WO2022038830A1

WO2022038830A1 - Ultrasonic measurement device and ultrasonic measurement method

Info

Publication number: WO2022038830A1
Application number: PCT/JP2021/015810
Authority: WO
Inventors: 裕久溝田; 雅則北岡; 友輔高麗
Original assignee: 株式会社日立製作所
Priority date: 2020-08-18
Filing date: 2021-04-19
Publication date: 2022-02-24
Also published as: JP2022034304A; JP7397776B2

Abstract

Provided is an ultrasonic measurement device which measures using ultrasonic waves, and with which it is possible to independently match the impedance of ultrasonic waves during transmission and during reception in accordance with the object to be measured and a measurement condition. The ultrasonic measurement device is characterized by comprising a measurement unit which includes an ultrasonic probe, a transmission unit which applies a pulse voltage to a piezoelectric element in the ultrasonic probe, a reception unit which converts and acquires an electrical signal as waveform data, said electrical signal being generated by the piezoelectric element which has received ultrasonic waves, and a control unit which controls the transmission unit and the reception unit, wherein: between the transmission unit and the reception unit, at least the reception unit has a variable matching device; and the control unit has an input device which inputs a frequency component value when the reception unit receives the electrical signal, a storage device which stores frequency-dependent data for a matching value associated with the ultrasonic probe, and a matching control device which controls the variable matching device using the electrical signal and the frequency.

Description

Ultrasonic measuring device, ultrasonic measuring method

The present invention relates to an ultrasonic measuring device and an ultrasonic measuring method for measuring using ultrasonic waves, and is particularly applied to measuring restrained long objects such as railroad rails and pipes and measuring high damping materials. Regarding effective technology.

Ultrasound technology is applied in various fields such as medical care, industry, fishing, and resource exploration. Even in the case of measurement technology, it is used, for example, for abdominal echo, non-destructive inspection, sonar, and visualization of subseafloor structures. In ultrasonic measurement, in most cases, an ultrasonic probe is placed facing the measurement target to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves, and receive and receive scattered waves generated at boundaries with different acoustic impedances (product of sound velocity and density). The resulting waveform signal is processed to obtain the desired result.

At this time, in order to obtain a high signal and low noise reception signal, if the impedance of the probe at the end is the same as the characteristic impedance of the wiring to the end, that is, the impedance on the device side such as an amplifier or receiver. Ideal. Here, the impedance is an electric resistance component in an AC circuit, and in an AC circuit, not only the resistance but also the coil and the capacitor are the resistance components. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, impedance refers to this electrical impedance.

If these impedance values are completely the same, 100% of the electrical energy of the input wave is transmitted to the probe, and strong ultrasonic waves oscillate. Matching the impedance on the device side with the impedance of the probe connected to the end of the wiring is called matching.

If the impedance values are significantly different, strong reflection will occur at the end, electrical energy will not be sufficiently transmitted to the probe, and ultrasonic waves will oscillate from the probe in the form of the reflected wave superimposed on the input wave. Therefore, it may cause strong noise to be oscillated.

The main frequency band used in ultrasonic imaging devices / measuring devices for medical and general industry is about 1 MHz-15 MHz. The impedance of the probe used in this frequency band does not deviate significantly from 50Ω, causing major measurement problems. For this reason, there is little problem in measurement even if no matching is taken.

However, in measuring devices such as physical exploration and concrete inspection, which mainly measure ultrasonic waves in the low frequency band, in order to achieve both low frequency to suppress scattering attenuation and directivity to suppress diffusion attenuation. Both the thickness and the area (opening) of the piezoelectric element, which is the oscillation source of ultrasonic waves, tend to be large. Therefore, the impedance is on the order of kΩ and tends to deviate from 50Ω. When the characteristic impedance on the device side and the impedance of the probe connected to the end of the wiring deviate from each other (mismatch occurs), it is necessary to provide a matching circuit in order to obtain sufficient transmission performance.

When transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, the thickness of the piezoelectric element built into the probe is the main factor that determines the oscillation / reception frequency band of ultrasonic waves. For example, in the case of an ultrasonic probe with a nominal frequency of 5 MHz, a pulse voltage or burst voltage having a main band of 5 MHz is applied to the probe to drive the probe, and the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave in the 5 MHz band emitted from the probe is received. A piezoelectric element converts mechanical vibration into an electric signal to obtain a received waveform. This means that if a matching circuit is provided, the same transmission path will be used both at the time of transmission and at the time of reception, so that the same matching circuit will naturally be used. Since the resonance frequency and the antiresonance frequency peculiar to the probe are relatively close to each other, even the same matching circuit does not significantly affect the performance.

However, in the measurement technology using the non-linear phenomenon of ultrasonic waves, harmonics, harmonics, differential frequencies, and sum frequencies are generated, and the corresponding frequency components are extracted and analyzed from the received waves. Therefore, the frequency band of the transmitted wave and the frequency band of the received wave may be significantly different. In this case, impedance mismatch may occur in the same matching circuit at the time of transmission and reception.

Further, when the high-attenuation material is measured by ultrasonic waves, the high-frequency component may be cut and the low-frequency component may remain mainly due to the reduction in scattering generated when the ultrasonic wave propagates inside the high-attenuation material.
Even in such a case, it is necessary to transmit a strong ultrasonic wave with a frequency that matches the probe at the time of transmission and match it so that it has high sensitivity in the frequency band to be detected at the time of reception. It can happen.

Furthermore, even if a usage method is assumed in which the resonance frequency is largely removed and transmission / reception is performed at an arbitrary frequency, inconsistency may occur on both the transmitting side and the receiving side depending on the transmission frequency.

As a background technology in this technical field, for example, there is a technology such as Patent Document 1. In Patent Document 1, in order to suppress the electrical noise (white noise) of the waveform obtained by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, the addition / averaging process is normally performed by software, but it takes time to acquire the waveform a plurality of times. It is disclosed that the number of receivers used at the same time is increased and the addition / averaging process is performed by hardware.

Further, Patent Document 2 shows a probe for both transmission and reception, and a braking capacitance erasing circuit for changing the resonance frequency of the piezoelectric vibrator to the low frequency side is provided in the receiving line of the piezoelectric vibrator to transmit an ultrasonic signal. It is disclosed that sometimes the piezoelectric vibrator is driven at the resonance frequency, and when the ultrasonic signal is received, the anti-resonance frequency of the piezoelectric vibrator is changed to the low frequency side by the braking capacitance erasing circuit to obtain the maximum reception sensitivity. ..

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-173939 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-153665

As described above, in ultrasonic measurement, when the frequency band of the transmitted wave and the frequency band of the received wave are significantly different, even if the impedance of the device side up to the probe and the impedance of the probe match at the time of transmission, the receiving side Inconsistency will occur and the measurement sensitivity of ultrasonic waves will decrease.

According to Patent Document 1, since the number of receivers used at the same time increases and the value of electrical matching with the probe changes, it is necessary to adjust the variable matching circuit based on the number of receivers to improve the transmission / reception performance. Are listed. However, Patent Document 1 does not mention the above-mentioned problem due to the difference in frequency between transmission and reception.

