SUBJECT INFORMATION ACQUISITION APPARATUS

• US 20170215847A1
• Filed: 04/18/2017
• Published: 08/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Nagae, Kenichi, Oikawa, Katsuya, Yamakawa, Makoto, Shiina, Tsuyoshi
• Granted Patent: US 10,639,011 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/085 for locating body or organic structures, e.g. tumours, calculi, blood vessels, nodules
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0858 involving measuring tissue layers, e.g. skin, interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4483 characterised by features of the ultrasound transducer
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/485 involving measuring strain or elastic properties
• 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 8/585 Automatic set-up of the device
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52042 determining elastic properties of the propagation medium or of the reflective target diagnostic techniques involving the measurement of strain A61B8/485
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/30 for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment

Abstract

Viscoelastic characteristics in a subject are imaged by a simple method. A viscoelasticity measurement reference layer whose elastic modulus and viscosity coefficient are known is included between an ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving probe and the subject and distributions of elastic modulus and viscosity coefficient inside the subject are calculated from a change over time of strain generated in the viscoelasticity measurement reference layer and the subject according to a pressure applied to the subject which changes over time and known elastic modulus and viscosity coefficient of the viscoelasticity measurement reference layer.

Claims

1. A subject information acquisition apparatus for transmitting an elastic wave to a subject, receiving the elastic wave reflected from inside the subject, and acquiring information inside the subject, the subject information acquisition apparatus comprising:

a conversion device configured to receive the elastic wave and convert the elastic wave into an electrical signal;

a reference layer which is provided between the conversion device and the subject and whose viscosity coefficient and elastic modulus are known;

a measuring unit configured to measure strain of the subject and strain of the reference layer which are generated when a pressure is applied to the subject and the reference layer by using the electrical signal; and

a calculation unit configured to calculate a viscosity coefficient (η

) of the subject by using a viscosity coefficient and an elastic modulus of the reference layer, the strain of the subject, and the strain of the reference layer.