A peristaltic wave parameter measurement method and ultrasonic measurement system

Abstract

A peristaltic wave parameter measurement method and ultrasonic measurement system, the method comprising: transmitting a first ultrasonic wave to the endometrium of a measured object, receiving an ultrasonic echo returned by the endometrium, to obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal; processing the first ultrasonic echo signal to obtain a peristaltic parameter in a target area of ​​the endometrium that changes with time; obtaining a transmission time of the peristaltic wave in the target area based on the peristaltic parameter in the target area that changes with time; and outputting the transmission time. The peristaltic wave parameter measurement method and ultrasonic measurement system quantify and output the transmission time of the peristaltic wave as a new peristaltic wave-related parameter, providing users with an objective measurement tool for peristaltic waves.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of peristaltic wave measurement, and in particular to a peristaltic wave parameter measurement method and an ultrasonic measurement system. Background Art

[0002] Endometrial receptivity refers to the state of the endometrium that allows the blastocyst to locate, adhere, and invade, and changes the endometrial stroma to lead to embryo implantation, that is, the ability of the endometrium to accept the fertilized egg. The correct evaluation of endometrial receptivity has important clinical significance in selecting the timing of implantation and assessing pregnancy rate, and is an important part of the current reproductive assessment standard system.

[0003] Endometrial peristaltic waves refer to mechanical waves generated by the peristalsis of the endometrium driven by the contraction of the uterine muscle layer. The frequency, direction, and intensity of peristaltic waves change with the menstrual cycle, thereby assisting sperm transport and embryo implantation, and are one of the important indicators for judging endometrial receptivity. At the same time, the law of uterine peristalsis is affected by uterine diseases, so the study of peristaltic waves also has the potential value of assisting the diagnosis of uterine lesions.

[0004] However, there is currently no objective means to assist in the clinical diagnosis of peristaltic waves. Doctors can only rely on the subjective judgment of doctors repeatedly observing the collected ultrasound films with their naked eyes, which is time-consuming, unfriendly, and has poor operator repeatability. Different doctors may not judge the peristaltic frequency and direction in the same way. Therefore, the lack of objective auxiliary tools is the main obstacle to further research and application of peristaltic waves. Summary of the invention

[0005] A series of simplified concepts are introduced in the Summary of the Invention, which will be further described in detail in the Detailed Description of the Invention. The Summary of the Invention does not mean to attempt to define the key features and essential technical features of the claimed technical solution, nor does it mean to attempt to determine the scope of protection of the claimed technical solution.

[0006] In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, a first aspect of an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for measuring parameters of a peristaltic wave, the method comprising:

[0007] Transmitting a first ultrasonic wave to the endometrium of the subject to be measured, and receiving an ultrasonic echo returned by the endometrium to obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal;

[0008] Processing the first ultrasonic echo signal to obtain a peristaltic parameter in a target area of ​​the endometrium that changes with time;

[0009] Obtaining a propagation time of a peristaltic wave propagating within the target area based on a peristaltic parameter within the target area that changes with time;

[0010] The delivery time is output.

[0011] In one embodiment, obtaining the transmission time of the peristaltic wave in the target area based on the peristaltic parameters in the target area that change with time includes:

[0012] generating a peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram according to the peristaltic parameters that change with time at different positions in the target area, wherein the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram represents the change of the peristaltic parameters with time and space;

[0013] The delivery time is determined based on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal profile.

[0014] In one embodiment, the method further comprises:

[0015] transmitting a second ultrasonic wave to the endometrium of the subject;

[0016] receiving a second ultrasonic echo returned by the endometrium to obtain a second ultrasonic echo signal;

[0017] processing the second ultrasonic echo signal to obtain an ultrasonic image of the endometrium;

[0018] The target area is determined according to the ultrasound image.

[0019] In one embodiment, obtaining the transmission time of the peristaltic wave in the target area based on the peristaltic parameters in the target area that change with time includes:

[0020] Displaying the spatiotemporal distribution diagram of the peristaltic wave;

[0021] Obtaining annotations of time points at which the peristaltic wave is transmitted to different positions in the target area on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram;

[0022] The transmission time of the peristaltic wave between the different positions is determined according to the time points corresponding to the annotations.

[0023] In one embodiment, obtaining the annotations of the time points at which the peristaltic wave is transmitted to different positions in the target area on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram includes:

[0024] receiving a point selection operation on the time point when the peristaltic wave is transmitted to the different positions on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram, and determining the marked position according to the point selection operation;

[0025] Alternatively, an adjustable cursor is displayed on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram, an adjustment operation on the adjustable cursor is received, and the marked position is determined according to the adjustment operation.

