JP3308587B2 - Ultrasound diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using an ultrasonic coupler interposed between a probe and a body surface when diagnosing a part close to the body surface. And setting and displaying of control information of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus when the ultrasonic coupler is mounted.

[0002] Ultrasound diagnostic apparatuses have a B-mode function for imaging the internal structure of a subject and a Doppler function for imaging information relating to movement such as blood flow. The B-mode function is
The object is scanned with a narrowly focused ultrasonic beam, the reflected signal is subjected to luminance modulation, and a B-mode tomographic image is obtained. The B-mode tomographic image is usually displayed on a monitor as a monochrome image having gradation.

On the other hand, the Doppler function utilizes the principle that a reflected signal from a moving reflecting / scattering body such as a blood flow shifts in frequency by the Doppler effect, and analyzes the shift amount to visualize the dynamics.

The Doppler function includes a pulse Doppler (PW).
D) and a function called color flow mapping (CFM). The pulse Doppler (PWD)
Attention is paid to the dynamics of an arbitrary point (sample volume) in the B-mode tomographic image, and its frequency shift is obtained as a spectrum by a frequency analysis method such as fast Fourier transform (FFT). Become

Therefore, when the flow velocity of the blood flowing in the blood vessel of the human body is obtained by the above-mentioned Doppler analysis, the blood vessel near the body surface is irradiated with the ultrasonic beam almost vertically, so that the Doppler signal is obtained. Can be difficult.

In such a case, an inclined ultrasonic coupler such that the ultrasonic emission surface of the probe is inclined with respect to the contact surface with the human body is used. In this case, it is necessary to provide the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus with a control means capable of eliminating the influence when the ultrasonic coupler is interposed between the probe and the body surface.

[0007]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 10 to 13 are views for explaining a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, FIG. 10 shows an example of mounting an ultrasonic coupler, and FIG. 11 is a configuration of the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. An example is shown, FIG. 12 shows the characteristics of an amplifier and the characteristics of a dynamic filter, and FIG. 13 shows a conventional problem.

As described above, there is a method of obtaining the flow velocity of blood flowing in a blood vessel by Doppler analysis. However, since a blood vessel near the body surface is irradiated with an ultrasonic beam almost vertically, a Doppler signal is obtained. It becomes difficult.

In such a case, as shown in FIG. 10, an inclined ultrasonic coupler 10 is provided so that the ultrasonic radiation surface of the probe 1 is inclined with respect to the contact surface with the human body. . Also, since the ultrasound beam is so thick that the portion close to the probe 1 results in an image with low resolution, the ultrasonic coupler 10 opens the space between the probe 1 and the body surface, It also has the purpose of focusing on the beam.

The material of the ultrasonic coupler 10 is roughly classified into a liquid and a gel. A typical example of the former is water, and examples of the latter include a polymer hydrogel having a very small attenuation such as a PVA frozen gel, and a substance having a relatively large attenuation of an ultrasonic wave such as a silicone gel or a urethane gel. .

A conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus has a configuration as shown in FIG. In the figure, an ultrasonic transducer (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as a probe) 1 is an ultrasonic transducer for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, converts a transmission signal from a drive circuit 8 into ultrasonic waves, and To convert the reflected wave from to an electric signal.

Reference numerals 2 to 5 denote beamformers for converging the ultrasonic beam in the scanning direction designated by the control circuit 11, and are constituted by an amplifier 2, a delay circuit 3, an adder 4, and a dynamic filter 5. Reference numeral 6 denotes, for example, a B-mode digital scan converter (DSC) for digitizing a received signal from each scanning direction and writing it into a display memory. The digital scan converter (DSC) converts the echo signals of the ultrasonic waves, which are entered in a time series, into a digital signal when the object is scanned, for example, in a fan shape using the ultrasonic signals in a beam form. Then, the digital signal is stored in the scanned fan shape on the bit map memory.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a control unit for controlling the entire apparatus such as scanning and display by a user operation, and 12 denotes an operation keyboard for performing the user operation. In the above-described conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a B-mode tomographic image, a color flow map (CFM) image, and a pulse Doppler (PWD) image are selectively displayed by a user operation using the operation keyboard 12.

