JP2008183396A - Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To observe an observation target whose blood flow state needs to be grasped always optimally in real time in a Doppler image by a color Doppler mode or a power Doppler mode. <P>SOLUTION: An image processing device 5 is equipped with an ultrasonic transmission part 11, an ultrasonic reception part 12, a transmission and reception control part 13, a B mode signal processing part 14, a B mode image generating and storing part 15, an image synthesizing part 16, a Doppler signal processing part 18, a Doppler image generating and storing part 19, a Doppler scan region setting part 17, a Doppler scan region storing part 20, a Doppler scan control part 22, a region marker movement control part 23, and a region marker image generating part 24. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that displays a blood flow image in a part of a B-mode image display area in a color Doppler mode or a power Doppler mode using ultrasound.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in medical ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses, a living body is irradiated with ultrasonic waves, and a two-dimensional distribution of blood flow is displayed as a color image by the power of a Doppler signal. Unlike the method of displaying blood flow based on the frequency of the Doppler signal, the method of displaying blood flow based on the power of the Doppler signal cannot display the direction, velocity, or velocity dispersion of the blood flow. In view of the unique function of displaying the location and its strength with high sensitivity and a high S / N ratio, it is one of the beneficial blood flow display methods.

  In this type of device, for example, as described in Non-Patent Document 1 “Diagnostic Imaging, December 1993, p. 66-69”, a blood flow display region is provided in a part of the B-mode image display region, A blood flow image is displayed there. The blood flow display area can be freely moved in the B-mode image display area by the operation device, whereby a blood flow image of a desired region of interest can be displayed.

  The blood flow image is displayed in a color corresponding to the power of the Doppler signal, and is, for example, purple, red, orange, and yellow in ascending order of power. A portion without blood flow has no color display, that is, a B-mode image is displayed, so that it can be clearly distinguished from a portion with blood flow. Since the blood flow image based on the power of the Doppler signal has a good S / N ratio, a B-mode image is displayed in a portion where there is no blood flow.

  For this reason, when a tumor image is displayed in the B-mode image display area on the display surface of the image display, the blood flow display area is moved to a site where the tumor image is present, and the blood flow in that part is displayed. If the blood flow display area overlaps the tumor image during the movement, the tumor image is hidden and cannot be seen, and the target cannot be confirmed.

  In general, since an ultrasonic transducer, for example, an ultrasonic probe is brought into contact with a subject by an operator, the direction is easily changed. For this reason, it is necessary to correct the direction of the transducer while looking at the screen so that the tumor image always appears on the display surface. Even if the orientation of is shifted, it cannot be corrected. Therefore, it is uncertain whether the blood flow displayed in the blood flow display area is definitely the blood flow of a desired part.

Therefore, for example, in JP-A-8-173428, a B-mode image is displayed in the blood flow display region even during movement of the blood flow display region, and when the movement stops, a blood flow image is displayed. There has been proposed an ultrasonic observation apparatus capable of observing at least a B-mode image even while moving a blood flow display region.
JP-A-8-173428 Diagnostic Imaging, December 1993, p.66-69

  However, as described above, in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a two-dimensional distribution of blood flow is displayed as a color image in the blood flow region formed in the B-mode image display region. During this period, the ultrasonic transmission is interrupted, and therefore, the blood flow display image is not displayed, and only the B-mode image is displayed, so that the blood flow state of the moving organ cannot be observed. is there.

  In addition, when an observation target that needs to grasp the blood flow state moves violently, if an extra color display is performed, there is a problem that it becomes difficult to visually recognize the region of interest in real time.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is always easy and inexpensive to use a Doppler image in the color Doppler mode or the power Doppler mode for an observation target that needs to grasp the blood flow state. An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that can be optimally observed in real time.