[0026] In one embodiment, determining the delivery time based on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram comprises:

[0027] Based on the spatiotemporal distribution diagram of the peristaltic wave, at least two curves of peristaltic parameter changes over time at at least two positions in the target area are obtained respectively;

[0028] Corresponding time points of the same fluctuation segment of the peristaltic wave on the at least two curves are extracted, and the transmission time of the peristaltic wave between the at least two positions is determined according to the time interval between the corresponding time points.

[0029] In one embodiment, the corresponding time point includes a time point corresponding to a peak value of the same fluctuation segment, a starting point of the same fluctuation segment, or an end point of the same fluctuation segment on the at least two curves.

[0030] In one embodiment, determining the delivery time based on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram comprises:

[0031] Based on the spatiotemporal distribution diagram of the peristaltic wave, a peristaltic curve of the peristaltic parameter at a predetermined position varying with time is obtained;

[0032] Corresponding time points on adjacent fluctuation segments on the creep curve are extracted, and the transfer time is determined according to the interval time between the corresponding time points.

[0033] In one embodiment, obtaining the transmission time of the peristaltic wave in the target area based on the peristaltic parameters in the target area that change with time includes:

[0034] The peristaltic wave transit time is automatically analyzed according to the peristaltic parameters based on a machine learning algorithm.

[0035] In one embodiment, the method further comprises:

[0036] Acquire multiple transmission times of multiple peristaltic waves in the target area;

[0037] An average delivery time of a plurality of the delivery times is determined, and outputting the delivery time further comprises outputting the average delivery time.

[0038] In one embodiment, the peristaltic parameter includes at least one of the following: peristaltic speed, tissue displacement, and tissue strain.

[0039] In one embodiment, the method further comprises: obtaining the number of peristalsis in the target area within a predetermined time based on the peristalsis parameters in the target area that change with time.

[0040] A second aspect of an embodiment of the present invention provides an ultrasonic measurement system, which includes an ultrasonic probe, a transmitting circuit, a receiving circuit, a memory, a processor and a display. The memory stores a computer program run by the processor, and the computer program executes the steps of the above-mentioned peristaltic wave parameter measurement method when run by the processor.

[0041] The peristaltic wave parameter measurement method and ultrasonic measurement system of the embodiment of the present application quantify and output the peristaltic wave transmission time as a new peristaltic wave related parameter, providing users with an objective peristaltic wave measurement tool. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other accompanying drawings can be obtained based on these accompanying drawings without paying creative labor.

[0043] Figure 1 A schematic block diagram of an ultrasonic measurement system according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0044] Figure 2 A schematic flow chart showing a method for measuring parameters of peristaltic waves according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing manual measurement of transit time based on a spatiotemporal distribution diagram of peristaltic waves according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing manual measurement of transit time based on a spatiotemporal distribution diagram of peristaltic waves according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0047] Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing automatic measurement of transit time based on a spatiotemporal distribution diagram of peristaltic waves according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0048] Figure 6 A schematic diagram showing automatic measurement of transit time based on a spatiotemporal distribution diagram of peristaltic waves according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0049] Figure 7 A schematic diagram showing a display interface according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the present invention more obvious, the exemplary embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments of the present invention, and it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein. Based on the embodiments of the present invention described in the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0051] In the following description, a large number of specific details are provided to provide a more thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention can be implemented without one or more of these details. In other examples, in order to avoid confusion with the present invention, some technical features well known in the art are not described.

[0052] It should be understood that the present invention can be implemented in different forms and should not be interpreted as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided to make the disclosure thorough and complete and to fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art.

[0053] The purpose of the terms used herein is only to describe specific embodiments and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. When used herein, the singular forms "one", "an" and "said / the" are also intended to include plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the terms "consisting of" and / or "comprising", when used in this specification, determine the presence of the features, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or parts, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, parts and / or groups. When used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of the relevant listed items.

[0054] In order to fully understand the present invention, a detailed structure will be proposed in the following description to illustrate the technical solution proposed by the present invention. The optional embodiments of the present invention are described in detail as follows, but in addition to these detailed descriptions, the present invention may also have other implementations.