In such an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a received ultrasonic signal from a short distance has a high sound pressure level, but a signal from a long distance has a low sound pressure level due to the effect of attenuation by a human body. In order to correct this, a method of increasing the amplification factor of a signal at a long distance compared to a signal at a short distance is called the amplifier 2 described above.
It is done in. As a result, the brightness is uniformly displayed from a short distance to a long distance. The characteristics of the amplifier 2 at this time are shown in FIG. 12 (a). The characteristics are such that the amplification factor increases in proportion to the delay time of the wave reception from the human body.

In a received ultrasonic signal, a reflected signal from a deeper portion is attenuated inside the human body, so that a high frequency region is attenuated. Therefore, in order to improve the S / N of the received ultrasonic signal, the characteristics of the frequency filter are changed according to the depth, as shown in FIG. According to T1 → T2), a method (dynamic filter) of changing over time is used.

[0016]

FIG. 13 illustrates a problem of a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. FIG. 13A shows a problem of a dynamic filter characteristic, and FIG.
Indicates a display problem.

First, when the ultrasonic coupler 10 is used as shown in FIG. 10, there are the following problems. First, when an ultrasonic coupler 10 composed of a polymer hydrogel having an inconsistent thickness is used, the ultrasonic coupler 10
Since the scanning line passing through the thick part and the scanning line passing through the thin part will have different distances through the living body,
Signals received from portions at the same distance from probe 1 receive different amounts of attenuation.

For this reason, as shown in FIG. 13 (a), although the same signal component as that of the thin portion is received from the thick portion of the ultrasonic coupler 10, the delay of the received wave is delayed. As a result, the high-frequency component is removed as a result of being treated as a deep signal component from the time (T2), and there is a problem that the resolution is deteriorated as compared with a thin portion.

Second, as shown in FIG. 12A, the amplification factor of the amplifier 2 of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus corresponds to the depth of the diagnostic site, and is specifically proportional to the delay time. It is configured to rise.

Therefore, when the ultrasonic coupler 10 having a small attenuation is used, the amplification factor of the amplifier 2 at the diagnostic site is increased by the thickness of the ultrasonic coupler 10 assuming that the signal is received from a deep part. Only in a thick part (a part with a large delay time), the luminance at the diagnostic part becomes extremely high, or the amplified signal is deformed due to saturation.

Third, when the ultrasonic coupler 10 is used, the distance from the probe 1 to the diagnosis site is increased by the thickness of the coupler. The focal point is fixed in the acoustic wave coupler 10, and the resolution is deteriorated.

Fourth, as shown in FIG. 13 (b), a portion of the ultrasonic coupler unit 10 which is unnecessary for diagnosis is displayed, and the display area of the diagnosis site is reduced. Fifth, when the ultrasonic coupler 10 is used, in the thick part, since the signal from the human body is received with a delay corresponding to the thickness, the ultrasonic transducer (probe) 1 is transmitted from the drive circuit 8. It is necessary to delay the driving cycle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional disadvantages, and has an object to automatically eliminate the influence of an ultrasonic coupler in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using an ultrasonic coupler interposed between a probe and a body surface. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of performing the above.

[0024]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the principle of the present invention. The above problem is solved by an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus configured as described below.

(1) Frequency filter of received ultrasonic signal
In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in which the characteristics of the frequency filter 5 change in response to the passage of time from the transmission of the ultrasonic signal, the characteristics of the frequency filter 5 are selectively changed for each scanning line. Constitute.

(2) In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in which the characteristic of the frequency filter 5 of the received ultrasonic signal changes in accordance with the lapse of time after transmission, the ultrasonic radiation surface of the probe 1 and the human body Ultrasonic coupler 10 with non-uniform spacing from contact surface with
When using, the characteristics of the frequency filter 5, corresponding to the non-uniformity of the ultrasonic coupler 10, for each scan line, the delay circuit 5a, distance through the ultrasonic coupler 10
The configuration is such that the scanning line that is farther away is changed at a delayed timing .

