the first time matches the sound field energy range of the first ultrasonic beam; the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the second ultrasonic beam emitted for the second time matches the first ultrasonic beam. The sound field energy range of the two ultrasonic beams matches;....

Exemplarily, the linear density of the receiving line changes along the depth direction of the sound field energy range, from the near field to the focal area, the linear density first changes from small to greater, and from the focal area to the far field, the linear density then changes from greater to smaller. That is to say, the linear density of the receiving line at the focal area of the sound field energy range is greater than the linear density of the receiving line at the near field of the sound field energy range, and the linear density of the receiving line at the focal area is greater than that in the sound field energy range. The linear density of the receiving line in the far field.

As an implementation manner, the receiving line includes several discrete receiving segments.

Exemplarily, the sound field energy range includes multiple depth sections divided along the depth direction, each depth section includes multiple receiving sections, and the width of the sound field energy range in which each depth section is located is two adjacent to each other in the depth section. The interval between receiving segments is positively correlated. Or, the ratio of the width of the sound field energy range where each depth section is located to the interval between two adjacent receiving sections in the depth section is equal to the preset value. 5, taking the depth section 16 as an example, the width of the sound field energy range where the depth section 16 is located may be L, the interval between two adjacent receiving sections in the depth section 16 may be L/9, and the ratio of the two is equal to The default value is 1/9.

Wherein, dividing the sound field energy range into multiple depth sections along the depth direction includes: dividing the sound field energy range in the depth direction whose widths of the sound field energy range are not greater than a preset threshold into the same depth section. That is to say, for a depth segment, the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the width of the sound field energy range is smaller than the preset threshold. With reference to Figure 5, it is assumed that the preset threshold can be expressed as δ. Taking the lowest depth section 16 in FIG. 5 as an example, assuming that the maximum value of the width of the sound field energy range in the depth section 16 is L, then the minimum value of the width of the sound field energy range in the depth section 16 should not be less than L-δ.

Wherein, the width of the sound field energy range where each depth section is located is the width of the sound field energy range at any depth position of the depth section; or, the width of the sound field energy range where each depth section is located is the center position of the depth section The width of the sound field energy range. For example, referring to FIG. 5, the width of the sound field energy range where the depth section 16 is located may be the width of the center thereof. Or, where the width of the sound field energy range where each depth section is located is the width of the sound field energy range at any depth position of the depth section. For example, still referring to FIG. 5, the width of the sound field energy range where the depth section 6 is located may be the width of the sound field energy range at any depth position of the corresponding depth section.

Exemplarily, the number of receiving segments included in different depth segments may be equal or unequal; or, when the number of receiving segments included in different depth segments is not equal, the difference in the number of receiving segments included in different depth segments Can be less than the threshold. With reference to Figure 5, each of the 16 depth segments contains 8 receiving segments. Or, it can be understood that a certain depth segment may include N1 receiving segments, another depth segment may include N2 receiving segments, and the absolute value of the difference between N1 and N2 is less than a threshold (for example, equal to 1 or 2 or other values).

Exemplarily, the interval between every two adjacent receiving sections in a depth section is equal. In other words, in a depth section, the receiving section can be uniformly determined.

Exemplarily, when the number of receiving segments included in different depth segments is equal, the receiving lines within the sound field energy range can be regarded as including multiple receiving lines, and each receiving line includes one receiving segment in each depth segment. At this time, two adjacent receiving segments included in one receiving line are staggered in the lateral direction of the sound field energy range. Or in other words, two adjacent receiving segments included in a first receiving line are staggered in the orthogonal direction of the transmitting direction.

Exemplarily, the beam movement direction of the multiple ultrasonic beams transmitted in S210 may be perpendicular to the transmission direction.

Exemplarily, the direction of the receiving section in each depth section and the beam movement direction of the multiple ultrasonic beams form a second preset angle. Wherein, the second preset angle may be equal to 90 degrees.

It is assumed that the multiple ultrasonic beams include a first ultrasonic beam, a second ultrasonic beam, and a third ultrasonic beam. Referring to Figure 8, the beam movement direction of the first ultrasonic beam to the second ultrasonic beam and then to the third ultrasonic beam is the horizontal direction (such as the horizontal direction from left to right), and the direction of the receiving section is the vertical direction. It is vertical. 9, the beam movement direction of the first ultrasonic beam to the second ultrasonic beam and then to the third ultrasonic beam is the arc direction (such as the direction of rotation around the M point, or understood as the tangent direction of the depth section), and the receiving section The direction of is toward the direction of M, and the two are perpendicular.

As another implementation, the receiving line includes a curve. Exemplarily, when at least part of the receiving line is a curve, the curve is a concave curve extending in the depth direction of the sound field energy range. As an example, as shown in Figure 7. Optionally, the curvature of the receiving line at the central axis of the sound field energy range is the smallest. The curvature of the receiving line 4 at the center axis of the sound field energy range as shown in FIG. 7 is the smallest, which is equal to zero.

Exemplarily, when at least part of the receiving line is a curve, the curve includes at least one of the following line types extending in the depth direction of the sound field energy range: a smooth curve, a polyline, a combination of a polyline and a smooth curve, a straight line and a polyline Combination, a combination of a straight line and a smooth curve, or a combination of a straight line and a smooth curve and a polyline. For example, from the near field to the focal area is a straight line down, and from the focal area to the far field is a smooth curve or the receiving section of the depth section 6-16 in Figure 5; for another example, from the near field To the focal zone is the receiving zone of the depth zone 1-6 in Fig. 5, and from the focal zone to the far field is a straight line or a smooth curve; and so on.

Based on the ultrasound imaging system of the foregoing embodiment, Fig. 11 is a schematic flowchart of the ultrasound imaging method of the embodiment of the present invention. The method shown in Figure 11 includes:

S310, controlling the ultrasound probe to emit multiple ultrasound beams to the region of interest of the target object;

S320, controlling the ultrasonic probe to receive the ultrasonic echoes of multiple ultrasonic beams to obtain multiple ultrasonic echo signals;

S330: Determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beam emitted in each of the multiple transmissions, where the receiving line has a varying linear density in the depth direction of the sound field energy range;

S340: Compounding multiple ultrasonic echo signals of the receiving line transmitted multiple times to obtain a composite ultrasonic echo signal;

S350, processing the composite ultrasonic echo signal to obtain an ultrasonic image.

Exemplarily, the area where the receiving line is located matches the energy range of the sound field. In this way, the receiving line can effectively cover the energy range of the transmitted sound field, thereby greatly improving the efficiency of beam synthesis. Specifically, the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the first ultrasonic beam emitted for the first time matches the sound field energy range of the first ultrasonic beam; the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the second ultrasonic beam emitted for the second time matches the first ultrasonic beam. The sound field energy range of the two ultrasonic beams matches;....

Wherein, the receiving line in S330 has a varying linear density in the depth direction of the sound field energy range can be understood to mean that in the depth direction of the sound field energy range, there are at least two different depth positions where the linear density is different. Exemplarily, the linear density of the receiving line at the focal area of the sound field energy range is greater than the linear density of the receiving line at the near field of the sound field energy range, and the linear density of the receiving line at the focal area is greater than the far field of the sound field energy range The linear density of the receiving line.

In one of the implementation manners, along the depth direction of the energy range of the sound field, the linear density from the near field to the focal area increases from small to large, and the linear density from the focal area to the far field decreases from large to small.

In one of the implementations, the sound field energy range can be divided into at least a first sub-segment and a second sub-segment along its depth direction. The receiving line of the first sub-segment has a uniform linear density along the depth direction, and the second sub-segment The receiving line has a varying line density in the depth direction. Wherein, the receiving line of the second sub-segment can be several receiving segments or a curve, as described in the following embodiments in conjunction with FIG. 5 to FIG. 7.

Illustratively, as an example, when the ultrasound imaging system adopts a linear array scanning mode, the emission scan line of the ultrasound beam is perpendicular to the array element arrangement plane. At this time, the first sub-segment can correspond to the near field of the sound field energy range, and the near field The receiving line of has a uniform line density; the second sub-segment can correspond to the focal zone and the far field of the sound field energy range, and the line density of the receiving line of the focal zone is greater than the line density of the receiving line of the far field. Optionally, along the depth direction, the linear density from the focal zone to the far field changes from large to small.