The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present invention is
An ultrasonic pulse transmitting means for transmitting an ultrasonic pulse to the inspection object;
An ultrasonic echo signal receiving means for receiving an ultrasonic echo signal of the ultrasonic pulse from the inspection object;
Based on the ultrasonic echo signal received by the ultrasonic echo signal receiving means, a B mode image generating means for generating a B mode image of the inspection object;
First region of interest setting means for setting a first region of interest on the B-mode image;
A movement instruction means for instructing movement of a predetermined setting area on the B-mode image;
Second region-of-interest setting means for setting a second region of interest as a destination of movement of the setting region by the movement instruction means;
A Doppler image generating means for generating a Doppler image from blood flow state information of the first and / or the second region of interest based on the ultrasonic echo signal received by the ultrasonic echo signal receiving means;
Based on the movement instruction means, a movement state image generation means for generating a setting area image indicating a movement state of the setting area;
Setting area image generation control means for controlling generation of the setting area image by the moving state image generation means;
An image synthesis means for synthesizing the B-mode image, the Doppler image, and the setting area image to generate a synthesized image;
It is configured with.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that an observation target that needs to know the blood flow state can always be optimally observed in real time on a Doppler image in the color Doppler mode or the power Doppler mode.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<Example 1>
1 to 7 relate to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of FIG. 1, and FIG. 2 is a first diagram illustrating the process of FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a third diagram illustrating the process of FIG. 2, and FIG. 6 is a process of FIG. FIG. 7 is a fourth diagram for explaining, and FIG. 7 is a fifth diagram for explaining the processing of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is inserted into a luminal organ in a body cavity and transmits and receives an ultrasonic wave to a site of interest such as an affected part in the luminal organ. And an image processing device 5 that ultrasonically drives the ultrasonic transducer unit 3 and displays an ultrasonic image on the monitor 4 using an ultrasonic echo signal.

  The image processing apparatus 5 includes an ultrasonic transmission unit 11, an ultrasonic reception unit 12, a transmission / reception control unit 13, a B-mode signal processing unit 14, a B-mode image generation / save unit 15, an image synthesis unit 16, a Doppler signal processing unit 18, A Doppler image generation and storage unit 19, a Doppler scanning region setting unit 17, a Doppler scanning region storage unit 20, a Doppler scanning control unit 22, a region marker movement control unit 23, and a region marker image generation unit 24 are configured.

  The Doppler scanning control unit 22 is connected to an input device 21 such as a mouse or a trackball which is a keyboard or a pointing device. This input device 21 constitutes a movement instruction means in this embodiment.

  The ultrasonic transmission unit 11 is a driving unit that ultrasonically drives the ultrasonic transducer unit 3, and constitutes an ultrasonic pulse transmission unit in this embodiment.

  The ultrasonic receiving unit 12 is a receiving unit that receives an ultrasonic echo signal from the ultrasonic transducer unit 3, and constitutes an ultrasonic echo signal receiving means in this embodiment.

  The transmission / reception control unit 13 is a control unit that controls transmission / reception timings of the ultrasonic transmission unit 11 and the ultrasonic reception unit 12.

  The B-mode signal processing unit 14 processes the ultrasonic echo signal received by the ultrasonic receiving unit 12 to generate a B-mode image, creates the generated B-mode image, and generates the B-mode image generation / save unit 15. And constitutes a B-mode image generating means in the present embodiment.

  The Doppler signal processing unit 18 processes an ultrasonic echo signal received by the ultrasonic receiving unit 12 by a pulse Doppler method to display a CFM (Color Flow Mapping) image related to blood flow dynamics. Data, that is, a Doppler image representing blood flow velocity, Doppler signal power, blood flow velocity dispersion, and the like is generated and stored in the Doppler image generation storage unit 19. It is composed.

  The Doppler scanning region setting unit 17 sets a processing region of the Doppler image generated by the Doppler signal processing unit 18 on the B mode image generated by the B mode signal processing unit 14. The first region of interest setting means or the second region of interest setting means is configured.

  The Doppler scanning area storage unit 20 stores area information of the processing area of the Doppler image set by the Doppler scanning area setting unit 17.