Further, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 2, it is premised that the frequencies of the transmitted wave and the received wave are the same, and as in Patent Document 1, the problem due to the difference in the frequency at the time of transmission and the frequency at the time of reception is not mentioned.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to independently set the impedance at the time of transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves according to the measurement target and the measurement conditions in the ultrasonic measurement device and the ultrasonic measurement method for measuring using ultrasonic waves. It is an object of the present invention to provide a matching ultrasonic measuring device and ultrasonic measuring method.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is generated by a measuring unit including an ultrasonic probe, a transmitting unit that applies a pulse voltage to the piezoelectric element in the ultrasonic probe, and the piezoelectric element receiving ultrasonic waves. A receiving unit that converts an electric signal and acquires it as waveform data, and a control unit that controls the transmitting unit and the receiving unit are provided, and a variable matching device is provided in at least the receiving unit of the transmitting unit and the receiving unit. The control unit includes an input device for inputting a frequency component value when the receiving unit receives the electric signal, and a storage device for storing frequency-dependent data of matching values corresponding to the ultrasonic probe. It is characterized by having a matching control device for controlling the variable matching device with reference to the frequency of the electric signal.

Further, the present invention is an ultrasonic measurement method for measuring a subject using ultrasonic waves, based on a step of reading an input of an ultrasonic reception frequency as one of the measurement conditions and the reception frequency. It is characterized by having a step of performing impedance adjustment of a variable matching circuit on the receiving side of ultrasonic waves.

According to the present invention, in an ultrasonic measuring device and an ultrasonic measuring method for measuring using ultrasonic waves, the impedances at the time of transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves can be independently matched according to the measurement target and the measurement conditions. It is possible to provide an ultrasonic measuring device and an ultrasonic measuring method.

This makes it possible to maximize the output at the time of transmission and the sensitivity at the time of reception, respectively, and realize highly accurate measurement by ultrasonic waves.

Issues, configurations and effects other than those described above will be clarified by the explanation of the following embodiments.

It is a schematic block diagram of the ultrasonic measuring apparatus which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram of the data stored in a storage device. It is a flowchart which shows the ultrasonic wave measurement method which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the impedance matching method on the transmitting side and the receiving side which concerns on Example 3 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the frequency characteristic of the impedance matching value which concerns on Example 3 of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the ultrasonic measuring apparatus which concerns on Example 4 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the ultrasonic wave measurement method which concerns on Example 4 of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals, and the detailed description of the overlapping portions will be omitted.

The configuration and operation (action) of the ultrasonic measuring device according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the ultrasonic measuring device 1 of this embodiment. The ultrasonic measuring device 1 of this embodiment is roughly divided into a measuring unit 2 including an ultrasonic probe, a transmitting unit 3, a receiving unit 4, a control / processing unit (computer) 5, and a display unit 6. Although FIG. 1 shows an example in which the display unit 6 is included as the configuration of the ultrasonic wave measuring device 1, the display unit 6 may be installed independently of the ultrasonic wave measuring device 1.

The measuring unit 2 mainly consists of an ultrasonic probe, a subject, and a jig for fixing them (not shown). The ultrasonic probe may be a single type probe having a single element or an array probe having a plurality of elements.

The transmitting unit 3 and the receiving unit 4 match not only the transmitting unit 3 but also the receiving unit 4 on their respective lines, thereby maximizing the transmission efficiency of electric power to the ultrasonic probe at the time of transmission and transmitting strong ultrasonic waves. At the same time as oscillating, vibration can be converted into an electric signal by a piezoelectric element (not shown) at the time of reception, and the electric signal can be efficiently transmitted to the receiver.

The transmission unit 3 includes a pulsar 7, an amplifier 8, and a variable matching device A (9). In the pulsar 7, the shape and voltage of the transmission pulse received by the input device 10 of the control / processing unit (computer) 5 or the transmission pulse stored in the storage device 11 are repeated, and a signal is sent to the amplifier 8 based on a value such as a frequency. Send. The amplifier 8 amplifies the transmitted signal based on the amplification value.

In the variable matching device A (9), the impedances of the ultrasonic probe of the amplifier 8 and the measuring unit 2 are matched with reference to the value of the transmission frequency. In the matched state, a voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element in the ultrasonic probe to oscillate the ultrasonic wave.

