JP2019048211A - Ultrasonic image diagnostic system, and control method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an ultrasonic image diagnostic system which hardly depends on the skill of an operator.SOLUTION: An information processing device to be used with an ultrasonic probe for ultrasonic imaging of a subject comprises: position acquisition means for acquiring the position of the ultrasonic probe; and display control means for displaying a symbol suggesting a direction in which the ultrasonic probe has to be moved in order to image a portion being a target of the ultrasonic imaging in the subject from the position of the ultrasonic probe, so as to be included in an ultrasonic image obtained via the ultrasonic probe.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an ultrasound diagnostic system, an information processing method, and a program.

  An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus (echo) is a diagnostic apparatus that emits ultrasonic waves to a subject, receives ultrasonic waves reflected inside the subject with a probe (probe), and obtains image information from received data. . Ultrasonic waves are widely used for diagnosis of various diseases in medical fields because they have no adverse side effects and are safe even when irradiated to the human body.

  The ultrasonic medical system disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a medical system in which an ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus is combined with a radiation irradiation system for performing radiation treatment. Then, when providing the position of the tumor to be treated with the ultrasound diagnostic imaging apparatus, the position information with the radiation irradiating apparatus as the origin is provided.

JP 2004-499 A Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 01-25576

  The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is a simple diagnostic apparatus in that image information can be obtained only by pressing the ultrasonic probe against the human body. A doctor who operates an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus presses an ultrasonic probe against the patient's body and obtains images while moving appropriately. However, since there are many organs in the body, it is necessary to have some skill in how to move the ultrasound probe in order to appropriately obtain image information of the organ to be diagnosed.

  Patent Document 2 describes "Skyana of an ultrasonic probe". Then, the position, posture, and pressure of the tip of the ultrasonic probe are measured, and the movement of the ultrasonic probe is controlled so as to keep them constant.

  By doing this, there is disclosed a method of supplementing the user's skill regarding the scanning technique which is the operation technique.

  However, although the above method can properly maintain the state of the probe with respect to the human body surface, the operation is still performed in order to make the ultrasound probe appropriate to the site in the object to be inspected. Need the skills and knowledge of

  Therefore, in view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic system that enables image information of a tissue of a subject to be diagnosed to be more appropriately obtained, and a control method thereof.

In order to solve the above-mentioned subject, the present invention is, as one mode,
An information processing apparatus used together with an ultrasonic probe for performing ultrasonic imaging of a subject, comprising:
Position acquisition means for acquiring the position of the ultrasonic probe;
A symbol indicating a direction in which the ultrasonic probe should be moved to obtain a target site for the ultrasonic imaging in the subject from the position of the ultrasonic probe is obtained through the ultrasonic probe And display control means for displaying so as to be included in the ultrasound image.

Also, as another aspect of the present invention,
A position acquisition step of acquiring a position of an ultrasonic probe for performing ultrasonic imaging of a subject;
A symbol indicating a direction in which the ultrasonic probe should be moved to obtain a target site for the ultrasonic imaging in the subject from the position of the ultrasonic probe is obtained through the ultrasonic probe And D. a display control step of displaying so as to be included in the ultrasound image.

  According to the present invention, since the suitable position / posture of the ultrasound probe in ultrasound image diagnosis can be calculated, it is possible to provide a system which is less dependent on the operator who operates the apparatus.

It is a figure showing a diagnostic method using an ultrasound diagnostic system concerning the present invention. It is a block diagram of the ultrasound diagnostic imaging system which concerns on this invention. It is an outline view of a probe position and attitude control device in the present invention. It is a flow chart which shows the processing procedure of the ultrasound diagnostic imaging system concerning the present invention. It is a figure which shows the information which the object shape database in this invention memorize | stores. It is a figure which shows the information which the workflow database in this invention memorize | stores. It is a figure which shows the process of the site | part detection part in this invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the ultrasound probe and ultrasound image in this invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the ultrasound image in this invention, and the information of a target shape database. It is a figure which shows the process of the coordinate calculating part in this invention. It is a block diagram of the ultrasound diagnostic imaging system which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of presentation of the guidance information in this invention. It is a block diagram of the ultrasound diagnostic imaging system which concerns on this invention.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus and a control method thereof according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. However, the scope of the invention is not limited to the illustrated example.

(First Embodiment; Ultrasound Image Diagnosis System)
The ultrasound diagnostic imaging system according to the present embodiment includes an ultrasound probe, and an image processing unit that converts a signal generated by receiving the ultrasound reflected from the subject by the ultrasound probe into image information. It is an ultrasound diagnostic system.

  And, it includes the following components.

  Specifically, measurement means for measuring the relative position and relative posture of the ultrasonic probe with respect to the subject using the image information on the subject acquired by the ultrasonic probe (a coordinate calculation unit in the embodiment described later May be referred to as

  Furthermore, the control amount calculation means is provided for calculating the control amount of the position and attitude of the ultrasonic probe based on the measurement result of the measurement means.