(3) In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having an amplifier 2 in which the degree of amplification of a received ultrasonic signal changes in accordance with the passage of time from the transmission of the ultrasonic signal, the characteristic of the amplifier 2 The change is configured to be selectively performed for each scanning line.

(4) In an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having an amplifier 2 in which the degree of amplification of a received ultrasonic signal changes in accordance with the passage of time since the transmission of the ultrasonic signal, the ultrasonic probe of the probe 1 When using the ultrasonic coupler 10 in which the distance between the sound wave emitting surface and the contact surface with the human body is non-uniform, the change in the characteristics of the amplifier (2) is made to correspond to the non-uniformity of the ultrasonic coupler 10. For each scanning line, an ultrasonic coupler is provided by a delay circuit 2a.
Timing delayed for longer scanning lines passing through 10
It is configured to change with.

(5) The focal length of the ultrasonic beam radiated from the probe 1 is selectively changed for each scanning line. (6) When using the ultrasonic coupler 10 in which the distance between the ultrasonic emission surface of the probe 1 and the contact surface with the human body is not uniform, the probe
The focal length of the ultrasonic beam emitted from 1 is changed according to each scanning line so that the focal length of the ultrasonic beam is longer than the thickness of the ultrasonic coupler 10.

(7) When using the ultrasonic coupler 10 in which the distance between the ultrasonic radiation surface of the probe 1 and the contact surface with the human body is uneven, the control means 11 and 6 which do not display the ultrasonic coupler portion. It is constituted so that it may have.

(8) The driving cycle of the probe 1 is configured to be selectively changed for each scanning line. (9) When using the ultrasonic coupler 10 in which the distance between the ultrasonic emission surface of the probe 1 and the contact surface with the human body is uneven, the probe
The driving cycle of 1 is set such that the ultrasonic beam emitted from the probe 1 is long for a scanning line passing through a thick portion of the ultrasonic coupler 10 and is short for a scanning line passing through a thin portion. Control so that

(10) In the above ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the probe
1 is provided with switches 10a and 10b for identifying whether or not the ultrasonic coupler 10 is mounted, and the switches 10a and 1
0b, the probe 1 is connected to the ultrasonic coupler 10
When it is recognized that the user is wearing the camera, the control of the above-mentioned items 2, 4, 6, 7, or 9 is performed based on the recognition information.

(11) In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the probe
1 is provided with means 12 for the operator to give an instruction to identify whether or not the ultrasonic coupler 10 is mounted, and the probe 1 mounts the ultrasonic coupler 10 by the instruction from the operation keyboard 12. When it is recognized that the control is performed, the control of the above-mentioned items 2, 4, 6, 7, or 9 is performed based on the recognition information.

[0034]

In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, when the probe 1 and the human body surface have an attenuation rate different from that of the human body and, for example, an inclined ultrasonic coupler 10 is interposed, the probe 1 Since the arrival time of the received wave differs for each scanning line of the ultrasonic beam emitted from the probe according to the shape of the ultrasonic coupler, when viewed from the probe 1, it corresponds to the delay. As a result, as described above, if the attenuation rate of the ultrasonic coupler 10 is small, the amplification rate of the amplifier 2 is too high. In the characteristics of the dynamic filter, high-frequency characteristics are deteriorated, and a high-frequency component of the received wave is removed, thereby causing a problem that the resolution of an ultrasonic tomographic image is reduced.

Therefore, in the present invention, the probe 1 and
When an ultrasonic coupler 10 is interposed between the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and the human body surface, an amplifier corresponding to each probe 1 of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is used.
Focusing on the fact that the dynamic filter 5 changes its characteristics in accordance with the delay time from transmission to reception of the ultrasonic signal, For each scanning line, the attenuation characteristics of the material of the ultrasonic coupler 10 and the delay time obtained from the distance between the probe 1 and the human body are obtained, and based on the instruction from the control circuit 11,
Control is performed to insert delay circuits 2a and 5a having corresponding delay times.