Illustratively, as another example, when the ultrasound imaging system adopts a phased array or convex array scanning mode, the ultrasound beam originates from the same beam starting point on the array plane of the array elements. At this time, the first sub-segment can correspond to the energy range of the sound field. The far field, and the receiving line of the far field has a uniform line density; the second sub-segment can correspond to the near field and the focal zone of the sound field energy range, and the line density of the receiving line of the focal zone is greater than the line density of the receiving line of the near field. Optionally, along the depth direction, the linear density from the near field to the focal zone changes from small to large.

As an implementation manner, the receiving line may include several receiving sections of different depth sections.

Exemplarily, in S330, the sound field energy range can be divided into multiple depth sections along the depth direction, each depth section includes multiple receiving sections, and the width of the sound field energy range where each depth section is located is equal to the depth The ratio of the interval between two adjacent receiving segments in the segment is equal to the preset value.

Or, for example, in S330, the sound field energy range may be divided into multiple depth sections along the depth direction, each depth section includes multiple receiving sections, and the width of the sound field energy range in which each depth section is located is equal to The interval between two adjacent receiving sections in this depth section is positively correlated.

As an example, refer to FIG. 5, where the dashed line shows the sound field energy range and is divided into 16 depth segments along the depth range, such as the depth segments 1 to 16 shown in order from top to bottom on the right side in FIG. 5. And each depth segment includes multiple receiving segments. For example, the lower part of FIG. 5 shows that the depth segment 16 includes 8 receiving segments, which are marked as 1 to 8 respectively.

As another example, refer to FIG. 6, where the dashed line shows the sound field energy range and is divided into multiple depth segments along the depth range. However, to simplify the illustration, only 3 non-adjacent depth segments are shown in FIG. , Are depth sections a, b, and c, and those skilled in the art can easily obtain other depth sections that are not shown.

Exemplarily, when dividing the depth segments, the sound field energy ranges in the depth direction whose widths of the sound field energy range differ by no more than a preset threshold may be divided into the same depth segment. That is to say, for a depth segment, the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the width of the sound field energy range is smaller than the preset threshold. With reference to Figure 5, it is assumed that the preset threshold can be expressed as δ. Taking the lowest depth section 16 in FIG. 5 as an example, assuming that the maximum value of the width of the sound field energy range in the depth section 16 is L, then the minimum value of the width of the sound field energy range in the depth section 16 should not be less than L-δ.

Exemplarily, when dividing the depth section, the sound field energy range may be uniformly divided into a plurality of depth sections along the depth direction. In other words, the depth ranges of different depth segments can be equal. With reference to Figure 5, suppose the depth range of the sound field energy range is H. If it is divided into 16 depth sections, then the depth range of each depth section is H/16. Exemplarily, when dividing the depth section, the sound field energy range may be unevenly divided into multiple depth sections along the depth direction. In other words, the depth ranges of at least some of the different depth segments may be unequal. For example, the depth range of the depth section of the focal zone is larger than the depth range of the depth section of the near field (or far field). Exemplarily, when dividing the depth segment, other criteria may also be considered, and/or other parameters may be used as the dividing basis, which will not be listed here.

Wherein, the width of the sound field energy range where each depth section is located is the width of the sound field energy range at the center position of the depth section. For example, referring to FIG. 5, the width of the sound field energy range where the depth section 16 is located may be the width at the depth position of the center thereof. Or, where the width of the sound field energy range where each depth section is located is the width of the sound field energy range at any depth position of the depth section. For example, still referring to FIG. 5, the width of the sound field energy range where the depth section 6 is located may be the width of the sound field energy range at any depth position within the depth section.

Optionally, several receiving sections included in one depth section may be parallel to each other. Exemplarily, the direction of each receiving section and the transmitting direction of the first ultrasonic beam form a first preset angle, or in other words, the angle between the direction of each receiving section and the transmitting direction of the first ultrasonic beam is less than the error angle . For example, in Figure 5, the transmitting direction is vertically downward, and the direction of the receiving section may be vertically upward, and both are vertical. The first preset angle may be 0 degrees and less than the error angle ( For example, 2 degrees or other values); or, optionally, the transmitting direction is vertically downward, and there is a certain angle between the direction of the receiving section and the vertical direction, such as 1 degree, that is, the first preset angle It can be 1 degree and smaller than the error angle (for example, 2 degrees or other values).

Optionally, several receiving segments included in one depth segment may intersect at one point. Exemplarily, each receiving section intersects at a point with an extension line in a direction opposite to the emission direction of the first ultrasonic beam. For example, in FIG. 6, the upward extension lines of the six receiving segments with arrows in the depth segment a intersect at the point M.

Exemplarily, in one embodiment, within the overlapping sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beams emitted multiple times, the positions of the receiving lines corresponding to each emission that form the overlapping sound field energy range overlap. As shown in Figure 8, point q is located within the sound field energy range where the first ultrasonic beam and the second ultrasonic beam overlap. Within the overlap range, the first receiving line and the second receiving line overlap, and q is located at both the first receiving line and the second receiving line. On the second receiving line, but because point q is located in the sound field range of the third ultrasonic beam, q is not on the third receiving line; point p is located on the sound field where the first ultrasonic beam, the second ultrasonic beam and the third ultrasonic beam coincide Within the energy range, the first receiving line, the second receiving line, and the third receiving line overlap within the overlapping range, and p is located on the first receiving line, the second receiving line, and the third receiving line.

Further, the position where the composite is performed is the coincident position of the receiving line within the energy range of the coincident sound field. Correspondingly, S340 may include: performing beam synthesis processing on the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to each transmission according to the receiving line at the coincident position to obtain the ultrasonic echo signal of multiple beam synthesis; and the ultrasonic echo signal of the multiple beam synthesis Perform compounding to obtain a compound ultrasonic echo signal. With reference to Figure 8, where p is on both the first receiving line, the second receiving line and the third receiving line. Then the composite is performed at point p, and the composite ultrasonic echo signal at this point can be obtained. With reference to Figure 9, where p is on both the first receiving line, the second receiving line and the third receiving line. Then the composite is performed at point p, and the composite ultrasonic echo signal at this point can be obtained. The specific compounding method can refer to the weighted sum method described above, and the description will not be repeated here.

As another implementation manner, the receiving line may include a curve, or at least part of the receiving line is a curve. In the embodiment of the present invention, that the receiving line includes a curve means that the curvature of at least one segment of the receiving line is not equal to zero. Exemplarily, the receiving line may be a continuous smooth curve, or a broken line segment, or a combination of the two, or the like. Among them, a smooth curve refers to a curve with continuous curvature.

As an example, the receiving line may be a concave curve extending in the depth direction of the sound field energy range. Optionally, the curvature of the receiving line at the central axis of the sound field energy range is the smallest, for example, the curvature of the receiving line at the central axis is equal to zero. As shown in FIG. 7, 7 receiving lines are shown, and each receiving line extends along the depth direction. In FIG. 7, 7 receiving lines are marked with serial numbers 1 to 7 respectively. Among them, the receiving line located at the central axis of the sound field energy range is the receiving line 4 with the smallest curvature. Specifically, the receiving line is from 1 to 4, and the curvature is changed from large to small, and the receiving line is from 4 to 7, and the curvature is from small to large.

As another example, the receiving line may include at least one of the following line types extending in the depth direction of the sound field energy range: a smooth curve, a polyline, a combination of a polyline and a smooth curve, a combination of a straight line and a polyline, a combination of a straight line and a smooth curve , Or the combination of straight line, smooth curve and polyline.

For example, the straight line from the near field to the focal zone is a straight line downward, and the curve from the focal zone to the far field is a smooth curve or the receiving section as shown in FIG. 5. For example, from the near field to the focal zone is the receiving section as shown in FIG. 6, and from the focal zone to the far field is a straight line or a smooth curve. and many more.

As another implementation manner, the sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beam is divided into at least a first sub-segment and a second sub-segment along its depth direction. Correspondingly, the receiving line includes the first sub-segment receiving line and the second sub-segment receiving line, The first sub-segment receiving line is a straight receiving line, and the second sub-segment receiving line is a curve or includes several receiving segments.

