KR101992333B1 - Fusion image acquiring system for cardiovascular disease diagnosis - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a catheter comprising a head positioned at one end and a tube extending from the head to the other end, the tube having optical signal lines and electrical signal lines, and outputting or receiving intravascular light and sound signals through the head; A pull back device for penetrating the tube, guiding rotation and movement of the catheter, and providing a connection terminal connected to the electrical signal line; A first signal delivery device coupled to the optical signal line to provide a first light source to the catheter, the catheter being provided with an optical signal received from an intravascular region; A second signal delivery device coupled to the optical signal line to provide a second light source to the catheter; A third signal transmission device connected to the connection terminal of the pullback device to provide an electrical signal for generating sound waves through the electrical signal line to the catheter and to receive an electrical signal for the sound wave signal received from the intra- ; An image processor for receiving an optical and electrical signal provided from the catheter and generating an image; An output device for outputting an image processed by the image processing device; And a control device for controlling the pullback device, the first signal transfer device, the second signal transfer device, the third signal transfer device, the image processing device, and the output device, and a fusion image acquisition system for diagnosing cardiovascular diseases do.

Description

[0001] FUSION IMAGE ACQUIRING SYSTEM FOR CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE DIAGNOSIS [0002]

The present invention relates to a fusion image acquisition system for diagnosing cardiovascular diseases.

In order to diagnose and treat the lesions of the human body, medical images are required in many medical fields such as digestive system, heart and neuron system, skin system, and eye system.

In this case, for example, in the case of a blood vessel system, there is an intravenous ultrasound (IVUS) technique using ultrasound (US) as one of the methods of imaging a blood vessel for understanding the condition of a blood vessel.

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is a method of injecting an ultrasound signal into a region of interest (ROI) in the human body by inserting a catheter containing an ultrasonic transducer into the blood vessel, The method of imaging the structure of the region of interest by receiving an ultrasound signal enables diagnosis of the internal state of the blood vessel such as the structure of the blood vessel plaque, the degree of arteriosclerosis of the blood vessel wall, and the degree of calcification.

Techniques for imaging the interior of a blood vessel using ultrasound are disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-1059824 filed on September 09, 2010, 2011. 08. 22, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2016-537137 filed on 2014 , November 20, 2016), and so on.

In the case of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), the morphological observation such as the structure of the inner wall of the blood vessel and the structure of the plaque can be performed through the ultrasound image, but since the histological characteristic information on the intravascular tissue can not be known, There is a problem in that it is difficult to diagnose and prevent it.

In addition to ultrasonic techniques using ultrasound, techniques for imaging blood vessels include optical coherence tomography (OCT) image acquisition technology and photoacoustic (PA) image acquisition technology.

Here, the optical coherent tomography (OCT) is divided into two optical signals of optical signals generated from a light source through a catheter inserted in a blood vessel, and one optical signal irradiates light to be reflected at the surface of the region of interest, The optical signal interferes with the optical signal coming back from the region of interest and acquires the image by imaging the information about it. The obtained image can acquire the image 20 times more than the image obtained through the ultrasonic wave.

In addition, the photoacoustic (PA) image absorbs the light irradiated through the catheter inserted into the blood vessel, and the cell tissue converts the light energy into thermal energy, and the thermal expansion due to the converted heat energy Thereby emitting a photoacoustic signal. In this case, it is possible to acquire an image of a region of interest by detecting the signal at this time, and to acquire histological characteristic information on lipid, melanin, hemoglobin oxygen saturation and the like.

On the other hand, the single imaging technique as described above has advantages and disadvantages. Diagnosis is usually based on ultrasound - guided ultrasound (IVUS) images, but accurate lesions may be difficult to identify.

For example, in the case of a coronary artery, intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is difficult to obtain the histological characteristics of a microvasculature of the intravascular atherosclerosis, and optical interferential tomography (OCT) or photoacoustic (PA) The catheter was inserted again to obtain information on the histological characteristics of the lesion. Therefore, there was a risk that complications may occur as the insertion of the catheter for acquiring images containing information necessary for accurate diagnosis in the vessel is performed several times .

Therefore, there is a need to overcome the drawbacks of each single imaging technique and to fuse different imaging techniques to obtain the necessary information according to lesions.

Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem [8] Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a technique for accurately determining the histological characteristics of a lesion by providing an ultrasound image and an optical image.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fusion image acquisition system for diagnosing cardiovascular diseases, including a head positioned at one end and a tube extending from the head to the other end and having optical signal lines and electrical signal lines, A catheter for outputting or receiving intravascular light and sound signals through the head; A pull back device for penetrating the tube, guiding rotation and movement of the catheter, and providing a connection terminal connected to the electrical signal line; A first signal delivery device coupled to the optical signal line to provide a first light source to the catheter, the catheter being provided with an optical signal received from an intravascular region; A second signal delivery device coupled to the optical signal line to provide a second light source to the catheter; A third signal transmission device connected to the connection terminal of the pullback device to provide an electrical signal for generating sound waves through the electrical signal line to the catheter and to receive an electrical signal for the sound wave signal received from the intra- ; An image processor receiving an optical signal and an electrical signal provided from the catheter to generate an image; An output device for outputting an image processed by the image processing device; And a control device for controlling the pullback device, the first signal transfer device, the second signal transfer device, the third signal transfer device, the image processing device, and the output device.

At this time, the image processing apparatus may generate different images depending on apparatuses that provide light or sound waves transmitted in the blood vessel from the catheter.

The catheter includes a light transmitting portion to which an optical member is coupled to one end of the optical signal line located at the head and a sound wave transmitting portion connected to one end of the electric signal line to perform mutual conversion of the electric signal and the sound wave signal, ; ≪ / RTI >

In this case, the optical signal line has two independent optical signal transmission parts which are disposed on the central axis of the tube and divided into a center part and an outer part, and the central part and the outer part of the optical signal transmission part have different refractive indexes And the transmission of the first light source and the second light source may be performed to the central portion and the outer portion of the optical signal transmission portion, respectively.

The pullback device may further include: a rotation driving module including a first motor and a rotating part penetratingly connected to the tube and rotating in a circumferential direction of the tube by an operation of the first motor; A second motor and a linear driving module coupled to one side of the rotation driving module and including a movement inducing unit for guiding movement of the rotation driving module in a longitudinal direction of the tube according to an operation of the second motor; And a control module for controlling the rotation driving module and the linear driving module.

The rotation unit may include a connection terminal that is in contact with the electric signal line. The rotation unit may pass the optical signal line, and may guide rotation of the optical signal line while maintaining parallelism of the optical signal line when the first motor is rotated.

The first signal transmission device may include: a coupler part that splits the first light source and is connected to the optical signal line; A reference mirror unit that receives the first light source from the coupler unit and generates a first reflected light; And a second light source, which is transmitted through the first reflected light and the optical signal line, to the intravascular region, the first light source being reflected by the intravascular region and received by the light transmitting portion, And a first optical detector for receiving the reflected light through the optical signal line and detecting the second reflected light.

The second signal transmission device may further include: a division unit dividing the second light source into the 2-1 light source and the 2-2 light source, and transmitting the 2-2 light source to the optical signal line; And a second optical detector for detecting the second -2 light source and converting the second -2 light source into an electrical signal, wherein the second -2 light source, which is converted into an electrical signal in the second optical detector, May be a reference signal.

The third signal transmission device may further include: a sound wave transmitting / receiving unit for providing an electric signal for generating a sound wave to the sound wave transmitting unit through the electric signal line or receiving the first sound wave signal received from the sound wave transmitting unit as an electric signal; And the sound wave transmitting / receiving unit may be electrically connected to the rotating unit.

At this time, the sound wave transmitting / receiving unit is generated by the 2-1 light source that is absorbed in the blood vessel by the second-1 light source transmitted from the second signal transmitter to the optical signal line through the light transmitting unit The second sound wave signal can be received.

The controller may control the image processing apparatus to generate a first image through analysis of interference information between the first reflected light and the second reflected light when the second reflected light is detected by the first optical detection unit have.

The control device may control the image processing apparatus to generate a second image through analysis of the second sound wave signal and the reference signal when the second sound wave signal is received in the sound wave transmitting and receiving section .

The controller may control the image processing apparatus to generate a third image through analysis of the first sound wave signal when the first sound wave signal is received in the third signal transmission / reception unit.

As described above, the present invention has the following effects.

First, by providing a light transmitting portion and a sound wave transmitting portion in the catheter, it is possible to output or receive intravascular ultrasound and optical signals, wherein the light transmitting portion has a refractive index different from that of a special optical fiber such as a dual clad fiber It is possible to acquire optical interference (OCT), photoacoustic (PA), and ultrasound (US) images.