  Then, using the control amount calculated by the control amount calculating means, a probe control mechanism that controls the position and attitude of the ultrasonic probe, or information for guiding the movement of the position and attitude of the ultrasonic probe It has at least one of the guidance information presentation means to present.

  Here, it is preferable that the measuring unit measures the relative position and the relative attitude based on a detection result of a part detection unit that detects a specific part of the subject. And it is preferable that this site | part detection part detects a site | part by matching with the information regarding the shape regarding the site | part of the said test object, and the said image information.

  Further, the system includes a database in which relative positions and relative attitudes between the ultrasonic probe and the subject are recorded in advance, and the control amount calculating means uses the information of the database to control the control amount. It is preferable to calculate

  Here, the information on the relative position and relative posture between the ultrasonic probe and the subject recorded in the database records a suitable probe state (position, posture, etc.) for performing ultrasonic image diagnosis. It is good that it is information.

  It is preferable that the ultrasonic probe has a pressure measurement unit that measures the pressure between the ultrasonic probe and the subject. In such a case, it is preferable that information related to the pressure between the ultrasonic probe and the subject is recorded in the database.

Second Embodiment Control Method
A control method according to the present embodiment includes an ultrasonic probe, and an ultrasonic image including an image processing unit that converts a signal generated by receiving the ultrasonic wave reflected from the subject by the ultrasonic probe into image information. It is a control method of a diagnostic system. Specifically, the method is characterized by having the following steps.
a) measuring step of measuring the relative position and relative posture of the ultrasonic probe with respect to the subject using the image information on the subject acquired by the ultrasonic probe b) based on the measurement result of the measuring step Control amount calculation process for calculating control amount of position and attitude of the ultrasonic probe

Furthermore, it has at least one process of the following c) or d).
c) Probe control step of controlling the position and attitude of the ultrasonic probe using the control amount calculated in the control amount calculating step d) Information for guiding the movement of the position and attitude of the ultrasonic probe Guidance information presentation process to show

  Furthermore, it is also a preferable embodiment having a part detection step of detecting a specific part of the subject, and measuring the relative position and relative attitude using the detection result of the part detection step in the measurement step.

  The part detection step has information on the shape of the subject in advance, and can detect the part according to the image converted by the image processing unit.

  It has a database which recorded beforehand relative position and relative attitude between the ultrasonic probe and the subject, and the control amount calculating step can calculate the control amount using information of the database.

  The information on the relative position and relative attitude between the ultrasonic probe and the subject recorded in the database may be information in which the ultrasonic probe state for performing ultrasonic image diagnosis is recorded.

  A pressure sensor may be provided on the ultrasonic probe, and a pressure measurement step of measuring the pressure between the ultrasonic probe and the subject may be further added to the step in the control method. In such a case, information on pressure between the ultrasonic probe and the subject may be recorded in the database.

  Further, the present invention includes a program for realizing the control method described above and a recording medium recording the program for realizing the control method.

  Hereinafter, the invention concerning the above-mentioned embodiment is concretely explained using an example.

Example 1
A: Overall Configuration FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an ultrasound diagnostic imaging system which is one of the embodiments of the present invention. The ultrasound diagnostic imaging system of this embodiment comprises an ultrasound probe 1001, an ultrasound diagnostic device 1002, a host controller 10003, and a probe position / posture control device 10004. The ultrasound probe 1001 is used in contact with a subject 1005 such as a human body. The ultrasonic probe 1001 is held by a probe position / posture control device 1004. These devices are connected to one another and operate by exchanging control signals and the like through the connection. The probe position / posture control device 1004 is necessary to automate the operation of the ultrasonic probe 1001, and is not an essential requirement of the present invention described above. The embodiment described later shows the configuration in the case where this probe position / posture control device is not used. Of course, although the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 1002 and the host controller 1003 are described as separate units in FIG. 1, it is of course possible to adopt a configuration in which the other is incorporated into one.

  Next, the functional configuration of the ultrasound diagnostic imaging system of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

B: Ultrasonic Probe The ultrasonic probe 2001 is composed of a plurality of transmitting and receiving elements 2011 (ultrasonic transducers) that transmit ultrasonic pulses to the subject 1005 and receive the reflection signal reflected from the subject side. Ru.

  The transmitting and receiving element 2011 can be configured by a piezoelectric element including a piezoelectric ceramic typified by, for example, PZT (lead zirconate titanate) or a polymeric piezoelectric element such as PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride). In this case, an ultrasonic pulse can be generated by converting a time-varying electric signal into mechanical vibration by the piezoelectric element.