When the focal position is deviated from a predetermined part of the human body due to the thickness of the ultrasonic coupler, a delay circuit constituting the beam former of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is provided. The delay time due to the ultrasonic coupler 10 is corrected by matching the delay time at 3 with the position corresponding to each probe 1 of the ultrasonic coupler 10.

The use of the ultrasonic coupler 10 causes the ultrasonic coupler 10 which is unnecessary for diagnosis to be displayed on the display 7 and the display area of the diagnostic site becomes narrower. Read address of luminance information generated by digital scan converter (DSC) 6
(Display position address) is changed so as to be displayed at a predetermined address on the display 7, and coordinate conversion for enlarged display is performed so that a tomographic image of a human body other than the display part is not displayed.

When the ultrasonic coupler 10 is used,
Depending on the thickness, the reflected signal from the human body is delayed,
The cycle for driving the drive circuit 8 is changed according to the thickness of the ultrasonic coupler 10.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention is configured to selectively change the following characteristics for each scanning line. Dynamic filter characteristics Amplification degree of received ultrasonic signal Focal length Vibrator driving cycle Also, switch means 10a, 10b to identify whether ultrasonic probe is attached to probe 1 or instruction from operation keyboard 12 Means are provided, and when the ultrasonic coupler 10 is attached,
The switch means 10a, 10b or the operation keyboard 12
Based on the input instruction information from
To do.

Therefore, according to the thickness of the ultrasonic coupler 10 to be used, the dynamic filter characteristics are changed for each scanning line.
By performing the change control, it is possible to prevent the resolution of the ultrasonic tomographic image from deteriorating.

Further, by setting a delay time corresponding to the reciprocating time of the ultrasonic wave for each scanning line in advance in accordance with the thickness of the ultrasonic coupler 10 to be used, and controlling the amplifier 2, The saturation of the amplifier 10 in the scanning line passing through the thick portion of the ultrasonic coupler can be prevented, and the brightness can be adjusted.

The delay circuit 3 is provided for each scanning line so that the focal position becomes a predetermined part of the human body by signals from the switches 10a and 10b indicating that the ultrasonic coupler 10 is mounted. By performing the control, the deterioration of the resolution due to the ultrasonic coupler 10 can be eliminated.

Further, corresponding to a predetermined ultrasonic coupler 10,
By controlling the digital scan converter (DSC) 6, the display of the ultrasonic coupler part is eliminated by changing the read address of the luminance information and coordinate conversion, and the display is enlarged so that unnecessary parts other than the diagnostic part are unnecessary. The display of an unnecessary part can be suppressed, and the diagnostic accuracy can be improved.

In the probe 1, the switches 10a, 1
0b, and by attaching the ultrasonic coupler 10, the switches 10a and 10b are configured to be automatically turned on.
Optimal control of various delays due to the mounting of the ultrasonic coupler 10 can be automatically performed.

[0045]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the principle of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 2 and 3 show examples of controlling a dynamic filter.
6 shows an example of control of the amplifier, FIG. 6 shows an example of automatic detection of the mounting of the ultrasonic coupler by the switch mechanism provided on the probe, and FIG. 7 shows another example of the switch mechanism provided on the probe ( FIG. 8 shows an example of controlling the focus of the ultrasonic beam, and FIG. 9 shows an example of displaying blood vessels running parallel to the human body.

