JP3534499B2 - 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 a cardiac lumen image display method, a cardiac function measurement method, a local wall displacement display method, and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. More specifically, a cardiac lumen image display method capable of accurately displaying a cardiac lumen, a cardiac function measurement method capable of measuring a cardiac function with high accuracy, and a local wall displacement display method capable of clearly recognizing a local displacement of a myocardial wall and those An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for performing the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus uses a CFM (Color Flow Map) that reflects a B-mode image and flow velocity information.
Ping) image is used to display the heart lumen image. In the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the cardiac function is measured by analyzing the waveform of the M-mode image. Here, specific examples of the cardiac function include EDV (End Diastolic Volume), ESV (End Systolic Volume), and EF (Ejection Fraction) of the left ventricle.

[0003]

In the B-mode image, the inner lumen of the heart appears black, but even if it is not the inner lumen of the heart, it may appear black due to acoustic shadows, etc., so that the inner lumen of the heart cannot be accurately displayed. There is. In the CFM mode image,
The part where the blood flow direction and the ultrasonic beam intersect at right angles is missing,
Since the sensitivity of blood flow detection is insufficient, the lumen of the heart cannot be displayed accurately. Further, since the two-dimensional and geometrical parameters of the heart lumen cannot be measured from the waveform of the M-mode image, there is a problem that the measurement of the waveform of the M-mode image cannot perform highly accurate measurement. It is possible to analyze the B-mode image and the CFM-mode image to measure the cardiac function, but the B-mode image and the CFM-mode image have the above-mentioned problems, and thus the problem that high-precision measurement cannot be performed is also encountered. There is. Further, it is conceivable to extract a plurality of cardiac lumens with a B-mode image and display the displacement of the local wall of the myocardium, but the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus provides a good B-mode image for this purpose. Therefore, it is not easy to visually recognize and diagnose the displacement of the local wall of the myocardium.

Therefore, a first object of the present invention is to provide a method for displaying a heart lumen image and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of accurately displaying the heart lumen. A second object of the present invention is to provide a cardiac function measuring method and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of measuring cardiac function with high accuracy. Also,
A third object of the present invention is to provide a local wall displacement display method and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that allow the local displacement of the myocardial wall to be clearly visible.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, according to the present invention, a heart of a subject is scanned with an ultrasonic wave to generate a power Doppler mode image, and the power is a predetermined threshold value from the power Doppler mode image. There is provided a method for displaying a heart lumen image, characterized by extracting the above high power region and displaying the high power region as a heart lumen image. In the power Doppler mode, since blood flow is detected, it is possible to clearly distinguish the black portion due to acoustic shadows and the heart lumen. Further, even when the direction of blood flow and the ultrasonic beam are orthogonal to each other or the blood flow velocity is slow, it is difficult to detect the power. Therefore, if a high power region in which the power is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold is extracted and displayed in the power Doppler mode image,
The lumen of the heart can be displayed relatively accurately and easily.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the heart of a subject is scanned with ultrasonic waves to generate a power Doppler mode image, and the contour line of the boundary between the heart lumen and the myocardium is generated from the power Doppler mode image. Provided is a cardiac function measuring method characterized by extracting and measuring a cardiac function based on the contour line. In the power Doppler mode, since blood flow is detected, it is possible to clearly distinguish the black portion due to acoustic shadows and the heart lumen. Further, even when the direction of blood flow and the ultrasonic beam are orthogonal to each other or the blood flow velocity is slow, it is difficult to detect the power. Therefore, in the power Doppler mode image, the contour line of the boundary between the heart lumen and the myocardium can be extracted relatively accurately and easily. Since the two-dimensional and geometrical parameters of the heart lumen can be measured from the contour line, high-accuracy measurement can be performed automatically at high speed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the present invention scans the heart of a subject with ultrasonic waves to generate a power Doppler mode image, and extracts from the power Doppler mode image a high power region having a power equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value. Repeating at multiple time points during the contraction period of the heart lumen corresponding to the high power region,
The high power region extracted at the first time point displays only that, and the high power region extracted at the second time point and thereafter leaves at least the display of the high power region displayed immediately before it and is overlaid on it in a different display form. A local wall displacement display method is provided which is characterized by displaying as. When the high power regions extracted at a plurality of time points during the contraction period of the heart lumen are overlaid with new ones in different display modes, the temporal change of the local wall position can be visually recognized at a glance. That is, the displacement of the local wall of the myocardium during the contraction period can be visually recognized and diagnosed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a power Doppler mode, the power of the power Doppler mode image obtained by scanning the heart of the subject is high power of a predetermined threshold value or more. There is provided an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: a high power region extracting means for extracting a region; and a heart lumen image display means for displaying the high power region as a heart lumen image. According to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the fourth aspect, it is possible to preferably carry out the cardiac lumen image display method of the first aspect.

