Ultrasonic medical system

• US 6,796,943 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2003
• Issued: 09/28/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Aloka Medical, Ltd (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Aloka Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Mochizuki, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): IMAM, ALI M
• Application Number:
  US10/397,788
• Publication Number:
  US 20030187345A1
• Time in Patent Office: 552 Days
• Field of Search: 600/407, 600/409, 600/424, 600/429, 600/437-472, 128/916, 736/25, 736/26, 382/128, 356/614, 356/375.3, 324/260
• US Class Current: 600/437
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6843 Monitoring or controlling sensor contact pressure
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0833 involving detecting or locating foreign bodies or organic structures
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4218 characterised by articulated arms
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4254 using sensors mounted on the probe
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/54 Control of the diagnostic device
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/1058 using ultrasound imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/1087 Ions; Protons
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1049 for verifying the position of the patient with respect to the radiation beam

Abstract

An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 12 outputs echo data to a host controller 20. In the host controller 20, a tissue coordinate operation unit 48 computes coordinate information of a tumor 30 using a three dimensional probe 10 as an origin; a probe coordinate operation unit 52 computes coordinate information of the three dimensional probe 10 using, as its origin, an X-ray source apparatus 18 which functions as a reference position; and a combined tissue coordinate operation unit 54 uses the coordinate information of the tumor using the three dimensional probe 10 as its origin and the coordinate information of the three dimensional probe 10 using the X-ray source apparatus 18 as its origin to compute coordinate information of the tumor 30 using the X-ray source apparatus as its origin, and outputs the computed coordinate information to the X-ray source apparatus 18.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic medical system comprising:

a wave transceiver for transmitting and receiving ultrasound with regard to a space including a target tissue and for outputting a reception wave signal;

first relative coordinate operation means for computing first relative coordinate information of the target tissue using the wave transceiver as an origin, based on an output reception wave signal;

second relative coordinate operation means for computing second relative coordinate information of the wave transceiver using a reference position as an origin; and

combined relative coordinate operation means for computing combined relative coordinate information of the target tissue using the reference position as an origin, based on the first relative coordinate information and the second relative coordinate information, and outputting the combined relative coordinate information.

2. An ultrasonic medical system according to claim 1, wherein

the wave transceiver transmits and receives ultrasound with regard to a three dimensional space including the target tissue, and

each of the first relative coordinate information, the second relative coordinate information, and the combined relative coordinate information is three dimensional relative coordinate information.

3. An ultrasonic medical system according to claim 2, wherein

the second relative coordinate information includes position information and direction information of the wave transceiver using the reference position as an origin.

4. An ultrasonic medical system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a generator which is provided at either one of a measurement origin whose positional relationship with the reference position is known and the wave transceiver, for generating a measurement signal, and

a detector which is provided at the other of the measurement origin and the wave transceiver, for detecting the measurement signal,

wherein the second relative coordinate operation means computes the second relative coordinate information of the wave transceiver using the reference position as an origin, based on the detection result by the detector.

5. An ultrasonic medical system according to claim 4, wherein

the generator is a magnetic field generator for generating a magnetic field, and

the detector is a magnetic field detector for detecting the magnetic field.

6. An ultrasonic medical system according to claim 1, wherein

the first relative coordinate operation means computes the first coordinate information of the target tissue using the wave transceiver as an origin, based on coordinate information specified by an examiner by using an ultrasonic image formed based on the reception wave signal.

7. An ultrasonic medical system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a holder mechanism for holding the wave transceiver; and

a measurement information operation unit for outputting measurement information regarding the wave transceiver which is held by the holder mechanism,

wherein the second relative coordinate operation means computes the second relative coordinate information of the wave transceiver using the reference position as an origin, based on the measurement information.

8. An ultrasonic medical system according to claim 7, wherein

the measurement information is coordinate information of the wave transceiver relative to a measurement origin whose positional relationship with the reference position is known.

9. An ultrasonic medical system according to claim 8, wherein

the holder mechanism is an articulated robot, and

the measurement information is information based on length data and angle data of each movable section of the articulated robot.

10. An ultrasonic medical system according to claim 7, wherein

the wave transceiver is brought into contact with a body surface of a patient, and

the holder mechanism includes a pressure sensor for measuring a contact pressure exerted to the patient by the wave transceiver, for controlling the contact pressure to a predetermined value based on the output from the pressure sensor.

11. An ultrasonic medical system according to claim 1, further comprising a radiation source apparatus for performing irradiation with radiation while controlling an aim based on the combined relative coordinate information.

12. An ultrasonic medical system according to claim 11, wherein

the radiation is a proton beam.

13. An ultrasonic medical system according to claim 11, wherein

the radiation source apparatus controls the aim in accordance with a movement of the target tissue based on the combined relative coordinate information.

14. An ultrasonic medical system according to claim 1, further comprising

a puncture apparatus for controlling a puncture position based on the combined relative coordinate information.

15. A ultrasonic medical system comprising:

an ultrasonic probe which is held by a probe holder mechanism for outputting position and direction information when brought into contact with a body surface of a patient, the ultrasonic probe transmitting/receiving ultrasound with regard to a three dimensional space including a target tissue;

an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for obtaining, via the ultrasonic probe, echo data for each of voxels forming the three dimensional space; and

a host controller which extracts a voxel corresponding to the target tissue based on an echo level of the echo data, computes first relative coordinate information of the target tissue using the ultrasonic probe as an origin, computes second relative coordinate information of the ultrasonic probe using a reference position as an origin based on the position and direction information, and computes combined relative coordinate information of the target tissue using the reference position as an origin based on the first relative coordinate information and the second relative coordinate information and outputs the combined relative coordinate information.

16. An ultrasonic medical system according to claim 15, further comprising

a remedial beam source apparatus for performing irradiation with a remedial beam while controlling an aim in accordance with a movement of the target tissue based on the combined relative coordinate information.