In the present invention, in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using the ultrasonic coupler 10 interposed between the probe 1 and the body surface, the characteristics of the frequency filter (dynamic filter) 5 of the received ultrasonic signal , The characteristic of the amplification degree of the amplifier 2, the focal length, and the drive cycle of the ultrasonic transducer (probe) 1 are selectively changed in accordance with each scanning line when the ultrasonic coupler 10 is used. Means 5a, 2a, 11, 12; and
Switches 10a and 10b are provided for identifying whether or not the ultrasonic coupler 10 is mounted on the probe 1, and the switches 10a and 10b are provided.
Or the change of the frequency characteristics of the dynamic filter 5, the amplification characteristics of the amplifier 2, the focal length, and the driving cycle characteristics of the ultrasonic transducer (probe) 1 by an operator's instruction from the operation keyboard 12. 10a, 10
b, 11, and 12 are the means necessary to carry out the present invention.
Note that the same reference numerals indicate the same object throughout the drawings.

Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG.
(T1 → T2)
Is provided for each scanning line, and according to the thickness of the ultrasonic coupler 10 to be used corresponding to each scanning line, the delay time corresponding to the reciprocating time of the ultrasonic wave is provided for each scanning line. Is set in advance.

When the delay circuit 5a and the control circuit 11a are operated to give a delay corresponding to the ultrasonic coupler 10,
The characteristics are as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b). As described above, when the ultrasonic coupler 10 having a small amount of attenuation is used as described above, the reception delay caused by passing through the ultrasonic coupler 10 causes a delay of the human body when viewed from the probe 1. This is to prevent the high frequency component from being removed as shown in FIG. 13A, which is regarded as a received wave from a deep part.

FIG. 3A shows the case of a delay amount corresponding to the scanning line passing through the thin portion of the ultrasonic coupler 10, and FIG. 3B shows the case of passing through the thick portion of the ultrasonic coupler 10. This shows the case of the delay amount corresponding to the scanning line. As shown in the figure, the filter characteristics in the thick portion of the ultrasonic coupler 10 and the filter characteristics in the thin portion are improved to improve the It is possible to prevent the high frequency component from being removed in the thick portion of the acoustic wave filter 10.

As described above, when using the ultrasonic coupler 10, by operating the delay circuit 5a and the control circuit 11a, the resolution caused by the delay of the ultrasonic wave in the ultrasonic coupler 10 can be improved. Degradation can be prevented.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, a delay circuit 2a capable of giving a delay to the timing at which the amplification factor of the amplifier 2 is changed is provided, and the ultrasonic circuit 10 is used in accordance with the thickness of the ultrasonic coupler 10 to be used. A delay time corresponding to the reciprocating time is set in advance for each scanning line according to the thickness of the ultrasonic coupler 10.

When the delay circuit 2a is operated by the control circuit 11b and a delay is given to each scanning line, the characteristics are as shown in FIG. Therefore, when the ultrasonic coupler 10 is used, the delay circuit 2a is provided so as to provide a delay according to the characteristics of the ultrasonic coupler 10 (that is, the magnitude of the attenuation rate).
By increasing the delay time of the scanning line passing through the thick portion of the ultrasonic coupler 10 by operating the above, it is possible to reduce the amplification factor of the amplifier 2 and prevent the amplification factor of the amplifier 2 from being saturated. And the brightness can be adjusted.

Each of the delay circuits 5a and 2a can be operated by an operator pressing switches 10a and 10b, which will be described later, for example. Can be obtained.

The delay time may be changed by the operator from the operation keyboard 12 according to the thickness of the ultrasonic coupler 10. On the other hand, when an ultrasonic coupler 10 having a large attenuation rate is used, as shown by a dotted line in FIG.
5, and by advancing the timing of the amplifier 2, it is possible to obtain an optimum filter characteristic and an amplification factor at a diagnosis site.

FIG. 6 shows a case where the above-described switch is provided in one probe case. As shown in the drawing, the case of the ultrasonic coupler 10 is provided with a convex portion for mounting a probe, and when the ultrasonic coupler 10 is mounted on the probe 1, the switch of the probe case is switched. So that 10a can enter.

With the above configuration, as shown in the principle diagram of FIG. 1, when the ultrasonic coupler 10 is mounted on the probe 1, the switch 10a is operated and the probe 10 is operated. The control circuit is activated by the switch signal from the slave switch 10a.
11 operates, and the various settings described above are automatically performed. In this case, the amount of delay in each of the delay circuits 2a and 5a is sufficient if the attenuation amount and the delay amount corresponding to the thickness of the attached ultrasonic coupler 10 are recorded in advance.

