JP7545263B2 - Ultrasound diagnostic equipment - Google Patents

Description

An embodiment of the present invention relates to an ultrasound diagnostic device.

An ultrasound diagnostic device emits ultrasonic pulses or continuous ultrasonic waves generated from a vibration element built into an ultrasound probe into a subject, and converts ultrasonic reflections caused by differences in acoustic impedance of the subject's tissue into electrical signals by the vibration element, thereby non-invasively collecting information about the inside of the subject. Medical examinations using ultrasound diagnostic devices are widely used for morphological and functional diagnosis of organs, as they can easily generate and collect medical images such as cross-sectional images and three-dimensional images of the inside of the subject by simply touching the ultrasound probe to the body surface.

In order to make a correct diagnosis, it is essential that the ultrasound diagnostic equipment, including the ultrasound probe, is functioning properly, and for this reason, inspections of the ultrasound diagnostic equipment, including the ultrasound probe, have traditionally been carried out.

Conventionally, the timing of inspections was often decided by users such as doctors, ultrasound technicians, or service engineers. In addition, the decision as to whether or not to carry out inspection management, such as managing the history of past inspections and managing future inspection plans, and the method of carrying out such management were often left to the judgment and discretion of individual users.

On the other hand, when it comes to ultrasound probes, it is common for multiple ultrasound probes to be used with one ultrasound diagnostic device, and a particular ultrasound probe may be used with multiple ultrasound diagnostic devices. For this reason, the inspection and management of ultrasound probes is more complicated than the inspection and management of the ultrasound diagnostic device itself. Therefore, there is a demand for a more reliable and efficient method of inspecting and managing ultrasound probes.

JP 2001-327497 A

One of the problems that the embodiments disclosed in this specification and the drawings attempt to solve is to enable reliable and efficient inspection and management of ultrasound probes used in ultrasound diagnostic devices. However, the problems that the embodiments disclosed in this specification and the drawings attempt to solve are not limited to the above problem. Problems that correspond to the effects of each configuration shown in the embodiments described below can also be positioned as other problems.

An ultrasound diagnostic device according to one embodiment includes a probe that collects ultrasound signals from a subject and a device body that is configured to be connectable to the probe. The device body includes a generator that generates ultrasound image data based on the collected ultrasound signals, an acquirer that acquires an inspection history of the probe, and a determiner that determines when to inspect the probe based on the acquired inspection history.

1 is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a first embodiment. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the arrangement of an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to a first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a probe inspection management process in the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a display on a touch panel, showing in contrast a state in which a connected probe has not yet reached the inspection timing and a state in which the probe has reached the inspection timing. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of the arrangement of an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to a second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a probe inspection management process in an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to a second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an example of the arrangement of an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to a third embodiment. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a probe inspection management process in an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to a third embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
First Embodiment
Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of an ultrasonic diagnostic device 1 according to the first embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the ultrasonic diagnostic device 1 includes a device main body 10 and an ultrasonic probe 20 (hereinafter simply referred to as the probe 20).
The device main body 10 includes various circuits (see FIG. 2) housed in a main body case with casters, as well as a display 110 and a user interface 120.

The display 110 displays ultrasound images and various data generated by various circuits in the device main body 10. The display 110 is configured with, for example, a liquid crystal display panel or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) panel.

The user interface 120 is a device that allows the user to input various data and information to the device main body 10 or set various operation modes to the device main body 10 through user operation. The user interface 120 is configured with, for example, two devices, an operation panel 121 and a touch panel 122 (see FIG. 2).

The operation panel 121 is equipped with operation devices such as a trackball, various switches, and dials, and the user can input various data and information into the device main body 10 by operating these operation devices.

The touch panel 122 is a display and input device consisting of a touch screen overlaid on a display panel such as a liquid crystal panel. By touching or pressing the touch screen according to the display on the display panel, various data and information can be input to the device body 10. For example, it is possible to display icons of multiple probes 20 connected to the device body 10 on the display panel, and select the desired probe 20 by touching these icons on the touch screen.