The receiving unit 4 includes another variable matching device B (12) and a receiver 13. In the variable matching device B (12), the impedances of the ultrasonic probe and the receiver 13 are matched with reference to the value of the receiving frequency. In the matched state, the electric signal generated by receiving the ultrasonic wave by the piezoelectric element is amplified, A / D converted, etc., acquired as waveform data, and the received waveform data of the control / processing unit (computer) 5 described later is stored. Transfer data to memory.

Variable matching is continuously adjusted by an electronic circuit that includes either a variable capacitor, a variable coil, or a variable resistor, or a matching circuit is built using multiple non-variable capacitors, coils, resistors, etc. to make a switch. It can be adjusted discretely by controlling the connection with.

The control / processing unit (computer) 5 includes a storage device 11, a transmission / reception control device 14, an input device 10, and a matching control device 15.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the data stored in the storage device 11. In the storage device 11, in addition to the reception frequency data characteristic of the present invention and the values as transmission / reception conditions received by the input device 10 of FIG. 1, transmission frequency data, probe specification data, display (gate) conditions, and transmission Stores waveform data, received waveform data, received waveform analysis data, etc.

The transmission / reception control device 14 has a function of controlling the voltage of the transmission pulse voltage, the pulse width, the repetition frequency, the amplification value, the sampling frequency, the data storage timing, and the like.

The input device 10 is composed of a general device for inputting by means such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch panel.

The matching control device 15 uses the variable matching device A (9) in the transmitting unit 3 and another variable matching device B (12) in the receiving unit 4 for the frequency used for transmission stored in the storage device 11 and for receiving. Sometimes it can be controlled using the desired frequency.

The display unit 6 has a function of displaying measured raw waveforms, processed waveforms, image reconstruction results, etc., in addition to values necessary for controlling ultrasonic wave transmission / reception and recording conditions.

Although not essential as the configuration of the present invention, a scanning unit is required when scanning the ultrasonic probe. The scanning unit includes a scanner and a scanner control device. The scanner fixes, scans, and moves the ultrasonic probe and the subject. The scanner control device scans and moves the ultrasonic probe and the subject within a predetermined timing and range based on the scanning conditions stored in the control / processing unit (computer) 5, and the relative between the ultrasonic probe and the subject. You can change the positional relationship.

As described above, in the ultrasonic measuring device 1 of the present embodiment, the measuring unit 2 including the ultrasonic probe, the transmitting unit 3 for applying the pulse voltage to the piezoelectric element in the ultrasonic probe, and the piezoelectric element are ultrasonic waves. It includes a receiving unit 4 that converts an electric signal generated in response to the signal and acquires it as waveform data, and a control unit (control / processing unit 5) that controls the transmitting unit 3 and the receiving unit 4, and the transmitting unit 3 and the receiving unit 3 are provided. Of the four, at least the receiving unit 4 has the variable matching device B (12), and the control unit (control / processing unit 5) inputs the frequency component value when the receiving unit 4 receives the electric signal. It has an input device 10, a storage device 11 for storing frequency-dependent data of matching values corresponding to an ultrasonic probe, and a matching control device 15 for controlling a variable matching device B (12) with reference to the frequency of an electric signal. is doing.

According to this embodiment, the impedances at the time of transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves can be independently matched according to the measurement target and the measurement conditions.

Further, even if the frequency band at the time of transmission and the frequency band at the time of reception are different, the measurement performance can be improved by maximizing the output at the time of transmission and the sensitivity at the time of reception.

The inspection method using the ultrasonic measuring apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the ultrasonic measurement method of this embodiment. The basic inspection method as a base is the same as that of a general ultrasonic imaging device.

First, in step S000, ultrasonic measurement is started. Next, in step S001, the measurement conditions are read. Here, the reception frequency, which is the data to be read in step S001, which is a feature of the present invention, is input from the input device 10 to the storage device 11 in step S008. The reception frequency is a value to be input when the frequency of particular interest can be predicted from the frequency distribution included in the desired reception signal.