  The Doppler scanning control unit 22 controls the setting of the processing region of the Doppler image in the Doppler scanning region setting unit 17 and constitutes a Doppler image region-of-interest specifying means in the present embodiment.

  The region marker image generation unit 24 generates a Doppler scanning region image on a B-mode image of the processing region of the Doppler image set by the Doppler scanning region setting unit 17, and is a movement state image in this embodiment. The generation means is configured.

  The region marker movement control unit 23 controls the movement of the Doppler scanning region image generated by the region marker image generation unit 24 on the B-mode image. It is composed.

  The image synthesizing unit 16 synthesizes the B-mode image, the Doppler image, and the Doppler scanning area image and displays them on the monitor 4 and constitutes an image synthesizing unit in this embodiment.

  The operation of the present embodiment thus configured will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2 and the explanatory diagrams of FIGS.

  In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, when an operator inserts the ultrasonic probe 2 into a hollow organ in a body cavity and starts diagnosis, as shown in FIG. Is scanned in the B mode, and the B mode ultrasonic image 31 as shown in FIG. The monitor 4 on which the B-mode ultrasound image 31 is displayed displays an examination information area 30 for displaying examination information (patient information, examination date and time). Further, in the B-mode ultrasound image 31, a plurality of regions of interest, for example, regions of interest 32a and 32b that are of interest to the surgeon performing the diagnosis are displayed.

  Next, in step S102, the Doppler scanning area setting unit 17 sets a default Doppler scanning area 51 having a predetermined size stored in the Doppler scanning area storage unit 20, as shown in FIG. At this time, scanning of the ultrasonic image displayed on the monitor 4 is formed only by B-mode scanning.

  Next, the Doppler signal processing unit 18 processes the Doppler scanning region 51 by the pulse Doppler method based on the ultrasonic echo signal received by the ultrasonic receiving unit 12 in Step S103, and relates to the blood flow dynamics. Image data for displaying a CFM (Color Flow Mapping) image, that is, a Doppler scanning region image representing blood flow velocity, Doppler signal power, blood flow velocity dispersion, and the like is generated and stored in the Doppler image generation storage unit 19. Store.

  Subsequently, in step S104, the image composition unit 16 adds a Doppler scanning region image 55 of the region of interest 51a as the first region of interest, which is the Doppler scanning region 51, to the B-mode ultrasound image 31, as shown in FIG. A superimposed composite image is generated, and the composite image is displayed on the monitor 4.

  Next, in step S105, it is determined whether or not there is an instruction to move the Doppler scanning area 51 by the operator's operation using the input device 21 made of, for example, a trackball. If there is an instruction to move the Doppler scanning area 51, the process proceeds to Step S106.

  In step S106, as shown in FIG. 6, the area marker movement control unit 23 controls the area marker image generation unit 24. Based on the input signal of the input device 21 made of, for example, a trackball, the Doppler scan of the region of interest 51a is performed. While the composite image on which the region image 55 is superimposed is displayed, the moving region frame image 510 indicating the Doppler scanning region 51 is displayed on the B-mode ultrasonic image 31 and moved. At this time, Doppler scanning is performed to display the Doppler scanning area image 55 in real time.

  In the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, only the moving region frame image 510 indicating the Doppler scanning region 51 is displayed while being displayed on the B-mode ultrasonic image 31, and the region of interest region 51a (of the region of interest 32a) is moved. The Doppler scanning area image 55 could not be observed (see FIG. 12).

  Next, in step S107, the area marker movement control unit 23 determines, for example, whether the operation of the trackball has stopped for a certain time, and determines that the operation of the trackball has stopped for a certain time, for example. The process proceeds to step S108 assuming that the scanning area 51 is the designated area, and if it is determined that the operation of the trackball has not stopped for a certain time, the process returns to step S106 as not being designated.