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the ultrasound diagnostic device 1 of the first embodiment. The ultrasound diagnostic device 1 includes a device main body 10 and at least one probe 20 connected to the device main body 10. The number of probes 20 connected to the device main body 10 may be one, or multiple probes, for example four, may be connected to the device main body 10 as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

In the following, the probe 20 is described as being included in the configuration of the ultrasound diagnostic device 1, but the probe 20 may be provided separately from the ultrasound diagnostic device 1. In this case, the device main body 10 and the ultrasound diagnostic device 1 are the same, and each probe 20 is connected to the ultrasound diagnostic device 1.

The device main body 10 is equipped with an image generating circuit 130, a processing circuit 140, a display 110, a user interface 120, as well as a probe selection circuit 150, an inspection history storage circuit 151, an inspection schedule storage circuit 152, and an external interface 153.

(Image Generation Processing)
The process of generating an ultrasound image in the ultrasound diagnostic device 1 is mainly performed by the probe 20 and the image generating circuit 130 .

When multiple probes 20 are connected to the device main body 10, the desired probe 20 is selected by the probe selection circuit 150. The selected probe 20 and the image generation circuit 130 are connected to each other.

As shown in FIG. 2, the image generating circuit 130 includes, for example, a transmitting circuit 131, a beamformer 132, a scanning control circuit 134, a signal processing circuit 135, an image processing circuit 136, and a control circuit 137.

The probe 20 has a large number of transducer elements arranged in a one-dimensional row or a two-dimensional plane. During transmission, a pulsed electrical signal generated by the transmission circuit 131 is converted into an ultrasonic signal by each transducer element, and the ultrasonic signal is emitted toward the subject. During reception, the reflected wave from the subject is converted into an electrical signal by each transducer element. The ultrasonic signal output as an electrical signal from each transducer element (i.e., each channel received signal) is input to the beamformer 132 of the image generation circuit 130 via the probe selection circuit 150.

The beamformer 132 forms a receiving beam by performing weighting and addition processing on each channel signal received by the probe 20. The beamformer 132 also scans the direction of the receiving beam according to a control signal from the scanning control circuit 134. The signal processing circuit 135 performs signal processing such as logarithmic detection processing, correlation processing, and Doppler processing on the beamformed receiving signal. The image processing circuit 136 generates images such as B-mode images, Doppler mode images, and color Doppler mode images based on the processed signal and information such as the scanning angle. The display 110 displays the generated images.

As described above, the user interface 120 is a device that allows the user to input various data and information to the device main body 10 or set various operation modes to the device main body 10 through user operation. The user interface 120 is configured with, for example, two devices: an operation panel 121 and a touch panel 122.

The control circuit 137 generates control signals for controlling each part of the device body 10 and the probe 20 based on operation information, data, etc. input from the user interface 120.

(Probe inspection management process)
The ultrasound diagnostic device 1 of the embodiment inspects the probe 20 and also performs processing related to management of the probe inspection. The processing related to management of the probe inspection includes, for example, processing related to the inspection history of the probe 20 that has been performed in the past and processing related to a future inspection plan for the probe 20.

Before explaining the "management process" for probe inspection, we will explain the "inspection process" for the probe. The ultrasound diagnostic device 1 of the embodiment has a function of semi-automatically inspecting the probe 20 connected to the device main body 10.

The type of inspection of the probe 20 is not particularly limited, but for example, the probe 20 can be inspected by measuring the reception sensitivity of the vibration element equipped in the probe 20. When inspecting using this method, the user first selects the probe 20 to be inspected. Then, for example, the user inputs an instruction to "start inspection" from the user interface 120.

When the "Start inspection" command is received, the transmission circuit 131 outputs an inspection transmission pulse to the probe 20, and the probe 20 radiates an inspection ultrasonic signal into space. This radiation signal leaks into each transducer element of the probe 20, and this leakage signal becomes an inspection ultrasonic input signal for each transducer element. An electrical signal corresponding to this ultrasonic input signal is output from each transducer element of the probe 20 to the image generation circuit 130 as a channel signal.

In the image generating circuit 130, for example, the sensitivity of each transducer element can be measured by measuring the magnitude of this channel signal. Then, the presence or absence of an abnormality in the probe 20 can be determined from the results of the sensitivity measurement of each transducer element. The inspection results, such as whether or not there is an abnormality in the probe 20, are displayed, for example, on the touch panel 122 of the user interface 120.