For example, if f is the main frequency included in the transmitted wave and you want to detect the harmonics of f / 2, 2f, 3f, etc. with high sensitivity due to the non-linear phenomenon generated between transmission and reception, 2 frequencies ( There is a case where it is desired to detect the frequency of fa-fb, which is the difference frequency component of two waves, with high sensitivity by using a parametric wave in which fa, fb: fb <fa) is mixed.

Other general measurement conditions to be read include, as described above, as transmission / reception setting conditions, a voltage waveform applied to the ultrasonic probe, a repetition frequency for repeating transmission / reception, and, if necessary, a peak of the reception waveform. Time gates for extracting intensities, frequency filters, etc. can be mentioned.

For the voltage waveform applied to the ultrasonic probe, it is advisable to generate a transmission waveform in advance by reading a constant into a specific function in step S007 or using arbitrary waveform data.

After the reading of the measurement conditions is completed in step S001, the values of the variable matching device A (9) of the transmitting unit 3 and the variable matching device B (12) of the receiving unit 4 are described later by the matching control device 15 in step S002. Then, the transmitting unit 3 and the receiving unit 4 match each other.

After impedance matching (adjustment) on the transmitting side and the receiving side is completed in step S002, ultrasonic waves are transmitted to the subject in step S003, ultrasonic waves are received in step S004, and the received waveform is displayed in step S005. Displayed in 6 or stored in the storage device 11, the measurement is completed in step S006.

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, impedance adjustment on the transmitting side and the receiving side in step S002 of the second embodiment (FIG. 3) will be described in detail. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an impedance matching method on the transmitting side and the receiving side of this embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the frequency characteristics of the impedance matching value.

First, matching in the transmission unit 3 is started in step S100.

Next, in step S101, the strongest frequency component included in the input waveform (transmission waveform) is read as an input value. In most cases, a value close to the resonance frequency, which is affected by the thickness of the piezoelectric vibrator inside the ultrasonic probe, will be input. However, as an exception, ultrasonic waves are oscillated at a frequency that is significantly deviated from the resonance frequency, for example, by intentionally deviating from the resonance frequency by applying a voltage of about 100 kHz even if the resonance frequency is 5 MHz. can do.

In any case, in the next step S102, the frequency to be oscillated is input to the matching control device 15 of the control / processing unit (computer) 5, and the impedance of the ultrasonic probe at that frequency is the impedance of the amplifier 8 (usually 50Ω). ), The impedance of the variable matching device A (9) is adjusted by the matching control device 15.

After the impedance adjustment of the transmitting unit 3 is completed, matching in the receiving unit 4 is started in step S103.

Subsequently, in step S104, as described above, the value of the desired frequency component in the obtained received signal is read as an input value.

Next, in step S105, the frequency to be oscillated is input to the matching control device 15 of the control / processing unit (computer) 5, so that the impedance of the ultrasonic probe at that frequency matches the impedance of the receiver 13 (also usually 50Ω). The impedance of the variable matching device B (12) is adjusted by the matching control device 15.

Finally, in step S106, the adjustment of the variable matching device A (9) of the transmitting unit 3 and the variable matching device B (12) of the receiving unit 4 is completed, and the process moves to the transmission of the ultrasonic wave in step S003 in FIG. ..

A method of obtaining the impedance value of the variable matching of the transmitting unit 3 and the receiving unit 4 will be described using a typical matching circuit using the coil and the capacitor shown in FIG. For the value of the coil and capacitor required for impedance matching, grasp the frequency characteristics of the impedance of the ultrasonic probe in advance with an impedance analyzer, etc., and match it with the impedance on the ultrasonic measuring device side (usually 50Ω) at the frequency you want to match. It can be obtained by finding the impedance of the ultrasonic probe and solving the simultaneous equations.

In this simultaneous equation, each equation is solved so that the impedance resistance and reactance of the ultrasonic probe are matched with the impedance resistance (usually 50Ω) and reactance (usually 0Ω) on the device side as well. .. The impedance of variable matching may be controlled according to the solution of this simultaneous equation.