[0055] Next, first refer to Figure 1 An ultrasonic measurement system according to an embodiment of the present application is described. The ultrasonic measurement system can be used to implement the parameter measurement method of the peristaltic wave according to the embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 A schematic structural block diagram of an ultrasonic measurement system 100 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0056] like Figure 1As shown, the ultrasound measurement system 100 includes an ultrasound probe 110, a transmitting circuit 112, a receiving circuit 114, a processor 116, and a display 118. Further, the ultrasound measurement system may also include a transmit / receive selection switch 120 and a beamforming circuit 122, and the transmitting circuit 112 and the receiving circuit 114 may be connected to the ultrasound probe 110 through the transmit / receive selection switch 120.

[0057] The ultrasonic probe 110 includes a plurality of transducer array elements, which can be arranged in a row to form a linear array, or arranged in a two-dimensional matrix to form a surface array, or a plurality of transducer array elements can also form a convex array. The transducer is used to transmit ultrasonic waves according to the excitation electrical signal, or to convert the received ultrasonic waves into electrical signals, so each array element can be used to realize the mutual conversion between the electrical pulse signal and the ultrasonic wave, so as to realize the transmission of ultrasonic waves to the tissue of the target area of ​​the object to be tested, and can also be used to receive the ultrasonic wave echo reflected by the tissue. When performing ultrasonic testing, which transducer array elements are used to transmit ultrasonic waves and which transducer array elements are used to receive ultrasonic waves can be controlled by the transmission sequence and the reception sequence, or the transducer array elements can be controlled to transmit ultrasonic waves or receive ultrasonic wave echoes in time slots. The transducer array elements participating in ultrasonic wave transmission can be excited by electrical signals at the same time, so as to transmit ultrasonic waves at the same time; or, the transducer array elements participating in ultrasonic wave beam transmission can also be excited by several electrical signals with a certain time interval, so as to continuously transmit ultrasonic waves with a certain time interval.

[0058] During the ultrasonic imaging process, the transmitting circuit 112 sends the delayed focused transmitting pulse to the ultrasonic probe 110 through the transmitting / receiving selection switch 120. The ultrasonic probe 110 is stimulated by the transmitting pulse to transmit an ultrasonic beam to the tissue of the target area of ​​the object to be measured, and receives the ultrasonic echo with tissue information reflected from the tissue of the target area after a certain delay, and reconverts the ultrasonic echo into an electrical signal. The receiving circuit 114 receives the electrical signal converted and generated by the ultrasonic probe 110, obtains the ultrasonic echo signal, and sends these ultrasonic echo signals to the beam synthesis circuit 122, which performs focusing delay, weighting and channel summing on the ultrasonic echo data, and then sends them to the processor 116. The processor 116 performs signal detection, signal enhancement, data conversion, logarithmic compression and other processing on the ultrasonic echo signal to form an ultrasonic image. The ultrasonic image obtained by the processor 116 can be displayed on the display 118 or stored in the memory 124.

[0059] Optionally, the processor 116 may be implemented as software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof, and may use a single or multiple application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), a single or multiple general purpose integrated circuits, a single or multiple microprocessors, a single or multiple programmable logic devices, or any combination of the aforementioned circuits and / or devices, or other suitable circuits or devices. Furthermore, the processor 116 may control other components in the ultrasonic measurement system 100 to execute the corresponding steps of the methods in various embodiments of the present specification.

[0060] The display 118 is connected to the processor 116, and the display 118 may be a touch screen, a liquid crystal display, etc.; or, the display 118 may be an independent display such as a liquid crystal display, a television, etc., which is independent of the ultrasonic measurement system 100; or, the display 118 may be a display screen of an electronic device such as a smart phone or a tablet computer, etc. The number of the displays 118 may be one or more. For example, the display 118 may include a main screen and a touch screen, wherein the main screen is mainly used to display ultrasonic images, and the touch screen is mainly used for human-computer interaction.

[0061] The display 118 can display the ultrasound image obtained by the processor 116. In addition, while displaying the ultrasound image, the display 118 can also provide the user with a graphical interface for human-computer interaction. One or more controlled objects are set on the graphical interface, and the user is provided with a human-computer interaction device to input operation instructions to control these controlled objects, thereby performing corresponding control operations. For example, an icon is displayed on the graphical interface, and the icon can be operated by the human-computer interaction device to perform a specific function, such as drawing a region of interest box on the ultrasound image.

[0062] Optionally, the ultrasonic measurement system 100 may further include other human-machine interaction devices in addition to the display 118, which are connected to the processor 116. For example, the processor 116 may be connected to the human-machine interaction device via an external input / output port, and the external input / output port may be a wireless communication module, or a wired communication module, or a combination of the two. The external input / output port may also be implemented based on USB, bus protocols such as CAN, and / or wired network protocols.