Illustratively, as an example, the emission scan line of the ultrasonic beam is perpendicular to the array element arrangement plane, at this time the first sub-segment corresponds to the near field of the sound field energy range, and the receiving line of the near field has a uniform line density; The segment corresponds to the focal zone and the far field of the sound field energy range, and the linear density of the receiving line in the focal zone is greater than the linear density of the first receiving line in the far field. Optionally, along the depth direction, the linear density from the focal zone to the far field changes from large to small.

Illustratively, as another example, the ultrasonic beam originates from the same beam starting point on the array plane of the array element or behind the array element plane. At this time, the first sub-segment corresponds to the far field of the sound field energy range, and the receiving line of the far field has a consistent The line density of the second sub-segment corresponds to the near field and focal zone of the sound field energy range, and the line density of the receiving line in the focal zone is greater than the line density of the receiving line in the near field. Optionally, along the depth direction, the linear density from the near field to the focal zone changes from small to large.

Exemplarily, when the receiving line is a curve, or when the intervals between the receiving sections of the same depth section are not completely equal, within the overlapping sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beams emitted multiple times, each time of the overlapping sound field energy range is formed The position of the receiving line corresponding to the emission coincides at most.

Further, the position for compounding may include a non-coincident position of the receiving line within the energy range of the overlapping sound field, and the non-coincident position is a position where a part of the receiving line corresponding to multiple transmissions overlaps or the position of a single receiving line. Correspondingly, S340 may include: performing a first interpolation calculation based on the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to one or multiple transmissions of the multiple transmissions to obtain the interpolated echo signal of the non-coincident position; and the interpolated echo signal based on the non-coincident position and The ultrasonic echo signals of the receiving lines in the non-coincident position are combined to obtain the first composite ultrasonic echo signal. The method of compounding in non-coincident positions can also adopt the method of weighted summation, and the description will not be repeated here.

Among them, the first interpolation calculation is performed based on the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to one or multiple transmissions of multiple transmissions, including: signal processing of the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to one or multiple transmissions of multiple transmissions to obtain phase information And perform the first interpolation calculation based on the ultrasonic echo signal with phase information. The signal processing here may include one or more of the following processing links: beam synthesis and quadrature demodulation.

Further, the position for compounding may also include a non-receiving line position within the overlapping sound field energy range, where the non-receiving line position is a position within the overlapping sound field energy range that is not located on any receiving line corresponding to multiple transmissions. Correspondingly, S340 may include: performing a second interpolation calculation according to the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to each transmission of the multiple transmissions to obtain multiple interpolated echo signals at the position of the non-receiving line; compounding the multiple interpolated echo signals, Obtain the second composite ultrasonic echo signal. The second interpolation calculation and compound processing may be independent two-step processing operations, that is, multiple interpolation calculation results are obtained first, and then the compound processing result is obtained; the second interpolation calculation and compound processing may also be a single-step operation combined together, That is, the composite processing result of the non-receiving line position is directly output.

In one of the implementations, the second interpolation calculation can be performed based on the ultrasonic echo signals with phase information on two or several receiving lines corresponding to each transmission near a certain point on the non-receiving line position to obtain the The multiple interpolated ultrasonic echo signals of the point, and then the multiple interpolated ultrasonic echo signals are composited to obtain the second composite ultrasonic echo signal. When compounding the position of the non-receiving line, it can also be realized by weighted summation.

In one of the embodiments, the second interpolation calculation and composite processing can be performed based on the ultrasonic echo signals with phase information on two or several receiving lines corresponding to each transmission near a certain point on the non-receiving line position, The second composite ultrasonic echo signal is directly obtained.

Further, the position for compounding may also include the overlapping position of the receiving line within the energy range of the overlapping sound field, and the overlapping position is the position where the receiving line corresponding to each emission forming the overlapping sound field energy range overlaps. Correspondingly, S340 may further include: performing composite according to the ultrasonic echo signals of the receiving lines at the coincident position to obtain a second composite ultrasonic echo signal.

Referring to FIG. 7, the curvature of each receiving line may be different. Therefore, it can be understood that the receiving lines of ultrasonic beams transmitted for different times are not completely coincident. Taking three transmissions as an example, the first sampling point on the first receiving line within the sound field energy range of the first transmission may be located on the second receiving line within the sound field energy range of the second transmission, but not on the third receiving line. On the third receiving line within the energy range of the sound field of the second emission, the second sampling point on the first receiving line may be neither on the second receiving line nor on the third receiving line, and the third sampling point may not be It is located on any one of the first receiving line, the second receiving line, and the third receiving line. The first sampling point and the second sampling point are both non-coincident positions within the overlapping sound field energy range, and the third sampling point is the non-receiving line position within the overlapping sound field energy range. Of course, different receiving lines may have intersections.

When compounding is performed for the non-coincident position of the first sampling point, since the first sampling point is not located on the third receiving line, the first sampling point corresponds to the lack of echo data obtained from the third transmission. In this case, it can be based on the third transmission. The obtained echo data at other positions is subjected to a first interpolation calculation to obtain an interpolated echo signal at the first sampling point. For example, data on multiple third receiving lines around the first sampling point may be used for the first interpolation calculation.

When performing composite for the second sampling point, which is a non-coincident position, since the second sampling point is neither located on the second receiving line nor the third receiving line, the second sampling point corresponds to the lack of the second transmission and the third transmission. At this time, the first interpolation calculation can be performed based on the echo data of other positions obtained in the second transmission and the third transmission, respectively, to obtain the echo signals corresponding to the two transmissions at the second sampling point. For example, data on multiple second receiving lines and third receiving lines around the second sampling point may be used for the first interpolation calculation. In this example, the interpolated echo signal corresponding to the second transmission and the interpolated echo signal corresponding to the third transmission can be obtained respectively, and then the first ultrasonic echo signal at the second sampling point and the interpolated echo signal corresponding to the second transmission can be obtained. The echo signal is composited with the interpolated echo signal corresponding to the third transmission. In this example, it is also possible to obtain the composite result of the second emission and the third emission at the same time during the interpolation calculation of the second sampling point, and then perform the calculation based on the composite result and the first ultrasonic echo signal of the second sampling point. Compound processing.

When compounding the third sampling point, which is a non-receiving line position, because the third sampling point is not located on the receiving line corresponding to any one of the three transmissions, the third sampling point corresponds to the lack of echo data obtained from these three transmissions. The second interpolation calculation can be performed on the echo data of other positions obtained from the first, second, and third transmissions respectively to obtain multiple interpolated echo signals at the third sampling point, and then perform a second interpolation calculation on multiple echo signals at the third sampling point. The interpolated echo signal is subjected to composite processing to obtain the second composite ultrasonic echo signal at the third sampling point.

In combination with the above description, it can be seen that when performing composite calculations for the non-coincident position and the non-receiving line position, interpolation calculation can be carried out based on the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to one or several transmissions of multiple transmissions to obtain the non-coincident position and the non-receiving line position The echo signal at the location, and then composite. For the coincident position, the ultrasonic echo signals of the receiving line can be directly combined.

Exemplarily, S350 may include: processing at least two composite echo signals among the first composite ultrasonic echo signal, the second composite ultrasonic echo signal, and the third composite ultrasonic echo signal to obtain ultrasonic image. For example, the first composite ultrasonic echo signal and the third composite ultrasonic echo signal may be processed, that is, based on the points on the receiving line within the energy range of the sound field transmitted multiple times to obtain the ultrasonic image. At this time, the third interpolation calculation can also be performed according to the composite ultrasonic echo signal to obtain the ultrasonic echo data of the non-composite position within the overlapping sound field energy range; and the composite ultrasonic echo signal and the ultrasonic echo of the non-composite position The data is processed to obtain an ultrasound image. In this way, through the third interpolation calculation, the ultrasound echo data at more positions can be obtained based on the ultrasound echo data at the sampling point, so that the obtained ultrasound image can contain more information and make the resolution higher. more precise. For example, the first composite ultrasonic echo signal, the second composite ultrasonic echo signal, and the third composite ultrasonic echo signal can be processed, that is, the processing is performed based on each sampling point in the energy range of the sound field of multiple shots. , Get an ultrasound image. Since the compounding process includes interpolation and compounding of the position of the non-receiving line, the ultrasound image obtained at this time can contain more information. The foregoing first interpolation calculation and second interpolation calculation are used to correspond to and distinguish the calculation process of different positions in the sound field range, but the calculation method itself may be the same or different.