For example, when the operation of the trackball stops for a certain time (for example, 1 second) or longer, in step S108, the Doppler signal processing unit 18 performs Doppler scan at the position of the Doppler scanning region 51 that is the region of interest (ROI) after the movement, Generate image data for displaying CFM (Color Flow Mapping) images related to blood flow dynamics, that is, Doppler scanning area image representing blood flow velocity, Doppler signal power, blood flow velocity dispersion, etc. Store in the storage unit 19.

  In step S109, the image composition unit 16 generates a composite image obtained by superimposing the Doppler scan region image 55 of the region of interest 51b as the second region of interest, which is the Doppler scan region 51, on the B-mode ultrasound image 31. The composite image is displayed on the monitor 4, and the process proceeds to step S110.

  In step S110, if it is determined by the operator's input using the input device 21 including a keyboard and the completion of the examination (diagnosis) cannot be confirmed, the process returns to step S103, and processing is performed when the completion of the examination (diagnosis) is confirmed. Exit.

  Returning to step S103, by repeating the above processing S103 to S108, as shown in FIG. 7, the Doppler scanning area image 55 of the first Doppler scanning area 51 of the movement destination is displayed, and at the same time, the previous Doppler scanning area is displayed. The erased composite image of the 51 Doppler scanning area image 55 is displayed on the monitor 4.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, when the B-mode image is displayed, when the Doppler scanning area image of the first region of interest 51a is displayed, the display area of the Doppler scanning area image is changed to the moving area. Even when the frame image 510 is moved, since the display of the Doppler scanning area image of the first region of interest 51a is maintained, B-mode observation and Doppler observation can be continued. Further, when the destination Doppler scanning area 51 is determined by the moving area frame image 510, the Doppler scanning area image of the first region of interest 51a is switched to the Doppler scanning region image of the second region of interest 51b and displayed. , Doppler observation of the region of interest can be performed without interruption.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to always optimally observe an observation target that needs to know the blood flow state in real time with a color image in the power Doppler mode.

  In addition, conventionally, even when the blood flow display area is moving, the software detects the position of the blood flow display area at a certain timing, and performs Doppler scanning at the position of the detected blood flow display area. There was a load on the software. For this reason, a high-performance CPU was required, leading to an increase in the cost of the device.

  However, in this embodiment, since the Doppler scan is always performed in the blood flow display area at the start of movement during the movement, the software is not burdened compared to the conventional case, and an inexpensive CPU can be used by simple processing.

<Example 2>
8 to 34 relate to the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, FIG. 9 is a first diagram for explaining the processing of FIG. 8, and FIG. FIG. 11 is a third diagram for explaining the processing of FIG. 8, FIG. 12 is a fourth diagram for explaining the processing of FIG. 8, and FIG. 13 is for explaining the processing of FIG. FIG. 5 is a sixth diagram illustrating the process of FIG. 8, FIG. 15 is a seventh diagram illustrating the process of FIG. 8, and FIG. 16 is an eighth diagram illustrating the process of FIG. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the flow of erasure and display processing of the Doppler scanning region image of the designated region in FIG. 8, FIG. 18 is a first diagram explaining the processing in FIG. 17, and FIG. 19 is a first diagram explaining the processing in FIG. FIG. 2 is a third diagram for explaining the processing of FIG. 17, FIG. 21 is a fourth diagram for explaining the processing of FIG. 17, and FIG. FIG. 23 is a sixth diagram illustrating the process of FIG. 17, FIG. 24 is a seventh diagram illustrating the process of FIG. 17, and FIG. 25 is an eighth diagram illustrating the process of FIG. FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing a flow of a modification of the processing of FIG. 8, FIG. 27 is a first diagram for explaining the processing of FIG. 26, and FIG. 28 is a second diagram for explaining the processing of FIG. 29 is a third diagram for explaining the processing of FIG. 26, FIG. 30 is a fourth diagram for explaining the processing of FIG. 26, FIG. 31 is a fifth diagram for explaining the processing of FIG. 26, and FIG. FIG. 33 is a sixth diagram for explaining the process of FIG. 26, and FIG. 33 is an eighth diagram for explaining the process of FIG.