[0063] The human-computer interaction device may include an input device for detecting user input information, which may be, for example, a control instruction for ultrasonic transmission / reception timing, an operation input instruction for drawing points, lines or frames on an ultrasonic image, or other instruction types. The input device may include a keyboard, a mouse, a scroll wheel, a trackball, a mobile input device (such as a mobile device with a touch screen, a mobile phone, etc.), a multi-function knob, etc., or a combination of multiple thereof. The human-computer interaction device may also include an output device such as a printer.

[0064] The ultrasound measurement system 100 may further include a memory 124 for storing instructions executed by the processor, storing received ultrasound echoes, storing ultrasound images, etc. The memory may be a flash memory card, a solid-state memory, a hard disk, etc. It may be a volatile memory and / or a non-volatile memory, a removable memory and / or a non-removable memory, etc.

[0065] It should be understood that Figure 1 The components included in the ultrasonic measurement system 100 are only exemplary, and the ultrasonic measurement system 100 may include more or fewer components, which is not limited in the present application.

[0066] Next, we will refer to Figure 2 A method for measuring parameters of peristaltic waves according to one embodiment of the present application is described. Figure 2 It is a schematic flow chart of a method 200 for measuring parameters of peristaltic waves according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0067] like Figure 2 As shown, the peristaltic wave parameter measurement method 200 of the embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

[0068] In step S210, a first ultrasonic wave is transmitted to the endometrium of the subject, and an ultrasonic echo returned by the endometrium is received to obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal;

[0069] In step S220, the first ultrasonic echo signal is processed to obtain a peristaltic parameter in a target area of ​​the endometrium that changes with time;

[0070] In step S230, based on the peristaltic parameters in the target area that change with time, a transmission time of the peristaltic wave in the target area is obtained;

[0071] In step S240, the delivery time is output.

[0072] Studies have shown that in addition to the frequency, direction, and intensity of peristaltic waves affecting pregnancy rates, the transmission time of each peristaltic wave (i.e., the duration of each peristaltic wave) can also be used as an important indicator for evaluating endometrial receptivity. The peristaltic wave parameter measurement method 200 of the embodiment of the present application quantifies and outputs the transmission time of the peristaltic wave in the target area as a new peristaltic wave-related parameter, providing users with an objective measurement tool for peristaltic waves, facilitating further quantitative clinical research and diagnostic evaluation of peristaltic waves, and laying the foundation for improving the peristaltic wave evaluation system in the future.

[0073] Reference Figure 1 In step S210, the transmitting circuit 112 sends the transmitting pulse to the ultrasonic probe 110 through the transmitting / receiving selection switch 120 to stimulate the ultrasonic probe 110 to transmit the first ultrasonic wave to the endometrium of the object under test. The first ultrasonic wave can be directed to the entire endometrium or only to the target area in the endometrium. The target area can be determined by an ultrasonic image (including but not limited to a B-type ultrasonic image and a C-type ultrasonic image), can be determined by a peristaltic wave image, or can be directly determined according to a preset scanning strategy. After a certain delay, in step S220, the receiving circuit 114 controls the ultrasonic probe to receive the echo of the first ultrasonic wave through the transmitting / receiving selection switch 120 to obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal, and sends the first ultrasonic echo signal to the beam synthesis circuit 122. The beam synthesis circuit 122 performs focusing delay, weighting and channel summing on the first ultrasonic echo signal, and then sends the beam synthesized first ultrasonic echo signal to the processor 116 for processing to obtain peristaltic parameters.

[0074] In an embodiment of the present application, the processor 116 can process the first ultrasonic echo signal of any link after the beamforming process to obtain the peristaltic parameters, or generate an ultrasonic image based on the first ultrasonic echo signal, and perform correlation processing on the ultrasonic image to obtain the peristaltic parameters. The first ultrasonic wave mentioned above is a detection sequence of peristaltic waves, which can be shared with the transmission scanning sequence of the ultrasonic image, or a completely different scanning sequence can be adopted. When the scanning sequence is independent, its transmission and reception parameters (such as frequency, focusing direction, transmission interval, transmission position, etc.) can also be set independently, for example, the scanning interval between two adjacent frames of echo can be made shorter, so as to obtain a detection with higher time accuracy.