Furthermore, in the ultrasound diagnostic device 1 of this embodiment, the inspection results of the probe 20 are stored as an inspection history in an inspection history storage circuit 210 provided inside the probe 20. Then, this inspection history is used to perform processing related to the management of probe inspection (hereinafter referred to as probe inspection management processing).

The inspection management process for the probe in the ultrasound diagnostic device 1 according to the first embodiment is realized by the inspection history acquisition function F10, the inspection timing decision function F12, and the display control function F14 of the processing circuit 140, using the inspection history stored in the probe 20 described above and the inspection schedule stored in the inspection schedule storage circuit 152 of the device main body 10.

The processing circuit 140 is, for example, a circuit equipped with a CPU or a dedicated or general-purpose processor. The processor executes various programs stored in a storage circuit (not shown) to realize various functions such as the inspection history acquisition function F10, the inspection timing determination function F12, and the display control function F14. The processing circuit 140 may be configured with hardware such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit). The above-mentioned various functions can also be realized by such hardware. The processing circuit 140 can also realize various functions by combining software processing by a processor and a program with hardware processing.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a probe inspection management process in the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment.

First, in step ST101, the inspection history of the probe is acquired. The processing of step ST101 is performed by the inspection history acquisition function F10 of the processing circuit 140. As described above, the inspection history of the probe is stored, for example, in the inspection history storage circuit 210 provided in each probe 20. When multiple probes 20 are connected to the device main body 10, the inspection history is read from each probe 20 by the inspection history acquisition function F10 and input into the processing circuit 140.

The inspection history may include information regarding the date and time when the probe inspection was performed, as well as information regarding the inspection results such as the presence or absence of abnormalities and the measurement results of the probe sensitivity, identification information of the probe 20 being inspected such as the model name and serial number of the probe 20, and identification information of the device main body 10 used during the inspection.

Next, in step ST102, information regarding the inspection schedule for the probe is obtained. The inspection schedule includes, for example, information regarding the time interval at which inspections are to be performed, such as an inspection interval of three months or six months. Alternatively, the inspection schedule may include information regarding the specific date on which inspections should be performed, such as August 10, 2020, November 10, 2020, February 10, 2021, etc.

Next, in step ST103, the timing of inspection is determined based on the inspection history and inspection schedule of the probe. For example, the time when each connected probe 20 should be inspected, i.e., the inspection timing, is determined based on the inspection history and inspection schedule of each connected probe 20. For example, if the inspection schedule specifies that the probe inspection interval is three months, the inspection timing is determined to be the date and time when the last inspection was performed, which is included in the inspection history, plus three months.

For example, if the inspection schedule includes a specific scheduled inspection date, the scheduled inspection date that comes next after the date of the last inspection included in the inspection history is determined as the time for inspection, i.e., the inspection timing.

Next, in step ST104, the date and time of the inspection timing is compared with the current date and time to determine whether the probe 20 has reached the inspection timing. If the current date and time has not reached the date and time of the inspection timing (NO in step ST104), the process returns to step ST101. On the other hand, if it is determined that the current date and time is the same as or exceeds the date and time of the inspection timing, the process proceeds to step ST105. Note that the processes in steps ST103 and ST104 are performed by the inspection timing determination function F12 in FIG. 2.

In step ST105, a notification is issued to encourage inspection of the corresponding probe 20, i.e., the probe 20 for which it has been determined that the current date and time is the same as or exceeds the inspection timing date and time. For example, a display encouraging inspection of the corresponding probe 20 is displayed on the touch panel 122.

The left part of FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the display screen DS of the touch panel 122. At the bottom of the display screen DS of the touch panel 122, a number of square frames are displayed corresponding to the number of probes that can be connected to the device main body 10. In this example, four probes can be connected to the device main body 10, and four square frames are displayed. When a probe 20 is connected to the device main body 10, an icon that is a schematic representation of the shape of the connected probe and a number symbol (for example, "P001") indicating the identification information of the connected probe are displayed in the square frame.

When selecting a desired probe 20 from among the multiple connected probes 20, the square frame in which the probe icon is displayed is touched or pressed. Then, the background of the probe icon of the selected probe 20 is highlighted.

