Ultrasound diagnosis apparatus

• US 8,444,563 B2
• Filed: 07/13/2009
• Issued: 05/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.), Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Imamura, Tomohisa, Yoshiara, Hiroki, Yoshida, Tetsuya, Kamiyama, Naohisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Cwern, Jonathan
• Application Number:
  US12/501,993
• Publication Number:
  US 20100016723A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,408 Days
• Field of Search: 600/443
• US Class Current: 600/443
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/06 Measuring blood flow measuring volume flow in general G01F, e.g. G01F1/66, G01F1/72; measuring speed of fluids in general G01P5/00
• 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: A61B 8/483 involving the acquisition of a 3D volume of data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8963 using pulse inversion
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52038 involving non-linear properties of the propagation medium or of the reflective target
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52039 exploiting the non-linear response of a contrast enhancer, e.g. a contrast agent diagnostic techniques involving the use of contrast agents A61B8/481
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52046 Techniques for image enhancement involving transmitter or receiver image enhancement by image data processing G06T5/00

Abstract

An ultrasound diagnosis apparatus for generation of image data based on harmonic wave components of ultrasound reception signals. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus includes a transmission/reception control unit configured to set a plurality of ultrasound transmission/reception directions to an object, an ultrasound probe, a transmission/reception unit, a harmonic wave component extracting unit configured to extract harmonic wave components in the reception signals, a reception signals processing unit, a subtraction unit configured to perform a subtraction between different ultrasound data sets, and an image data generating unit configured to generate the image data based on the subtracted ultrasound data acquired along each of the transmission/reception directions.

Claims

1. An ultrasound diagnosis apparatus for generation of image data, the ultrasound diagnosis apparatus comprising:

a transmission/reception control unit configured to set a plurality of ultrasound transmission/reception directions to an object;

an ultrasound probe having a plurality of transducers;

a transmission/reception unit configured to produce drive signals having a polarity phase difference between first and second drive signals for transmission of out-of-phase ultrasound transmissions centered only around a single ultrasound fundamental frequency f₀ into the object and configured to receive reception signals from the object at the ultrasound transmission/reception directions;

a harmonic wave component extracting unit configured to extract harmonic wave components in the reception signals by performing summation of a plurality of the reception signals sequentially received through the transmission/reception unit;

a reception signals processing unit configured to generate first ultrasound data by performing a logarithmic conversion of a fundamental wave component included in the reception signals, and to generate second ultrasound data by normalizing the harmonic wave components by an amplitude of the fundamental wave component and thereafter performing a logarithmic conversion of the harmonic wave components in the reception signals;

a subtraction unit configured to perform a subtraction between the first ultrasound data and the second ultrasound data; and

an image data generating unit configured to generate said image data based on the subtracted ultrasound data acquired along each of the transmission/reception directions.

2. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmission/reception unit drives the transducers by the using the first drive signals and second drive signals of an equal driving amplitude and having different phases mutually separated in phase by 180 degrees;

and

the harmonic wave component extracting unit extracts the harmonic wave components by performing a summation of first reception signals acquired through the first drive signals and second reception signals acquired through the second drive signals.

3. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the transmission/reception unit drives the transducers by using the first drive signals and second drive signals each having different driving amplitudes and different phases separated in phase by 180 degrees;

and

the harmonic wave component extracting unit extracts the harmonic wave component by performing a summation of the plurality of the reception signals acquired through each of the drive signals.

4. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the harmonic wave component extracting unit performs the summation by setting a weight coefficient to at least one of the plurality of the reception signals.

5. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

the transmission/reception unit drives the transducers with the first drive signals having a prescribed driving waveform, the second drive signals having twice a driving amplitude and a mutually different phase separated in phase by 180 degrees to the first drive signals, and third drive signals having a similar driving waveform to the first drive signals.

6. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the subtraction unit performs the subtraction by setting a weight coefficient to either the first ultrasound data or the second ultrasound data.

7. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to claim 6, wherein

the subtraction unit performs the subtraction by setting different weight coefficients along depth directions to the first and second ultrasound data.

8. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

the subtraction unit performs the subtraction by using a weight coefficient that is set or selected based on a center frequency of transmitting ultrasound waves and observation depths.

9. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to claim 6, further including:

a weight coefficient setting unit;

wherein the subtraction unit performs the subtraction based on a weight coefficient set by the weight coefficient setting unit.

10. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit;

the display unit displays at least two image data, the at least two image data being displayed in parallel or one superimposed on another.

11. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the transmission/reception control unit sets the ultrasound transmission/reception directions to a 3D region for the object;

and

the image data generating unit generates at least one of among 3D image data, MIP image data, or MPR image data based on the subtracted ultrasound data acquired along each of the transmission/reception directions.

12. A method for generating image data based on harmonic wave components of ultrasound reception signals, comprising:

producing a plurality of drive signals having a polarity phase difference between first and second drive signals for transmission of out-of-phase ultrasound transmissions centered only around a single ultrasound fundamental frequency f₀ at plural directions into an object;

receiving a plurality of reception signals from the object;

extracting harmonic wave components in the reception signals by summing a plurality of sequentially received reception signals;

generating first ultrasound data by performing a logarithmic conversion of a fundamental wave component included in the reception signals;

generating second ultrasound data by normalizing the harmonic wave components by an amplitude of the fundamental wave component and thereafter performing a logarithmic conversion of the harmonic wave components included in the reception signals;

subtracting the first ultrasound data and the second ultrasound data; and

generating said image data based on the subtracted ultrasound data acquired along the plural directions.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein producing a plurality of drive signals comprises:

transmitting the first drive signals and the second drive signals of an equal driving amplitude and having different phases mutually separated in phase by 180 degrees.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein producing a plurality of drive signals comprises:

transmitting the first drive signals and the second drive signals having different driving amplitudes and different phases separated in phase by 180 degrees.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein producing a plurality of drive signals comprises:

transmitting the first drive signals and the second drive signals, said second drive signals having twice a driving amplitude of the first drive signals and having mutually different phases separated in phase by 180 degrees from the first drive signals.

16. An ultrasound diagnosis apparatus for generation of image data based on harmonic wave components of ultrasound reception signals, comprising:

a transmission/reception control unit configured to set a plurality of ultrasound transmission/reception directions to an object;

an ultrasound probe having a plurality of transducers;

a transmission/reception unit configured to produce drive signals having a polarity phase difference between first and second drive signals for transmission of out-of-phase ultrasound transmissions centered only around a single ultrasound fundamental frequency f₀ into the object and configured to receive reception signals from the object at the transmission/reception directions;

means for extracting harmonic wave components in the reception signals by summing a plurality of sequentially received reception signals;

means for generating first ultrasound data by performing a logarithmic conversion of a fundamental wave component included in the reception signals;

means for generating second ultrasound data by normalizing the harmonic wave components by an amplitude of the fundamental wave component and thereafter performing a logarithmic conversion of a harmonic wave component included in the reception signals;

means for subtracting the first ultrasound data and the second ultrasound data; and

means for generating said image data based on the subtracted ultrasound data acquired along the plural directions.

17. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 16, wherein the transmission/reception unit controls the ultrasonic probe such that at least two of said first and second drive signals have an equal driving amplitude and different phases mutually separated in phase by 180 degrees.

18. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 16, wherein the transmission/reception unit controls the ultrasonic probe such that at least two of said first and second drive signals have different driving amplitudes and different phases separated in phase by 180 degrees.

19. The ultrasound diagnosis apparatus of claim 16, wherein the transmission/reception unit controls the ultrasonic probe such that said second drive signals having twice a driving amplitude of the first drive signals and having mutually different phases separated in phase by 180 degrees from the first drive signals.