Ultrasonographic device

• US 7,628,754 B2
• Filed: 01/14/2004
• Issued: 12/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: FUJIFILM Healthcare Corp. (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Medical Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Matsumura, Takeshi, Tamano, Satoshi, Mitake, Tsuyoshi, Siina, Tsuyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Le; Long V
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cheng; Jacqueline
• Application Number:
  US10/542,206
• Publication Number:
  US 20060173306A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,155 Days
• Field of Search: 600/437, 600/438, 600/442, 600/443
• US Class Current: 600/437
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/08 Detecting organic movements or changes, e.g. tumours, cysts, swellings A61B8/02 - A61B8/06 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/429 characterised by determining or monitoring the contact between the transducer and the tissue
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/485 involving measuring strain or elastic properties
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8936 using transducers mounted for mechanical movement in three dimensions
• 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: G01S 7/52071 Multicolour displays; using colour coding; Optimising colour or information content in displays, e.g. parametric imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10132 Ultrasound image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20216 Image averaging
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30004 Biomedical image processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/40 using histogram techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/92 based on global image properties

Abstract

An ultrasonographic device includes an ultrasonic wave transmitter/receiver section which transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from a test subject through a probe, a phasing addition circuit which controls the phase of the received ultrasonic wave and generates RF signal frame data, an RF signal frame data selection section which makes variable the frame interval of the RF signal frame data to be outputted, and an elastic image generating section which sets the optimum imaging range for each elastic frame data generated based on the RF signal frame data and generates elastic image.

Claims

1. An ultrasonographic device, comprising:

an ultrasound prove including an oscillator for generating an ultrasonic wave;

an ultrasonic wave transmitter/receiver circuit which is connected to the probe and transmits and receives the ultrasonic wave to and from a test subject;

a phasing addition circuit which controls a phase of the received ultrasonic wave and generates RF signal frame data;

a memory for storing a plurality of said RF signal frame data;

a RF signal frame data selection section for selecting latest RF signal frame data and past RF signal frame data from said memory with a variable frame interval;

an elastic frame data calculation section for generating elastic frame data in time sequence based on a pair of the RF signal frame data, the elastic frame data indicating a distortion or an elastic modulus of each point on a tomographic image; and

an elastic image generating section for generating an elastic image based on the elastic frame data,

wherein said elastic image generating section includes;

a statistical processing circuit for performing statistical processing on the two or more elastic frame data corresponding to a target processing area and obtaining a statistical characteristic amount,

circuitry for setting an upper limit value and a lower limit value for imaging the elastic frame data, for each of the elastic frame data based on the statistical characteristic amount,

circuitry for generating elastic image data from the elastic frame data while matching the upper limit value and the lower limit value with a range of the predetermined display gradation, and

a frame interval optimization circuit which receives, from the RF signal frame data selection section, the number of frame intervals between a pair of RF signal frame data used for generating elastic frame data for a current image configuration, and calculates an optimum number of frame intervals of a pair of RF signal frame data to be used for generating elastic frame data for a subsequent image configuration, based on the inputted number of frame intervals and the statistical characteristic amount, and

wherein the RF signal frame data selection section includes a RF signal frame data selection circuit, which is connected to the frame interval optimization circuit, for determining the number of frame intervals of the pair of RF signal frame data to be used for generating elastic frame data for a subsequent image configuration, based on the optimum number of frame intervals inputted from the frame interval optimization circuit.

2. The ultrasonographic device according to claim 1, wherein the frame interval optimization circuit includes:

circuitry for calculating the optimum number of frame intervals based on the inputted number of fame intervals and average value of distortion amounts.