Based on the ultrasound imaging system of the foregoing embodiment, FIG. 12 is a schematic flowchart of the ultrasound imaging method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method shown in Figure 12 includes:

S410: Transmit an ultrasound beam to the region of interest of the target object, and perform multiple ultrasound scans;

S420: Receive the ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic beam, and obtain the ultrasonic echo signal;

S430. Determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasound beam during each ultrasound scan in the multiple ultrasound scans, where the sound field energy range is divided into at least a first sub-segment and a second sub-segment along its depth direction, and the first sub-segment The receiving line of is a straight receiving line, and the receiving line of the second subsection is curved or includes several receiving sections;

S440, composite the ultrasonic echo signals of the receiving line of each ultrasonic scan to obtain a composite ultrasonic echo signal;

S450, processing the composite ultrasonic echo signal to obtain an ultrasonic image.

As an implementation method, when the linear array scanning mode is adopted, the emission scan line of the ultrasonic beam of each ultrasonic scan is perpendicular to the arrangement plane of the array element that emits the ultrasonic beam; the first sub-segment corresponds to the near field of the sound field energy range. The receiving line of the field has a uniform line density; the second sub-segment corresponds to the focal zone and the far field of the sound field energy range, and the line density of the receiving line of the focal zone is greater than the line density of the receiving line of the far field. For example, the receiving line of the near field may be the vertical downward receiving line of the near field as shown in FIG. 1(b). In this example, the linear density of the receiving line at the focal region of the sound field energy range may be greater than the linear density of the receiving line at the near field of the sound field energy range. Alternatively, the linear density of the focal zone may be equal to the linear density of the near field.

As another implementation method, when the phased array or convex array scanning mode is adopted, the ultrasonic beams of multiple ultrasonic scans include the same beam starting point located on the arrangement plane of the array elements that emit the ultrasonic beams, or the ultrasonic waves of multiple ultrasonic scans. The beam includes a plurality of beam starting points located on the arrangement plane of the array elements emitting ultrasonic beams, and the reverse extension lines of the transmission scan lines of the ultrasonic beams emitted from the plurality of beam starting points intersect at a point behind the arrangement plane. The first sub-segment corresponds to the far field of the sound field energy range, and the receiving line of the far field has a uniform line density; the second sub-segment corresponds to the near field and focal area of the sound field energy range, and the line density of the receiving line of the focal area is greater than that of the near field. The line density of the receiving line. For example, the receiving line of the far field may be a straight line of the far field as shown in FIG. 1(c). Exemplarily, the linear density of the receiving line at the focal region of the sound field energy range may be greater than the linear density of the receiving line at the far field of the sound field energy range. Alternatively, the linear density of the focal zone can be equal to the linear density of the far field. Exemplarily, along the depth direction of the energy range of the sound field, the linear density from the near field to the focal zone increases from small to large.

As an example, the receiving line of the second sub-segment includes several receiving segments discrete in the depth direction.

Exemplarily, S430 may include: dividing the sound field energy range of the second sub-segment into multiple depth sections along the depth direction, each depth section includes multiple receiving sections, and the sound field energy range in which each depth section is located The width of is positively correlated with the interval between two adjacent receiving sections in the depth section.

Wherein, dividing the sound field energy range into multiple depth sections along the depth direction may include: dividing the sound field energy range in the depth direction whose widths of the sound field energy range are not greater than a preset threshold value into the same depth section. Wherein, the number of receiving segments included in different depth segments is equal; or, the difference between the number of receiving segments included in different depth segments is less than the threshold. Among them, the interval between every two adjacent receiving sections in a depth section is equal.

In combination with the examples of Figures 5 and 6, the part from depth segment 6 to depth segment 16 in Figure 5 can be considered as the second sub-segment, and the upper half of Figure 6 including depth segment a and depth segment b can be considered as the first sub-segment. Two subsections. Therefore, regarding the determination of the receiving line in the second sub-segment in S430, reference may be made to the foregoing description in conjunction with the relevant parts of FIG. 5 and FIG.

Based on the ultrasound imaging system of the foregoing embodiment, FIG. 13 is a schematic flowchart of the ultrasound imaging method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method shown in Figure 13 includes:

S510: Transmit an ultrasound beam to the region of interest of the target object, and perform multiple ultrasound scans;

S520: Receive the ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic beam, and obtain the ultrasonic echo signal;

S530. Determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasound beam during each ultrasound scan in the multiple ultrasound scans, wherein the sound field energy range is divided into at least a first sub-segment and a second sub-segment along its depth direction, the first sub-segment The receiving line of, has a uniform line density along the depth direction, and the receiving line of the second sub-segment has a varying line density in the depth direction;

S540: Perform beam synthesis processing on the ultrasonic echo signal according to the receiving line of each ultrasonic scan to obtain multiple beam synthesized ultrasonic echo signals;

In S550, composite ultrasonic echo signals synthesized by multiple beams to obtain a composite ultrasonic echo signal, and obtain an ultrasonic image accordingly.

Wherein, S550 may include: composite ultrasonic echo signals synthesized by multiple beams to obtain a composite ultrasonic echo signal; processing the composite ultrasonic echo signal to obtain an ultrasonic image.

As an implementation mode, the emission scan line of the ultrasound beam of each ultrasound scan is perpendicular to the arrangement plane of the array element that emits the ultrasound beam; the first sub-segment corresponds to the near field of the sound field energy range, and the receiving line of the near field has a consistent line Density; the second sub-segment corresponds to the focal zone and the far field of the sound field energy range, and the linear density of the receiving line in the focal zone is greater than the linear density of the receiving line in the far field. For example, the receiving line of the near field may be the vertical downward receiving line of the near field as shown in FIG. 1(b). Exemplarily, the linear density of the receiving line at the focal zone of the sound field energy range is greater than the linear density of the receiving line at the near field of the sound field energy range. Alternatively, the linear density of the focal zone is equal to the linear density of the near field. Exemplarily, along the depth direction of the sound field energy range, the linear density from the focal zone to the far field changes from large to small.

As another implementation manner, the ultrasound beams of multiple ultrasound scans include the same beam starting point located on the arrangement plane of the array elements that emit the ultrasound beam, or the ultrasound beams of multiple ultrasound scans include the arrangement plane of the array elements that emit the ultrasound beam. The multiple beam starting points on the above, and the reverse extension lines of the transmission scan lines of the ultrasonic beams emitted from the multiple beam starting points intersect at a point behind the arrangement plane. The first sub-segment corresponds to the far field of the sound field energy range, and the receiving line of the far field has a uniform line density; the second sub-segment corresponds to the near field and focal area of the sound field energy range, and the line density of the receiving line of the focal area is greater than that of the near field. The line density of the receiving line. For example, the receiving line of the far field may be a straight line of the far field as shown in FIG. 1(c). Exemplarily, the linear density of the receiving line at the focal zone of the sound field energy range is greater than the linear density of the receiving line at the far field of the sound field energy range. Or, the linear density of the focal zone is equal to the linear density of the far field. Exemplarily, along the depth direction of the energy range of the sound field, the linear density from the near field to the focal zone increases from small to large.

Exemplarily, S530 may include: dividing the sound field energy range of the second sub-segment into multiple depth sections along the depth direction, each depth section includes multiple receiving sections, and the sound field energy range in which each depth section is located The width of is positively correlated with the interval between two adjacent receiving sections in the depth section.

In combination with the examples of Figures 5 and 6, the part from depth segment 6 to depth segment 16 in Figure 5 can be considered as the second sub-segment, and the upper half of Figure 6 including depth segment a and depth segment b can be considered as the first sub-segment. Two subsections. Therefore, regarding the determination of the receiving line in the second sub-segment in S530, reference may be made to the foregoing description in conjunction with the relevant parts of FIG. 5 and FIG.