  Since the configuration of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, only different points will be described.

  The operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 8 and 17 and the explanatory diagrams of FIGS. 3 and 9 to 16.

  In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, when an operator inserts the ultrasonic probe 2 into a luminal organ in a body cavity and starts diagnosis, as shown in FIG. Is scanned in the B mode, and the B mode ultrasonic image 31 is displayed on the monitor 4 via the image synthesis unit 16 as in the first embodiment (see FIG. 3). The monitor 4 on which the B-mode ultrasound image 31 is displayed displays an examination information area 30 for displaying examination information (patient information, examination date and time). Further, in the B-mode ultrasound image 31, a plurality of regions of interest, for example, regions of interest 32a and 32b that are of interest to the surgeon performing the diagnosis are displayed.

  In step S2, for example, when the surgeon uses the input device 21 and designates, for example, the region of interest 32a as the designated region as the Doppler region, the Doppler scanning control unit 22 sets the parameter i to 1, and proceeds to Step S3.

  In step S3, the Doppler scanning area setting unit 17 sets a Doppler scanning area 51 of a predetermined size including the region of interest 32a by using the pointer 50 using the input device 21 operated by the operator as shown in FIG. To do. At this time, scanning of the ultrasonic image displayed on the monitor 4 is formed only by B-mode scanning.

  Next, in step S4, the Doppler scanning region setting unit 17 stores the region information on the B-mode image of the Doppler scanning region 51 in the Doppler scanning region storage unit 20 as region information of the i-th region of interest, for example.

  In step S5, the Doppler signal processing unit 18 processes the i-th region of interest by the pulse Doppler method based on the ultrasonic echo signal received by the ultrasonic receiving unit 12, and relates to the blood flow dynamics. Image data for displaying a CFM (Color Flow Mapping) image, that is, an i-th Doppler scanning area image 55 representing blood flow velocity, Doppler signal power, blood flow velocity dispersion, etc. is generated and stored. Stored in the unit 19.

  Subsequently, in step S6, the image composition unit 16 generates a composite image in which the i-th Doppler scanning region image 55 of the i-th region of interest 51a is superimposed on the B-mode ultrasound image 31, as shown in FIG. 4 displays the composite image.

  Next, in step S7, it is determined whether or not there is an instruction to move the Doppler scanning area 51 with the pointer 50 using the input device 21 by the operator's operation. If there is an instruction to move the Doppler scanning area 51, the process proceeds to Step S8.

  In step S8, as shown in FIG. 11, the region marker movement control unit 23 controls the region marker image generation unit 24, and based on the pointer 50 using the input device 21, the i-th Doppler of the i-th region of interest 51a. The composite image in which the scanning region image 55 is superimposed is displayed, and the Doppler scanning region 51 is moved while being displayed on the B-mode ultrasonic image 31.

  In the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, as shown in FIG. 12, the i-th region of interest (of the region of interest 32a) is moved while displaying only the Doppler scanning region 51 on the B-mode ultrasonic image 31. In this state, the i-th Doppler scanning area image 55a of 51a cannot be observed.

  Next, in step S9, as shown in FIG. 13, it is determined whether or not the moved Doppler scanning area 51 is added as a designated area by an instruction using the input device 21 by an operator's operation, and is not added as a designated area. If so, the process returns to step S8, and if added as a designated area, the process proceeds to step S10.

  Then, the image processing apparatus 5 displays images as shown in FIGS. 14 to 15 to 16 on the monitor 4 in step S10 according to an instruction using the input device 21 by the operator's operation, which will be described later. The “deletion and display processing of the Doppler scanning area image of the designated area” is executed, and the process proceeds to step S11.

  In step S11, the end of the examination (diagnosis) is determined by the operator's input using the input device 21, and if the completion of the examination (diagnosis) cannot be confirmed, i is incremented in step S12 and the process proceeds to step S4. Returning, when the end of the examination (diagnosis) is confirmed, the process is terminated.