Therefore, it is advisable to link the probe model number of the ultrasonic probe and the impedance frequency characteristic data and store them in the storage device 11, specify the probe model number at the measurement preparation stage, and obtain the value to be adjusted by variable matching. ..

The configuration and operation (action) of the ultrasonic measuring device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of the ultrasonic measuring device 1 of this embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the ultrasonic measurement method of this embodiment.

In this embodiment, a case where the received signal obtained for the transmitted signal cannot be predicted, that is, a case where the frequency included in the received signal cannot be predicted will be described.

As shown in FIG. 6, the ultrasonic measuring device 1 of the present embodiment includes an input / control unit 16 in place of the control / processing unit (computer) 5 of the first embodiment (FIG. 1). Is different. Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment (FIG. 1).

The input / control unit 16 includes a storage device 11, a transmission / reception frequency input device 17, an input waveform control device 18, a reception waveform evaluation device 19, and a variable matching control device 20.

If the frequency included in the received signal cannot be predicted, the received waveform evaluation device 19 may be provided in the input / control unit 16 and the received waveform may be frequency-analyzed.

The measurement method at this time will be described with reference to FIG. 7. It is the same up to step S005 shown in Example 2 (FIG. 3).

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, first, in step S201, the received waveform is subjected to frequency analysis represented by the Fourier transform.

Next, in step S202, peak analysis of the frequency distribution of the frequency analysis result is performed, and the peak frequency is extracted and stored.

Subsequently, in step S203, the reception frequency is re-input based on the result obtained in step S202. At this time, there may be a plurality of peak frequencies.

Next, the measurement conditions are reloaded in step S204, and the impedance of the variable matching device B (12) of the receiving unit 4 is readjusted in step S205.

Subsequently, the ultrasonic wave is transmitted in step S206, the ultrasonic wave is received in step S207, and the measurement result is displayed and saved in step S208.

Next, in step S209, the variable matching device B (12) of the receiving unit 4 is readjusted at all the extracted frequencies to determine whether the measurement is completed. If it is not completed, the process returns to step S203, and if it is completed, the measurement is completed in step S210.

By adopting such a method, for example, when ultrasonic waves are propagated to a high attenuation material for measurement, it is included in the received signal rather than the frequency distribution included in the transmitted signal due to the scattering attenuation of the high frequency component. It is also possible to deal with cases where it is not possible to predict that the frequency distribution will shift to the low frequency side.

The ultrasonic measuring device and the ultrasonic measuring method according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In this embodiment, the explanation is supplemented by giving an example of a case where ultrasonic waves are oscillated at a given frequency and measured in a plurality of different frequency bands by intentionally greatly deviating from the resonance frequency. Such measurement may be carried out by a guided wave inspection or the like.

When a probe with a resonance frequency of 5 MHz oscillates at 20 kHz, 40 kHz, 60 kHz, 80 kHz, and 100 kHz, the value of the variable matching device A (9) of the transmitting unit 3 and the variable matching device B (12) of the receiving unit 4 adjusted to 20 kHz. Adjust to, send and receive, and save the waveform. It is advisable to carry out 40kHz, 60kHz, 80kHz and 100kHz in sequence.

The ultrasonic measuring device and the ultrasonic measuring method according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

Even if the impedance values of the variable matching of the transmitting unit 3 and the receiving unit 4 are adjusted according to the solution of the simultaneous equations, the deviation from the actual value may occur. In this case, for example, a clear reflected signal, for example, a bottom surface (shape) echo in ultrasonic inspection of a metal structure, or a surface echo of a subject in the case of a water immersion method, is applied to the received waveform by time-gate. It is advisable to monitor the peak value and fine-tune each matching circuit.

