Puncture range determination apparatus and method

• US 10,639,010 B2
• Filed: 06/27/2017
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Hiroaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Peng, Bo Joseph
• Application Number:
  US15/634,026
• Publication Number:
  US 20170290570A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,043 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/3403 Needle locating or guiding means guides for suture needles A61B17/0482; guiding or tracking by nuclear magnetic resonance G01R33/285
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/3413 guided by ultrasound
• 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 8/0891 for diagnosis of blood vessels
• 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 8/485 involving measuring strain or elastic properties
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/488 involving Doppler signals

Abstract

Provided are a puncture range determination apparatus and a puncture range determination method in which the hardness of tissue is considered as well as blood vessels. A blood vessel (32) is detected through performing Doppler processing. In addition, a soft region (33) of a subject is detected through performing elastication processing. A range of the soft region (33) excluding the blood vessel (32) is detected as a puncture recommendation range. Guide lines (34) and (35) defining the puncture recommendation range are displayed. A doctor performs puncturing with a needle inside the guide lines (34) and (35) and punctures a puncture target region (31) with the needle.

Claims

1. A puncture range determination apparatus comprising:

an acoustic wave probe which outputs an acoustic wave echo signal by transmitting an acoustic wave to a subject and receiving an acoustic wave echo from the subject;

a first detection device for detecting a first region having a fluid in the inside of the subject by performing Doppler processing using the acoustic wave echo signal output from the acoustic wave probe;

a second detection device for detecting a second region of which the degree of softness in the inside of the subject is greater than or equal to a threshold value by performing elastication processing using the acoustic wave echo signal output from the acoustic wave probe; and

a puncture recommendation range determination device for determining a range which includes the second region and excludes the first region, as a puncture recommendation range.

2. The puncture range determination apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a third detection device for performing processing of detecting a non-echo region as a third region on a region excluding the first region in the inside of the subject using the acoustic wave echo signal output from the acoustic wave probe,

wherein the puncture recommendation range determination device determines at least one of a range including the second region but excluding the first region and a range including the third region but excluding the first region, as a puncture recommendation range.

3. The puncture range determination apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the puncture recommendation range determination device determines a range including the second region and the third region and excluding the first region, as a puncture recommendation range.

4. The puncture range determination apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the third detection device detects the third region by performing processing of detecting a non-echo region on a region excluding the first region and a region excluding the second region.

5. The puncture range determination apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

an acoustic wave image generation device for generating an acoustic wave image in the inside of the subject using the acoustic wave echo signal output from the acoustic wave probe,

wherein the third detection device detects a region in which a liquid stays inside the subject using the acoustic wave image generated by the acoustic wave image generation device.

6. The puncture range determination apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the second detection device detects the second region by performing elastication processing on a region excluding the first region.

7. The puncture range determination apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an acoustic wave image generation device for generating an acoustic wave image in the inside of the subject using the acoustic wave echo signal output from the acoustic wave probe; and

a first display control device which displays the puncture recommendation range on a display screen while superimposing the puncture recommendation range on the acoustic wave image.

8. The puncture range determination apparatus according to claim 7,

wherein the first display control device displays the puncture recommendation range in a color different from any of a color of the other range and a color of an image of a needle.

9. The puncture range determination apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising:

a puncture target-setting device for setting a puncture target using the acoustic wave image;

a shortest route determination device for determining a shortest route up to the puncture target in a case where the puncture target is set and the puncture recommendation range is determined; and

a second display control device for displaying the shortest route on a display screen.

10. The puncture range determination apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an acoustic wave image generation device for generating an acoustic wave image in the inside of the subject using the acoustic wave echo signal output from the acoustic wave probe;

a third display control device for displaying a range including a region excluding the first region on a display screen as a puncturable range while superimposing the range containing the region excluding the first region on the acoustic wave image generated by the acoustic wave image generation device; and

a detection command input device for inputting a detection command for starting detection of the second region performed by the second detection device,

wherein the second detection device detects the second region in a case where the detection command is input to the detection command input device.

11. The puncture range determination apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the first detection device detects the first region by detecting a region excluding a fluid in the inside of the subject using the acoustic wave echo signal output from the acoustic wave probe.

12. The puncture range determination apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the second detection device detects a region excluding a region of which the degree of hardness in the inside of the subject is less than the threshold value as the second region using the acoustic wave echo signal output from the acoustic wave probe.

13. A puncture range determination method comprising:

causing a first detection device to detect a first region having a fluid in the inside of the subject by performing Doppler processing using an acoustic wave echo signal output from an acoustic wave probe which outputs an acoustic wave echo signal by transmitting an acoustic wave to a subject and receiving an acoustic wave echo from the subject;

causing a second detection device to detect a second region of which the degree of softness in the inside of the subject is greater than or equal to a threshold value by performing elastication processing using the acoustic wave echo signal output from the acoustic wave probe; and

causing a puncture recommendation range determination device to determine a range which includes the second region and excludes the first region, as a puncture recommendation range.