JP4473993B2 - Ultrasonic diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an imaging condition setting method for ultrasonic images and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and more specifically, an imaging condition setting method for ultrasonic images that can easily set the same imaging conditions as the imaging conditions of previously obtained ultrasound images. And an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
FIG. 8 is a perspective view schematically showing an example of a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.
The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 500 generates an ultrasound image based on the ultrasound probe 21 that transmits ultrasound pulses into the subject and receives ultrasound echoes from the subject, and the ultrasound echoes. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body 501 and a display device 2 for displaying the ultrasonic image are provided.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body 501 stores an operation panel 51 that receives instructions from an operator, a recording / reproducing device 22 ′ that records and reproduces an image-related file Fo on a portable recording medium M, and the image-related file Fo. And an internal storage device 23 '.
On the operation panel 51, an image list button BM for instructing to display an image list (L in FIG. 5) of previously obtained ultrasonic images, and a record button for instructing to store an image-related file Fo. BR, a freeze button BF for instructing to display an ultrasonic image in a frozen (frame-stopped) state, an enlarged display button BL for instructing an enlarged display of the ultrasonic image, and a track for moving the position of the cursor, etc. A ball TR is arranged.
[0003]
Steps S <b> 1 to S <b> 53 in FIG. 9 are flowcharts illustrating the operation procedure of the operator when archiving the ultrasound image. Steps SS1 to SS6 are flowcharts showing archive processing by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 500.
In step S1, the operator applies the ultrasonic probe 21 to the affected part of the subject.
In step S2, the operator presses the freeze button BF at the moment when the ultrasonic image to be archived is displayed on the screen.
In step S53, the record button BR is pressed.
[0004]
In step SS1, an ultrasonic image is displayed in real time.
In step SS2, real-time display is continued until the freeze button BF is pressed, and when the freeze button BF is pressed, the process proceeds to step SS3.
In step SS3, the ultrasonic image is displayed in a frozen state.
In step SS54, the freeze display is continued until the record button BR is pressed. When the record button BR is pressed, the process proceeds to step SS6.
In step SS6, the image-related file Fo is stored by the recording / reproducing device 22 ′ or the internal storage device 23 ′. As shown in FIG. 10, the image-related file Fo has a data structure in which patient information D1 is associated with image data D2 of an ultrasound image.
[0005]
Steps T1 to T7 in FIG. 11 are flowcharts showing an operation procedure of the operator when the ultrasonic image archived in the process of FIG. 9 is recalled. Steps ST1 to ST11 are flowcharts showing a recall process by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 500.
In Step T1, the operator applies the ultrasonic probe 21 to the affected part of the subject.
In step T2, the operator presses the image list button BM.
In step T3, the operator selects a line corresponding to the ultrasonic image to be recalled on the image list displayed on the screen, and presses the enlargement display button BL.
In step T6, the operator presses the freeze button BF after interpretation of the enlarged ultrasonic image is completed.
In step T7, the operator presses the image list button BM.
[0006]
In step ST1, an ultrasonic image is displayed in real time.
In step ST2, real-time display is continued until the image list button BM is pressed. If the image list button BM is pressed, the process proceeds to step ST3.
In step ST3, an image list is displayed.
In step ST4, it waits for the enlargement display button BL to be pressed on the image list in order to select an ultrasonic image, and if it is pressed, the process proceeds to step ST55.
In step ST55, the image-related file Fo corresponding to the selected ultrasonic image is read by the recording / reproducing device 22 ′ or the internal storage device 23 ′ to extract the image data D2, and the ultrasonic image is enlarged and displayed.
In step ST56, the enlarged display is continued until the freeze button BF is pressed. When the freeze button BF is pressed, the process proceeds to step ST9.
In step ST9, the screen returns to the image list display screen.
In step ST10, the process waits for the image list button BM to be pressed. If the image list button BM is pressed, the process proceeds to step ST11.
In step ST11, the screen returns to the real-time display screen of the ultrasonic image.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 500 described above, for example, when it is necessary to re-image the same part of the same patient under the same imaging conditions as before in order to grasp the change over time of the affected part, the previous ultrasonic image is archived. Even if this is done, doctors and operation engineers have to reset various imaging conditions one by one, which is problematic in that it takes time and effort.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an imaging condition setting method for ultrasonic images and an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can easily set the same imaging conditions as in previous imaging.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In a first aspect, the present invention stores an ultrasound image and its imaging condition in association with each other, and instructs the operator to set the imaging condition of the ultrasound image when the stored ultrasound image is displayed. Then, an imaging condition setting method for ultrasonic images, characterized in that the imaging conditions are read and set when provided.