[0075] For a target position in space, when ultrasonic waves are emitted for a period of time and ultrasonic echoes are received, if the target position is moving, the ultrasonic echoes obtained at different times will change. Based on the correlation comparison, the change amount or change speed of the ultrasonic echo at each time can be detected, that is, displacement detection or speed detection. Based on this, for the peristaltic endometrium, its peristaltic parameters can be obtained by correlation comparison. The peristaltic parameters may include at least one of the following: peristaltic speed, tissue displacement, and tissue strain. As an implementation method, the displacement or speed of each point in the region of interest can be obtained by a displacement detection method; as another implementation method, the displacement of each point in the region of interest can be obtained by a displacement detection method, and then the speed of each point can be obtained by calculating the gradient of the displacement over time.

[0076] There are many specific methods for determining peristaltic parameters based on displacement detection. For example, a block matching-based method can be used to search for different positions of the ultrasonic echo signal at another moment for an ultrasonic echo signal at a certain position at a certain moment, and find the position with the largest cross-correlation with it. The difference between the position and the original position is used as the displacement at these two moments. The peristaltic parameters such as peristaltic speed and peristaltic acceleration can be obtained by further combining the time difference between the two moments. For another example, a method based on the ultrasonic Doppler effect can be used to detect the movement speed of tissue at a certain position at each moment in a principle similar to conventional blood flow imaging. Alternatively, other displacement detection methods based on signal autocorrelation or cross-correlation can also be used, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0077] In one embodiment, when the target area is determined according to the ultrasonic image, the peristaltic wave parameter measurement method 200 further includes: controlling the ultrasonic probe to transmit a second ultrasonic wave to the endometrium of the object being measured; receiving the second ultrasonic echo returned by the endometrium of the object being measured to obtain a second ultrasonic echo signal; processing the second ultrasonic echo signal to obtain an ultrasonic image of the endometrium, including but not limited to a B-type ultrasonic image or a C-type ultrasonic image. Afterwards, a region of interest is determined in the ultrasonic image, and the region of interest corresponds to the target area of ​​the endometrium. In some embodiments, a multi-frame ultrasonic image of the endometrium can be obtained according to the second echo signal; after obtaining the multi-frame ultrasonic image of the endometrium, the region of interest can be determined on the first frame of the ultrasonic image in the multi-frame ultrasonic image as needed, or on the ultrasonic image of the intermediate frame, or on the last frame of the ultrasonic image. Exemplarily, the region of interest can be a point, a line, a frame, etc., and can specifically include a straight line, a curve, a discrete point, a continuous point, or a frame of any shape. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the shape of the region of interest.

[0078] Exemplarily, determining the region of interest in the ultrasound image can be implemented in an automatic or manual manner. When the region of interest is determined manually, the ultrasound image can be displayed, and the region of interest can be determined in response to a user's selection operation on the ultrasound image. For example, the user can select the region of interest in the ultrasound image through an input device such as a mouse.

[0079] When the region of interest is automatically determined, the ultrasound measurement system can automatically identify the endometrial region in the ultrasound image, and automatically select the region of interest according to preset rules within the identified endometrial region. For example, one or more points of interest can be selected inside the endometrial region as the region of interest; or, a line segment can be selected in a certain direction of the endometrial region as the region of interest, for example, the selected line segment can be a line segment extending from the cervical end to the fundus end, and so on. Of course, the above-mentioned method of automatically selecting the region of interest is only an example, and the embodiment of the present application can also automatically select the region of interest based on other preset conditions, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this. Exemplarily, after the region of interest is automatically identified based on the ultrasound image, the location of the region of interest can also be displayed on the ultrasound image, and the location of the region of interest can be adjusted based on user input.

[0080] In step S220, when the peristaltic parameters are obtained based on the ultrasound image, the corresponding peristaltic parameters can be obtained for each pixel point in the ultrasound image, or the corresponding peristaltic parameters can be obtained only for each pixel point in the endometrial region of the ultrasound image. Afterwards, the peristaltic parameters corresponding to the region of interest can be extracted therefrom. Alternatively, the corresponding peristaltic parameters can be obtained only for the pixel points corresponding to the region of interest in the ultrasound image. For multiple frames of ultrasound images, the peristaltic parameters of each pixel point at the moment corresponding to each frame of ultrasound image can be obtained, thereby obtaining the peristaltic parameters that change with time at each position in the target area.