That is, the solution of the simultaneous equations is set as the initial value, and the variable matching device A (9) of the transmission unit 3 is scanned around the initial value, and the place where the received waveform becomes the maximum peak value is set as the optimum value. Next, also in the variable matching device B (12) of the receiving unit 4, the place where the received waveform becomes the maximum peak value by scanning around the initial value is set as the optimum value. In this way, it is advisable to independently control the impedance of the variable matching on the transmitting side and the receiving side to find the optimum value.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but includes various modifications. For example, the above embodiments have been described in detail to aid in understanding of the present invention and are not necessarily limited to those comprising all of the described configurations. Further, it is possible to replace a part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Further, it is possible to add / delete / replace a part of the configuration of each embodiment with another configuration.

1 ... ultrasonic measuring device, 2 ... measuring unit, 3 ... transmitting unit, 4 ... receiving unit, 5 ... control / processing unit (computer), 6 ... display unit, 7 ... pulsar, 8 ... amplifier, 9 ... variable matching device A, 10 ... Input device, 11 ... Storage device, 12 ... Variable matching device B, 13 ... Receiver, 14 ... Transmission / reception control device, 15 ... Matching control device, 16 ... Input / control unit, 17 ... Transmission / reception frequency input device , 18 ... Input waveform control device, 19 ... Received waveform evaluation device, 20 ... Variable matching control device.

Claims

A measuring unit including an ultrasonic probe and
A transmitter that applies a pulse voltage to the piezoelectric element in the ultrasonic probe,
A receiver that converts the electrical signal generated by the piezoelectric element by receiving ultrasonic waves and acquires it as waveform data.
A control unit that controls the transmission unit and the reception unit is provided.
Of the transmitting unit and the receiving unit, at least the receiving unit has a variable matching device.
The control unit includes an input device for inputting a frequency component value when the receiving unit receives the electric signal, and an input device.
A storage device that stores frequency-dependent data of matching values corresponding to the ultrasonic probe, and
An ultrasonic measuring device comprising a matching control device that controls the variable matching device with reference to the frequency of the electric signal.
The ultrasonic measuring device according to claim 1.
The control unit includes a transmission / reception control device that controls the pulse width, repetition frequency, amplification value, sampling frequency of the reception unit, and data storage timing of the pulse voltage output from the transmission unit. Device.
The ultrasonic measuring device according to claim 1.
The control unit is an ultrasonic measuring device including a peak monitor at a specific time gate of the electric signal or a received waveform evaluation device that performs peak analysis of a frequency analysis result of the electric signal.
The ultrasonic measuring device according to claim 1.
An ultrasonic measuring device characterized by having a display unit for displaying values required for ultrasonic transmission / reception control and recording conditions, measured raw waveforms, processed waveforms, and image reconstruction results.
The ultrasonic measuring device according to claim 1.
A plurality of pulse voltages having different frequencies are sequentially applied to the piezoelectric element from the transmitter.
An ultrasonic measuring device characterized in that a subject is measured based on waveform data acquired by the receiving unit.
It is an ultrasonic measurement method that measures a subject using ultrasonic waves.
The step of reading the input of the ultrasonic wave reception frequency as one of the measurement conditions,
A step of adjusting the impedance of the variable matching circuit on the receiving side of the ultrasonic wave based on the received frequency, and
An ultrasonic measurement method characterized by having.
The ultrasonic measurement method according to claim 6, wherein the ultrasonic measurement method is used.
Steps to frequency analyze the received waveform and
Steps for performing peak analysis and extraction of the frequency analysis result,
The step of inputting the extracted frequency again as a measurement condition, and
The step of performing variable matching impedance adjustment of the ultrasonic receiver based on the extracted frequency, and
An ultrasonic measurement method characterized by having.
The ultrasonic measurement method according to claim 6, wherein the ultrasonic measurement method is used.
Ultrasound of multiple different frequencies is applied to the subject to
An ultrasonic measurement method characterized by measuring a subject based on waveform data acquired from the subject.