Second, by acquiring fusion images through ultrasound and optical signals, it is possible to acquire histologic feature information of images and lesions having superior resolving power while having advantages of the conventional intravascular imaging system, Can be increased.

Third, it is possible to acquire three-dimensional images of the inner wall of the blood vessel by rotating the tube in the longitudinal direction while rotating about 360 degrees in the direction of the blood vessel, When the catheter is in contact with the inner wall of the vessel, it is rotated. Therefore, it is possible to minimize the damage of the inner wall of the vessel by reducing the friction through rotation and to acquire the fusion image.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a system for acquiring a fusion image for diagnosing cardiovascular disease according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 schematically illustrates a catheter according to one embodiment of the present invention.
3 schematically shows a pullback apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 schematically shows a first rotationally coupled portion of a pullback device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the technical parts already known will be omitted or compressed for simplicity of explanation.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system for acquiring a fusion image for cardiovascular disease diagnosis according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a catheter according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic view schematically showing a first rotationally coupled portion of a pullback device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a pullback device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The fusion signal acquisition system for diagnosing cardiovascular diseases according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a catheter 100, a pullback device 200, a first signal transmitter 300, a second signal transmitter 400, A transmission device 500, an image processing device 600, an output device 700, and a control device 800.

The catheter may include a body insertion means and an image scanning means. However, the catheter 100 of the fusion image acquisition system for diagnosing cardiovascular diseases according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described only with respect to the image scanning means.

Catheter 100 may include a head 110 and a tube 120.

At this time, the head 110 may be positioned at one end of the catheter 100.

In addition, the tube 120 may be provided in the form of a cable extending from the head 110 to the other end and including the optical signal line 121 and the electric signal line 122.

At this time, the intravascular light and the sound wave signal can be output or input through the head 100.

Here, the light transmitting portion 111 and the sound wave transmitting portion 112 may be located inside the head 110.

2, an optical member may be coupled to one end of the optical signal line 121 at a position adjacent to the one end of the head 110. In this case,

At this time, the optical member may be a lens 111a and a prism 111b, and a spacer 111c may be disposed between one end of the optical signal line 121 and the optical member.

At this time, the lens 111a is preferably provided as a GRIN lens, but is not limited thereto.

The optical signal line 121 may have two independent optical signal transmission parts which are disposed on the central axis of the tube 120 and are divided into a center part 121a and an outer part 121b.

At this time, the central portion 121a and the outer portion 121b can transmit optical signals having different refractive indices.

The sound wave transmission unit 112 is connected to one end of the electric signal line 122 adjacent to one end of the head 110 to perform mutual conversion of the electric signal and the sound wave signal and to output or receive the sound wave signal in the blood vessel.

At this time, the sound wave transmitting unit 112 may be provided as an ultrasonic transducer that performs variable signal conversion using the piezoelectric effect.

At this time, it is preferable that the optical signal line 121 is provided by a special optical fiber such as a dual clad fiber.

The tube 120 may further include a torque coil 123 that surrounds the optical signal line 121 and the electric signal line 122.

At this time, the torque coil 123 is applied to the catheter 100 that is rotated by the pullback device 200, which will be described later, so that the torque can be transmitted well in the curved blood vessel and the tearing of the optical signal line 121 can be prevented.

The pullback device 200 may provide a connection terminal S that is connected to the electrical signal line 122 in the tube 120 by guiding the rotation and movement of the catheter 100, .

3 to 4, the pullback device 200 includes a rotation driving module 210, a linear driving module 220, and a control module 230. [

Here, the rotation drive module 210 includes a first motor 211 and a rotation unit 212.

At this time, the first motor 211 is provided with the first rotating portion 211a at one end for rotation driving.

The rotation part 212 is connected to the tube 120 including the optical signal line 121 and the electric signal line 122 and rotates in the circumferential direction of the tube 120 by the operation of the first motor 211 .

At this time, the rotating portion 212 includes the first rotating coupling portion 212a, the second rotating coupling portion 212b, and the connecting portion 212c.

The first rotationally coupled portion 212a passes the optical signal line 121 through the tube 120 and can be contacted with the electrical signal line 122. [

The first rotation coupling part 212a may include a connection terminal S electrically connected to the electrical signal line 122 and the connection terminal S may be provided in the form of a slip ring .

The first rotating portion 212a is provided with a second rotating portion 212a-1 at one end thereof and the second rotating portion 212a-1 is rotatably supported by the first rotating portion 211a and the belt B Can be connected.

At this time, the first rotating part 211a and the second rotating part 212a-1 can rotate the tube 120 coupled to the rotating part 212 by the operation of the first motor 211.

Here, since the first rotating portion 211a and the second rotating portion 212a-1 are connected by the belt B, when there is a problem in rotational driving due to the obstacle, the load applied to the first motor 211 is small The life span of the first motor 211 may not be shortened.

The first rotating part 211a and the second rotating part 212a-1 are preferably provided so as to have the same circumferential length, but they may have different circumferential lengths.

At this time, the first rotating portion 211a and the second rotating portion 212a-1 are provided so as to have the same circumferential length because the rotation speeds of the first rotating portion 211a and the second rotating portion 212a-1 are the same And it can be advantageously applied to the control of the rotational speed of the catheter 100.

4, a hollow (not shown) is formed in the central portion of the connection terminal S, and the optical signal line 121 can pass through the first rotation coupling portion 212a through the hollow.

Also, a rotation axis (not shown) is provided along the periphery of the hollow, and a conductor 212a-2 and an insulator (not shown) may be positioned along the outer periphery of the rotation axis.

Here, the conductor 212a-2 may be formed of a conductive metal such as aluminum or copper.

At this time, the electric signal line 122 may be connected to the conductor 212a-2 so that the first rotary coupling portion 212a and the sound transmission / reception unit 510, which will be described later, are electrically connected.

The hollow portion (not shown) of the second rotationally coupled portion 212b is formed in a hollow portion (not shown) through which the optical signal line 121 can pass, And may be located on the same straight line as the hollow (not shown) of the rotational coupling portion 212a.

At this time, the second rotationally coupled portion 212b may be provided in the form of a rotary joint, and may guide the rotation of the optical signal line 121 when the catheter 110 rotates.

The coupling portion 212c is coupled to the first rotational coupling portion 212a and the second rotational coupling portion 212b and has a hollow (not shown) through which the optical signal line 121 can pass, The rotation of the optical signal line 121 can be guided.

At this time, the hollows (not shown) of the first rotary coupling portion 212a, the second rotary coupling portion 212b, and the coupling portion 212c are located on the same straight line, The rotation of the catheter 100 can be guided by maintaining the parallelism of the optical signal line 121.

In addition, it is possible to prevent damage to the transmitted optical signal due to bending of the optical signal line 121.

At this time, the rotation driving module 210 may include a structure for seating and fixing the first motor 211 and the rotation unit 212.

The linear driving module 220 includes a second motor 221 and a movement inducing unit 222.

At this time, the second motor 221 may be provided for linear driving and may move the rotation driving module 210 in the longitudinal direction of the tube 120.

The movement inducing unit 222 is connected to the lower end of the rotation driving module 210 to guide the movement of the rotation driving module 210 in the longitudinal direction of the tube 120 according to the operation of the second motor 221 .

At this time, the linear driving module 220 may include a structure in which the second motor 221 and the movement inducing part 222 can be seated and fixed.

The control module 230 can control the rotation driving module 210 and the linear driving module 220. For example, the rotation speed of the rotation driving module 210 and the moving speed control of the linear driving module 230 It can be possible.

The first signal transmitter 300 includes a first light source 310, a coupler 320, a reference mirror 330, and a first optical detector 340.

Here, the first light source 310 provides light for obtaining an optical coherence tomography (OCT) image, and may be provided with a wavelength conversion laser.

At this time, the first light source 310 may have a wavelength of 1310 nm, but it is not limited thereto, and it is preferable to select a wavelength having a deep penetration depth in the intravascular tissue.

The coupler 320 may divide the first light source 310 and may be connected to the optical signal line 121.

At this time, the coupler unit 320 may be provided as an optical fiber coupler.

The coupler 320 may be connected to the reference mirror 330 and the first optical detector 340, which will be described later.

At this time, the coupler unit 320 may divide the first light source 310 into two lights and transmit the light to the optical signal line 121 and the reference mirror unit 330.

The reference mirror unit 330 may receive the first light source 310 from the coupler unit 320 to generate the first reflected light.

A parallel light converter (not shown) converts the light transmitted from the coupler unit 320 to the reference mirror unit 330 into parallel light before the first light source 310 reaches the reference mirror unit 330 Not shown) may be further included.

Here, the first reflected light generated by the reference mirror 330 may be provided to the first optical detector 340, which will be described later, through the coupler 320.

The first light detecting unit 340 irradiates the first light source 310 transmitted to the light transmitting unit 111 through the first reflected light and the optical signal line 121 to the intravascular region, And the second reflected light received by the light transmitting portion 111 may be received through the optical signal line 121 to detect the second reflected light.

At this time, the first reflected light and the second reflected light detected by the first optical detector 340 may be provided to the image processing apparatus 600, which will be described later.

The second signal transmission device 400 may include a second light source 410, a division unit 420, and a second optical detection unit 430.

Here, the second light source 410 provides light for acquiring a photoacoustic (PA) image, and may be provided by a variable wavelength pulse laser.

At this time, the second light source 410 may be a variable wavelength pulse laser having a center wavelength of 1710 nm, but the present invention is not limited to this, and should be selected in consideration of the light absorption of the intravascular tissue.

At this time, the above-mentioned central wavelength can be selected because the light absorption of the atherosclerotic tissue is strong at the above-mentioned wavelength.

The division unit 420 may divide the second light source 410 into the 2-1 light source and the 2-2 light source.

Here, the division unit 420 may transmit the 2-1 light source to the optical signal line 121.

In this case, the dividing unit 420 further includes a lens part (not shown) in the process of transmitting the 2-1 light source to the optical signal line 121, and the 2-1 light source passes through the lens part (not shown) (121).

In addition, the division unit 420 may provide the second-2 light source to the second optical detection unit 430.

Then, the second optical detecting unit 430 can detect the 2-2 light source and convert the 2-2 light source into an electrical signal.

At this time, the 2-2 light source converted from the second optical detector 430 to the electrical signal may be provided as a reference signal to the image processor 600, which will be described later.

In addition, the reference signal, that is, the 2-2 light source may be used as a trigger signal for compensating the time delay in the image processing apparatus 600 to be described later.

The third signal transmission apparatus 500 may include a sound transmission / reception unit 510.

At this time, the sound wave transmitting / receiving unit 510 may be provided as a pulser / receiver.

The sound wave transmitting and receiving unit 510 supplies an electric signal for generating a sound wave to the sound wave transmitting unit 112 through the electric signal line 122 or converts the first sound wave signal received from the sound wave transmitting unit 112 into an electric signal Can be provided.

At this time, the third signal transmitter 500 may be connected to the connection terminal S of the pullback unit 200 and may transmit signals to the sound wave transmitter 112 through the electric signal line 122.

In addition, the sound wave transmitting / receiving unit 510 may be configured such that the 2-1 light source transmitted from the second signal transmitting apparatus 400 to the optical signal line is irradiated through the light transmitting unit 111 and irradiated in the blood vessel, It is possible to receive the second sound wave signal generated due to the 2-1 light source.

At this time, the second sound wave signal means photoacoustic (PA).

The sound wave transmitting and receiving unit 510 provides the first sound wave signal and the second sound wave signal received by the image processing apparatus 600. At this time, a delay for compensating for a time delay that may occur in the case of a pulse wave, A compensation unit (not shown) may be further included.

At this time, the reference signal, that is, the second secondary light source may be used as a trigger signal for compensating time delay of the second sound wave signal.

The image processing apparatus 600 may receive the optical and electrical signals provided from the catheter 100 and generate an image of a region of interest in the blood vessel.

At this time, the image processing apparatus 600 may generate different images according to the device providing the light and the sound signal transmitted in the blood vessel by the catheter 100.

In addition, the image processing apparatus 600 may include a storage unit (not shown) for storing the generated image.

The output apparatus 700 can output the processed image from the image processing apparatus 600. [

At this time, it is preferable that the output device 700 is provided with an apparatus including a display module capable of outputting images.

The control device 800 includes a pullback device 200, a first signal transfer device 300, a second signal transfer device 400, a third signal transfer device 500, an image processing device 600, and an output device 700 can be controlled.

In this case, when the second reflected light is detected by the first optical detector 340, the controller 800 controls the image processing apparatus 600 to generate a first image by analyzing interference information between the first reflected light and the second reflected light Can be controlled.

When the second sound wave signal is received by the sound wave transmitting / receiving unit 510, the control unit 800 receives the reference signal from the second light detecting unit, analyzes the second sound wave signal and the reference signal, The image processing apparatus 600 can control the image processing apparatus 600 to generate the image data.

In addition, when the first sound wave signal is received by the sound wave transmitting / receiving unit 510, the controller 800 may control the image processing apparatus 600 to generate the third image through analysis of the first sound wave signal .

In this case, the first image, the second image, and the third image may be an optical coherence tomography (OCT) image, a photoacoustic (PA) image, and an ultrasound (US) image, respectively.

Meanwhile, the fused image acquisition system for diagnosing cardiovascular diseases according to an embodiment of the present invention can acquire optical coherence tomography (OCT), photoacoustic (PA), and ultrasound (US) images.

At this time, the catheter 100 is inserted into the blood vessel by the body insertion means, and the rotation and movement of the catheter 100 is guided by the pullback device 200, so that it is possible to acquire the image described above.

For example, the pullback device 200 moves at a speed of 0.5 mm / s to 2.0 mm / s in the longitudinal direction of the tube 120, while simultaneously rotating at a speed of 1800 rpm in the circumferential direction of the tube 120 Thereby guiding the rotation and movement of the intravascular catheter 100.

Since the movement of the catheter 100 in the longitudinal direction of the blood vessel is guided simultaneously with the rotation of the catheter 100, a three-dimensional image as well as a two-dimensional image can be obtained.

The catheter 100 may include a light transmitting part 111 and a sound wave transmitting part 112 so as to allow input and output of intravascular light and ultrasonic signals and may include a light transmitting part 111 and a sound wave transmitting part 112, May be fixedly mounted inside the head 110.

2, the lens 111a is disposed at one end of the optical signal line 121 and the prism 111b is disposed at the front end of the lens 111a so that light is irradiated toward one surface of the catheter 100. [ ) Can be located.

An ultrasonic transducer (not shown) may be disposed at one end of the electric signal line 122 and may be disposed to face one surface of the catheter 100.

At this time, one side of the catheter 100 may be opened. In order to protect the light transmitting part 111 and the sound wave transmitting part 112, a cover part (not shown) surrounding the head 110 is provided outside the catheter 100 ) May be further included.

The acquisition of the optical coherence tomography (OCT) image through the catheter 100 described above can acquire an image by analyzing the interference phenomenon caused by the path difference of the first light source 310, that is, the wavelength conversion laser.

The first light source 310 may be capable of communicating with the light transmitting portion 111 located in the head 110 through the center portion 121a of the optical signal line 121. [

At this time, the first light source 310 illuminated intravascularly through the light transmitting portion 111 is reflected by the intravascular tissue and then inputted to the light transmitting portion 111, And may be provided to the first optical detecting unit 340 through the center portion 121a.

At this time, the first reflected light generated by reflecting the first light source 310 from the reference mirror 330 may be detected in the first optical detector 340.

Here, the first optical detector 340 may provide the first optical detector 340 to the image processing apparatus 600.

Then, the image processing apparatus 600 receives it and performs signal processing.

At this time, the image processing apparatus 600 can analyze the interference signal generated by the path difference between the first reflected light and the second reflected light.

Here, the analysis process for the image processing in the image processing apparatus 600 may include a conversion process for Fourier-transforming the interference signal. Since the frequency of the interference signal varies depending on the depth, it is possible to acquire information in the depth direction through the conversion process .

Accordingly, the image processing apparatus 600 can generate the first image.

Acquisition of the photoacoustic (PA) image through the catheter 100 described above is performed by irradiating the second light source 410, that is, the second light source 410 irradiated from the variable wavelength pulse laser, intravascularly, The image can be obtained by analyzing the photoacoustic signal generated in the course of the light source 410 absorbed in the intravascular tissue and converted into heat energy.

The second light source 410 may be capable of communicating with the light transmitting portion 111 located in the head 1110 through the outer portion 121b of the optical signal line 121. [

At this time, the second light source 410 irradiated intravascularly through the light transmitting portion 111 is absorbed by the intravascular tissue, and the tissue absorbing the second light source 410 converts it into heat energy.

At this time, the thermal expansion causes the intravascular tissue to transmit the photoacoustic signal, which can be input to the sound wave transmission unit 112 of the head 110.

At this time, the sound wave transmitting unit 112 may convert the received photo acoustic signal into an electric signal and transmit the converted signal to the sound wave transmitting / receiving unit 510.

The photoacoustic signal received by the sound wave transmitting / receiving unit 510 may be provided to the image processing apparatus 600.

At this time, the image processing apparatus 600 may receive the reference signal detected by the second optical detection unit 430 and may analyze the histological characteristic information of the intravascular tissue such as lipid through the analysis of the photoacoustic signal and the reference signal .

Thus, the image processing apparatus 600 can generate the second image.

The acquisition of the US image through the catheter 100 generates an electrical signal for the ultrasonic signal in the sonic transceiver 510 or the pulser / receiver and transmits the generated electrical signal to the sonic transducer 112 to irradiate an ultrasound signal, that is, a first sound wave signal, and acquire an image by analyzing a signal reflected from a blood vessel due to a difference in acoustic impedance (Acoustic Impedance).

The ultrasound signal reflected from the inner wall of the blood vessel is input to the sound wave transmitting unit 112. The ultrasonic signal reflected by the sound wave transmitting unit 112 is converted into an electrical signal and is transmitted through the electric signal line 122 to the sound wave transmitting / ). ≪ / RTI >

At this time, one end of the sound wave transmitting part 112, that is, the ultrasonic transducer may have a diameter of 1 mm or less so as to facilitate insertion into a blood vessel, and it is possible to drive a high frequency band of 20 MHz to 100 MHz .

The sonic transceiver 510 may provide the reflected ultrasound signal to the image processing apparatus 600. The image processing apparatus 600 may perform signal processing such as Fourier transform to generate an image including an intravascular structural form Can be generated.

Thus, the image processing apparatus 600 can generate the third image.

Thereafter, the image processing apparatus 600 may store the generated first, second, and third images in a storage unit (not shown).

The output device 700 may output the first image, the second image, and the third image, respectively, or may synthesize the first image, the second image, and the third image, and output the synthesized image as a single image.

For example, a third image corresponding to an ultrasound (US) image and a second image corresponding to a photoacoustic (PA) image are synthesized, and the intra-vascular structural image includes a histological characteristic information such as lipid .

This can be selectively switched by a user such as a doctor who reads an image using a fusion image acquisition system for diagnosing cardiovascular diseases according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As a result, the present invention is capable of outputting or receiving an intravascular ultrasonic wave and an optical signal by providing a light transmitting portion and a sound wave transmitting portion in the catheter, wherein the light transmitting portion is a special optical fiber such as a dual clad fiber (PA) and ultrasound (US) images can be obtained, and fusion images can be acquired through the use of ultrasound and optical signals. As a result, And it is possible to acquire histologic feature information of the lesion with good resolution. Therefore, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the diagnosis of the intravascular lesion, It is possible to acquire three-dimensional images of the inner wall of the blood vessel, Provides a fusion image acquisition system for diagnosing cardiovascular diseases which can minimize fusion of blood vessels by reducing friction through rotation when a catheter is in contact with the inner wall of a blood vessel, .

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. And the scope of the present invention should be understood as the following claims and their equivalents.

100: catheter
110: head
111:
111a: lens
111b: prism
111c: Spacer
112: sound wave transmission portion
120: tube
121: Optical signal line
121a: center portion
121b:
122: electric signal line
123: Torque coil
200: pullback device
210: Rotary drive module
211: first motor
211a: first rotating portion
212:
212a: first rotating coupling portion
212a-1:
212a-2:
212b: second rotating coupling portion
212c: connecting portion
220: Linear drive module
221: second motor
222:
230: control module
B: Belt
S: Connection terminal
300: first signal transmitter
310: first light source
320: Coupler part
330: reference mirror part
340: first optical detector
400: second signal transmitting device
410: second light source
420: minute installment
430: second optical detector
500: third signal transmitting device
510: sound wave transmitting /
600: image processing device
700: Output device
800: Control device
I: blood vessel

Claims (12)

A catheter including a head positioned at one end and a tube extending from the head to the other end and having optical signal lines and electrical signal lines, and outputting or receiving intravascular light and sound signals through the head;
A pull back device for penetrating the tube, guiding rotation and movement of the catheter, and providing a connection terminal connected to the electrical signal line;
A first signal delivery device coupled to the optical signal line to provide a first light source to the catheter, the catheter being provided with an optical signal received from an intravascular region;
A second signal delivery device coupled to the optical signal line to provide a second light source to the catheter;
A third signal transmission device connected to the connection terminal of the pullback device to provide an electrical signal for generating sound waves through the electrical signal line to the catheter and to receive an electrical signal for the sound wave signal received from the intra- ;
An image processor receiving an optical signal and an electrical signal provided from the catheter to generate an image;
An output device for outputting an image processed by the image processing device; And
And a control device for controlling the pullback device, the first signal transmitting device, the second signal transmitting device, the third signal transmitting device, the image processing device, and the output device,
The image processing apparatus generates different images according to an apparatus for providing light or sound waves to be transmitted in the blood vessel from the catheter,
The pull-
A rotation driving module including a first motor and a rotating part penetratingly connected to the tube and rotating in the circumferential direction of the tube by an operation of the first motor;
A second motor and a linear driving module coupled to one side of the rotation driving module and including a movement inducing unit for guiding movement of the rotation driving module in a longitudinal direction of the tube according to an operation of the second motor; And
And a control module for controlling the rotation driving module and the linear driving module,
Wherein the rotating portion includes a first rotationally coupled portion,
Wherein the first rotating part is provided with a second rotating part at one end thereof and the second rotating part is connected to a first rotating part provided at one end of the first motor through a belt, The second rotating portion is provided so as to have the same circumferential length and rotates the tube of the catheter by the operation of the first motor,
The control device includes:
The rotation driving module rotates 360 degrees in the forward direction and controls the linear driving module to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the tube of the catheter,
The catheter includes a light transmission unit having an optical member coupled to one end of the optical signal line located at the head, and a sound wave transmission unit connected to one end of the electric signal line to perform mutual conversion of the electric signal and the sound wave signal, Including,
Wherein the optical signal line has two independent optical signal transmission parts which are disposed on the center axis of the tube and divided into a central part and an outer part,
Wherein a central portion and an outer portion of the optical signal transmitting portion transmit optical signals having different refractive indices,
And the first light source and the second light source are respectively transmitted to the central portion and the outer portion of the optical signal transmitting portion
Fusion image acquisition system for cardiovascular diagnosis. delete delete delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the rotation unit includes a connection terminal that is in contact with the electric signal line, passes the optical signal line, and guides rotation of the optical signal line while maintaining parallelism of the optical signal line when the first motor is rotated.
Fusion image acquisition system for cardiovascular diagnosis.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first signal transfer device comprises:
A coupler part for dividing the first light source and connected to the optical signal line;
A reference mirror unit that receives the first light source from the coupler unit and generates a first reflected light; And
The first light source transmitted to the light transmitting portion through the first reflected light and the optical signal line is irradiated to the intravascular region, and the second light reflected from the intravascular region and received by the light transmitting portion And a first optical detector for detecting the second reflected light by receiving the optical signal through an optical signal line
Fusion image acquisition system for cardiovascular diagnosis.
6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the second signal transfer device comprises:
A division unit dividing the second light source into the 2-1 light source and the 2-2 light source and transmitting the 2-1 light source to the optical signal line; And
And a second optical detector for detecting the second -2 light source and converting the second -2 light source into an electrical signal,
And the second -2 light source converted into an electrical signal in the second optical detection unit is a reference signal
Fusion image acquisition system for cardiovascular diagnosis.
8. The method of claim 7,
The third signal transmission device includes a sound wave transmitting / receiving part for providing an electric signal for generating a sound wave to the sound wave transmitting part through the electric signal line or receiving the first sound wave signal received from the sound wave transmitting part as an electric signal and,
And the sound wave transmitting / receiving unit is electrically connected to the rotating unit
Fusion image acquisition system for cardiovascular diagnosis.
9. The method of claim 8,
The sound wave transmitting / receiving unit may include a second light source that is generated due to the second-1 light source absorbed in the blood vessel by irradiating the second light source, which is transmitted from the second signal transmitting device to the optical signal line, And a second sound wave signal
Fusion image acquisition system for cardiovascular diagnosis.
The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the controller controls the image processing apparatus to generate a first image through analysis of interference information between the first reflected light and the second reflected light when the second reflected light is detected by the first optical detecting unit doing
Fusion image acquisition system for cardiovascular diagnosis.
10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the control unit controls the image processing apparatus to generate a second image through analysis of the second sound wave signal and the reference signal when the second sound wave signal is received by the sound wave transmitting / receiving unit
Fusion image acquisition system for cardiovascular diagnosis.
9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the controller controls the image processing apparatus to generate a third image through analysis of the first sound wave signal when the first sound wave signal is received by the sound wave transmitting and receiving unit
Fusion image acquisition system for cardiovascular diagnosis.

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