Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus

• US 10,624,608 B2
• Filed: 08/12/2015
• Issued: 04/21/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Imamura, Tomohisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Pehlke, Carolyn A
• Application Number:
  US14/824,788
• Publication Number:
  US 20150342565A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,714 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/06 Measuring blood flow measuring volume flow in general G01F, e.g. G01F1/66, G01F1/72; measuring speed of fluids in general G01P5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/08 Detecting organic movements or changes, e.g. tumours, cysts, swellings A61B8/02 - A61B8/06 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/14 Echo-tomography
• 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 8/483 involving the acquisition of a 3D volume of data
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/488 involving Doppler signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/5207 involving processing of raw data to produce diagnostic data, e.g. for generating an image reconstruction G06T11/00
• 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 8/5276 due to motion
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/5292 using additional data, e.g. patient information, image labeling, acquisition parameters
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/30 for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation

Abstract

According to embodiment, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes transmission/reception circuitry transmitting/receiving an ultrasonic wave to/from an object via a piezoelectric transducer, ultrasonic image generation circuitry generating a series of ultrasonic images along a time series based on an output from the transmission/reception circuitry, specifying information generation circuitry generating predetermined specifying information concerning each of the series of ultrasonic images, selection circuitry selecting a color Doppler image from the series of ultrasonic images based on the specifying information in response to a predetermined operation during display of the series of ultrasonic images, and storage circuitry storing the selected color Doppler image.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, comprising:

transmission/reception circuitry configured to transmit/receive an ultrasonic wave to/from an object via a piezoelectric transducer;

ultrasonic image generation circuitry configured to generate a series of color Doppler images along a time series based on an output from the transmission/reception circuitry and generate a Doppler waveform image based on an output from the transmission/reception circuitry;

specifying information generation circuitry configured to generate a maximum flow velocity time corresponding to a maximum flow velocity value in a Doppler waveform on the Doppler waveform image;

selection circuitry configured to select a color Doppler image corresponding to the maximum flow velocity time from the series of color Doppler images based on generation of the maximum flow velocity time in response to a predetermined operation executed after generation of the Doppler waveform image; and

storage circuitry configured to store the selected color Doppler image in response to the predetermined operation.

2. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the specifying information generation circuitry is further configured to generate a periodic electrocardiographic waveform corresponding to the Doppler waveform, and

the selection circuitry is further configured to select the color Doppler image corresponding to the maximum flow velocity time based on a time interval from a time of an R-wave of the electrocardiographic waveform immediately before the maximum flow velocity time and the time of the R-wave immediately before the maximum flow velocity time in response to the predetermined operation.

3. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the specifying information generation circuitry is further configured to generate a measurement cursor set time corresponding to a position of a measurement cursor set on the Doppler waveform, and

the selection circuitry is further configured to select the color Doppler image based on the measurement cursor set time and the time of the R-wave of the electrocardiographic waveform.

4. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined operation includes a freezing operation.

5. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising index generation circuitry configured to generate an index concerning the color Doppler image in correspondence with each of the series of color Doppler images based on the specifying information including the maximum flow velocity time,

wherein the selection circuitry is configured to select the color Doppler image from the series of color Doppler images based on the generated index.