Based on the ultrasound imaging system of the foregoing embodiment, FIG. 14 is a schematic flowchart of the ultrasound imaging method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method shown in Figure 14 includes:

S610: Transmit an ultrasonic beam to the region of interest of the target object once;

S620: Receive an ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic beam once to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal;

S630: Determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the primary ultrasonic beam, where the area where the receiving line is located matches the sound field energy range;

S640: Process the ultrasonic echo signal according to the receiving line to obtain an ultrasonic image.

Wherein, the receiving line may be a receiving line within the energy range of the sound field shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. 13 in combination, and will not be repeated here.

Now return to the ultrasound imaging system 10 shown in FIG. 2.

In one embodiment, the transmitting/receiving control circuit 120 is used to excite the ultrasonic probe 110 to transmit an ultrasonic beam to the region of interest of the target object to perform ultrasonic scanning, and receive the ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic beam to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal. The memory 130 is used to store a program executed by the processor 140. The processor 140 is used to determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beam of an ultrasound scan, wherein the line density of the receiving line at the focal area of the sound field energy range is greater than the receiving line at the near field of the sound field energy range The linear density of the receiving line at the focal zone is greater than the linear density of the receiving line at the far field of the sound field energy range; the ultrasonic echo signal is processed according to the receiving line to obtain an ultrasound image. The display 150 is used to display ultrasound images.

In another embodiment, the transmitting/receiving control circuit 120 is used to excite the ultrasonic probe 110 to transmit multiple ultrasonic beams to the region of interest of the target object to perform multiple ultrasonic scans, and receive the ultrasonic echoes of the multiple ultrasonic beams to obtain Multiple ultrasonic echo signals. The memory 130 is used to store a program executed by the processor 140. The processor 140 is configured to: determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beam emitted in each of the multiple transmissions, where the receiving line includes several receiving sections or at least part of the receiving line is a curve; Multiple ultrasound echo signals are processed to obtain ultrasound images. The display 150 is used to display ultrasound images.

In another embodiment, the transmitting/receiving control circuit 120 is used to excite the ultrasonic probe 110 to transmit multiple ultrasonic beams to the region of interest of the target object to perform multiple ultrasonic scans, and receive the ultrasonic echoes of the multiple ultrasonic beams to obtain Multiple ultrasonic echo signals. The memory 130 is used to store a program executed by the processor 140. The processor 140 is used to determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of each ultrasonic beam emitted in multiple transmissions, wherein the receiving line has a varying linear density in the depth direction of the sound field energy range; The multiple ultrasonic echo signals of the receiving line are composited to obtain a composite ultrasonic echo signal; the composite ultrasonic echo signal is processed to obtain an ultrasonic image. The display 150 is used to display ultrasound images.

In another embodiment, the transmitting/receiving control circuit 120 is used to excite the ultrasonic probe 110 to transmit an ultrasonic beam to the region of interest of the target object, perform multiple ultrasonic scans, and receive the ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic beam to obtain the ultrasonic echo signal . The memory 130 is used to store programs executed by the processor 140. The processor 140 is configured to determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beam during each ultrasonic scan in multiple ultrasonic scans, where the sound field energy range is divided into at least a first sub-segment and a second sub-segment along its depth direction, The receiving line of the first subsection is a straight receiving line, and the receiving line of the second subsection is curved or includes several receiving sections; the ultrasonic echo signals of the receiving line of each ultrasound scan are processed and combined to obtain the combined ultrasound Echo signal; and processing the composite ultrasonic echo signal to obtain an ultrasonic image. The display 150 is used to display ultrasound images.

In another embodiment, the transmitting/receiving control circuit 120 is used to excite the ultrasonic probe 110 to transmit an ultrasonic beam to the region of interest of the target object, perform multiple ultrasonic scans, and receive the ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic beam to obtain the ultrasonic echo signal . The memory 130 is used to store a program executed by the processor 140. The processor 140 is configured to determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beam during each ultrasonic scan in multiple ultrasonic scans, where the sound field energy range is divided into at least a first sub-segment and a second sub-segment along its depth direction, The receiving line of the first sub-segment has a uniform linear density along the depth direction, and the receiving line of the second sub-segment has a varying linear density in the depth direction; the ultrasonic echo signal is beam-synthesized according to the receiving line of each ultrasound scan , Obtain the ultrasonic echo signals synthesized by multiple beams; and compound the ultrasonic echo signals synthesized by the multiple beams to obtain a composite ultrasonic echo signal, and obtain an ultrasonic image accordingly. The display 150 is used to display ultrasound images.

In another embodiment, the transmitting/receiving control circuit 120 is used to excite the ultrasonic probe 110 to transmit an ultrasonic beam to the region of interest of the target object, and receive the ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic beam once to obtain the ultrasonic echo signal. The memory 130 is used to store a program executed by the processor 140. The processor 140 is configured to determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the primary ultrasonic beam, where the area where the receiving line is located matches the sound field energy range; processing the ultrasonic echo signal according to the receiving line to obtain an ultrasound image. The display 150 is used to display ultrasound images.

It can be seen that the ultrasound imaging system 10 shown in FIG. 2 can be used to implement the steps of the method shown in any one of FIGS. 3 or 10 to 14 described above.

A person of ordinary skill in the art may realize that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are executed by hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraint conditions of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians can use different methods for each specific application to implement the described functions, but such implementation should not be considered as going beyond the scope of the present invention. In addition, the embodiment of the present invention also provides a computer storage medium on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a computer or a processor, the steps of the ultrasound imaging method shown in any one of FIGS. 3 or 10 to 14 can be realized. For example, the computer storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium.

In one embodiment, the computer program instructions, when run by the computer or processor, cause the computer or processor to perform the following steps: control the ultrasound probe to emit the first ultrasound beam to the region of interest of the target object, and perform an ultrasound scan; The probe receives the first ultrasonic echo of the first ultrasonic beam to obtain the first ultrasonic echo signal; determines the first receiving line within the sound field energy range of the first ultrasonic beam, where the first receiving line at the focal zone of the sound field energy range The linear density of the receiving line is greater than the linear density of the first receiving line at the near field of the sound field energy range, and the linear density of the first receiving line at the focal zone is greater than that of the first receiving line at the far field of the sound field energy range Line density: Perform beam synthesis processing on the first ultrasonic echo signal according to the first receiving line to obtain the beam synthesized first ultrasonic echo signal.

In one embodiment, the computer program instructions, when run by the computer or processor, cause the computer or processor to perform the following steps: control the ultrasound probe to emit multiple ultrasound beams to the region of interest of the target object; control the ultrasound probe to receive multiple ultrasounds The ultrasonic echo of the beam to obtain multiple ultrasonic echo signals; determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beam emitted in each of the multiple transmissions, where the receiving line includes several receiving sections or at least part of the receiving line is Curve; multiple ultrasonic echo signals of the receiving line are processed to obtain an ultrasonic image.

In one embodiment, the computer program instructions, when run by the computer or processor, cause the computer or processor to perform the following steps: control the ultrasound probe to emit multiple ultrasound beams to the region of interest of the target object; control the ultrasound probe to receive multiple ultrasounds The ultrasonic echo of the beam is obtained, and multiple ultrasonic echo signals are obtained; the receiving line within the sound field energy range of each transmitted ultrasonic beam in multiple transmissions is determined, wherein the receiving line has a changing line in the depth direction of the sound field energy range Density: The multiple ultrasonic echo signals of the receiving line transmitted multiple times are composited to obtain a composite ultrasonic echo signal; the composite ultrasonic echo signal is processed to obtain an ultrasonic image.

In one embodiment, the computer program instructions, when run by the computer or processor, cause the computer or processor to perform the following steps: control the ultrasound probe to emit an ultrasound beam to the region of interest of the target object, perform multiple ultrasound scans; control the ultrasound probe Receive the ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic beam to obtain the ultrasonic echo signal; determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beam during each ultrasonic scan in the multiple ultrasonic scans, wherein the sound field energy range is divided into at least the first Sub-segment and the second sub-segment, the receiving line of the first sub-segment is a straight receiving line, the receiving line of the second sub-segment is a curve or includes several receiving segments; the ultrasonic echo signal of the receiving line of each ultrasound scan is performed The composite is processed to obtain a composite ultrasonic echo signal; and the composite ultrasonic echo signal is processed to obtain an ultrasonic image.