In the ultrasonic image photographing condition setting method according to the first aspect, the photographing condition stored in association with the ultrasonic image is read and set in accordance with an instruction from the operator.
As a result, when setting the same imaging condition as the imaging condition of the previously obtained ultrasonic image, it is possible to save time and labor required for the setting.
[0009]
In a second aspect, the present invention provides an ultrasonic image generation unit that generates an ultrasonic image by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, an ultrasonic image display unit that displays the ultrasonic image, and an ultrasonic image being displayed. An imaging condition association storage means for storing the ultrasound image and the imaging condition in association with each other when the operator instructs to store the conditions in association with each other, and setting the imaging conditions of the stored ultrasound image And an imaging condition setting means for reading out and setting the imaging conditions stored in association with the ultrasound image when the operator instructs.
In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the second aspect, since the imaging conditions are set by performing the imaging condition setting method for ultrasonic images, it is possible to immediately start imaging under the same imaging conditions as before, An ultrasonic image convenient for grasping the change over time of the affected area can be obtained in a short time.
In addition, it is possible to selectively store only imaging conditions that may be used after the fact according to an operator's instruction, and the storage resources can be used efficiently.
[0010]
In a third aspect, the present invention provides the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having the above-described configuration, wherein the imaging conditions include the type of the ultrasonic probe used for imaging, the frequency of the ultrasonic pulse, and the range of received echo intensity. Used as a conversion map for displaying the gray scale of the received echo signal, the dynamic range that defines the gain, the gain that defines the amplification level of the received echo intensity, the speed scale range that defines the spectrum display range according to the blood flow velocity Specifies the gray map, the color map used as a conversion map for color display, the color region position that defines the position of the region of interest cursor for color Doppler signal detection, and the detection position for acquiring the Doppler blood flow signal At least one of the time scale range that defines the sample volume position to be measured and the time width per unit pixel To provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim Rukoto.
In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the third aspect, the type of the ultrasonic probe, the frequency of the ultrasonic pulse, the dynamic range, the gain, the velocity scale range, the gray map, the color map, and the color region Because the imaging conditions such as the position, sample volume position, and time scale range that have a large effect on the state of the ultrasound image are linked to the ultrasound image, it becomes possible to grasp changes over time in the affected area more accurately. High clinical utility.
[0011]
In the above configuration, the operator's instruction may be performed by operating a mechanical part such as a button or switch, or a GUI (Graphical User Interface) such as a menu or icon displayed on the screen is used. You may do it.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited thereby.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 generates an ultrasonic image based on the ultrasonic probe 21 that transmits an ultrasonic pulse into the subject and receives an ultrasonic echo from the subject, and the ultrasonic echo. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body 101 and the display device 2 for displaying the ultrasonic image are provided.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body 101 records an operation panel 1 that receives instructions from an operator, and an image-related file F (see FIG. 3) or an image-related file Fo (see FIG. 10) with imaging conditions on a portable recording medium M. And a recording / reproducing device 22 for reproducing, and an internal storage device 23 for storing the files F and Fo. Specific examples of the imaging conditions include the type of ultrasonic probe 21 used for imaging (for example, the types of linear electronic scanning, sector electronic scanning, mechanical sector scanning, and convex scanning), the frequency of ultrasonic pulses, and the received echo. The dynamic range that defines the intensity range, the gain that defines the amplification level of the received echo intensity, the velocity scale range that defines the spectrum display range according to the blood flow velocity, and the received echo signal in the gray scale Gray map (Gray Map) used as a conversion map for tonal display, color map (Color Map) used as a conversion map for color display, and color that defines the position of the region of interest cursor for color Doppler signal detection Sample volume that defines the area position (Color Area Position) and detection position for acquiring Doppler blood flow signals Zoom position (Sample Volume Position) and the time scale range for defining the duration per unit pixel (Time Scale Range), and the like. The portable recording medium M is, for example, an MO (Magneto-Optical) disk. The internal storage device 23 is, for example, a hard disk device.