  Next, the “deletion and display processing of the Doppler scanning area image of the designated area” in step S10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In the erasing and display processing of the Doppler scanning region image of the designated region, as shown in FIG. 17, the Doppler scanning control unit 22 of the image processing device 5 performs the i-th Doppler scanning region image of the i-th region of interest 51b in step S21. Only 55 is displayed, and the k <i> k Doppler scanning area image 55 is deleted.

  Then, in step S22, the Doppler scanning control unit 22 determines whether there is an instruction to display the Doppler scanning area image 55 other than the i-th Doppler scanning area image 55 by an instruction using the input device 21 by the operator's operation. If not, the process ends. If there is, the process proceeds to step S23.

  In step S23, the Doppler scanning control unit 22 displays a Doppler image selection window 200 as shown in FIG. 18 on the monitor 4, and uses the input device 21 operated by the operator in the Doppler image selection window 200. The system waits for selection of the number k of the Doppler designated area stored in the scanning area storage unit 20 (k is an integer not less than 1 and not more than i: kth designated area), and detects the number k.

  When the number k is detected, the Doppler scanning control unit 22 displays only the k-th Doppler scanning area image of the k-th designated area designated in Step S24 and ends the process.

  FIG. 14 shows an example of image display when the first and second Doppler scan area images are designated, and FIG. 15 shows an example of image display when only the first Doppler scan area image is designated. FIG. 16 shows an image display example when only the second Doppler scanning area image is designated.

  19 to 25 show display examples of the above processing when there are two or more regions of interest, for example, three regions of interest 32a, 32b, and 32c.

  Note that. In this embodiment, the area of the Doppler scanning area image 55 is designated by the Doppler scanning area 51, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  That is, as shown in steps S4a, 8a, and 9a of FIG. 26, the marker 100 may be used instead of the Doppler scanning region 51. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 27 to 34, even when the marker 100 is moved and a Doppler scanning region 51 having a predetermined size including the marker 100 is set, the same effect as in this embodiment can be obtained. it can.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, when the Doppler scanning area image is displayed when the B-mode image is displayed, the display area of the Doppler scanning area image is moved. In addition, since the display of the Doppler scanning area image is maintained, the B-mode observation and the Doppler observation can be continued.

  In addition to the above effects, the present embodiment can display a plurality of Doppler scanning region images superimposed on the B-mode image, and thus has an effect of simultaneously observing / diagnosing the blood flow state of the region of interest.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, an observation target that needs to grasp the blood flow state can always be optimally observed in real time using a color image in the word plastic mode.

<Example 3>
Hereinafter, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described including a comparison with a conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. 40 and 41 are diagrams for explaining a monitor screen in the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. In the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, as shown in FIG. 35, a blood flow display area (hereinafter referred to as a color display area) 51a capable of displaying a two-dimensional distribution of blood flow as a color image (hereinafter referred to as color display) There was only one place in the B-mode image display 31 area. Therefore, in order to simultaneously display in real time a plurality of regions of interest 32a, 32b and 32c in the B-mode image display 31 region in real time, as shown in FIG. 40, a color including one region of interest 32a in color display is displayed. As shown in FIG. 41, the display area 51a is greatly expanded, and there is only a method for designating a color display area 51b including all of a plurality of regions of interest, 32a, 32b and 32c.

  However, if the color display area 51a is greatly expanded, signal processing and the like increase, and the frame rate decreases, that is, the display response decreases. For this reason, the method of enlarging the color display region 51a is not suitable for observing the region of interest at high speed. In addition, there may be a case where even a portion of no interest that exists between the plurality of portions of interest 32a, 32b, or 32c is displayed as a color image. Then, it is not easy for the surgeon to recognize only the information on the target region of interest.

  The present embodiment has been made in view of the above problems, and provides an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of performing color display of only a plurality of regions of interest in a B-mode image display area in real time. Objective.

