ULTRASONIC IMAGING APPARATUS

• US 20090028410A1
• Filed: 07/22/2008
• Published: 01/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company LLC (GE Healthcare Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company LLC (GE Healthcare Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Shimazaki, Tadashi
• Application Number:
  US12/177,854
• Publication Number:
  US 20090028410A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/131
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/13 Tomography A61B8/10, A61B8/12 take precedence; tomography for radiation diagnosis A61B6/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/56 Details of data transmission or power supply
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/565 involving data transmission via a network
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/40 for processing medical images, e.g. editing

Abstract

An ultrasonic imaging apparatus includes an image acquisition unit for acquiring tomographic image information of a subject on a real-time basis, a display unit for displaying the image of the tomographic image information, a DICOM server for storing and managing DICOM image information of the DICOM specification, a control unit for controlling the image acquisition unit and the DICOM server on a time-sharing basis, and an input unit for inputting the control information for the control.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic imaging apparatus, comprising:

an image acquisition unit configured to acquire tomographic image information of a subject on a real-time basis;

a display unit configured to display an image based on the tomographic image information;

a DICOM server configured to store and to manage DICOM image information based on a DICOM specification;

a control unit configured to control said image acquisition unit and said DICOM server on a time-sharing basis; and

an input unit configured to receive control information for said control unit.

2. An ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control unit is configured to control acquisition of the tomographic image information and display of the tomographic image information on a real-time basis in a higher priority than the control of said DICOM server.

3. An ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said DICOM server comprises an image specification conversion device configured to convert the tomographic image information to the DICOM image information.

4. An ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said DICOM server comprises a data management unit having list information, said data management unit configured to collect image supplementary information included in the DICOM image information.

5. An ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said input unit comprises a selection device configured to select DICOM image information stored in said DICOM server based on the list information.

6. An ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said display unit comprises a display screen configured to display an image of the selected DICOM image information.

7. An ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said display unit is configured to display an image of the selected DICOM image information side-by-side with the image of the tomographic image information obtained on a real-time basis.

8. An ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said DICOM server comprises a communication device configured to receive and to transmit the DICOM image information via a communication line.

9. An ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said communication device comprises a connector configured to be detachable said communication line.

10. An ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said communication device comprises a wireless device configured to wirelessly communicate with said communication line.

11. An ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said communication line comprises a local area network.

12. An ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control unit comprises an acquisition operation stop device configured to stop the acquisition operation of said image acquisition unit.

13. An ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said control unit comprises an acquisition operation stop device configured to stop the acquisition operation of said image acquisition unit.

14. An ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said control unit comprises an acquisition operation stop device configured to stop the acquisition operation of said image acquisition unit.

15. An ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said input unit comprises an imaging pause key configured to generate stop information for invoking said acquisition operation stop device.

16. An ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said input unit comprises an imaging pause key configured to generate stop information for invoking said acquisition operation stop device.

17. An ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said input unit comprises an imaging pause key configured to generate stop information for invoking said acquisition operation stop device.

18. An ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control unit comprises a multicore CPU.

19. An ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said CPU comprises a first core configured to control said image acquisition unit and said display unit, a second core configured to control said DICOM server.

20. An ultrasonic imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said DICOM server comprises a dedicated arithmetic processing unit.