On the operation panel 1, an image list button BM for instructing to display an image list (L in FIG. 5) of previously obtained ultrasound images and the image-related file F with shooting conditions are stored. A record button B1 with shooting conditions to be instructed, a shooting condition recall button B2 to instruct to read and set shooting conditions included in the image-related file F with shooting conditions, and an instruction to store the image-related file F A record button BR, a freeze button BF for instructing to display an ultrasonic image in a frozen state, an enlarged display button BL for instructing to enlarge an ultrasonic image, and a trackball for moving the position of a cursor, etc. TR is arranged.
[0013]
Steps S <b> 1 to S <b> 3 in FIG. 2 are flowcharts showing an operation procedure of the operator when archiving an ultrasonic image. Steps SS1 to SS6 are flowcharts showing archive processing by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100.
In step S1, the operator applies the ultrasonic probe 21 to the affected part of the subject.
In step S2, the operator presses the freeze button BF at the moment when the ultrasonic image to be archived is displayed on the screen.
In step S3, the operator confirms the freeze-displayed ultrasonic image, and then presses the record button B1 with a shooting condition or the record button BR. That is, when it is determined that it is necessary to store the imaging conditions in addition to the ultrasound image, the record button B1 with the imaging conditions is pressed, and when it is determined that it is sufficient to store only the ultrasound image, the record button BR is pressed.
[0014]
In step SS1, an ultrasonic image is displayed in real time.
In step SS2, real-time display is continued until the freeze button BF is pressed, and when the freeze button BF is pressed, the process proceeds to step SS3.
In step SS3, the ultrasonic image is displayed in a frozen state.
In step SS4, the freeze display is continued until the record button B1 with the shooting condition or the record button BR is pressed. If the record button B1 with the shooting condition is pressed, the process proceeds to step SS5. If the record button BR is pressed, the process proceeds to step SS6. .
In step SS5, the image-related file F with shooting conditions is stored in the recording / reproducing device 22 or the internal storage device 23. As shown in FIG. 3, the image-related file F with imaging conditions has a data structure in which patient information D1, image data D2 of an ultrasonic image, and imaging conditions are associated with each other. Note that image characteristic information such as image size and image format type may be further stored.
In step SS6, an image-related file Fo that associates the patient information D1 with the image data D2 of the ultrasonic image is stored.
[0015]
Steps T1 to T7 in FIG. 4 are flowcharts showing the operation procedure of the operator when recalling the ultrasonic image archived in the process of FIG. Steps ST1 to ST11 are flowcharts showing a recall process by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100.
In Step T1, the operator applies the ultrasonic probe 21 to the affected part of the subject.
In step T2, when the operator determines that the archived ultrasonic image needs to be recalled, the operator presses the image list button BM.
In step T3, the operator selects a line corresponding to the ultrasonic image to be recalled on the image list displayed on the screen, and presses the enlargement display button BL. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the cursor is placed on the line corresponding to the patient ID “P203” and the imaging date and time “1999-3-8 10:43” of the image list L in which the patient ID and the imaging date and time are displayed in a list format. At the same time, the enlarged display button BL is pressed. Thereby, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the ultrasonic image I2 is enlarged and displayed. If the multi-display icon C on the screen is specified and executed, the ultrasonic images I1 to I4 corresponding to the image list L are displayed side by side in one screen as shown in FIG. The ultrasound image I2 may be selected from the ultrasound images I1 to I4.
[0016]
If the operator determines that it is necessary to set the photographing conditions for the enlarged ultrasonic image, the operator performs the following steps T4 and T5. However, when performing this operation, an image-related file F with imaging conditions corresponding to the ultrasonic image needs to be stored in advance. If it is determined that there is no need to set, the following operation in step T6 is performed.
In step T4, the operator presses the shooting condition recall button B2.
In step T5, the operator presses the freeze button BF to return to the display screen of the image list L.
In step T6, the freeze button BF is pressed.
[0017]
In step T7, the operator presses the image list button BL to return to the real-time display screen of the ultrasonic image.
[0018]
In step ST1, an ultrasonic image is displayed in real time.
In step ST2, real-time display is continued until the image list button BM is pressed. If the image list button BM is pressed, the process proceeds to step ST3.
In step ST3, the image list L is displayed (see FIG. 5).
In step ST4, the process waits for the enlargement display button BL to be pressed on the image list L in order to select an ultrasonic image, and if it is pressed, the process proceeds to step ST5.
In step ST5, an image-related file F with imaging conditions corresponding to the selected ultrasound image (when step SS5 in FIG. 2 is executed) or an image-related file Fo (when step SS6 in FIG. 2 is executed) is recorded and reproduced. The data is read by the device 22 or the internal storage device 23, the image data D2 is extracted, and the ultrasonic image is enlarged and displayed.