  The ultrasonic probe 2001 can be configured by arranging a plurality of transmitting and receiving elements 2011 in a one-dimensional array. In this case, the ultrasound probe 2001 can form a two-dimensional scanning surface in space, and can capture a cross-sectional image of the subject. In addition, the ultrasonic probe 2001 can be configured by arranging a plurality of transmitting and receiving elements 2011 in a two-dimensional array. In this case, the ultrasound probe 2001 can scan the inside of the space three-dimensionally and electronically to capture three-dimensional voxel data of the subject.

C: Ultrasound Image Diagnostic Apparatus The ultrasound image diagnostic apparatus 2002 includes a transmission beam former 2021, a reception beam former 2022, a signal processing unit 2023, a reception memory 2024, an image forming unit 2025, and an image display unit 2026.

  The transmission beam former 2021 controls transmission drive signals supplied to the plurality of transmission / reception elements 2011 of the ultrasonic probe 2001 to form an ultrasonic wave for transmission via the ultrasonic probe 2001.

  The reception beam former 2022 collects received wave data output from the transmit / receive element 2011 and forms echo data.

  The signal processing unit 2023 generates luminance data, blood flow velocity data, displacement data, and the like based on the echo data formed by the reception beam former 2022.

  The luminance data, blood flow velocity data, displacement data and the like formed by the signal processing unit 2023 are written to the reception memory 2024. The written data is output to the host controller 2003. The data written to the reception memory data 2024 is also output to the image forming unit 2025 in the ultrasound diagnostic imaging apparatus 2002, and an ultrasound image is formed by the image forming unit 2025. The ultrasound image is generated by the image display unit 2026 Is displayed.

D: Host controller The host controller 2003 includes a target shape database 2031, a part detection unit 2032, a workflow database 2033, a coordinate calculation unit (measurement means) 34, and a control amount calculation unit 2035. However, all or part of the components of the host controller 2003 may be incorporated in the ultrasound diagnostic imaging apparatus 2002.

  The target shape database 31 is a means for storing information such as shape information on an inspection target. As information to be stored in the target shape database, for example, data of a standard human internal structure called a human body atlas can be used.

  The part detection unit 2032 refers to the information stored in the target shape database 31 and detects a part to be an examination target from the ultrasound imaging image input from the ultrasound diagnostic imaging apparatus 2002. There are various detection methods, and there are detection methods such as template matching and contour shape matching as an example. Specific processing contents will be described in the processing procedure described later.

  The workflow database 33 is a means for storing information related to the operation of the ultrasound probe in ultrasound image diagnosis. The information to be stored in the workflow database may be, for example, data having information on the relative position / posture relationship between an appropriate region and an ultrasonic probe when ultrasonically imaging the region for each region to be examined. it can.

  The coordinate calculation unit 34 obtains the relationship between the relative position and posture of the inspection target site and the ultrasonic probe 2001 based on the detection result of the site detection unit 2032. This operation can be performed as follows. For example, the relationship between the space coordinates based on the ultrasound probe 2001 and the image coordinates of the ultrasound image captured by the ultrasound probe is determined in advance. By thus obtaining the relationship in advance, the site detection unit 2011 can obtain the relationship from the image coordinates in the ultrasonic image of the detected examination target site.

  The control amount calculation unit 2035 calculates a control amount related to the position and orientation of the ultrasonic probe 2001. Specifically, the information on the operation of the ultrasound probe stored in the workflow database 33 and the relative position / posture relationship between the ultrasound probe 2001 computed by the coordinate computing unit 34 and the portion to be inspected are used.

E: Probe position / posture control device The probe position / posture control device 2004 holds the ultrasonic probe 2001 by a movable / rotatable mechanism, and moves and rotates the ultrasonic probe 2001 according to the input from the host controller 2003. Do. The probe position / posture control device 2004 can be configured using, for example, a base frame 3041, a probe holder 3042, and a plurality of actuators 3043 as shown in FIG. In this case, the plurality of actuators 3043 are driven according to the input from the host controller 2003. Then, by changing the relative position / posture relationship between the base frame 3041 and the probe holder 3042, the position / posture of the ultrasonic probe 2001 held by the probe holder 42 is controlled as a result. Of course, the probe position / posture control device 2004 naturally includes a device which controls both the position and the posture of the probe, as well as a device which controls either one of them.

  Although FIG. 3 shows an example of a mechanism that can perform movement in each axial direction and rotation with respect to each axis in a total of four degrees of freedom in the xy plane of the base frame 3041, xy It may be a mechanism capable of moving and rotating with respect to the z axis in the direction perpendicular to the In this case, it is a mechanism that can perform a total of six degrees of freedom. Moreover, what was comprised by the mechanism which has arbitrary freedom other than 4 degrees of freedom shown as an example and 6 degrees of freedom can also become embodiment of this invention.