The display screen DS in the upper left part of Figure 4 is an example of a screen display in a situation where none of the three connected probes 20 have reached the inspection timing. In this display example, three probes 20, "P001", "P002", and "P003", are connected to the device main body 10, and of these, the probe 20 "P001" is selected.

On the other hand, the display screen DS in the lower left part of Figure 4 indicates that, of the three connected probes 20, probe 20 "P002" requires inspection, i.e., it has reached the time to inspect it. For example, by making the background of the probe icon darker than the backgrounds of the other probe icons, it is indicated that probe 20 "P002" has reached the time to inspect it.

The display in FIG. 4 is an example, and the display is not limited to this example. In short, it is sufficient to display the probe 20 that has reached the time to be inspected so that the user can identify it, and various display methods are possible. The processing of step ST105 is performed by the display control function F14 of the processing circuit 140.

The method of notifying the user of the probe 20 that has reached the time to be inspected may be a method other than the above-mentioned method using image information. For example, the probe 20 that has reached the time to be inspected may be displayed by text information on the touch panel 122. Alternatively, the user may be notified of the probe 20 that has reached the time to be inspected by audio information. Alternatively, the notification may be made by combining any two of the image information, text information, and audio information, or may be made by using all three of these pieces of information.

(Modification of the first embodiment)
In the first embodiment described above, the inspection history of the probe is stored in the inspection history storage circuit 210 provided in each probe 20, but the storage location of the inspection history is not limited thereto. For example, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the inspection history storage circuit 151 of the device main body 10 may store history information of probe inspections previously performed by the device main body 10.

Alternatively, the probe inspection history information may be stored in a server device set in a predetermined location in a medical facility such as a hospital, or in a location away from the medical facility. In this case, the inspection history of multiple probes 20 performed on multiple ultrasound diagnostic devices 1, such as the inspection history of probe inspections performed on multiple ultrasound diagnostic devices 1 in one medical facility, or the inspection history information of probe inspections performed on multiple ultrasound diagnostic devices 1 in multiple medical facilities, is stored in the server device. When the probe inspection history is stored in the server device, the inspection history acquisition function F10 acquires the inspection history from the network to which the server device is connected, via the external interface 153 provided in the device main body 10.

By storing the inspection history of the probe 20 in the server device, the inspection history information of the probe 20 used in various locations can be managed in a centralized manner, making it possible to efficiently manage the inspection history.

Second Embodiment
Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic device 1 according to the second embodiment. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a probe inspection management process in the ultrasonic diagnostic device 1 according to the second embodiment.

The ultrasound diagnostic device 1 according to the second embodiment further includes an inspection schedule update function F16 in addition to the first embodiment. The configuration of the second embodiment other than the inspection schedule update function F16 is the same as that of the first embodiment.

In the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, steps ST200, ST201, and ST202 are added to the flowchart of the first embodiment (FIG. 3), and the other processing is the same as in the first embodiment.

In step ST200, the usage status of the probe is acquired. Here, the usage status of the probe refers to an index showing the extent of usage of the probe, such as the cumulative usage time or cumulative power-on time from when the probe was acquired to the present time, the number of times the probe has been used from when the probe was acquired to the present time, or the average frequency of use in a specified period (e.g., one month).

In the second embodiment, information regarding the usage status of these probes is stored together with the inspection history of the probes in, for example, the inspection history storage circuit 210 provided in the probe 20, the inspection history storage circuit 151 provided in the device main body 10, or an external server device. Then, in step ST200, the usage status of the probes is read and obtained from these storage devices.

In step ST201, it is determined whether or not to update the inspection schedule based on the acquired usage status. For example, if the cumulative usage time or cumulative power-on time is longer than a predetermined time, it is determined that the inspection schedule should be updated. Alternatively, if the number of times the probe has been used is greater than a predetermined number of times, or if the frequency of probe use is greater than a predetermined frequency, it is determined that the inspection schedule should be updated.

When it is determined that the inspection schedule should be updated (YES in step ST201), in step ST202, the inspection schedule stored in the inspection schedule storage circuit 152 is referenced and the inspection schedule is updated according to the usage situation. For example, if the initially set inspection schedule specifies that the probe inspection should be performed every six months, the inspection schedule is updated so that the inspection interval is shortened (for example, so that the probe inspection is performed every four months). The inspection schedule may be updated so that the inspection interval can be adjusted in multiple stages, such as four months, three months, and two months, according to the degree of usage.
According to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 of the second embodiment described above, highly flexible inspection management can be performed according to the usage status of the probe.