[0081] In step S230, the transmission time of the peristaltic wave in the target area is obtained based on the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area. The transmission time can be used as an important indicator for evaluating the endometrial receptivity, which is helpful for further quantitative research and evaluation of the peristaltic wave. For example, when the target area is a point, the transmission time can be the transmission time between two points; when the target area is a line segment, the transmission time can be the transmission time from one end of the line segment to the other end; when the target area is a frame, the transmission time can be the transmission time from one side of the frame to the other side.

[0082] In one embodiment, a peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram may be generated according to peristaltic parameters that vary with time at different locations in the target area, and the transmission time of the peristaltic wave in the target area may be determined based on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram.

[0083] Specifically, the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram represents the change of peristaltic parameters over time and space. Generating the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram may include: establishing a peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram coordinate system, wherein the coordinate system includes a first coordinate axis and a second coordinate axis, the first coordinate axis represents time, and the second coordinate axis represents spatial position; and displaying the peristaltic parameters in the spatiotemporal distribution diagram coordinate system according to the time and spatial position corresponding to the peristaltic parameters. Exemplarily, the size or direction of the peristaltic parameters may be represented by different colors or grayscales in the spatiotemporal distribution diagram of the peristaltic wave. Since the spatiotemporal distribution diagram of the peristaltic wave contains the time information and spatial information of the peristaltic wave, the transmission time of the peristaltic wave in the target area may be further obtained according to the spatiotemporal distribution diagram of the peristaltic wave.

[0084] For ease of understanding, Figure 3 An exemplary peristaltic wave time-space distribution diagram is shown, and the region of interest corresponding to the peristaltic wave time-space distribution diagram is linear. Figure 3 In the time-space distribution diagram of the peristaltic wave shown, the horizontal axis represents time, the vertical axis represents spatial position, the dark parallelogram in the figure represents the forward peristaltic velocity, and the light parallelogram represents the reverse peristaltic velocity. It can be understood that Figure 3 The peristaltic wave time-space distribution diagram as a whole indicates that the peristaltic wave is transmitted from the corresponding position below to the corresponding position above, that is, the peristaltic wave is transmitted to one end of the target area at time t1, and the peristaltic wave is transmitted to the other end of the target area at time t2, and t2-t1 is the transmission time of the peristaltic wave in the target area.

[0085] For example, if multiple regions of interest are determined in the ultrasound image, multiple peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution maps corresponding to the regions of interest can be generated respectively, and the corresponding transfer time can be obtained based on each peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution map for comparative analysis. For example, the peristaltic performance of the upper and lower boundaries of the endometrium may be different, so the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution maps of the upper and lower boundaries of the endometrium can be obtained respectively, and the transfer time can be determined based on each peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution map, so as to more intuitively observe the differences in peristaltic waves at each position.

[0086] The method of determining the peristaltic wave transmission time according to the peristaltic wave time-space distribution diagram can be realized as automatic determination by the system or determination according to the received user input, that is, manual determination. Among them, the manual determination method specifically includes: displaying the peristaltic wave time-space distribution diagram; obtaining the annotations of the time points of the peristaltic wave transmission to different positions in the target area on the peristaltic wave time-space distribution diagram; and determining the transmission time of the peristaltic wave transmission between different positions according to the time points corresponding to the annotations.

[0087] In one example, obtaining annotations of time points at which the peristaltic wave is transmitted to different positions in the target area on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram includes: receiving a point selection operation on the time points at which the peristaltic wave is transmitted to different positions on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram, and determining the position of the annotation according to the point selection operation. Figure 3 , Figure 3 The bottom of the vertical axis of the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram shown corresponds to the starting position of the target area, and the top corresponds to the ending position of the target area. If the user's markings on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram for the starting time point t1 when the peristaltic wave is transmitted to the starting position and the ending time point t2 when the peristaltic wave is transmitted to the ending position are received, then the transmission time t=t2-t1 of the peristaltic wave in the target area can be determined.

[0088] In another example, an adjustable cursor may be displayed on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution graph, an adjustment operation performed on the adjustable cursor may be received, and the position of the annotation selected by the user may be determined according to the received adjustment operation. Figure 4 , Figure 4 The initial position of the adjustable cursor is shown on the left. The user can adjust the adjustable cursor by performing operations such as translation and width adjustment to make it correspond to the starting point t1 and the ending time point t2 of the peristaltic wave respectively. That is, the transmission time t=△t=t2-t1 of the peristaltic wave can be determined according to the received user input.

[0089] Of course, the specific method of obtaining the annotations of the time points when the peristaltic wave is transmitted to different positions in the target area on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram is not limited to the above two. For example, the user can also draw lines, draw selection boxes, etc. on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram, as long as the system can determine the annotations made by the user on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram.