In one embodiment, the computer program instructions, when run by the computer or processor, cause the computer or processor to perform the following steps: control the ultrasound probe to emit an ultrasound beam to the region of interest of the target object, perform multiple ultrasound scans; control the ultrasound probe Receive the ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic beam to obtain the ultrasonic echo signal; determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beam during each ultrasonic scan in the multiple ultrasonic scans, wherein the sound field energy range is divided into at least the first Sub-segment and second sub-segment, the receiving line of the first sub-segment has a uniform line density along the depth direction, and the receiving line of the second sub-segment has a varying line density in the depth direction; according to the receiving line pair of each ultrasound scan The ultrasonic echo signal undergoes beam synthesis processing to obtain multiple beam synthesized ultrasonic echo signals; and the multiple beam synthesized ultrasonic echo signals are combined to obtain a composite ultrasonic echo signal, and an ultrasonic image is obtained accordingly.

In one embodiment, the computer program instructions, when run by the computer or processor, cause the computer or processor to perform the following steps: control the ultrasound probe to transmit an ultrasound beam to the region of interest of the target object; control the ultrasound probe to receive an ultrasound beam Ultrasound echo to obtain ultrasonic echo signal; determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the primary ultrasonic beam, where the area where the receiving line is located matches the sound field energy range; process the ultrasonic echo signal according to the receiving line to obtain the ultrasonic image .

The computer storage medium may include, for example, a memory card of a smart phone, a storage component of a tablet computer, a hard disk of a personal computer, a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), a portable compact disk read-only memory ( CD-ROM), USB memory, or any combination of the above storage media. The computer-readable storage medium may be any combination of one or more computer-readable storage media.

In addition, an embodiment of the present invention also provides a computer program product, which contains instructions, which when executed by a computer, cause the computer to execute the steps of the method shown in any one of FIG. 3 or FIG. 10 to FIG. 14.

A person of ordinary skill in the art may be aware that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are executed by hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraint conditions of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians can use different methods for each specific application to implement the described functions, but such implementation should not be considered as going beyond the scope of the present invention.

Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and conciseness of description, the specific working process of the system, device and unit described above can refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device, and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative, for example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and there may be other divisions in actual implementation, for example, multiple units or components may be combined or It can be integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not implemented. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place, or they may be distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments.

In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

If the function is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present invention essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or the part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including Several instructions are used to make a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present invention. The aforementioned storage media include: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, ROM), random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), magnetic disk or optical disk and other media that can store program code .

The above are only specific embodiments of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention. It should be covered within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

An ultrasound imaging method, characterized in that the method includes:

Transmit the first ultrasound beam to the region of interest of the target object, and perform an ultrasound scan;

Receiving the first ultrasonic echo of the first ultrasonic beam to obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal;

Determine the first receiving line within the sound field energy range of the first ultrasonic beam, wherein the linear density of the first receiving line at the focal area of the sound field energy range is greater than that at the near field of the sound field energy range The linear density of the first receiving line, and the linear density of the first receiving line at the focal zone is greater than the linear density of the first receiving line at the far field of the sound field energy range;

Perform beam synthesis processing on the first ultrasonic echo signal according to the first receiving line to obtain a beam synthesized first ultrasonic echo signal.
The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, along the depth direction of the energy range of the sound field, the linear density from the near field to the focal area increases from small, and the linear density from the focal area to the far field increases from Big becomes smaller.
The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first receiving line includes several receiving sections of different depth sections,

The determining the first receiving line within the energy range of the sound field includes:

The sound field energy range is divided into multiple depth sections along the depth direction, each depth section includes multiple receiving sections, and the width of the sound field energy range in which each depth section is located is two adjacent to each other in the depth section. The ratio of the intervals between the receiving segments is equal to the preset value.
The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first receiving line includes several receiving sections of different depth sections,

The determining the receiving line within the energy range of the sound field includes:

The sound field energy range is divided into multiple depth sections along the depth direction, each depth section includes multiple receiving sections, and the width of the sound field energy range in which each depth section is located is two adjacent to each other in the depth section. The interval between the two receiving segments is positively correlated.
The method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the dividing the sound field energy range into a plurality of depth segments along the depth direction comprises:

The sound field energy range in the depth direction whose width of the sound field energy range differs by no more than a preset threshold value is divided into the same depth section.
The method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the width of the sound field energy range where each depth section is located is the width of the sound field energy range at any depth position of the depth section; or, each The width of the sound field energy range where a depth section is located is the width of the sound field energy range at the center position of the depth section.
The method according to any one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that,

The number of receiving segments included in different depth segments is equal; or, the difference in the number of receiving segments included in different depth segments is less than the threshold.
The method according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the interval between every two adjacent receiving sections in a depth section is equal.
The method according to any one of claims 3 to 8, characterized in that,

The direction of each receiving section and the emission direction of the first ultrasonic beam form a first preset angle;

Alternatively, the extension line of each receiving section in a direction opposite to the emission direction of the first ultrasonic beam intersects at a point.
The method according to any one of claims 3 to 9, wherein the depth ranges of different depth sections are equal or unequal.
The method according to any one of claims 3 to 10, characterized in that:

The first receiving line includes discrete receiving sections in different depth sections.
The method according to any one of claims 3 to 11, further comprising:

Transmit a second ultrasound beam to the region of interest, and perform another ultrasound scan;

Receiving a second ultrasonic echo of the second ultrasonic beam to obtain a second ultrasonic echo signal;

Determine the second receiving line within the sound field energy range of the second ultrasonic beam, wherein the second receiving line has a varying linear density in the depth direction of the sound field energy range of the second ultrasonic beam, and the first Within the sound field energy range where an ultrasonic beam coincides with the second ultrasonic beam, the first receiving line coincides with the second receiving line;

Performing beam synthesis processing on the second ultrasonic echo signal according to the second receiving line to obtain a beam synthesized second ultrasonic echo signal;

Composite the first ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam and the second ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam within the overlapped acoustic field energy range to obtain a composite ultrasonic echo signal; and

The composite ultrasonic echo signal is processed to obtain an ultrasonic image.
The method according to claim 12, wherein the first ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam and the second ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam in the overlapping sound field energy range are combined ,include:

Compounding is performed along the overlapping position of the first receiving line and the second receiving line within the energy range of the overlapping sound field to obtain a composite ultrasonic echo signal.
The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the compounding the first ultrasonic echo signal of the beam synthesis and the second ultrasonic echo signal of the beam synthesis comprises:

Time-align the first ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam and the second ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam;

The time-aligned first ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the signal beam and the second ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam are weighted and summed to obtain the combined ultrasonic echo signal.
The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the direction of each receiving section is in a second pre-determined direction with the beam movement direction of the first ultrasonic beam moving to the second ultrasonic beam. Set the angle.
The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first receiving line is a curve extending in the depth direction of the sound field energy range.
The method according to claim 16, further comprising:

Transmit a second ultrasound beam to the region of interest, and perform another ultrasound scan;

Receiving a second ultrasonic echo of the second ultrasonic beam to obtain a second ultrasonic echo signal;

Determine the second receiving line within the sound field energy range of the second ultrasonic beam, wherein the second receiving line is a curve extending in the depth direction of the sound field energy range of the second ultrasonic beam, and the first Within the sound field energy range where the ultrasonic beam and the second ultrasonic beam overlap, the first receiving line and the second receiving line overlap at most parts;

Performing beam synthesis processing on the second ultrasonic echo signal according to the second receiving line to obtain a beam synthesized second ultrasonic echo signal;

Composite the first ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam and the second ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam within the energy range of the overlapping sound field to obtain a composite ultrasonic echo signal; and

The composite ultrasonic echo signal is processed to obtain an ultrasonic image.
The method according to claim 17, wherein the first ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam and the second ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam in the overlapping sound field energy range are combined ,include:

Perform a first interpolation calculation according to the second ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam to obtain a second ultrasonic echo signal at a non-coincident position within the coincident sound field energy range, and the non-coincident position is located in the first receiving Line but not at the position of the second receiving line;