F: Description of Processing Flow Next, a specific processing procedure executed by the ultrasound diagnostic imaging apparatus 2002 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 2. FIG.

f1: Setting of inspection contents (step S100)
First, in step S100, the user sets the contents of the examination. For example, a plurality of buttons or the like are arranged on an operation panel (not shown) provided in the host controller 2003, and inspection items are assigned to the buttons. Then, when the button is pressed, the corresponding inspection content can be set. Other than this, for example, a list list of examination items may be displayed on the image display unit 2026 of the ultrasound diagnostic imaging apparatus 2002, and the user may select an examination item by operating the operation panel (not shown).

f2: Reading of target shape information (shape DB) (step S101)
Next, information on the shape of the portion to be inspected corresponding to the inspection item set in step S100 is read from the target shape database 31 into the portion detection unit 2032. At this time, various shape information different according to attributes such as age, sex, height, weight and the like are recorded in advance in the object shape database 31, and those attributes relating to the subject to be inspected are also set. Shape information can be read.

  In the present embodiment, a case where "a test on arteriosclerosis of the carotid artery" is set as a test item will be described as an example. An example of the information on the shape of the portion to be inspected which is read at this time is shown in FIG. In this figure, the examination target site 311 indicates the shape of the examination target site corresponding to the examination content set in step S100. Here, the case where the region to be inspected 311 has two-dimensional image information has been described as an example, but the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this, and may be, for example, three-dimensional voxel data. Further, the reference point 312 is reference information of the position / posture to be attached to the inspection target part, and is referred to in the next step and thereafter. When reading the above information recorded in the target shape database 31, the part detection unit 2032 can also read the information of the target shape database 31 as it is, or the extraction processing of the outline surface, outline, etc. of the part is performed. You can go and read it. In addition, information on the contour surface or contour line of the region to be inspected can be stored in the shape information database from the beginning.

f3: Reading of workflow database (step S102)
Next, target values of the probe position / posture corresponding to the inspection item set in step S100 are read from the workflow database 33. An example of the target value read at this time is shown in FIG. Here, as a target value of the probe position / posture, a case is exemplified in which the range of relative position from the reference point of the region to be inspected and the range of relative angle are stored in the workflow database.

  In this figure, a region to be inspected 331 indicates a region to be inspected set in step S100. A reference point 332 indicates a position serving as a base point of the target value of the probe position / posture. The reference point 332 also has information on the reference direction, as indicated by the arrow in the figure. The probe target position / target posture 333 indicates the position state and posture state to be taken by the ultrasonic probe 2001 at the time of ultrasonic imaging. These states are all read as numerical information based on the reference point 332.

f4: Image input (step S103)
Next, an ultrasonic image is taken, and the image is input. In order to capture an ultrasound image, the transmission beam former 2021 of the ultrasound diagnostic imaging apparatus 2002 forms and transmits an electrical signal for driving the wave transmitting / receiving element 2011 of the ultrasound probe 2001.

  Then, the ultrasonic wave reflected and returned inside the object is received by the transmitting / receiving element 11 of the ultrasonic probe 2001, and the signal is input to the reception beam former 2022 of the ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 2002. The reception beam former 2022 performs processing such as superposition on the reception signal, and is input to the reception memory 2024. The data input to the reception memory 2024 is displayed on the image display unit 2026 via the image forming unit 2025, and is also input to the part detection unit 2032 of the host controller 2003.

f5: site detection (step S104)
Next, the part detection unit 2032 detects a part to be an inspection target read from the target shape database 31 from the ultrasound image input from the ultrasound diagnostic imaging apparatus 2002.

  Although there are various methods for detecting a region to be inspected, here, for example, contour extraction of the object to be imaged is performed on each of the information of the ultrasonic image and the region shape database 31, and matching of the contours is performed. A method of detection will be described with reference to FIG.

  In this figure, (A) is the inputted ultrasonic image 7001. By performing contour extraction processing on this image, contour information 7002 like (B) is obtained. Further, an image 7003 of (C) is information of the target shape database 31, and by performing contour extraction on this, contour information 7004 such as (D) is obtained.

  Here, the outline information 7004 of (D) is superimposed on the outline information 7002 of (B), and the movement amount and rotation amount of (D) are searched so that the overlapping of the both becomes maximum (of course, the image The movement amount and rotation amount of (B) may be searched.

  As a result, the movement amount and the rotation amount at which the overlap is maximum can be obtained as shown in (E) 7005. Here, the image 7006 is an image (D) 7004, and the image 7007 is an image of an image (B) 7002. Here, the procedure for performing the detection of the part by performing the outline extraction processing on both the ultrasonic image and the information of the part shape database and comparing the outline shapes has been described.

  However, the procedure of the part detection in step S104 is not limited to this method.