FIG. 8 shows that when the ultrasonic coupler 10 is mounted, the switch 10a is operated, and the focal length of the ultrasonic beam is reduced by the signal of the mounting.
By setting a delay amount for controlling the delay circuit 3 so as to be longer than the thickness of 0 in the control circuit 11, for example, the ultrasonic coupler 10 is simply attached and the ultrasonic This indicates that the focus of the beam will be set at the diagnostic site.

FIG. 9 shows a display example when the ultrasonic coupler 10 is controlled so as not to be displayed on the display 7 even when the ultrasonic coupler 10 is mounted.
In this case, as shown in FIG.
By controlling the digital scan converter (DSC) 6, the portion of the ultrasonic coupler 10, which is unnecessary information, is not displayed on the display screen, and only the diagnosis site is enlarged and displayed.

More specifically, the read address of the luminance information stored in a memory (not shown) in the digital scan converter (DSC) is changed and transmitted to the display 7 for further diagnosis. In order to perform an enlarged display so that a human body other than a part is not displayed, control is performed such that coordinate conversion of the address of the luminance information is performed, so that only the ultrasonic coupler 10 is mounted, as shown in FIG. The diagnosis site is enlarged and displayed on the display screen.

Since the ultrasonic coupler 10 has a different thickness and material depending on the application, for example, a code for determining the type of the ultrasonic coupler 10 is defined as shown in FIG. Code switch for identifying the code (Fig. 7
) Is provided on the probe 1, so that various kinds of optimal control according to the type of each ultrasonic coupler 10 can be performed.

More specifically, the control information corresponding to the ultrasonic coupler 10 ｛the delay amount for the delay circuits 2 a and 5 a and the delay amount for the digital scan converter (DSC) 6 are stored in a memory (not shown) in the control circuit 11. Control information, delay circuit
3 is set in advance, and the corresponding control information is selected based on the code information from the code switch 10b, and each of the delay circuits 2a, 5a, 3 and the digital scan converter (DSC) 6 are selected. , Optimal control of the attached ultrasonic coupler 10 can be performed.

In the above example, the switch is turned on when the ultrasonic coupler 10 is mounted. However, even if the switches 10a and 10b are not provided, for example, the ultrasonic coupler 10 having a certain characteristic may be used. Needless to say, the information may be input from the operation keyboard 12 to recognize the characteristics of the attached ultrasonic coupler 10, for example.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the amount of delay for each scanning line is controlled when the ultrasonic coupler 10 is used. However, even when the ultrasonic coupler 10 is not used, For example, when a scanning line passes through a rib part of a human body, the attenuation of the ultrasonic signal increases, the brightness of the lower part of the rib decreases, and the ultrasonic tomographic image may become unclear. However, in such a case, for a scan line passing through the rib, corresponding to a predetermined depth,
By controlling the amplification factor of the amplifier 10 to increase, it is possible to prevent deterioration of the ultrasonic image below the rib.

This is the same in the control of the characteristics of the dynamic filter 5. By controlling the frequency characteristics of the human body at a predetermined depth to be changed, the frequency characteristics of the lower part of the rib are improved. Thus, a high-frequency component dropped by passing through the rib can be corrected, and a clear ultrasonic image can be obtained. That is, the essence of the present invention resides in that the dynamic filter characteristic, the amplification characteristic, and the delay characteristic of the delay circuit for each scanning line are changed to predetermined characteristics.

As described above, the present invention provides, for example, a frequency filter (dynamic filter) for a received ultrasonic signal in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using an ultrasonic coupler interposed between a probe and a body surface. Characteristics of the amplifier, the amplification characteristics of the amplifier, the focal length, and the driving cycle of the ultrasonic transducer (probe).
For example, it is configured to selectively change in accordance with each scanning line when an ultrasonic coupler is used. In addition, a switch is provided for identifying whether or not the ultrasonic coupler is mounted on the probe, and the dynamic filter characteristic, the amplifier characteristic, the focal length, the It is characterized in that the change control of the drive cycle characteristic of the ultrasonic vibrator is performed.