[0019]
In step ST6, the enlarged display is continued until the shooting condition recall button B2 or the freeze button BF is pressed. If the shooting condition recall button B2 is pressed, the process proceeds to step ST7, and if the freeze button BF is pressed, the process proceeds to step ST9.
In step ST7, the shooting condition D3 is extracted from the image-related file F with the shooting condition read out in step ST5 and set for shooting. Note that part of the set shooting conditions may be changed as necessary.
In step ST8, the process waits until the freeze button BF is pressed. If the freeze button BF is pressed, the process proceeds to step ST9.
[0020]
In step ST9, the enlarged ultrasonic image is closed and the image list L display screen is displayed again.
In step ST10, the process waits for the image list button BM to be pressed. If the image list button BM is pressed, the process proceeds to step ST11.
In step ST11, the image list L is closed and the screen returns to the real-time display screen of the ultrasonic image.
[0021]
According to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 described above, since the imaging condition D3 determined by the operator to be used after the fact is stored as the image-related file F with the imaging condition (see FIG. 3), the same patient's same When re-imaging the part, the previous imaging conditions can be set semi-automatically.
[0022]
In the above embodiment, the image data D2 and the shooting conditions D3 are stored in the same file. However, the image data D2 and the shooting conditions D3 may be stored as separate files and associated with each other by link information. For example, when a general-purpose format such as JPEG (Joint Photograph Experts Group) or TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) is adopted, the image data D2 is an independent file from the viewpoint of facilitating classification and management of the image data D2. It is preferable to handle.
[0023]
【The invention's effect】
According to the imaging condition setting method and the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus of the present invention, since the ultrasound image and the imaging conditions are stored in association with each other, the same imaging conditions as those in the previous imaging are set without complicated setting work. This can improve the diagnostic efficiency.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing archive processing by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a data structure diagram showing an image-related file with shooting conditions.
4 is a flowchart showing a recall process by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an image list.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing an enlarged ultrasonic image.
FIG. 7 is a view showing an example of multi-display display of an ultrasonic image.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing archive processing by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of FIG. 8;
FIG. 10 is a data structure diagram showing an image-related file.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a recall process by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of FIG. 8;
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Operation panel 2 Display apparatus 21 Ultrasonic probe 22 Recording / reproducing apparatus 23 Internal storage apparatus 100 Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 101 Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus main body M Portable storage medium B1 Record button with imaging conditions B2 Imaging condition recall button BF Freeze button BL Enlarged display button BM Image list button BR Record button D1 Patient information D2 Image data D3 Imaging condition Fo Image-related file TR with imaging condition TR Trackball

Claims (3)

Ultrasonic image generating means for generating an ultrasonic image by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves;
Ultrasonic image display means for displaying the generated ultrasonic image;
Ultrasonic image freeze means for freezing the displayed ultrasonic image according to a freeze instruction by an operator;
An imaging condition association storage unit that associates and stores the frozen ultrasound image displayed in accordance with the storage instruction by the operator and the imaging conditions of the frozen ultrasound image;
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: an imaging condition setting unit that reads and sets an imaging condition stored in association with the freeze ultrasound image in accordance with an instruction to set the imaging condition of the freeze ultrasound image by an operator. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1,
The imaging condition association storage means stores a plurality of sets of freeze ultrasound images and freeze ultrasound image imaging conditions stored in association with each other,
The imaging condition setting unit displays a plurality of pieces of information corresponding to the stored plurality of freeze ultrasonic images on the ultrasonic image display unit, and an operator selects one piece of information from the displayed pieces of information. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that reads and sets an imaging condition stored in association with the selected freeze ultrasound image in accordance with an instruction and an instruction to set the imaging condition of the selected freeze ultrasound image . The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The imaging conditions include the type of ultrasound probe used for imaging, the frequency of ultrasound pulses, the dynamic range that defines the range of received echo intensity, the gain that defines the amplification level of received echo intensity, the blood A velocity scale range that defines the spectrum display range according to the flow velocity, a gray map that is used as a conversion map for displaying gray levels of received echo signals, a color map that is used as a conversion map for color display, and a color Doppler Color region position that defines the position of the region of interest cursor for signal detection, sample volume position that defines the detection position for acquiring the Doppler blood flow signal, time scale range that defines the time width per unit pixel An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus characterized by being at least one of the following.

Images