Image processing apparatus and image processing method for use in the image processing apparatus
First Claim
1. An ultrasound image processing apparatus, comprising:
- an ultrasound transducer for sequentially emitting ultrasound beams and receiving respective echoes of said ultrasound beams within a scanning plane;
means for displacing said ultrasound transducer to move said scanning plane in a three-dimensional region;
a three-dimensional image data generating means for sequentially obtaining echo data of the respective ultrasound beams from the echo of the respective ultrasound beams upon receipt of the echo by said ultrasound transducer, and for sequentially generating, based on the echo data of the respective ultrasound beams, brightness value data for each ultrasound beam corresponding to a brightness value for one pixel in an ultrasound image for said three-dimensional region;
memory means, having addresses corresponding to respective pixels in said ultrasound image, for sequentially storing the brightness value data for the respective ultrasound beams generated by said three-dimensional image data generating means at the corresponding addresses thereof; and
display means for displaying the ultrasound image of said three-dimensional region, based on said brightness value data stored in said memory means.
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Abstract
An image processing apparatus includes an ultrasound transducer for sequentially emitting ultrasound beams and receiving respective echoes of the ultrasound beams to produce a scanning plane; a mechanism for displacing the ultrasound transducer to move the scanning plane in a three-dimensional region; a three-dimensional image data generator for sequentially obtaining echo data of the respective ultrasound beams from the echo of the respective ultrasound beams upon receipt of the echo by the ultrasound transducer, and for sequentially generating, based on the echo data of the respective ultrasound beams, brightness value data for each ultrasound beam corresponding to a brightness value for one 1! pixel in an ultrasound image for the three-dimensional region; a memory, having addresses corresponding to respective pixels in the ultrasound image, for sequentially storing the brightness value data for the respective ultrasound beams generated by the three-dimensional image data generator at the corresponding addresses thereof; and a display for displaying the ultrasound image based on the brightness value data stored in the memory. This apparatus can produce a new three-dimensional ultrasound image having properties of both a stereographic surface image and a stereographic transparent image like an X-ray in a real time.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. An ultrasound image processing apparatus, comprising:
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an ultrasound transducer for sequentially emitting ultrasound beams and receiving respective echoes of said ultrasound beams within a scanning plane; means for displacing said ultrasound transducer to move said scanning plane in a three-dimensional region; a three-dimensional image data generating means for sequentially obtaining echo data of the respective ultrasound beams from the echo of the respective ultrasound beams upon receipt of the echo by said ultrasound transducer, and for sequentially generating, based on the echo data of the respective ultrasound beams, brightness value data for each ultrasound beam corresponding to a brightness value for one pixel in an ultrasound image for said three-dimensional region; memory means, having addresses corresponding to respective pixels in said ultrasound image, for sequentially storing the brightness value data for the respective ultrasound beams generated by said three-dimensional image data generating means at the corresponding addresses thereof; and display means for displaying the ultrasound image of said three-dimensional region, based on said brightness value data stored in said memory means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An ultrasound image processing method, comprising the steps of:
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emitting a plurality of ultrasound beams from an ultrasound transducer sequentially to a three-dimensional region, and receiving their echoes by said ultrasound transducer; sequentially obtaining echo data for the respective ultrasound beams from the echo of the respective ultrasound beams upon receipt of the echo by said ultrasound transducer, and for sequentially generating, based on the echo data of the respective ultrasound beams, brightness value data for each ultrasound beam corresponding to a brightness value for one pixel in an ultrasound image for said three-dimensional region; sequentially storing the brightness value data for the respective ultrasound beams at predetermined addresses in a memory means; and displaying an ultrasound image in said three-dimensional region, based on the brightness value data for each of said plurality of ultrasound beams stored in said memory means, said ultrasound image being represented as if said plurality of ultrasound beams are utilized as lines of vision.
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12. An ultrasound image processing apparatus, comprising:
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ultrasound transducer means for sequentially emitting ultrasound beams along a scanning plane and for receiving respective echoes of said ultrasound beams; means for displacing said ultrasound transducer means within a three-dimensional region including said scanning plane; means for sequentially generating, based on echo data obtained from the echo of the respective ultrasound beams, brightness value data for each ultrasound beam corresponding to a brightness value for one pixel in an ultrasound image of said three-dimensional region, said brightness value data reflecting a change of strength of the echo in the respective echo data at a plurality of sampling points of each ultrasound beam along the beam emitting direction thereof so that such a change is visualized in the brightness value at the corresponding pixel; memory means, having predetermined addresses corresponding to the respective pixels in said ultrasound image, for sequentially storing brightness value data for the respective ultrasound beams generated by said generating means at the predetermined addresses; and display means for displaying an ultrasound image of said three-dimensional region, based on said brightness value data stored in said memory means. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An image processing apparatus, comprising:
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means for sequentially emitting beams toward a three-dimensional region and receiving the reflected beams; means for sequentially generating a brightness value data for each of the received beams each time the beam is received; memory means having predetermined addresses corresponding to the respective beams, said memory means sequentially storing the brightness value data for the respective beams generated by said brightness value data generating means at the corresponding predetermined addresses; and display means for displaying an image of said three-dimensional region, based on said brightness value data stored in said memory means, in which the image is composed of a plurality of pixels, and these pixels correspond to the beams, respectively.
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18. An image processing apparatus, comprising:
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a transducer for sequentially emitting beams toward a three-dimensional region and receiving echoes of the beams reflected therefrom; a three-dimensional image data generating means for sequentially obtaining echo data of the respective beams from the echo of the respective beams upon receipt of the echo by said transducer, and for sequentially generating, based on the echo data of the respective beams, brightness value data for each beam corresponding to a brightness value for one pixel in an image for said three-dimensional region; memory means, having addresses corresponding to respective pixels in said image, for sequentially storing the brightness value data for the respective beams generated by said three-dimensional image data generating means at the corresponding addresses thereof; and display means for displaying the image of said three-dimensional region, based on said brightness value data stored in said memory means. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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21. An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, comprising:
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means for transmitting and receiving ultrasound beams to and from a three-dimensional region to scan the three-dimensional region; means for producing brightness value data for the respective ultrasound beams based on an echo of each of the received ultrasound beams; and means for displaying a three-dimensional ultrasound image of the three-dimensional region based on the brightness value data for the ultrasound beams, in which pixels of the ultrasound image correspond to the ultrasound beams one by one.
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22. An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, comprising:
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means for transmitting and receiving ultrasound beams to and from a three-dimensional region in which an object is placed to scan the three-dimensional region; means for selectively producing a three-dimensional surface image data of the object or a three-dimensional transparent image data of the object based on echoes of the received ultrasound beams; and means for displaying a three-dimensional ultrasound image based on the ultrasound image data produced by the producing means.
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23. An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, comprising:
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means for transmitting and receiving ultrasound beams to and from a three-dimensional region in which an object is placed to scan the three-dimensional region; means for producing, based on echoes of the received ultrasound beams, a three-dimensional image data for a three-dimensional image of the object which can be varied from a three-dimensional surface image of the object to a three-dimensional transparent image of the object as desired; and means for displaying a three-dimensional ultrasound image based on the ultrasound image data produced by the producing means.
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Specification