Method and ultrasound apparatus for displaying diffusion boundary of medicine

• US 10,456,114 B2
• Filed: 03/12/2015
• Issued: 10/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Samsung Medison Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Medison Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Cho, Eun-mi, Oh, Jung-taek, Kim, Eun-yeong
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Thomas J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bor, Helene
• Application Number:
  US14/656,642
• Publication Number:
  US 20150257741A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,692 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4848 Monitoring or testing the effects of treatment, e.g. of medication
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0833 involving detecting or locating foreign bodies or organic structures
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/463 characterised by displaying multiple images or images and diagnostic data on one display composite display in devices for short-range imaging with acoustic waves G01S7/52074
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/469 for selection of a region of interest
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/481 involving the use of contrast agent, e.g. microbubbles introduced into the bloodstream analysis of echo signal exploiting properties of a contrast enhancer in devices for short-range imaging with acoustic waves G01S7/52039
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/488 involving Doppler signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/5223 for extracting a diagnostic or physiological parameter from medical diagnostic data for algorithms to analyse biomedical images G06T7/0012
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/5246 combining images from the same or different imaging techniques, e.g. color Doppler and B-mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10132 Ultrasound image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30004 Biomedical image processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection

Abstract

Provided is a method of marking a diffusion boundary of medicine, the method performed by an ultrasound apparatus and including operations of obtaining first B mode image data and first Doppler data about a target object to which the medicine is injected; detecting a first area of the target object from which the first Doppler data is obtained; determining a first diffusion boundary of the medicine, based on the first area; and marking the first diffusion boundary of the medicine on a B mode image that is generated by using the first B mode image data.

Claims

1. A method of marking a diffusion boundary of medicine, the method performed by an ultrasound apparatus and comprising:

obtaining first B mode image data and first Doppler data about a target object to which the medicine is injected;

obtaining second Doppler data about the target object, after the first B mode image data and the first Doppler data are obtained and then a preset time elapses;

detecting a first area of the target object from which the first Doppler data is obtained and a second area from which the second Doppler data is obtained;

determining a first diffusion boundary of the medicine, based on the first area, and determining a second diffusion boundary of the medicine, based on the second area;

marking the first diffusion boundary of the medicine and the second diffusion boundary of the medicine on a B mode image that is generated by using the first B mode image data; and

displaying, on the B mode image, comparison data obtained by comparing an estimated diffusion range of the medicine with an actual diffusion range of the medicine,

wherein the comparison data comprises;

estimating the diffusion range of the medicine, based on at least one of information about a position to which the medicine is injected and an injection amount of the medicine,

obtaining the actual diffusion range of the medicine, based on the first area and the second area, and

comparing the estimated diffusion range of the medicine with the actual diffusion range of the medicine, and

the method further comprises displaying the comparison data including an error rate of the estimated diffusion range of the medicine for the actual diffusion range of the medicine.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first Doppler data comprises at least one of color Doppler image data and power Doppler image data.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, when a speed value comprised in the first Doppler data is equal to or greater than a threshold value, the detecting of the first area comprises detecting the first area from which the first Doppler data is obtained.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, in the determining of the first diffusion boundary, an outside area of the first area from which the first Doppler data is obtained is determined as the first diffusion boundary of the medicine.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the first diffusion boundary comprises:

detecting a partial area of the first area where a speed value comprised in the first Doppler data is equal to or greater than a threshold value; and

determining an outside area of the partial area, as the first diffusion boundary of the medicine.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the marking of the first diffusion boundary comprises marking the first diffusion boundary of the medicine by using a line having a preset form.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the marking of the first diffusion boundary comprises transparently or translucently displaying a first Doppler image that is generated based on the first Doppler data.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a third area by combining the first area and the second area;

determining an outside area of the third area, as a third diffusion boundary of the medicine; and

marking the third diffusion boundary of the medicine on the B mode image.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the marking of the first diffusion boundary comprises:

receiving an input of selecting a region of interest in the B mode image; and

marking the first diffusion boundary in the region of interest.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising, when Doppler data about the target object is no longer obtained, storing information about the first diffusion boundary.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining second B mode image data about the target object;

comparing the first B mode image data and the second B mode image data; and

when a similarity between the first B mode image data and the second B mode image data is less than a preset value, storing information about the first diffusion boundary.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing, on the B mode image, at least one of numerical data about a diffusion range of the medicine.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the method of claim 1.

13. An ultrasound apparatus comprising:

an ultrasound image data obtainer configured to obtain first B mode image data and first Doppler data about a target object to which medicine is injected, and second Doppler data about the target object after the first B mode image data and the first Doppler data are obtained and then a preset time elapses;

a controller configured to detect a first area of the target object from which the first Doppler data is obtained, and a second area from which the second Doppler data is obtained, and configured to determine a first diffusion boundary of the medicine, based on the first area, and a second diffusion boundary of the medicine, based on the second area; and

a display configured to mark the first diffusion boundary of the medicine and the second diffusion boundary of the medicine on a B mode image that is generated by using the first B mode image data, and display, on the B mode image, comparison data obtained by comparing an estimated diffusion range of the medicine with an actual diffusion range of the medicine,

wherein the controller further configured to

estimate the diffusion range of the medicine, based on at least one of information about a position to which the medicine is injected and an injection amount of the medicine,

obtain the actual diffusion range of the medicine, based on the first area and the second area,

compare the estimated diffusion range of the medicine with the actual diffusion range of the medicine,

wherein the display further configured to display the comparison data including an error rate of the estimated diffusion range of the medicine for the actual diffusion range of the medicine.