  For example, a procedure may be considered in which a plurality of characteristic corners are detected instead of the contour extraction processing, and a part detection is performed by their matching. In addition to this, it is also possible to perform a procedure for detecting a part by directly comparing the pixel values of the ultrasonic image and the object shape database 31. In this case, the similarity between pixel values can be evaluated using a correlation coefficient or an indicator such as mutual information. In addition, it is possible to perform more robust part detection by taking into consideration deformation of the part shape.

  According to the above-described procedure, a portion similar to the shape information stored in the target shape database 31 can be detected from the ultrasound image. Further, at this time, the relationship between the detection intensity based on the similarity between the shapes of the two and the like and the position where the two are in good similarity can also be obtained simultaneously.

  Here, the case has been described where the ultrasonic image and the shape information stored in the target shape database 31 are both two-dimensional image data, but the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, at least one of the ultrasound image and the shape information stored in the target shape database 31 may be three-dimensional voxel data. In that case, detection of a target site can be performed by matching three-dimensional voxel data, or two-dimensional image data and three-dimensional voxel data.

f6: Detection result discrimination (step S105)
In step S105, it is determined based on the result of the part detection performed in step S104 whether or not the part is detected.

  In this determination, for example, it is assumed that the region to be inspected is detected if the maximum value of detection intensity obtained as a result of region detection is larger than a preset threshold, and it is determined that it is not detected if smaller than the threshold. You can In addition to this, it can also be determined that part detection is performed when the detection intensity exceeds the threshold for several frames in a row. In this case, there is an advantage that more reliable determination can be performed. Also, the threshold may be set to a different value for each examination target site. In this case, an appropriate threshold can be set in consideration of the difference between a portion where the individual difference in shape is large and a portion where the individual difference is not.

  If it is determined in step S105 that a region to be inspected has been detected, the process proceeds to step S107. If not, the process proceeds to step S106.

f7: Part search control amount calculation (step S106)
In step S105, when the region to be inspected is not detected from the ultrasonic image, control of movement and rotation for changing the position and orientation of the ultrasonic probe 2001 is performed so that the region to be inspected falls within the imaging range. . At this time, as the simplest method of moving and rotating the ultrasonic probe 2001, a method of scanning the movable range of the probe position / attitude control apparatus 2004 can be considered. For example, the control signal is sent to the probe position / posture control device so that the ultrasonic probe 2001 is moved to the end position of the probe position / posture control device 2004 and the ultrasonic probe 1 is gradually moved while performing ultrasonic imaging. send. If a region to be inspected is detected on the way, the scanning of the position / attitude of the ultrasonic probe is ended according to the determination result in step S105, and the process proceeds to step S107.

  As another method, it is also preferable to store not only the site to be inspected but also the relative positional relationship between the shape of the site existing in the vicinity thereof and the site to be inspected in the site shape database. If stored in this manner, even if the inspection target site can not be detected directly, the position of the ultrasonic probe 1 can be rotated according to the detection result of the surrounding site.

  The specific operation of the probe position / posture control device 4 will be described in detail in the explanation of step S111.

f8: Coordinate calculation (step S107)
Next, the relative position / posture between the ultrasonic probe 2001 and the reference point on the object shape database 31 is calculated by the coordinate calculation unit 34 (FIG. 2).

  This calculation is obtained by the following first and second relationships. The first relationship is a relationship between space coordinates based on the ultrasound probe 2001 and image coordinates of a captured ultrasound image. The second relationship is a relative relationship between the position / posture information on the image of the region to be inspected detected in step S104 and the reference coordinates stored in the object shape database 31.

  This process will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.

  Here, in order to simplify the description, it is assumed that all of the real space, the ultrasonic image, and the shape information of the object shape database 31 are two-dimensional space. However, the implementation of the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, even when all or part of the information has a three-dimensional space, it can be realized by a simple extension of the following description.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between coordinates of a real space in which a subject to be imaged exists and an ultrasound image generated by ultrasound imaging. 8001 indicates an ultrasonic probe, 8002 indicates an ultrasonic wave, and 8000 indicates an object to be measured.

  In this figure, the coordinates on the image are described as a vector i = (u v) t, and the coordinates in the real space are described as a vector r = (x y) t. Here, t attached to the shoulder of the vector represents transposition. The coordinate vector i assumes that the upper left end point of the image is the origin (0 0) t, and it represents the point of the pixel on the u-th image in the right direction on the screen and the ν-th image downward on the screen . The coordinate vector r has an origin (0 0) t inside the ultrasonic probe 1 and is moved by x [mm] and y [mm] with respect to two orthogonal axes extending the imaging plane based on it. It is assumed that it represents a point in real space.