  35 to 38 are diagrams for explaining a monitor screen of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. 35 and 36 show a screen displaying only one region of interest 32a in the B-mode image display 31 region shown in FIG. 35 in color in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of this embodiment, and three locations shown in FIG. Is a comparative display of screens displaying the colors of the regions of interest 32a, 32b, and 32c. In order to designate a plurality of regions of interest, the surgeon designates pointers 50a, 50b and 50c with an input device such as a mouse as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 38, three color display areas 1a are formed around the pointers 50a, 50b and 50c, and a plurality of regions of interest 32a, 32b and 32c therein are simultaneously displayed in color in real time.

  Furthermore, in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of this embodiment, once the region of interest has been designated, that is, the designated area, the color display of the designated area can be stopped or the color display can be resumed instantaneously. It is. The display stop of the designated area is designated by operating a screen similar to the display screen shown in FIG.

  In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present embodiment, only the region of interest necessary when the operator needs can be displayed in color. For this reason, it is possible to simultaneously display a plurality of regions of interest in color while preventing a decrease in frame rate to a minimum. In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of this embodiment, blood flow information other than the region of interest is not displayed in color on the display screen, so that the operator can easily identify the information of the region of interest.

  In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present embodiment, there is no concept of “movement of the region of interest”. In the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present embodiment that can simultaneously display a plurality of color display areas, a new region of interest is simply added. For this reason, in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus of the present embodiment, the operation display during the movement of the region of interest on the B-mode image display screen becomes unnecessary.

  Next, FIG. 39 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 of the present embodiment. In FIG. 39, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. As shown in FIG. 39, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 of the present embodiment does not require the area marker movement control unit 23, unlike the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. On the other hand, in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, unlike the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 1 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of regions of interest are simultaneously displayed in color in real time in the B-mode image display region. It is desirable to have a plurality of Doppler scanning region storage units 20A and a plurality of Doppler image generation storage units 19A.

  That is, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 of the present embodiment includes an area marker image generation unit 24 for designating a Doppler scanning area (color display area), a Doppler scanning area setting unit 17 for setting a Doppler scanning area, and a Doppler. A plurality of Doppler scanning area storage units 20A for storing the positions or areas of the scanning areas, transmission / reception means for transmitting / receiving ultrasonic waves to / from the Doppler scanning areas, and transmission / reception control unit 13 for controlling transmission / reception of ultrasonic waves, A Doppler signal unit 18 for processing Doppler data obtained in each Doppler scanning region, a plurality of Doppler image generation / storing units 19A for generating and storing Doppler images, and a Doppler scanning region on the B-mode display image. It is an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having an image composition unit 16 for compositing images.

  Markers are set by the area marker image generation unit 24 in the vicinity of a plurality of regions of interest designated by the Doppler scanning control unit 22 via the input device 21. At the same time, a plurality of Doppler scanning areas are set by the Doppler area setting unit 17 and stored in the Doppler scanning area storage unit 17. Then, one Doppler scanning area is set in order from a plurality of Doppler scanning areas based on information in the Doppler scanning area storage unit 17. For the selected one Doppler scanning region, ultrasonic transmission / reception is performed via the signal processing unit 18, the Doppler signal is sent to the Doppler signal processing unit 18, and one Doppler image selected from a plurality is generated and stored. In the unit 19A, a Doppler image is generated and stored. Next, one Doppler scan area is set from the non-selected Doppler scan areas, the Doppler scan is performed in the same manner as described above, and is stored in another Doppler image generation and storage unit 19A. This process is repeated, and the Doppler images and the region marker images of all the designated regions of interest are synthesized by the B mode image generation / save unit 15 by the image synthesis unit 16 and displayed on the monitor 4.

