ULTRASOUND DIAGNOSIS APPARATUS

• US 20160038122A1
• Filed: 08/05/2015
• Published: 02/11/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Medison Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Medison Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: LEE, Kwang-hee, KIM, Sung-yoon, YOO, Jun-sang
• Granted Patent: US 10,433,819 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7267 involving training the classification device
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0808 for diagnosis of the brain
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0866 involving foetal diagnosis; pre-natal or peri-natal diagnosis of the baby
• 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 8/468 allowing annotation or message recording
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/483 involving the acquisition of a 3D volume of data
• 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: G06T 2207/10136 3D ultrasound image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30016 Brain
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30044 Fetus; Embryo
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/62 of area, perimeter, diameter or volume

Abstract

Provided is an ultrasound diagnosis apparatus including: a data acquisition unit configured to acquire volume data for a head of an object; an image processor configured to detect a mid-sagittal plane (MSP) from the volume data, generate an MSP image corresponding to the MSP, detect at least one measurement plane based on the MSP, and generate at least one measurement plane image corresponding to the at least one measurement plane; and a display configured to display the MSP image and the at least one measurement plane image on a single screen.

Claims

1. An ultrasound diagnosis apparatus comprising:

a data acquisition unit configured to acquire volume data for a head of an object;

an image processor configured to detect a mid-sagittal plane (MSP) from the volume data, generate an MSP image corresponding to the MSP, detect at least one measurement plane based on the MSP, and generate at least one measurement plane image corresponding to the at least one measurement plane; and

a display configured to display the MSP image and the at least one measurement plane image on a single screen.

2. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image processor indicates a position of the at least one measurement plane on the MSP image.

3. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image processor acquires a measured value by measuring at least one biometric parameter in the at least one measurement plane image and indicates the measured value on at least one of the at least one measurement plane image and the MSP image.

4. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 2, wherein the position of the at least one measurement plane is indicated by at least one line on the MSP image.

5. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 4, wherein the at least one line is indicated in different colors.

6. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 3, wherein the image processor indicates the measured value on at least one of the at least one measurement plane image and the MSP image by using at least one of a marker and a text.

7. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 1, wherein the data acquisition unit acquires an axial plane of a fetal head as an initial plane and obtains volume data based on the acquired axial plane of the fetal head.

8. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 7, wherein the axial plane of the fetal head is a plane that geometrically approximates a transthalamic plane (TTP), a transventricular plane (TVP), or a transcerebella plane (TCP) more accurately than a predetermined threshold value.

9. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 7, further comprising a user interface configured to receive an input from a user,

wherein the data acquisition unit receives the input from the user on the initial plane via the user interface and acquires the volume data based on the received input.

10. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 9, wherein the input comprises position information of a center of the head and direction information of the head in the initial plane.

11. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 10, wherein the direction information of the head comprises an anterior direction of the head.

12. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one measurement plane image is based on a name of the at least one measurement plane that is entered by the user.

13. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 9, wherein the display combines at least one selected from the user input, position information of the initial plane, a result of segmentation, and a result of automatic measurement, thereby displaying a position of at least one anatomical landmark on the single screen.

14. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 6, wherein the display displays on the single screen at least one selected from the measured value, a position of the at least one biometric parameter, a statistical value of a fetal gestational age (number of weeks of pregnancy), and a statistical graph.

15. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display displays the MSP image and the at least one measurement plane image in a 2×

2 layout.

16. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display displays the MSP image and the at least one measurement plane image in a 2×

1 layout.

17. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 4, wherein the image processor indicates a contour of the at least one measurement plane image in the same color as a line corresponding to the at least one measurement plane indicated on the MSP image.

18. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 4, wherein the image processor indicates a name of the at least one measurement plane on the at least one measurement plane image in the same color as a line corresponding to the at least one measurement plane indicated on the MSP image.

19. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 3, wherein the at least one biometric parameter comprises head circumference (HC), biparietal diameter (BPD), occipital frontal diameter (OFD), transverse cerebellar diameter (TCD), cisterna magna (CM), and posterior ventricle (Vp).

20. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image processor extracts a falx from the volume data based on user input information and detects the MSP by using the falx or automatically detects the MSP by using a machine learning technique.

21. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one measurement plane comprises at least one selected from a transthalamic plane (TTP), a transventricular plane (TVP), or a transcerebella plane (TCP).

22. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 21, wherein the image processor determines one of a plurality of candidate planes that are perpendicular to the MSP as the TTP, based on a brightness value of a predetermined region.

23. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 21, wherein the image processor determines one of a plurality of candidate planes that are perpendicular to the MSP and horizontal to the TTP as the TVP, based on a gradient magnitude of a predetermined region.

24. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 21, wherein the image processor detects a cavum septi pellucidi (CSP) that is a predetermined distance from a central point of the head towards an anterior part of the head in the TTP and determines, as the TCP, one of a plurality of candidate planes obtained by rotating the TTP around the CSP as a central axis, based on similarity of a predetermined pattern in a predetermined region.

25. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 3, wherein the image processor measures the at least one biometric parameter by using at least one of an image processing technique and a machine learning classifier.

26. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a user interface configured to receive a request to change a measurement plane, wherein the image processor changes at least one of a measurement plane image and the at least one line in response to the request and changes a measured value based on the changed measurement plane image.

27. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 26, wherein the user interface outputs a menu via which at least one of rotation, movement, and scaling of the at least one line is performed.

28. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 3, wherein, when the image processor receives a request to change the at least one measurement plane, the image processor changes the measured value by remeasuring the at least one biometric parameter in response to the request.

29. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 3, wherein when the image processor receives information of selection of a line from among at least one line on the MSP image from the user, the image processor highlights the measurement plane image corresponding to the selected line.

30. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 4, wherein, when the image processor receives information of selection of one measurement plane image from among the at least one measurement plane image from the user, the image processor highlights a line among the at least one line corresponding to the measurement plane.