Ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus and control method of ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus

• US 6,991,606 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2003
• Issued: 01/31/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Kamiyama, Naohisa
• Primary Examiner(s): IMAM, ALI M
• Application Number:
  US10/603,806
• Publication Number:
  US 20040010194A1
• Time in Patent Office: 950 Days
• Field of Search: 600437-472, 424 951- 953, 736/25, 736/26, 128/916
• US Class Current: 600/458
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0833 involving detecting or locating foreign bodies or organic structures
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/481 involving the use of contrast agent, e.g. microbubbles introduced into the bloodstream analysis of echo signal exploiting properties of a contrast enhancer in devices for short-range imaging with acoustic waves G01S7/52039
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52038 involving non-linear properties of the propagation medium or of the reflective target
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52041 detecting modification of a contrast enhancer, e.g. detecting the destruction of a contrast agent by an acoustic wave, e.g. loss of correlation diagnostic techniques involving the use of contrast agents A61B8/481

Abstract

In transmissions of each frame through intermittent transmissions, by performing ultrasonic wave transmissions while increasing a mechanical function step by step, destructions of bubbles of a contrast medium can be induced step by step according to their different sizes. By generating ultrasonic images using the destructions at the respective steps as the sources of echoes, it is possible to provide new ecological information including, for example, information reflecting the dynamics of substances smaller than the red blood cells, the distribution of predatory cells, new diagnosis information, etc.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus, comprising:

an ultrasonic probe for transmitting/receiving an ultrasonic wave to/from a specific portion within a subject to be diagnosed to whom a contrast medium has been introduced;

a driving signal generator for generating a driving signal of said ultrasonic probe; and

a controller for controlling said driving signal generator in such a manner that said ultrasonic probe transmits a first ultrasonic wave used to destroy bubbles of said contrast medium and a second ultrasonic wave used to destroy at least part of bubbles each which substantially has a size larger than a size of each of the bubbles destroyed by said first ultrasonic wave and are flowing in blood in a blood vessel within said subject to be diagnosed.

2. The ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said controller controls said driving signal generator in such a manner that said second ultrasonic wave is transmitted at a higher sound pressure than said first ultrasonic wave.

3. The ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said controller controls said driving signal generator in such a manner that said second ultrasonic wave is transmitted at a lower frequency than said first ultrasonic wave.

4. The ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said controller controls said driving signal generator in such a manner that said first ultrasonic wave or said second ultrasonic wave is transmitted through intermittent transmissions at predetermined time intervals needed to accumulate said contrast medium in said subject to be diagnosed.

5. The ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a display device for displaying, when a plurality of ultrasonic images are acquired by said intermittent transmissions, a plurality of ultrasonic images based on said first ultrasonic wave concurrently or a plurality of ultrasonic images based on said second ultrasonic wave concurrently.

6. The ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said display device arranges said plurality of ultrasonic images to be displayed concurrently time-sequentially and then displays said plurality of ultrasonic images.

7. The ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first ultrasonic wave is at a sound pressure at which said contrast medium present in blood in the blood vessel and tissue fluid and lymph outside the blood vessel within said subject to be diagnosed is destroyed.

8. The ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said driving signal generator is controlled in such a manner that said first ultrasonic wave is transmitted under a transmission condition under which bubbles of said contrast medium of a small diameter are destroyed but bubbles of said contrast medium of a large diameter are hardly destroyed, and said second ultrasonic wave is transmitted under a transmission condition under which bubbles of said contrast medium of a small diameter and a large diameter are destroyed.

9. The ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a image processing unit configured to generate a first image based on the first ultrasonic wave and a second image based on the second ultrasonic wave; and

display device which displays the first image and the second image.

10. A method of controlling an ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus for controlling a driving signal generator in such a manner that an ultrasonic probe, which transmits/receives an ultrasonic wave to/from a specific portion within a subject to be diagnosed to whom a contrast medium has been introduced, transmits a first ultrasonic wave used to destroy bubbles of said contrast medium and a second ultrasonic wave used to destroy at least part of bubbles each of which substantially has a size larger than a size of each of the bubbles destroyed by said first ultrasonic wave and are flowing in blood in a blood vessel within said subject to be diagnosed.

11. The method of controlling an ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said second ultrasonic wave has a higher sound pressure than said first ultrasonic wave.

12. The method of controlling an ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said second ultrasonic wave has a lower frequency than said first ultrasonic wave.

13. The method of controlling an ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said driving signal generator is controlled in such a manner that said first ultrasonic wave or said second ultrasonic wave is transmitted through intermittent transmissions at predetermined time intervals needed to accumulate said contrast medium in said subject to be diagnosed.

14. The method of controlling an ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus according to claim 13, wherein, when a plurality of ultrasonic images are acquired by said intermittent transmissions, a display is further presented, in which a plurality of ultrasonic images based on said first ultrasonic wave are displayed concurrently or a plurality of ultrasonic images based on said second ultrasonic wave are displayed concurrently.

15. The method of controlling an ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said display is a display in which said plurality of ultrasonic images to be displayed concurrently are arranged time-sequentially.

16. The method of controlling an ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said first ultrasonic wave is at a sound pressure at which said contrast medium present in blood in the blood vessel and tissue fluid and lymph outside the blood vessel within said subject to be diagnosed is destroyed.

17. The method of controlling an ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said driving signal generator is controlled in such a manner that said first ultrasonic wave is transmitted under a transmission condition under which bubbles of said contrast medium of a small diameter are destroyed but bubbles of said contrast medium of a large diameter are hardly destroyed, and said second ultrasonic wave is transmitted under a transmission condition under which bubbles of said contrast medium of a small diameter and a large diameter are destroyed.

18. The method of controlling an ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:

generating a first image based on the first ultrasonic wave and a second image based on the second ultrasonic wave; and

displaying the first image and the second image.