The first ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam in the non-coincident position is combined with the second ultrasonic echo signal in the non-coincident position to obtain the first combined ultrasonic echo signal.
The method according to claim 17, wherein the first ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam and the second ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam in the overlapping sound field energy range are combined ,include:

Perform a second interpolation calculation according to the beam-synthesized first ultrasonic echo signal and the beam-synthesized second ultrasonic echo signal to obtain multiple interpolated echo signals of non-receiving line positions within the overlapping sound field energy range , The multiple interpolated echo signals are combined to obtain a second combined ultrasonic echo signal, and the non-receiving line position is neither in the first receiving line nor in the overlapping sound field energy range The position of the second receiving line.
The method according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the first ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam and the second ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam within the overlapping sound field energy range Compounding also includes:

Along the overlapping position of the first receiving line and the second receiving line within the overlapping sound field energy range, the first ultrasonic echo signal synthesized by the beam and the second ultrasonic echo synthesized by the beam The signals are combined to obtain the third combined ultrasonic echo signal.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 20, wherein the area where the first receiving line is located matches the energy range of the sound field.
An ultrasound imaging method, characterized in that the method includes:

Send multiple ultrasound beams to the region of interest of the target object;

Receiving ultrasonic echoes of the multiple ultrasonic beams to obtain multiple ultrasonic echo signals;

Determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beam emitted in each of multiple transmissions, where:

The sound field energy range includes a plurality of depth sections divided along a depth direction, each depth section includes several receiving sections of the receiving line, and the receiving sections of different depth sections are arranged discretely;

Or, at least part of the receiving line is a curve;

The multiple ultrasonic echo signals of the receiving line are processed to obtain an ultrasonic image.
The method according to claim 22, wherein the linear density of the receiving line changes along the depth direction of the sound field energy range, and the linear density first changes from small to large from the near field to the focal zone. In the far field, the linear density changes from large to small.
The method according to claim 22 or 23, wherein the linear density of the receiving line at the focal zone of the sound field energy range is greater than the linear density of the receiving line at the near field of the sound field energy range, and The linear density of the receiving line at the focal zone is greater than the linear density of the receiving line at the far field of the sound field energy range.
The method according to any one of claims 22 to 24, wherein at least part of the receiving sections of adjacent depth sections are staggered in the transverse direction of the sound field energy range.
The method according to any one of claims 22 to 24, wherein the width of the sound field energy range in which each depth section is located is positively correlated with the interval between two adjacent receiving sections in the depth section.
The method according to claim 25 or 26, wherein the dividing the sound field energy range into a plurality of depth segments along the depth direction comprises:

The sound field energy range in the depth direction whose width of the sound field energy range differs by no more than a preset threshold value is divided into the same depth section.
The method according to claim 26 or 27, wherein the width of the sound field energy range where each depth section is located is the width of the sound field energy range at any depth position of the depth section; or, each depth section is located The width of the sound field energy range is the width of the sound field energy range at the center position of the depth segment.
The method according to any one of claims 25 to 28, characterized in that,

The number of receiving segments included in different depth segments is equal; or, the difference between the number of receiving segments included in different depth segments is less than the threshold.
The method according to any one of claims 25 to 29, wherein the interval between every two adjacent receiving sections in a depth section is equal.
The method according to any one of claims 25 to 30, wherein the direction of the receiving section in each depth section and the beam movement direction of the multiple ultrasonic beams form a second preset angle.
The method according to any one of claims 22 to 24, wherein when at least part of the receiving line is a curve, the curve is a concave curve extending in the depth direction of the sound field energy range.
The method according to any one of claims 22 to 24, wherein when at least part of the receiving line is a curve, the curve includes at least the following line types extending in the depth direction of the sound field energy range One type: smooth curve, polyline, combination of polyline and smooth curve, combination of straight line and polyline, combination of straight line and smooth curve, or combination of straight line and smooth curve and polyline.
The method according to claim 32 or 33, wherein the curvature of the receiving line at the central axis of the sound field energy range is the smallest.
The method according to any one of claims 22 to 34, wherein the area where the receiving line is located matches the energy range of the sound field.
An ultrasound imaging method, characterized in that the method includes:

Control the ultrasound probe to emit multiple ultrasound beams to the region of interest of the target object;

Controlling the ultrasonic probe to receive the ultrasonic echoes of the multiple ultrasonic beams to obtain multiple ultrasonic echo signals;

Determining the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beam emitted in each of the multiple transmissions, wherein the receiving line has a varying linear density in the depth direction of the sound field energy range;

Composite the multiple ultrasonic echo signals of the receiving line that have been transmitted multiple times to obtain a composite ultrasonic echo signal;

The composite ultrasonic echo signal is processed to obtain an ultrasonic image.
36. The method according to claim 36, wherein the linear density of the receiving line at the focal area of the sound field energy range is greater than the linear density of the receiving line at the near field of the sound field energy range, and the focal area The linear density of the receiving line at the position is greater than the linear density of the receiving line at the far field of the sound field energy range.
The method according to claim 37, characterized in that, in the depth direction of the energy range of the sound field, the linear density from the near field to the focal area increases from small, and the linear density from the focal area to the far field increases from Big becomes smaller.
The method according to any one of claims 36 to 38, wherein the receiving line includes several receiving sections of different depth sections,

The determining the receiving line within the energy range of the sound field includes:

The sound field energy range is divided into multiple depth sections along the depth direction, each depth section includes multiple receiving sections, and the width of the sound field energy range in which each depth section is located is two adjacent to each other in the depth section. The ratio of the intervals between the receiving segments is equal to the preset value.
The method according to claim 39, wherein the dividing the sound field energy range into a plurality of depth segments along the depth direction comprises:

The sound field energy range in the depth direction whose width of the sound field energy range differs by no more than a preset threshold value is divided into the same depth section.
The method according to claim 39 or 40, wherein the width of the sound field energy range where each depth section is located is the width of the sound field energy range at any depth position of the depth section; or, each depth section is located The width of the sound field energy range is the width of the sound field energy range at the center position of the depth segment.
The method according to any one of claims 39 to 41, wherein:

The number of receiving segments included in different depth segments is equal; or, the difference in the number of receiving segments included in different depth segments is less than the threshold.
The method according to any one of claims 39 to 42, wherein the interval between every two adjacent receiving sections in a depth section is equal.
The method according to any one of claims 39 to 43, wherein the direction of the receiving section in each depth section forms a predetermined angle with the beam movement direction of the multiple ultrasonic beams.
The method according to any one of claims 39 to 44, wherein the depth ranges of different depth sections are equal or unequal.
The method according to any one of claims 36 to 38, wherein the receiving line is a concave curve extending in the depth direction of the sound field energy range.
The method according to any one of claims 36 to 45, characterized in that, within the sound field energy range of the overlap of the ultrasonic beams emitted multiple times, the positions of the receiving lines corresponding to each emission overlap.
The method according to claim 47, wherein the position for compounding is the overlapping position of the receiving line within the overlapping sound field energy range;

The compounding of the ultrasonic echo signals of the receiving line transmitted multiple times includes:

Perform beam synthesis processing on the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to each transmission according to the receiving line at the coincident position to obtain multiple beam synthesized ultrasonic echo signals; and

The composite ultrasonic echo signals synthesized by the multiple beams are combined to obtain a composite ultrasonic echo signal.
The method according to claim 36 or 46, characterized in that, within the overlapping sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beams transmitted multiple times, the positions of the receiving lines corresponding to each transmission overlap at most.
The method according to claim 49, wherein the position for compounding comprises a non-coincident position of the receiving line within the energy range of the coincident sound field, and the non-coincident position is a position where a part of the receiving line corresponding to multiple transmissions overlaps Or the position of a single receiving line corresponding to multiple transmissions;

The compounding of the ultrasonic echo signals of the receiving line transmitted multiple times includes:

Perform a first interpolation calculation according to the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to the one or multiple transmissions of the multiple transmissions to obtain the interpolation echo signal of the non-coincident position; and

The interpolated echo signal of the non-coincident position and the ultrasonic echo signal of the receiving line of the non-coincident position are combined to obtain a first composite ultrasonic echo signal.
The method according to claim 50, wherein the performing the first interpolation calculation according to the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to one or multiple transmissions of the multiple transmissions comprises:

Signal processing is performed on the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to the one or multiple transmissions of the multiple transmissions to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal with phase information, and a first interpolation calculation is performed based on the ultrasonic echo signal with phase information.
The method according to claim 49 or 50, wherein the position for compounding comprises a non-receiving line position within the energy range of the overlapped sound field, and the non-receiving line position is any position that is not located corresponding to multiple transmissions. The location of the receiving line;

The compounding of the ultrasonic echo signals of the receiving line transmitted multiple times includes:

Perform a second interpolation calculation according to the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to each transmission of the multiple transmissions to obtain multiple interpolation echo signals at the non-receiving line position; and

The multiple interpolated echo signals based on the position of the non-receiving line are combined to obtain a second combined ultrasonic echo signal.
The method according to claim 52, wherein the performing the second interpolation calculation according to the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to each transmission of the multiple transmissions comprises:

Signal processing is performed on the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to each of the multiple transmissions to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal with phase information, and a second interpolation calculation is performed based on the ultrasonic echo signal with phase information.
The method according to claim 51 or 53, wherein the signal processing includes one or more of the following processing steps: beam synthesis and quadrature demodulation.
The method according to claim 50 or 52, wherein the position for compounding further comprises the overlapping position of the receiving line within the energy range of the overlapping sound field;

The compounding of the ultrasonic echo signals of the receiving line transmitted multiple times further includes:

The composite is performed according to the ultrasonic echo signal of the receiving line at the coincident position to obtain the third composite ultrasonic echo signal.
The method according to claim 55, wherein said processing said composite ultrasonic echo signal to obtain an ultrasonic image comprises:

Process the first composite ultrasonic echo signal and the third composite ultrasonic echo signal, or process the second composite ultrasonic echo signal and the third composite ultrasonic echo signal , Or process the first composite ultrasonic echo signal, the second composite ultrasonic echo signal, and the third composite ultrasonic echo signal to obtain the ultrasonic image.
The method of claim 48, wherein the method further comprises:

Perform a third interpolation calculation according to the composite ultrasonic echo signal to obtain ultrasonic echo data of a non-composite position within the overlapping sound field energy range; and

The composite ultrasonic echo signal and the ultrasonic echo data of the non-composite position are processed to obtain the ultrasonic image.
An ultrasound imaging method, characterized in that the method includes:

Transmit an ultrasonic beam to the region of interest of the target object and perform multiple ultrasonic scans

Receiving the ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic beam to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal;

Determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasound beam during each ultrasound scan in multiple ultrasound scans, wherein the sound field energy range is divided into at least a first sub-segment and a second sub-segment along its depth direction. The receiving line of the first subsection is a straight receiving line, and the receiving line of the second subsection is curved or includes several receiving sections;

Composite the ultrasonic echo signals of the receiving line of each ultrasonic scan to obtain a composite ultrasonic echo signal; and

The composite ultrasonic echo signal is processed to obtain an ultrasonic image.
An ultrasound imaging method, characterized in that the method includes:

Transmit an ultrasonic beam to the region of interest of the target object and perform multiple ultrasonic scans

Receiving the ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic beam to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal;

Determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasound beam during each ultrasound scan in multiple ultrasound scans, wherein the sound field energy range is divided into at least a first sub-segment and a second sub-segment along its depth direction. The receiving line of the first sub-segment has a uniform linear density along the depth direction, and the receiving line of the second sub-segment has a varying linear density in the depth direction;

Perform beam synthesis processing on the ultrasonic echo signal according to the receiving line of each ultrasonic scan to obtain multiple beam synthesized ultrasonic echo signals; and

The ultrasonic echo signals synthesized by the multiple beams are composited to obtain a composite ultrasonic echo signal, and an ultrasonic image is obtained accordingly.
The method according to claim 58 or 59, wherein the emission scan line of the ultrasound beam of each ultrasound scan is perpendicular to the arrangement plane of the array elements that emit the ultrasound beam;

The first sub-segment corresponds to the near field of the sound field energy range, and the receiving line of the near field has a uniform linear density; the second sub-segment corresponds to the focal area and the far field of the sound field energy range, and the reception of the focal area The line density of the line is greater than the line density of the receiving line of the far field.
The method according to claim 60, characterized in that, along the depth direction of the energy range of the sound field, the linear density from the focal zone to the far field changes from large to small.
The method according to claim 60 or 61, wherein the linear density of the receiving line at the focal region of the sound field energy range is greater than the linear density of the receiving line at the near field of the sound field energy range.
The method according to claim 58 or 59, wherein the ultrasound beams of the multiple ultrasound scans include the same beam starting point located on the arrangement plane of the array elements emitting the ultrasound beam, or the multiple ultrasound beams The ultrasound beam of the ultrasound scan includes a plurality of beam start points located on the arrangement plane of the array elements emitting the ultrasound beam, and the reverse extension lines of the transmission scan lines of the ultrasound beams emitted from the plurality of beam start points are arranged Intersect at one point behind the plane;

The first sub-segment corresponds to the far field of the sound field energy range, and the receiving line of the far field has a uniform linear density; the second sub-segment corresponds to the near field and the focal area of the sound field energy range, and the reception of the focal area The linear density of the line is greater than the linear density of the receiving line of the near field.
The method according to claim 63, wherein the linear density of the receiving line at the focal region of the sound field energy range is greater than the linear density of the receiving line at the far field of the sound field energy range.
The method according to claim 63 or 64, wherein, along the depth direction of the energy range of the sound field, the linear density from the near field to the focal zone increases from small to large.
The method according to any one of claims 59 to 65, wherein the receiving line of the second sub-segment includes several receiving segments discrete in the depth direction.
The method according to claim 66, wherein the determining the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beam comprises:

The sound field energy range of the second sub-segment is divided into a plurality of depth sections along the depth direction, each depth section includes a plurality of receiving sections, and the width of the sound field energy range in which each depth section is located is equal to the depth The interval between two adjacent receiving segments in the segment is positively correlated.
The method according to claim 67, wherein the dividing the sound field energy range into a plurality of depth segments along the depth direction comprises:

The sound field energy range in the depth direction whose width of the sound field energy range differs by no more than a preset threshold value is divided into the same depth section.
The method according to claim 67 or 68, wherein the number of receiving segments included in different depth segments is equal; or the difference in the number of receiving segments included in different depth segments is less than a threshold.
The method according to any one of claims 67 to 69, wherein the interval between every two adjacent receiving sections in a depth section is equal.
An ultrasound imaging method, characterized in that the method includes:

Transmit an ultrasonic beam to the region of interest of the target object;

Receiving the ultrasonic echo of the primary ultrasonic beam to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal;

Determining the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the primary ultrasonic beam, wherein the area where the receiving line is located matches the sound field energy range;

The ultrasonic echo signal is processed according to the receiving line to obtain an ultrasonic image.
An ultrasound imaging system, characterized in that it comprises:

Ultrasound probe

A transmitting/receiving control circuit for stimulating the ultrasonic probe to transmit an ultrasonic beam to the region of interest of the target object to perform ultrasonic scanning, and receiving the ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic beam to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal;

A memory for storing programs executed by the processor;

Processor for:

Determine the receiving line within the sound field energy range of the ultrasonic beam of an ultrasound scan, wherein the line density of the receiving line at the focal area of the sound field energy range is greater than the receiving line at the near field of the sound field energy range The linear density of the receiving line at the focal zone is greater than the linear density of the receiving line at the far field of the sound field energy range;

The ultrasonic echo signal is processed according to the receiving line to obtain an ultrasonic image.
An ultrasound imaging system, characterized in that it comprises:

Ultrasound probe

A transmitting/receiving control circuit for stimulating the ultrasonic probe to transmit multiple ultrasonic beams to the region of interest of the target object, and receiving ultrasonic echoes of the multiple ultrasonic beams to obtain multiple ultrasonic echo signals;

A memory for storing programs executed by the processor;

The processor is configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 37 to 58.
A computer storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program implements the steps of any one of claims 1 to 68 when the computer program is executed by a computer or a processor.