Ultrasound diagnostic apparatus for intima-media thickness measurement

• US 9,642,595 B2
• Filed: 01/12/2012
• Issued: 05/09/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konica Minolta Inc.
• Original Assignee: Konica Minolta Inc.
• Inventors: Nishigaki, Morio
• Primary Examiner(s): Cwern, Jonathan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gillman, Amelie R
• Application Number:
  US13/808,819
• Publication Number:
  US 20130116567A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,944 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0858 involving measuring tissue layers, e.g. skin, interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0891 for diagnosis of blood vessels
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/145 characterised by scanning multiple planes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/42 Details of probe positioning or probe attachment to the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4209 by using holders, e.g. positioning frames
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4245 involving determining the position of the probe, e.g. with respect to an external reference frame or to the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4254 using sensors mounted on the probe
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4281 characterised by sound-transmitting media or devices for coupling the transducer to the tissue
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4444 related to the probe
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4466 involving deflection of the probe
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4488 the transducer being a phased array
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/463 characterised by displaying multiple images or images and diagnostic data on one display composite display in devices for short-range imaging with acoustic waves G01S7/52074
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/5207 involving processing of raw data to produce diagnostic data, e.g. for generating an image reconstruction G06T11/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/5223 for extracting a diagnostic or physiological parameter from medical diagnostic data for algorithms to analyse biomedical images G06T7/0012
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/5246 combining images from the same or different imaging techniques, e.g. color Doppler and B-mode
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/54 Control of the diagnostic device
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8915 using a transducer array
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52036 using analysis of echo signal for target characterisation
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52065 Compound scan display, e.g. panoramic imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52079 Constructional features constructional features of transducers B06B; mounting transducers G10K11/00; constructional features of ultrasonic medical diagnostic devices A61B8/44
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/30 : for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment

Abstract

An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus includes: a probe that transmits and receives ultrasound; a signal analysis unit that, when the probe scans a cross section of elevation direction of a blood vessel using ultrasound, detects a center scan line echo signal having passed through a center of the blood vessel among a plurality of scan line echo signals in the cross section of elevation direction of the blood vessel received by the probe, based on a part of each of the plurality of scan line echo signals that has a relatively small amplitude that corresponds to a reflected wave from a part of the blood vessel where blood flows; and an IMT measurement unit that computes an IMT from the center scan line echo signal. With this configuration, it is possible to provide an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus capable of performing wide-range IMT measurements with few errors even when a blood vessel seen from a body surface is not linear.

Claims

1. An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, comprising:

a probe that transmits and receives ultrasound;

a signal analysis unit, wherein when the probe scans a cross section of a blood vessel perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the blood vessel using the ultrasound, the blood vessel having a wall with concentrically arranged from outside the blood vessel a tunica adventitia, a tunica media, and a tunica intima, with blood flowing inside the tunica intima, the signal analysis unit receives a plurality of scan line echo signals from the probe, each having an amplitude corresponding to a reflected wave of the ultrasound from the blood and an amplitude corresponding to reflected waves of the received ultrasound from the wall at a front and a back of the blood vessel, detects, for each of the scan line echo signals, a maximum amplitude of the tunica intima and a minimum amplitude of the tunica media, measures, for each of the scan line echo signals, an amplitude difference between the maximum amplitude of the tunica intima and the minimum amplitude of the tunica media, and detects a center scan line echo signal from the plurality of scan line echo signals received from the probe, the center scan line echo signal is detected by detecting one of the plurality of scan line signals having a largest amplitude difference between the maximum amplitude of the tunica intima of the blood vessel and the minimum amplitude of the tunica media of the blood vessel, where the amplitude corresponding to the blood is smaller than the amplitude corresponding to the wall of the blood vessel; and

an intima-media thickness (IMT) measurement unit that computes an IMT from the center scan line echo signal.

2. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein, when the probe scans a plurality of cross sections of the blood vessel using the ultrasound, the signal analysis unit detects respective center scan line echo signals for each of the plurality of cross sections of the blood vessel, and the IMT measurement unit computes an IMT from the respective center scan line echo signals detected from the scan line echo signals.

3. An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, comprising:

a probe that transmits and receives ultrasound;

a signal analysis unit, wherein when the probe scans a cross section of a blood vessel perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the blood vessel using the ultrasound, the blood vessel having a wall with concentrically arranged from outside the blood vessel a tunica adventitia, a tunica media, and a tunica intima, with blood flowing inside the tunica intima, the signal analysis unit receives a plurality of scan line echo signals from the probe, each having an amplitude corresponding to a reflected wave of the ultrasound from the blood and an amplitude corresponding to reflected waves of the received ultrasound from the wall at a front and a back of the blood vessel, detects, for each of the scan line echo signals, a maximum amplitude of the tunica intima and a minimum amplitude of the tunica media, and measures, for each of the scan line echo signals, a ratio of the maximum amplitude of the tunica intima and the minimum amplitude of the tunica media, and detects a center scan line echo signal from the plurality of scan line echo signals received from the probe, the center scan line echo signal is detected by detecting one of the plurality of scan line echo signals having a largest ratio of the maximum amplitude of the tunica intima to the minimum amplitude of the tunica media of the blood vessel, where the amplitude corresponding to the part of the blood vessel containing the blood is smaller than the amplitude corresponding to the wall of the blood vessel; and

an intima-media thickness (IMT) measurement unit that computes an IMT from the center scan line echo signal.

4. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein, when the probe scans a plurality of cross sections of the blood vessel using the ultrasound, the signal analysis unit detects respective center scan line echo signals for each of the plurality of cross sections of the blood vessel, and the IMT measurement unit computes an IMT from the respective center scan line echo signals detected from the scan line echo signals.