The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 2002 (FIG. 2) generates an ultrasonic wave from the ultrasonic probe 2001 (FIG. 1), and based on the observed value of the reflected wave from the point r in real space, The luminance value of point i is determined. Here, the correspondence between the point r on the real space and the point i on the ultrasound image is expressed by the following equation using the function Tri.
i = Tri (r) (Equation 1)

Assuming that the coordinate vector i has a linear relationship with the coordinate vector r,
i = Trir (Equation 2)
It can be written as Here, Tri is redefined as a matrix representing a linear relationship between i and r, and i and r as extension vectors i = (u v 1) t and r = (x y 1) t, respectively. In general, in the calibrated ultrasound imaging system, the above-mentioned assumption of the linear relationship is sufficiently satisfied. Conversely, transformation from point i on the image to point r on real space is performed using the inverse matrix Tri-1 of the matrix Tri,
r = Tri-1i (Equation 3)
Toss. Since the matrix Tri is regular except in special cases, the inverse matrix Tri-1 can be obtained.

On the other hand, the correspondence between the point i on the ultrasound image and the point in the target shape database 31 is obtained from the processing result in step S104. This will be described with reference to FIG. 9000 and 9001 in FIG. 9A correspond to 7006 and 7007 in FIG. 7, respectively. First, a point on the object shape database 31 corresponding to the point i on the ultrasound image is set as a vector m = (u ′ '′ 1) t. Assuming that the relationship between the vector m (FIG. 9 (b) 9010) and the vector i (FIG. 9 (c) 9020) is linear, using the linear transformation matrix Tmi,
i = Tmim (Equation 4)
Toss.

Furthermore, the relationship with the point r in the real space corresponding to an arbitrary point m on the target shape database 31 is
r = Tri-1Tmim (Equation 5)
It can be written as

  Here, assuming that the point m represents the coordinates of the part reference point of the object shape database 31, the corresponding point in the real space can be obtained as the coordinate r based on the ultrasound probe 2001.

  Here, although the example which calculates | requires the position of the site | part reference point of the object shape database 31 by the coordinate system on the basis of the ultrasonic probe 2001 was demonstrated, it is reversely based on the site | part reference point of the object shape database 31 as a reference. The position and attitude of the ultrasonic probe may be determined.

f9: Difference operation with the target (step S108)
As the next step, the coordinate calculation unit 34 further calculates the relative position / posture relationship between the position / posture of the ultrasound probe 2001 and the target position / posture read from the workflow database 33. For this calculation, first, the relative relationship between the position / posture of the reference point of the portion to be inspected in the coordinate system based on the ultrasound probe 2001 and the target position / posture of the workflow database 33, which is obtained in step S107, is determined. . This process will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram representing the target position / posture of the ultrasonic probe stored in the workflow database and the current position / posture of the ultrasonic probe. Here, the region to be inspected 351, the reference point 352, and the probe target position / posture 353 are the information read in step S102. Further, the inspection target site 351 and the reference point 352 can represent the same content as the inspection target site 311 and the reference point 312 among the information stored in the site shape database 31 read in step S101. .

In FIG. 10, the probe target position / posture 352 means a target value of the position / posture of the probe in a coordinate system with the reference point 352 of the portion to be inspected as the origin. Here, the probe target position and posture 352 are divided into components of translation and rotation, and are expressed as gt and gang, respectively. Similarly, the current probe position / posture 354 can also be expressed as pt and pang, respectively, based on the relative position / posture between the ultrasonic probe and the reference point of the region to be inspected, which are already obtained in S107. From these pieces of information, the difference δt between the current position of the ultrasound probe and the target, and the difference δang of the posture are respectively determined by the following equations.
δt = pt−gt (Eq. 6)
δang = pang-gang (Equation 7)

  By the above processing, it is calculated how much the ultrasonic probe 2001 deviates from the target position and posture at the current time.

f11: Target arrival determination (step S109)
Next, based on the relative difference between the current position and orientation of the ultrasonic probe with respect to the target value calculated in step S108, it is determined whether or not the ultrasonic probe has reached the target position and orientation. The method for performing this determination is determined to be reached if each difference between the current position / attitude of the ultrasound probe 1 determined in step S108 and the target value is smaller than a predetermined threshold set in advance. If not, it is conceivable to determine that it has not arrived.

  Further, different values may be automatically set as the threshold depending on the setting of the region to be inspected. In this case, the target range of the position / posture of the ultrasonic probe can be changed for each inspection target.

f12: Target direction control amount calculation (step S110)
If it is determined in step S109 that the probe position / posture has not reached the target value, step S110 is performed. In step S110, the control amount calculating unit 35 calculates a control amount to be sent to the probe position / posture control device to bring the probe position / posture close to the target value. The calculation of the control amount can take various forms depending on the characteristics of the control device. For example, when the direction of movement / rotation is specified for the probe position / posture control device, for example, constant speed driving is performed, each component value of the position difference δt from the target value calculated in step S108 and the sign of each attitude difference δang The direction can be determined based on the positive or negative of.