Third Embodiment
Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic device 1 according to the third embodiment. Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a probe inspection management process in the ultrasonic diagnostic device 1 according to the third embodiment.

The ultrasound diagnostic device 1 according to the third embodiment further includes an inspection execution function F18 in comparison with the second embodiment. The configuration of the third embodiment other than the inspection execution function F18 is the same as that of the second embodiment.

In the flowchart shown in FIG. 8, step ST300 has been added to the flowchart of the second embodiment (FIG. 6), and the other processing is the same as in the second embodiment.

In the first and second embodiments, if it is determined in step ST104 that the current date and time is the same as or exceeds the inspection timing date and time, a notification is sent to prompt inspection of the corresponding probe 20, i.e., the probe 20 for which it is determined that the current date and time is the same as or exceeds the inspection timing date and time (step ST105).

In contrast, in the third embodiment, in addition to the process of step ST105, an inspection of the corresponding probe 20 is automatically executed. In the first and second embodiments, the user, who is prompted by the notification, needs to manually perform an operation to start the inspection, but in the third embodiment, such a manual operation is not necessary, and therefore operability is improved.
The specific contents of the inspection that is automatically started are not particularly limited, and may be the conventional semi-automatically performed inspection contents described above.

The image generation circuit, inspection history acquisition function, inspection timing determination function, display control function, inspection history storage circuit, inspection schedule storage circuit, inspection schedule update function, and inspection execution function of the embodiment are examples of the generation unit, acquisition unit, determination unit, notification unit, history storage unit, schedule storage unit, schedule update unit, and inspection execution unit, respectively, of the claims.

As described above, the ultrasound diagnostic device 1 of each embodiment allows inspection and management of the ultrasound probe used in the ultrasound diagnostic device to be performed reliably and efficiently.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are within the scope of the invention and its equivalents as set forth in the claims, as well as the scope and gist of the invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Ultrasound diagnostic device 10 Device body 20 Probe 110 Display 120 User interface 121 Operation panel 122 Touch panel 130 Image generation circuit 140 Processing circuit 151 Inspection history storage circuit 152 Inspection schedule storage circuit 210 Inspection history storage circuit F10 Inspection history acquisition function F12 Inspection timing determination function F14 Display control function F16 Inspection schedule update function F18 Inspection execution function

Claims (9)

a probe for acquiring ultrasound signals from a subject;
An apparatus main body to which the probe can be connected,
The device body includes:
A generator that generates ultrasound image data based on the collected ultrasound signals;
An acquisition unit that acquires an inspection history of the probe;
a determination unit that determines a timing for inspecting the probe based on the acquired inspection history;
Equipped with
The probe is configured by arranging a plurality of transducer elements in a one-dimensional row or a two-dimensional plane, and includes a history storage unit that stores the inspection history,
The acquisition unit reads out the inspection history from the history storage unit provided in the probe to acquire the inspection history.
Ultrasound diagnostic equipment. a notification unit that notifies a user of the probe that has reached the time to be inspected;
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: The notification unit notifies a user of the probe that has reached the time to be inspected by using at least one of image information, audio information, and text information.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2 . The inspection history includes information regarding when the inspection of the probe was performed and identification information of the probe for which the inspection was performed.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 . The inspection history further includes identification information of an apparatus main body to which the probe was connected when the inspection of the probe was performed.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 4 . The device body further includes a schedule storage unit for storing information regarding an inspection schedule for the probe,
the determination unit determines a timing for inspecting the probe by using the acquired inspection history and the inspection schedule stored in the schedule storage unit.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 . The inspection history further includes information regarding a usage status of the probe;
The device body further includes a schedule update unit that updates the inspection schedule in accordance with the usage status of the probe.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 6 . the schedule update unit updates the inspection schedule based on at least one of a usage time, a usage count, and a usage frequency of the probe.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 7 . The device body further includes an inspection execution unit that executes inspection of the probe,
The inspection execution unit executes the inspection of the probe according to the timing determined by the determination unit.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 .

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