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment can always display a plurality of regions of interest on the B-mode image display screen simultaneously in real time as Doppler images in the color Doppler mode or the power Doppler mode.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

1 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the ultrasonic diagnosing device of FIG. 1st figure explaining the process of FIG. 2nd figure explaining the process of FIG. 3rd figure explaining the process of FIG. 4th figure explaining the process of FIG. 4th figure explaining the process of FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. First diagram for explaining the processing of FIG. The second figure explaining the processing of FIG. 3rd figure explaining the process of FIG. 4th figure explaining the process of FIG. 5th figure explaining the process of FIG. 6th figure explaining the process of FIG. 7th figure explaining the process of FIG. 8th figure explaining the process of FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of erasure and display processing of the Doppler scanning area image of the designated area in FIG. First diagram for explaining the processing of FIG. The second figure explaining processing of Drawing 17 The 3rd figure explaining the process of FIG. The 4th figure explaining the process of FIG. 5th figure explaining the process of FIG. The 6th figure explaining the process of FIG. The 7th figure explaining the process of FIG. FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining the process of FIG. The flowchart which shows the flow of the modification of the process of FIG. First diagram for explaining the processing of FIG. The second figure explaining the processing of FIG. 3rd figure explaining the process of FIG. 4th figure explaining the process of FIG. The 5th figure explaining the process of FIG. The 6th figure explaining the process of FIG. The 7th figure explaining the process of FIG. The eighth figure explaining the process of FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a monitor screen of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the third embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a monitor screen of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the third embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a monitor screen of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the third embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a monitor screen of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the third embodiment. FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to a third embodiment. The figure explaining the monitor screen in the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus. The figure explaining the monitor screen in the conventional ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 2 ... Ultrasonic probe 3 ... Ultrasonic transducer unit 4 ... Monitor 5 ... Image processing apparatus 11 ... Ultrasonic transmission part 12 ... Ultrasonic reception part 13 ... Transmission / reception control part 14 ... B mode signal processing part DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 15 ... B mode image generation preservation | save part 16 ... Image composition part 17 ... Doppler scanning area | region setting part 18 ... Doppler signal processing part 19 ... Doppler image generation preservation | save part 20 ... Doppler scanning area | region storage part 21 ... Input device 22 ... Doppler scanning control part 23 ... Area marker movement control unit 24 ... Area marker image generation unit

Claims (4)

An ultrasonic pulse transmitting means for transmitting an ultrasonic pulse to the inspection object;
An ultrasonic echo signal receiving means for receiving an ultrasonic echo signal of the ultrasonic pulse from the inspection object;
Based on the ultrasonic echo signal received by the ultrasonic echo signal receiving means, a B mode image generating means for generating a B mode image of the inspection object;
First region of interest setting means for setting a first region of interest on the B-mode image;
A movement instruction means for instructing movement of a predetermined setting area on the B-mode image;
Second region-of-interest setting means for setting a second region of interest as a destination of movement of the setting region by the movement instruction means;
A Doppler image generating means for generating a Doppler image from blood flow state information of the first and / or the second region of interest based on the ultrasonic echo signal received by the ultrasonic echo signal receiving means;
Based on the movement instruction means, a movement state image generation means for generating a setting area image indicating a movement state of the setting area;
Setting area image generation control means for controlling generation of the setting area image by the moving state image generation means;
An image synthesis means for synthesizing the B-mode image, the Doppler image, and the setting area image to generate a synthesized image;
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising: The Doppler image generation means continuously generates at least the Doppler image of the first region of interest during the movement of the setting region, and the first region of interest when the second region of interest to be moved is set. Erasing the Doppler image of the region of interest, generating the Doppler image of the second region of interest,
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image synthesizing unit synthesizes the Doppler image of the second region of interest generated continuously with the B-mode image and the setting region image. . The Doppler image generation means continuously generates at least the Doppler image during the movement of the setting area,
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image synthesizing unit synthesizes the Doppler image generated continuously with the B-mode image and the setting region image. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a Doppler image region of interest designating unit that designates one or a plurality of regions of interest of the Doppler image synthesized by the image synthesizing unit. .

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