  As another method, the control amount can also be calculated using both the sign and the absolute value of the difference δt, δang from the target value. At this time, for example, the direction of control may be determined based on the sign of the difference value, and the speed may be determined based on the absolute value.

f13: Probe movement / rotation control (step S111)
In step S111, the control amount calculated in step S106 or step S110 is input to the ultrasonic probe position / posture control device 2004 (FIG. 2) to drive the position / posture of the ultrasonic probe to approach the target value. . For example, based on the control amount for the position and orientation of the probe calculated in step S110, for example, a voltage proportional to the control amount is applied to the corresponding actuator 3043 (FIG. 3). As a result, the actuator 3043 is driven in the direction approaching the target position / posture recorded in the workflow database 33, and as a result, the held ultrasonic probe 2001 approaches the target state.

  By performing the processing from step S100 to step S111 described above, it is possible to set the ultrasonic probe 2001 to an appropriate position and posture with respect to the region to be inspected. By doing this, it is possible to provide an ultrasound diagnostic imaging apparatus capable of capturing an ultrasound image suitable for diagnosis even for a user who does not have a special skill regarding ultrasound imaging.

  In the present embodiment, in the case of mechanically moving / rotating the position / posture of the ultrasonic probe 2001 by the probe position / posture control device 2004 in order to perform ultrasonic imaging at an appropriate position / angle with respect to the inspection target site. Has been described as an example. However, embodiments of the present invention are not limited to this. For example, in the case of using an ultrasonic probe having a plurality of transducers and capable of electronically changing the position / direction of transmission / reception of an ultrasonic signal, the transmission / reception position / direction of the ultrasonic signal is to be controlled. By doing this, it is possible to obtain the same effect as the above embodiment. In addition, a configuration in which both mechanical control and electronic control are used in combination is also an embodiment of the present invention.

(Example 2)
In the first embodiment, an example has been described in which the ultrasonic probe is moved and rotated so that the ultrasonic probe has an appropriate position and posture with respect to an object to be ultrasonically inspected. However, the embodiment of the present invention is limited thereto. Absent.

  For example, instead of providing a device for moving / rotating the ultrasonic probe, an embodiment may be considered in which navigation for prompting the user to move / rotate the ultrasonic probe is presented. An example taking the above form will be described.

A: Overall Configuration FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration according to an embodiment for performing navigation of movement / rotation of the ultrasonic probe to the user.

  The ultrasound diagnostic system according to this embodiment includes an ultrasound probe 2906, an ultrasound diagnostic device 2907, and a host controller 2908.

B: Ultrasonic Probe The ultrasonic probe 2906 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

C: Ultrasound Image Diagnostic Device The ultrasound image diagnostic device 2907 includes a transmission beam former 2971, a reception beam former 2972, a signal processing unit 2973, a reception memory 2974, an image forming unit 2975, and an image display unit 2976.

  The image display unit 2976 presents an ultrasonic image and nebulization information based on signals from the image forming unit 2975 and the host controller 2908. The other configurations included in the ultrasound diagnostic imaging apparatus 2907 are the same as those described in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

D: Host controller The host controller 2908 includes an object shape database 2981, a part detection unit 2982, a workflow database 2983, a coordinate calculation unit 2984, and a guidance information generation unit 2985.

  However, all or part of the components of the host controller 2908 may be incorporated in the ultrasound diagnostic imaging apparatus 2907. The guidance information generation unit 2985 generates guidance information on movement / rotation of the probe to be performed by the user based on the difference from the target value of the probe calculated by the coordinate calculation unit 2984. The generated guidance information is transmitted to the image display unit 2976 of the ultrasound diagnostic imaging apparatus 2907 and presented to the user through a display or the like. The other configuration included in the host controller 2908 is the same as that described in the first embodiment, and therefore the description thereof is omitted.

E: Guidance Information Generation Unit The guidance information generated by the guidance information generation unit 2985 and presented by the image display unit 2976 can be presented using a symbol such as an arrow as shown in FIG. 12A, for example. Further, as shown in FIG. 12 (B), the image display unit 76 can be able to simultaneously present ultrasound images and guidance information.

  Also, the presentation of the guidance information is not limited to being performed by the image display unit 2976 of the ultrasound diagnostic imaging apparatus 2907. For example, a new display unit for presenting position / posture guidance information may be provided on the ultrasound probe 2906 and presented. In this case, there is an advantage that the user can intuitively recognize the moving direction of the probe without referring to the ultrasound diagnostic imaging apparatus 2907.

  Moreover, the guidance information of a present Example is not limited to presentation by an image. For example, as another configuration, a voice presentation unit such as a speaker is newly provided in the host controller 2908 or the ultrasound diagnostic imaging apparatus 2907 or the ultrasound probe 2906, and the navigation generation unit 2985 generates guidance information by voice. be able to. In this case, the user can obtain guidance information without looking at a screen or the like.