[0066]

As described above in detail, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention is, for example, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using an ultrasonic coupler interposed between a probe and a body surface. The characteristics of the frequency filter (dynamic filter) of the received ultrasonic signal, the amplification characteristics of the amplifier, the focal length, and the drive cycle of the ultrasonic transducer (probe) are applied to each scanning line when using an ultrasonic coupler. In addition, it is configured to be selectively changed. In addition, a switch is provided for identifying whether or not the ultrasonic coupler is mounted on the probe, and the dynamic filter characteristic, the amplifier characteristic, the focal length, the Since the change control of the drive cycle characteristics of the ultrasonic transducer is performed, the dynamic filter characteristics, amplification characteristics, and focal length of each scanning line can be selectively changed when using an ultrasonic coupler. For example, when an ultrasonic coupler is used, the dynamic filter characteristic, the amplification characteristic, and the focal length of each scanning line are adjusted in accordance with the characteristic of the ultrasonic coupler to obtain a sharp ultrasonic signal. There is an effect that a sound wave image can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the present invention (part 1).

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the present invention (part 2).

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the present invention (part 3).

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the present invention (part 4).

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of the present invention (part 5).

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of the present invention (part 6).

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the present invention (part 7).

FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of the present invention (part 8).

FIG. 10 illustrates a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus (part 1).

FIG. 11 illustrates a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus (part 2).

FIG. 12 is a view for explaining a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus (part 3);

FIG. 13 is a view for explaining a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus (part 4);

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Ultrasonic transducer or probe 2 Amplifier 2a Delay circuit 3 Delay circuit 4 Adder 5 Dynamic filter 5a Delay circuit 6 Digital scan converter (DSC) 7 Display 8 Drive circuit 10 Ultrasonic coupler 10a, 10b Tactile switch or switch or
Code switch 11, 11a, 11b Control circuit 12 Operation keyboard

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-56-42158 (JP, A) JP-A-57-131432 (JP, A) JP-A-58-7231 (JP, A) JP-A-58-195551 (JP, A) JP-A-59-141937 (JP, A) JP-A-62-90144 (JP, A) JP-A-63-117735 (JP, A) JP-A-63-181745 (JP, A) 2-149262 (JP, A) JP-A-4-89038 (JP, A) JP-A-5-75628 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A61B 8/00

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in which the characteristics of a frequency filter of a received ultrasonic signal changes in accordance with the lapse of time from the transmission, the contact between an ultrasonic radiation surface of a probe and a human body. When using an ultrasonic coupler having a non-uniform spacing with respect to the surface, the characteristics of the frequency filter are made to correspond to the non-uniformity of the ultrasonic coupler, and the inside of the ultrasonic coupler is changed for each scanning line. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, comprising: a control unit that changes at a delayed timing as a scanning line passes a longer distance. 2. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having an amplifier in which the degree of amplification of a received ultrasonic signal changes in accordance with the passage of time from the transmission of the ultrasonic signal. When using an ultrasonic coupler in which the distance between the probe and the contact surface with the human body is non-uniform, the characteristics of the amplifier are adjusted for each scan line in accordance with the non-uniformity of the ultrasonic coupler. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising control means for changing the timing of a scanning line having a longer distance passing through the inside of an acoustic coupler at a delayed timing. 3. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the probe is
For identifying whether an ultrasonic coupler is mounted
A switch, wherein the control means operates the probe by operating the switch.
However, it is recognized that the ultrasonic coupler is mounted.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 4. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an instruction for identifying whether an ultrasonic coupler is mounted on the probe is issued.
An operation instruction means for operator performs provided, said control means, said the response to an instruction from said operation instructing means,該探probe is intended to recognize that wearing the ultrasonic coupler The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein