CN111743567A - Ultrasound 3D Whole Body Imaging System - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an ultrasonic three-dimensional whole body imaging system, comprising an ultrasonic waveguide medium container, an ultrasonic probe array and an ultrasonic imaging device. The ultrasonic waveguide medium container has a detection space, in which a waveguide medium is filled and arranged, and is used for a specimen to be immersed. The ultrasonic probe array is arranged inside the ultrasonic waveguide medium container, and the ultrasonic probe array includes a plurality of probe units integrated into a ring array, which is arranged around the detection space. The ultrasonic imaging device constructs a three-dimensional image model through the data fed back by each pixel of the ultrasonic probe array.

Description

Ultrasound 3D Whole Body Imaging System

technical field

The present invention relates to a three-dimensional whole-body imaging system, in particular to a system for performing three-dimensional whole-body imaging using ultrasound.

Background technique

In recent years, with the rapid development of the biomedical industry, further breakthroughs have been made in biomedical technology. Generally, when performing 3D imaging of patients, most of them use nuclear magnetic resonance, exposing the patient to a magnetic field, and irradiating the patient with appropriate electromagnetic waves to change the rotation direction of the hydrogen atoms to make them resonate, and then analyze released electromagnetic waves. Although MRI is less harmful to the human body than X-rays and tomography, the electromagnetic energy of the large-angle RF field emission used in the MRI focusing or measurement process may be converted into heat energy in the patient's tissue , the tissue temperature rises, and it is still possible to cause harm to the human body.

Compared with MRI, ultrasound is non-invasive and non-radioactive and is widely used in medical treatment. Especially in the field of obstetrics, due to the sensitivity of the fetus to radiation, diagnostic equipment such as X-ray and tomography will not be used for the fetus or the mother. At this time, ultrasonic imaging technology becomes the best choice.

Compared with past technologies, ultrasonic scanning has the following advantages: 1. It is non-radioactive, and its safety is higher than that of X-ray, tomography, and nuclear magnetic resonance. 2. Real-time, the images you see are real-time, and you do not need to wait for film processing or digital imaging. This not only saves time, but also enables real-time monitoring. It can be used in the cardiovascular field to measure the blood flow rate to diagnose lesions. .

However, the existing ultrasound detection is generally two-dimensional detection. Even if the lesion can be quickly diagnosed by means of ultrasound, it is all partial non-systemic angiography of the human body, and the ultrasound examination has the disadvantage (insufficient imaging); (such as hard tissue bones) is insufficient in penetration and imaging, so that the ultrasound imaging of the brain is extremely limited, because the difference in acoustic impedance is too large, when there is gas between the probe and the probed tissue, the ultrasound Image quality is poor. Imaging of the pancreas is very difficult due to the interference of gastrointestinal gas in the front, and imaging of the lung is impossible (except for the exploration of pleural effusion and tumors); in addition, it is also limited by the depth of ultrasound exploration, which makes imaging of structures far away from the body surface. difficult, especially in obese patients. As a result, the effect of medical ultrasound examination is greatly reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an ultrasonic three-dimensional whole-body imaging system, which includes an ultrasonic guided wave medium container, an ultrasonic probe array and an ultrasonic contrast instrument. The ultrasonic waveguide medium container has a detection space, and the detection space is filled with a waveguide medium for immersion of the specimen. The ultrasonic probe array is arranged inside the ultrasonic guided wave medium container, and the ultrasonic probe array includes a plurality of probe units integrated into a ring-shaped array, and the ring is arranged on the peripheral side of the detection space. The ultrasound contrast apparatus constructs a three-dimensional image model through data fed back by each pixel of the ultrasound probe array.

Optionally, the wave guiding medium is water, degassed water, developer or wave guiding glue.

Optionally, a sound insulation layer is provided on the ultrasonic waveguide medium container.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic three-dimensional whole body imaging system, which includes an ultrasonic guided wave medium container, a mobile ultrasonic probe and an ultrasonic contrast instrument. The ultrasonic waveguide medium container has a detection space, and the detection space is filled with a waveguide medium for immersion of the specimen. The mobile ultrasonic probe includes a linear carrier and a ring-type ultrasonic probe array arranged on the linear carrier. The ring-type ultrasonic probe array includes a plurality of probe units integrated into a ring-type array. The ultrasonic probe is moved along the detection space by the linear stage. The ultrasound contrast apparatus constructs a three-dimensional image model according to the moving speed of the linear stage and the data fed back by the annular ultrasound probe.

Optionally, the wave guiding medium is water, degassed water, developer or wave guiding glue.

Optionally, a sound insulation layer is provided on the ultrasonic waveguide medium container.

Therefore, the present invention has the following advantages over the prior art:

1. The present invention uses an array of ultrasound probes to perform three-dimensional whole-body imaging on a patient, and can perform multi-dimensional image reconstruction for tissues that are not easily penetrated by ultrasound, thereby avoiding the lack of insufficient imaging.

2. The present invention performs three-dimensional whole-body imaging on a patient through an array of ultrasonic probes, which can effectively avoid the possibility of harm to the human body.

3. The present invention can directly output a three-dimensional image of a patient or an affected part through an array of ultrasonic probes, without the need for conversion of two-dimensional images.

Description of drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the appearance of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the appearance of the second embodiment of the present invention.

Description of reference numbers:

100 Ultrasound 3D Whole Body Imaging System

10A Ultrasonic Guided Wave Dielectric Container

11A guided wave medium

12A sound insulation layer

20A Ultrasonic Probe Array

21A Probe Unit

30A Ultrasound Contrast

S1 detection space

200 Ultrasound 3D Whole Body Imaging System

10B Ultrasonic guided wave dielectric container

11B guided wave medium

20B Mobile Ultrasonic Probe

21B Linear Stage

22B Ring Ultrasonic Probe Array

221B Probe Unit

30B Ultrasound Contrast System

S2 detection space

Detailed ways

The detailed description and technical content of the present invention are described below with reference to the drawings. Furthermore, the drawings in the present invention are not necessarily drawn according to the actual scale for the convenience of description. These drawings and their scales are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and are described here in advance.

The following is a specific embodiment to provide a detailed description of the technical content of the present invention. Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , which are a schematic block diagram and a schematic appearance of the first embodiment of the present invention, as shown in the figure:

This embodiment discloses an ultrasonic three-dimensional whole-body imaging system, including an ultrasonic three-dimensional whole-body imaging system 100, including an ultrasonic guided wave medium container 10A, an ultrasonic probe array 20A, and an ultrasonic contrast instrument 30A.

The ultrasonic waveguide medium container 10A has a detection space S1, and the detection space S1 is filled with a waveguide medium 11A for immersion of the specimen. In a preferred embodiment, the ultrasonic guided wave medium container 10A is provided with a sound insulation layer 12A, and the sound insulation layer 12A can be a sound absorbing material or a noise reduction material, and is disposed on the ultrasonic guided wave medium container 10A relative to the ultrasonic wave. Any position of the probe array 20A (for example, the outside, the inside, the inside of the casing) is used to block the ultrasonic probe array 20A from the outside. In order to achieve a better detection effect, the wave guiding medium 11A is water, degassed water, developer or wave guiding glue, etc., which are not limited in the present invention.

The ultrasonic probe array 20A is arranged inside the ultrasonic guided wave dielectric container 10A, and the ultrasonic probe array 20A includes a plurality of probe units 21A integrated into a ring-shaped array (the number is L _th *H _th ), and the ring It is provided on the peripheral side in the detection space S1.

In medical sonography, short, strong sound pulses produced by a phased array of piezoelectric transducers (usually ceramic) create sound waves. Both the wire and transducer are housed in the probe unit 21A, and electrical pulses oscillate the ceramic to produce a series of sound pulses. Sound waves can appear at any frequency from 1 to 13 MHz, far beyond what the human ear can hear. The ultrasonic wave generally refers to any sound wave whose frequency exceeds the range that the human ear can hear. The purpose of medical ultrasound is to combine the sound waves scattered by the transducer to produce a single focused arc-shaped sound wave. The higher the frequency corresponding to the shorter the wavelength, the higher the resolution of the resulting image. However, as the frequency of the sound wave increases, the attenuation of the sound wave is also faster. So in order to probe deeper tissue, preferably lower frequencies (3-5 MHz) can be used.

In order to efficiently transmit sound waves into the specimen (ie, impedance matching), the surface of the probe unit 21A is coated with rubber. Sound waves are partially reflected back to the probe from interfaces between different tissues, known as echoes, and echoes are also generated by sound waves scattered by very small structures.

When the echo is received, the sound waves return to the probe unit 21A, similar to the sound waves emitted by the probe unit 21A, except that the process is reversed. The returning sound waves oscillate the transducer of the probe unit 21A and convert the oscillations into electrical pulses, which are sent by the probe unit 21A to the sonograph 30A, where they are processed into digital images.

The ultrasound contrast apparatus 30A is an image processing device, and a three-dimensional image model is constructed through the data fed back by each pixel (probe unit 21A) of the ultrasound probe array 20A. The ultrasound contrast instrument 30A mainly receives three different parameters of the ultrasound probe array 20A, including the probe unit 21A that received the echo (ie, the array position of the response), the signal strength of the echo, and the time of flight (response time) of the ultrasound.

After the ultrasound contrast apparatus 30A obtains the above three data, the three-dimensional model of the object can be reconstructed based on the above data. In order to establish a three-dimensional model in the image, the responses of multiple probe units 21A can be performed through time-division multitasking, and the coordinates of a single pixel (that is, obtained in three-dimensional space) can be established through the positions of the responding probe units 21A and the ultrasonic time of flight. The relative coordinates or world coordinates), when the image is converted into a three-dimensional image, it must be corrected corresponding to the position of the probe unit 21A to map to the three-dimensional space, such as setting the reference point of the world coordinate system and performing the mapping operation based on the reference point; Through the signal strength of the echo and the ultrasonic time of flight, the tissue density in different regions can be established to construct the tissue layering in depth. Imaging of the region of interest (such as blood system, organ structure, pathological tissue, benign and malignant tumors, etc.). In addition, the depth of image penetration (ie, the sampling depth) can be changed by setting the power and frequency of the ultrasound, so that relatively shallow or deep images can be reconstructed. In another preferred embodiment, the images can be filled with different grayscale values or colors by setting different specific thresholds to highlight the images of individual tissues.

In addition to the above algorithms, in a preferred embodiment, the present invention can also be used in single-input multiple-output (SIMO), multiple-input single-output (MISO), multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) models, etc. In the present invention Not restricted.

In this embodiment, around the ultrasound probe array 20A of the object to be inspected, the ultrasound contrast apparatus 30A presets the medical assumption that the sound speed is constant at 1540 m/s. Although it is still possible to lose some of the sound energy by generating an echo, it has little effect on the attenuation caused by the absorption of the sound wave.

The following is another specific embodiment to provide a detailed description. The difference between this embodiment and the previous embodiment mainly lies in the setting form of the ultrasonic probe array, and other identical parts will not be repeated below, please refer to FIGS. 3 and 4 , is a block schematic diagram and a schematic appearance diagram of the second embodiment of the present invention, as shown in the figure:

This embodiment discloses an ultrasonic three-dimensional whole-body imaging system 200 , which includes an ultrasonic guided wave medium container 10B, a movable ultrasonic probe 20B, and an ultrasonic contrast instrument 30B.

The ultrasonic waveguide medium container 10B has a detection space S2, and the detection space S2 is filled with a waveguide medium 11B for immersion of the specimen. In a preferred embodiment, the ultrasonic guided wave medium container 10B is provided with a sound insulation layer. The sound insulation layer can be a sound absorbing material or a noise reduction material, and is disposed on the ultrasonic guided wave medium container 10B relative to the mobile ultrasonic wave. Any position of the probe 20B (for example, the outside, the inside, the inside of the casing) is used to block the movable ultrasonic probe 20B from the outside. In order to achieve a better detection effect, the wave guiding medium 11B is water, degassed water, developer or wave guiding glue, etc., which are not limited in the present invention.

The mobile ultrasonic probe 20B includes a linear carrier 21B and a ring-type ultrasonic probe array 22B disposed on the linear carrier 21B, and the ring-type ultrasonic probe array 22B includes a plurality of probe units 221B sets. A ring-type array is formed, and the ring-type ultrasonic probe array 22B is reciprocated along the detection space S2 by the linear stage 21B. In order to reconstruct the three-dimensional model, the annular ultrasonic probe array 22B not only feeds back three different parameters of the probe unit 221B that received the echo (ie, the array position of the response), the signal strength of the echo, and the flight time (response time) of the ultrasonic wave , further feeding back the movement rate of the linear stage 21B, and correcting the corresponding array position through the movement rate.

The ultrasound contrast apparatus 30B is an image processing device, and a three-dimensional image model is constructed through the data fed back by each pixel of the ring-shaped ultrasound probe array 22B. The ultrasound contrast apparatus 30B mainly receives four different parameters of the annular ultrasound probe array 22B, including the probe unit 221B that received the echo (ie, the array position of the response), the movement rate of the linear stage, the echo signal strength, the ultrasound The flight time (response time) of the sound wave.

To sum up, the present invention performs three-dimensional whole-body imaging on a patient through an array of ultrasound probes, and can perform multi-dimensional image reconstruction for tissues that are not easily penetrated by ultrasound, thereby avoiding the lack of insufficient imaging. In addition, the present invention performs three-dimensional whole-body imaging on the patient through an array of ultrasonic probes, which can effectively avoid the possibility of harm to the human body. Furthermore, the present invention can directly output the three-dimensional image of the patient or the affected part through the ultrasonic probe array, without the need for conversion of the two-dimensional image.

The present invention has been described in detail above, but the above-mentioned content is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and should not limit the scope of implementation of the present invention, that is, all claims made according to the scope of the patent application of the present invention are equal Changes and modifications should still fall within the scope of the patent of the present invention.

Claims (6)

1. an ultrasonic three-dimensional whole body imaging system, is characterized in that, comprises: an ultrasonic waveguide medium container, which has a detection space, and the detection space is filled with a waveguide medium for immersion of the specimen; an ultrasonic probe array, arranged inside the ultrasonic guided wave medium container, the ultrasonic probe array includes a plurality of probe units integrated into a ring-shaped array, and the ring is arranged on the peripheral side in the detection space; and An ultrasound contrast apparatus constructs a three-dimensional image model through data fed back by each pixel of the ultrasound probe array. 2 . The ultrasonic three-dimensional whole-body imaging system according to claim 1 , wherein the wave-guiding medium is water, degassed water, developer or wave-guiding glue. 3 . 3 . The ultrasonic three-dimensional whole body imaging system according to claim 1 , wherein a sound insulation layer is provided on the ultrasonic guided wave medium container. 4 . 4. an ultrasonic three-dimensional whole body imaging system, is characterized in that, comprises: an ultrasonic waveguide medium container, which has a detection space, and the detection space is filled with a waveguide medium for immersion of the specimen; A mobile ultrasonic probe includes a linear carrier and an array of ring-type ultrasonic probes disposed on the linear carrier. The ring-type ultrasonic probe array includes a plurality of probe units integrated into a ring-type array. A type ultrasonic probe is moved along the detection space by the linear stage; and An ultrasound contrast apparatus constructs a three-dimensional image model according to the moving speed of the linear stage and the data fed back by the annular ultrasound probe. 5 . The ultrasonic three-dimensional whole-body imaging system according to claim 4 , wherein the guiding medium is water, degassed water, developer or guiding glue. 6 . 6 . The ultrasonic three-dimensional whole-body imaging system according to claim 4 , wherein a sound insulation layer is provided on the ultrasonic guided wave medium container. 7 .

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