(Example 3)
In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the example in the case where the database storing the information of the region to be inspected and the ultrasonic inspection workflow is stored in the host controller has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this form.

  In the third embodiment, an example of an ultrasonic diagnostic system will be described in which information on an examination target region and an ultrasonic inspection workflow is obtained by referring to an external database.

  FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an ultrasound diagnostic imaging system for acquiring information from an external database via the network in the present embodiment. The ultrasound diagnostic system according to this embodiment comprises, for example, the following elements. Specifically, it comprises an ultrasonic probe 3991, an ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus 3992, a host controller 3993, a probe position / posture control apparatus 3994, an object shape database 3996, and a workflow database 3997.

  The host controller 3993 is connected to a target shape database 3996 and a workflow database 3997 via a network 3995.

  Although the case where both the object shape database 3996 and the workflow database 3997 are connected to the host controller 3993 via a network is shown here as an example, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this.

  For example, only one of the target shape database 3996 and the workflow database 3997 may be connected via the network, and the other may be internal to the host controller 3993. Further, although a connection by a network 3995 is shown as an example of connection, the connection may be a so-called LAN connection, or may be a USB connection, a serial connection, a parallel connection or the like as other connection form. The target shape database 3996, the workflow database 3997, and the host controller 3993 do not necessarily have to be paired. For example, depending on the embodiment, the host controllers 3993 of a plurality of ultrasound diagnostic imaging systems may share and use the target shape database 3996 and the workflow database 3997.

  With the above configuration, there is no need to store the part shape information and the workflow information required by the ultrasonic diagnostic system of the present invention inside the host controller 3993, and it is possible to extend or change the database supplied to the system. Be able to do it flexibly.

  Also, the host controller can be configured so that the information stored in the target shape database 3996 and the workflow database 3997 can be added, changed, or deleted by an external operation. Also in this case, it is possible to flexibly update the database by expanding the corresponding inspection item or revising the inspection method.

(Other forms)
In addition, the object of the present invention is also achieved by supplying a recording medium (or a storage medium) recording a program code of software for realizing the functions in the embodiments and examples described above to a system or an apparatus. Needless to say. Specifically, the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reads out and executes the program code stored in the recording medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the recording medium implements the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the recording medium recording the program code constitutes the present invention.

  Also, the functions of the above-described embodiment can be realized by executing the program code read out by the computer, but the present invention is not limited to such a case. In the present invention, an operating system (OS) or the like running on a computer performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instructions of the program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized by the processing. It is needless to say that cases are included.

  Furthermore, it goes without saying that the present invention also includes cases where the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized by the processing performed via the following A) and B).

  A) The program code read out from the recording medium is written to a memory provided to a function expansion card inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. B) Thereafter, based on the instruction of the program code, a CPU or the like provided in the function expansion card or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing.

  When the present invention is applied to the recording medium, the recording medium stores program codes corresponding to the flowcharts described above.

  The description in the above-described present embodiment is an example of a suitable ultrasonic diagnostic imaging apparatus according to the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this.

2001 ultrasonic probe 2004 probe position / posture control device 2002 ultrasonic image diagnostic device 2003 host controller

Claims (7)

An information processing apparatus used together with an ultrasonic probe for performing ultrasonic imaging of a subject, comprising:
Position acquisition means for acquiring the position of the ultrasonic probe;
A symbol indicating a direction in which the ultrasonic probe should be moved to obtain a target site for the ultrasonic imaging in the subject from the position of the ultrasonic probe is obtained through the ultrasonic probe An information processing apparatus comprising: display control means for displaying so as to be included in an ultrasonic image.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit displays the entire symbol so as to be included in an ultrasonic image obtained through the ultrasonic probe. An ultrasound probe for performing ultrasound imaging of a subject;
Position acquisition means for acquiring the position of the ultrasonic probe;
A symbol indicating a direction in which the ultrasonic probe should be moved to obtain a target site for the ultrasonic imaging in the subject from the position of the ultrasonic probe is obtained through the ultrasonic probe An ultrasound diagnostic system comprising display control means for displaying so as to be included in an ultrasound image.   The information processing system according to claim 3, wherein the display control means displays the entire symbol so as to be included in an ultrasonic image obtained through the ultrasonic probe. A position acquisition step of acquiring a position of an ultrasonic probe for performing ultrasonic imaging of a subject;
A symbol indicating a direction in which the ultrasonic probe should be moved to obtain a target site for the ultrasonic imaging in the subject from the position of the ultrasonic probe is obtained through the ultrasonic probe A display control step of displaying so as to be included in an ultrasound image.   The information processing method according to claim 5, wherein in the display control step, the entire symbol is displayed so as to be included in an ultrasound image obtained through the ultrasound probe.   A program causing a computer to execute each step of the information processing method according to claim 6.

Images