In a fifth aspect, the present invention is, in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a power Doppler mode, a contour of a boundary between a heart lumen and a myocardium from a power Doppler mode image obtained by scanning a heart portion of a subject. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: a contour line extracting unit that extracts a line; and a heart function measuring unit that measures a heart function based on the contour line. According to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the fifth aspect, the cardiac function measuring method of the second aspect can be preferably implemented.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a power Doppler mode, a high power of which power is a predetermined threshold value or more is obtained from a power Doppler mode image obtained by scanning a heart of a subject. High-power region extraction means for extracting a region, an electrocardiograph for detecting a cyclic motion of the heart, and a plurality of time points within a predetermined period in one cycle in synchronization with the cyclic motion of the heart detected by the electrocardiograph The high power region extracted at the first time point of the above is displayed only as such, and the high power region extracted at the second time point and thereafter leaves at least the display of the high power region immediately before that and is displayed in a different display mode. Alternatively, there is provided an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: a heart lumen image superimposing display unit that is superimposed and displayed below. According to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the sixth aspect, as the first selection, high power regions extracted at a plurality of time points during the contraction period of the heart lumen are displayed in different display manners by superimposing a new one on top. Then, the displacement of the local wall of the myocardium during the contraction period can be visually recognized and diagnosed. In addition, as a second selection, when the high power regions extracted at a plurality of time points during the diastolic period of the heart lumen are overlaid with new ones in different display modes, the displacement of the local wall of the myocardium during the diastolic period is displayed. It becomes possible to visually check and diagnose. Further, if the first selection and the second selection are alternately executed as the third selection, it becomes possible to continuously visually recognize and diagnose the periodic displacement of the local wall of the myocardium.

In a seventh aspect, the present invention provides an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having the above-mentioned configuration, wherein the number of the time points is 2 or more and 5 or less. If the number of time points during the diastole period or the systole period of the heart lumen is set to 6 or more, the displacement amount of the local wall of the myocardium per one time point interval becomes too small, which is rather difficult to understand. Therefore, it is preferable to set the number of time points to 2 or more and 5 or less.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, the present invention is the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having the above-mentioned configuration, further comprising freeze command means for an operator to command freeze execution, and the cardiac lumen image superimposed display means is When a freeze execution is instructed, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is characterized in that the high power region extracted at the last time point out of a plurality of time points in the predetermined period is displayed and then the screen is fixedly displayed. provide. By freezing the screen, it will take time to diagnose.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. The present invention is not limited to this. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 includes an ultrasonic probe 1, a beam former 2, a B-mode processing unit 3, a quadrature detection unit 4, and an A / D.
The conversion units 5 and 6, the memories 7 and 8, and the MTI (Moving T
arget Indication) filters 9 and 10, an autocorrelation calculation unit 11, a high power region extraction unit 21, a cardiac function parameter measurement unit 22, an overlap display processing unit 31, an electrocardiograph 32, a DSC 13, It is configured to include a CRT 14.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a heart lumen image display process for displaying a heart lumen image. In step ST1, the ultrasonic probe 1 is applied to the chest of the subject and scanned with an ultrasonic beam to obtain a power Doppler mode image. The operation of each unit at this time is as follows. The ultrasonic probe 1 and the beam former 2 generate M (for example, 15) ultrasonic pulses at time intervals T for each sound ray.
(For example, 1 ms). Then, ultrasonic echo signals corresponding to N (for example, 1000) sampling points in the depth direction of each sound ray are collected. The mixers 4a and 4b of the quadrature detection unit 4 multiply the reference signals from the reference signal generators 4c and 4d by the ultrasonic echo signal, and the LPF 4
The quadrature component Q and the in-phase component I are output through h and 4i. The A / D converters 5 and 6 A / D-convert the quadrature component Q and the in-phase component I, respectively, and write them in the memories 7 and 8. MT
The I filters 9 and 10 call the quadrature component Q and the in-phase component I from the memories 7 and 8, and the quadrature component Q and the in-phase component I
Unnecessary components (components from tissues such as a relatively slow moving heart wall) are removed from the. The autocorrelation and the like calculation unit 11 has sampling points n (n = 1, 2 ,, 1) on one sound ray for the quadrature component Q and the in-phase component I from which the unnecessary components are removed.
, N) is calculated by the autocorrelation calculation between the M ultrasonic pulses, and is passed to the DSC 13.
The DSC 13 displays the power P (n) as a display value (generally,
Converted to an orange color, the brightness is determined according to the magnitude of power) and two-dimensionally mapped according to the position of the sampling point to generate power Doppler mode image data. The CRT 14 displays the power Doppler mode image on the screen based on the power Doppler mode image data. FIG. 3A illustrates a power Doppler mode image P1 corresponding to the end diastole of the left ventricle. Further, FIG. 3B illustrates a power Doppler mode image P2 corresponding to the end systole of the left ventricle.

