ULTRASONIC DIAGNOSTIC APPARATUS, IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, AND IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD

• US 20140378835A1
• Filed: 09/09/2014
• Published: 12/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.), Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: SATOH, Shunsuke, Kobayashi, Yutaka, Fujii, Tomokazu, Ogasawara, Masaru, Fukuda, Shogo
• Granted Patent: US 10,182,793 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/441
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/504 for diagnosis of blood vessels, e.g. by angiography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/5247 combining images from an ionising-radiation diagnostic technique and a non-ionising radiation diagnostic technique, e.g. X-ray and ultrasound
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/02 Measuring pulse or heart rate
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/04 Measuring blood pressure
• 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 8/0833 involving detecting or locating foreign bodies or organic structures
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0883 for diagnosis of the heart
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0891 for diagnosis of blood vessels
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4254 using sensors mounted on the probe
• 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 8/466 adapted to display 3D data 3D imaging and stereoscopic displays in devices for short-range imaging with acoustic waves G01S15/8993 and G01S7/52068, respectively; 3D image rendering G06T15/00; manipulating 3D models for computer graphics G06T19/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/483 involving the acquisition of a 3D volume of data
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/486 involving arbitrary m-mode
• 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 8/523 for generating planar views from image data in a user selectable plane not corresponding to the acquisition plane
• 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: A61B 8/5261 combining images from different diagnostic modalities, e.g. ultrasound and X-ray
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/543 involving acquisition triggered by a physiological signal
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8988 : Colour Doppler imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8993 : Three dimensional imaging systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52074 : Composite displays, e.g. split-screen displays; Combination of multiple images or of images and alphanumeric tabular information
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52087 : using synchronization techniques control of medical diagnostic ultrasound devices involving acquisition triggered by a physiological signal A61B8/543
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/30 : for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment

Abstract

An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment includes an acquiring unit and a detecting unit. The acquiring unit acquires fluid volume data representing fluid information related to a fluid flowing through a scan region that is a region three-dimensionally scanned by ultrasonic. The detecting unit detects a region that is a fluid existing region in the scanned region using the fluid information, and detects an inner cavity region of a lumen in volume data to be applied with image processing using the region thus detected.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising:

a computing processor configured to

acquire fluid volume data representing fluid information related to a fluid flowing through a scan region that is a region three-dimensionally scanned by ultrasonic; and

detect a region that is a fluid existing region in the scan region using the fluid information, and to detect an inner cavity region of a lumen in volume data to be applied with image processing using the region thus detected.

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

the computing processor is further configured to acquire tissue volume data representing tissue form in the scan region as the volume data to be applied with the image processing, and

detect a region that is a fluid existing region in the scan region using the fluid information, and to detect an inner cavity region of a lumen included in the tissue volume data using the region thus detected.

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

the computing processor is further configured to generate a projected image in which the tissue volume data is projected from a viewpoint position set inside of the lumen, based on the inner cavity region detected by the detecting unit, as image data to be displayed on a given display unit.

4. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the computing processor is configured to extract a center line of the lumen from data in which the inner cavity region is removed from the tissue volume data, and to generate a plurality of projected images by shifting a viewpoint position along the center line as an image data group to be displayed as dynamic images on the given display unit.

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

the computing processor is configured to, when the tissue volume data and the fluid volume data are collected separately and sequentially at different times, acquire tissue volume data and fluid volume data from a same temporal phase using a biological signal of a subject from whom the data is collected, and

detect the inner cavity region using the tissue volume data and the fluid volume data from the same temporal phase.

6. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the computing processor is configured to acquire tissue volume data generated by three-dimensional ultrasonic-scanning of the scan region as the tissue volume data.

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

the computing processor is configured to acquire tissue volume data generated by three-dimensionally capturing the scan region with a medical image diagnostic apparatus of a type different from the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus as the tissue volume data, and

detect an inner cavity region of a lumen included in the tissue volume data after registration the fluid volume data and the tissue volume data.

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

the computing processor is configured to, when the fluid volume data is used as the volume data to be applied with the image processing, detect a region that is a fluid existing region in the scan region as an inner cavity region of a lumen in the fluid volume data, and

remove the inner cavity region detected by the detecting unit, to assign a given luminance at least to an inner wall of the lumen based on the inner cavity region detected by the detecting unit, to generate simulated volume data from the fluid volume data, and to generate a projected image in which the simulated volume data is projected from a viewpoint position set inside of the lumen as image data to be displayed on a given display unit.

9. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the computing processor is configured to extract a center line of the lumen from the simulated volume data, and to generate a plurality of projected images by shifting the viewpoint position along the center line as an image data group to be displayed as dynamic images on the given display unit.

10. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the computing processor is further configured to calculate an area of the inner cavity region in each of a plurality of cross sections perpendicularly intersecting with a center line of the inner cavity region, and to detect a cross section having a calculated area deviating from those calculated for nearby cross sections as an abnormal cross section.

11. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

the computing processor is further configured to generate image data to be displayed on a given display unit from the volume data to be applied with the image processing, using the abnormal cross section.

12. An image processing apparatus comprising:

a computing processor configured to

acquire fluid volume data representing fluid information related to a fluid flowing through a scan region that is a region three-dimensionally scanned by ultrasonic; and

detect a region that is a fluid existing region in the scan region using the fluid information, and to detect an inner cavity region of a lumen in volume data to be applied with image processing using the region thus detected.

13. An image processing method comprising:

acquiring, by a computing processor, fluid volume data representing fluid information related to a fluid flowing through a scan region that is a region three-dimensionally scanned by ultrasonic; and

detecting, by the computing processor, a region that is a fluid existing region in the scanned region using the fluid information, and an inner cavity region of a lumen in volume data to be applied with image processing using the region thus detected.