Returning to FIG. 2, in step ST2, the high power region extraction unit 21 extracts a high power region having a power equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value TH from the power Doppler mode image. For example, when the power value range in the power Doppler mode image is “0” to “31” (the area where the power value is “0” is colorless), the threshold value TH is a value of “3” to “5”. Is preferred. It should be noted that even if there are pixels with high power values in areas other than the heart lumen, the number is small, so if only the region where a large number of pixels with power values higher than the threshold value TH are collected is extracted,
Only the region corresponding to the heart lumen can be extracted. Step S
At T3, the high power region is displayed as a heart lumen image. FIG. 4A illustrates a heart lumen image by the high power region H1 extracted from the power Doppler mode image P1 of FIG. 3A. Further, FIG. 4B illustrates a heart lumen image by the high power region H2 extracted from the power Doppler mode image P2 of FIG. 3B.

In the above-mentioned cardiac lumen image display processing, only the cardiac lumen image is displayed alone on the screen.
You may superimpose and display on a B mode image. In order to display the B-mode image, the B-mode processing unit 3 generates B-mode data according to the intensity of the ultrasonic echo signal,
Image at 13. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the B-mode image B1 is displayed in monochrome gradation, and the high power region H1 is displayed in orange on the B-mode image B1. In this case, there is an advantage that the tissue image around the heart can be observed simultaneously.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the procedure of a cardiac function parameter measurement process for measuring a cardiac function parameter. In step SU1, the cardiac function parameter measuring unit 22
Extracts a contour line from the cardiac lumen image displayed by the cardiac lumen image display process. For this extraction, an ABD (Automatic Border Detection) method or the like can be used. FIG. 7A shows a contour line L1 extracted from the cardiac lumen image of FIG. 4A. Also, FIG.
4B shows the contour line L2 extracted from the cardiac lumen image of FIG. 4B.

Returning to FIG. 6, in step SU2, parameters for calculating the cardiac function are acquired based on the contour line extracted in step SU1. For example, the cross-sectional area and the major axis length (distance from the apex to the aortic valve) are obtained. In step SU3, the cardiac function (EDV, ESV, EF, etc.) is calculated from the parameters acquired in step SU2. For this calculation, for example, the SL-ELP method (Single pla
ne area-length method) can be used.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the local wall displacement display processing for displaying the local wall displacement. In step SV1, the timing of the systole period is measured based on the electrocardiographic waveform from the electrocardiograph 32, and for example, the start time point, the end time point of the systole period, and an intermediate time point between them are determined as the acquisition time points of the Doppler mode image. To do.

In step SV2, the first time point (the start time point of the contraction period) is waited by the electrocardiographic waveform from the electrocardiograph 32, and the process proceeds to step SV3. In step SV3, the Doppler mode image is acquired, the high power mode region is extracted, and only the high power mode region is displayed. In FIG. 9 (a),
The display at the first time is illustrated.

In step SV4, the next time point (time point after the start time of the contraction period) is waited by the electrocardiographic waveform from the electrocardiograph 32, and the process proceeds to step SV5. In step SV5, the Doppler mode image is acquired, the high power mode region is extracted, and displayed on the upper side in a display mode (for example, changing the display color) different from the display mode of the high power mode region displayed immediately before. Here, "to be displayed in an overlapping manner" is specifically "to replace the original pixel value with a new pixel value (overwrite)".
Alternatively, it means “adding a new pixel value to the original pixel value (mixing)” or the like. FIG. 9B illustrates the display at the second time point. Further, FIG. 9C illustrates the display at the third time point (here, the last time point). In step SV6, it is determined whether or not the last time point (end time point of the contraction period) has ended.
Return to V4, and when finished, proceed to step SV7.

In step SV7, it is determined whether the freeze command is "cancel" or "execute". If the freeze command is "release", the process returns to step SV2. If the freeze command is "execute", step SV is performed.
Go to 8. In step SV8, the current screen is frozen (fixed display continues). Then, the process returns to step SV7. It is also possible to freeze the screen and measure heart function.

In the above description, the high power areas at a plurality of time points during the contraction period are all overlapped, but only the high power areas at the latest several time points may be overlapped and displayed. In this case, the displacement of the local wall can be displayed as an afterimage. Further, the high power regions at a plurality of points during the extension period may be overlapped and displayed. In this case, a new high power area is displayed so as to overlap the high power area currently being displayed. Further, the overlap display of the high power region at a plurality of time points during the contraction period and the overlap display of the high power region at a plurality of time points during the expansion period may be alternately and continuously executed. Further, a graph or numerical values representing the measured cardiac function may be simultaneously displayed on the cardiac lumen image display screen or the local wall displacement display screen in real time.

[0024]

According to the method of displaying a heart lumen image and the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, the heart lumen can be displayed relatively accurately and easily. Further, according to the cardiac function measuring method and the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, the cardiac function can be measured with high accuracy. Further, according to the local wall displacement display method and the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, the local displacement of the myocardial wall can be clearly recognized. In particular, it is useful for diagnosis of ischemic heart disease (myocardial infarction, angina).

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of heart lumen image display processing by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a power Doppler mode image.

4 is an explanatory diagram of a cardiac lumen image corresponding to the power Doppler mode image of FIG. 3. FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram when a cardiac lumen image and a B-mode image are displayed simultaneously.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a cardiac function parameter measurement process by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a contour line extracted from the heart lumen image of FIG.

8 is a flowchart of local wall displacement display processing by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a display screen associated with local wall displacement display processing.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 ultrasonic diagnostic equipment 1 Ultrasonic probe 2 beam former 3 B-mode processing unit 4 Quadrature detector 5,6 A / D converter 7,8 memory 9,10 MTI filter 11 Auto-correlation calculation unit 13 DSC 14 CRT 21 High Power Area Extraction Unit 22 Heart function parameter measurement unit 31 Overlap display processing unit 32 electrocardiograph

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Shigeru Inoue 127 GE Yokogawa Medical Systems Co., Ltd. 4-7 Asahigaoka, Hino City, Tokyo (72) Inventor Lee Taobao 4-7 Asahigaoka, Hino City, Tokyo No. 127 GE Yokogawa Medical Systems Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-6-285064 (JP, A) JP-A-4-208143 (JP, A) JP-A-62-284635 (JP, A) JP Flat 7-8488 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A61B 8 / 00-8 / 15

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a power Doppler mode, a high power region extraction for extracting a high power region having a power equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value from a power Doppler mode image obtained by scanning a heart part of a subject. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: means and a heart lumen image display means for displaying the high power region as a heart lumen image. 2. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a contour line extraction unit that extracts a contour line of a boundary between the heart lumen and the myocardium from the power Doppler image displayed by the heart lumen image display unit. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: a heart function measuring unit that measures a heart function based on the contour line. 3. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a power Doppler mode, a high power region extraction for extracting a high power region having a power of a predetermined threshold value or more from a power Doppler mode image obtained by scanning the heart of a subject. Means, an electrocardiograph for detecting a cyclic motion of the heart, and extraction at the first of a plurality of time points within a predetermined period in one cycle in synchronization with the cyclic motion of the heart detected by the electrocardiograph The high power region displayed is only that, and the high power region extracted at the second and subsequent times leaves at least the display of the high power region displayed immediately before it, and is superimposed on or below the display in a different display mode from that of the heart lumen. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: a heart lumen image superimposing display means for displaying as an image. 4. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the number of the time points is 2 or more and 5 or less. 5. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a freeze command means for an operator to command freeze execution, wherein the cardiac lumen image superimposing display means freezes. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized in that, when execution is instructed, a high power region extracted at a last time point out of a plurality of time points in the predetermined period is displayed and then the screen is continuously displayed in a fixed manner.