[0090] In other embodiments, the ultrasonic measurement system may also automatically measure the transit time according to the spatiotemporal distribution diagram of the peristaltic wave to simplify user operation.

[0091] Specifically, in one example, determining the transfer time based on the spatiotemporal distribution diagram of the peristaltic wave includes: obtaining at least two curves of the peristaltic parameters changing with time at at least two positions in the target area based on the spatiotemporal distribution diagram of the peristaltic wave; extracting the corresponding time points of the same fluctuation segment of the peristaltic wave on at least two curves, and determining the transfer time of the peristaltic wave between at least two positions according to the time interval between the corresponding time points. The corresponding time points may be characteristic points such as the peak and trough of the same fluctuation segment on at least two curves, the starting point of the same fluctuation segment, the end point of the same fluctuation segment, and the intersection of the same fluctuation segment and the coordinate axis. Exemplarily, the at least two positions in the target area at least include the two end positions of the target area, and then the transfer time from the peristaltic wave entering the target area to leaving the target area can be obtained. For example, if the target area is a line segment, the at least two positions in the target area at least include the two end positions of the line segment.

[0092] like Figure 5 As shown, in getting Figure 5 After the time-space distribution diagram of the peristaltic wave on the left, scan it vertically line by line, and the peristaltic curve obtained in each line is the peristaltic curve that changes with time at the corresponding position in space. Extract the corresponding time points of the same fluctuation segment on each peristaltic curve, for example, the earliest time point of the first wave peak is t1, and the latest time point is t2, then the transmission time of the first fluctuation segment of the peristaltic wave is t=t2-t1.

[0093] In another embodiment, determining the transfer time based on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram includes: obtaining a peristaltic curve of peristaltic parameters changing with time at a predetermined position based on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram; extracting corresponding time points on adjacent wave segments on the peristaltic curve, and determining the transfer time of the peristaltic wave according to the interval time between the corresponding time points. Among them, the peristaltic parameters changing with time at a preset spatial position in the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram can be extracted, a peristaltic curve of peristaltic parameters changing with time at the position can be drawn, and the transfer time of the peristaltic wave can be obtained according to the same peristaltic curve.

[0094] Specifically, when the endometrium is peristaltic continuously, the previous peristalsis reaches the end of the target area when the next peristalsis starts. For example, if the target area is a line from the cervical end to the uterine fundus end, if the endometrium is peristaltic continuously, when the first wave segment is transmitted to the uterine fundus end, the second wave segment at the cervical end begins. Therefore, the transmission time of the peristaltic wave can be determined according to the interval time between the corresponding time points on adjacent wave segments.

[0095] For example, see Figure 6 When the endometrium is peristaltic continuously, the peristaltic curve (such as speed, displacement, strain, etc.) of the point on the endometrium is a wave-like curve, and the time difference between two adjacent peaks on the curve is the time interval between the two peristalses (i.e. Figure 6It is also the time of peristaltic wave transmission during continuous peristalsis of the endometrium.

[0096] In the embodiment of the present application, in addition to determining the transmission time of the peristaltic wave according to the spatiotemporal distribution diagram of the peristaltic wave, other methods can also be used to determine the transmission time of the peristaltic wave in the target area. For example, the transmission time of the peristaltic wave can be automatically analyzed according to the peristaltic parameters based on a machine learning algorithm. Specifically, the machine learning algorithm can obtain the transmission time of the peristaltic wave by analyzing the morphological change law of the endometrium, or by observing the start time of the peristalsis and the end time of the same peristalsis.

[0097] In some embodiments, multiple transmission times of multiple peristaltic waves in the target area can also be obtained, and the average transmission time of the multiple transmission times can be determined and output, and the average transmission time can better reflect the general level of peristaltic wave transmission time. Figure 6 , the time interval between the corresponding time points of each adjacent fluctuation segment within the preset time can be determined (i.e. Figure 6 The average value is calculated to obtain the average time interval of multiple fluctuation segments, that is, the average transmission time of each peristaltic wave during continuous peristalsis. Of course, in addition to determining the transmission time of the peristaltic wave based on the peristaltic curve of the peristaltic parameter at the predetermined position changing with time, when determining the transmission time of the peristaltic wave by other methods, the average transmission time of multiple peristaltic waves can also be determined and output.

[0098] In one embodiment, the number of peristalsis in the target area within a predetermined time can also be obtained based on the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area. For example, a spatiotemporal distribution diagram of peristaltic waves can be obtained based on the peristaltic parameters, and the number of peristalsis in the target area within a predetermined time can be obtained based on the spatiotemporal distribution diagram of peristaltic waves. Exemplarily, the user can mark the time points at which the peristaltic waves are transmitted to the same spatial position, and the number of times marked by the user within the predetermined time is the number of peristalsis in the target area within the predetermined time. Alternatively, the spatiotemporal distribution diagram of peristaltic waves can be scanned column by column by an ultrasonic measurement system to obtain a peristaltic curve, and the number of peristalsis in the target area within a predetermined time can be obtained by automatically analyzing the peristaltic curve. For example, the number of times a peak or trough appears on the peristaltic curve can be determined as the number of peristalsis.

[0099] In one embodiment, parameters such as the peristaltic wave transmission time, average transmission time, and number of peristalsis waves can be displayed on the same display interface together with the ultrasound image and the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram, which helps the user to better identify and locate the anatomical positions corresponding to the above parameters and the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram. Figure 7An exemplary display interface is shown, in which an ultrasound image of the endometrium is displayed in the upper left corner, and a region of interest in the shape of a broken line is displayed in the ultrasound image; a temporal and spatial distribution diagram of peristaltic waves is displayed in the lower left corner, and the user's annotations of the start time point t1 and the end time point t2 of the peristaltic wave are displayed in the temporal and spatial distribution diagram of the peristaltic wave; the parameters obtained based on the temporal and spatial distribution diagram of the peristaltic wave are displayed on the right side of the display interface, specifically including the transmission time n of the mth peristaltic wave 1 s、n 2 s、n 3 s……n m s, the average transmission time ns of m peristaltic waves, as well as peristaltic wave related parameters such as peristaltic direction, peristaltic spectrum, maximum amplitude, average amplitude, etc.

[0100] The peristaltic wave parameter measurement method of the embodiment of the present application quantifies and outputs the peristaltic wave transmission time as a new peristaltic wave related parameter, providing the user with an objective peristaltic wave measurement tool.

[0101] Now re-refer to Figure 1 The embodiment of the present application also provides an ultrasonic measurement system 100, which can be used to implement the above-mentioned peristaltic wave parameter measurement method 200. The ultrasonic measurement system 100 may include components such as an ultrasonic probe 110, a transmitting circuit 112, a receiving circuit 114, a processor 116, a display 118, and a memory 124. The relevant description of each component can refer to the above. The following only describes the main functions of the ultrasonic measurement system 100, and omits the details described above.

[0102] Among them, the transmitting circuit 112 is used to excite the ultrasonic probe 110 to transmit a first ultrasonic wave to the endometrium of the subject under test; the receiving circuit 114 is used to control the ultrasonic probe 110 to receive the ultrasonic echo returned by the endometrium of the subject under test to obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal; the processor 114 is used to process the first ultrasonic echo signal to obtain the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area of ​​the endometrium of the subject under test; and to obtain the transmission time of the peristaltic wave in the target area based on the peristaltic parameters that change with time in the target area; the processor 114 is also used to control the output device to output the transmission time, for example, the transmission time can be displayed on the display 118.

[0103] Other specific details of the ultrasonic measurement system 100 and the peristaltic wave parameter measurement method 200 implemented by the ultrasonic measurement system 100 can refer to the above related descriptions and are not elaborated here.

[0104] In addition, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer storage medium on which a computer program is stored. One or more computer program instructions can be stored on the computer-readable storage medium, and the processor can run the program instructions stored in the storage device to implement the functions (implemented by the processor) in the embodiments of the present invention herein and / or other desired functions, such as to execute the corresponding steps of the parameter measurement method of peristaltic waves according to the embodiment of the present invention. Various applications and various data, such as various data used and / or generated by the application, can also be stored in the computer-readable storage medium.

[0105] For example, computer storage media may include a memory card, a storage component of a tablet computer, a hard disk of a personal computer, a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), a USB memory, or any combination of the above storage media.

[0106] In summary, the peristaltic wave parameter measurement method and ultrasonic measurement system of the embodiment of the present application quantify and output the peristaltic wave transmission time as a new peristaltic wave related parameter, providing users with an objective measurement tool for peristaltic waves.

[0107] Although example embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the above example embodiments are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention thereto. Various changes and modifications may be made therein by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention as required by the appended claims.

[0108] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of the present invention.

[0109] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic, for example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and there may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another device, or some features can be ignored or not executed.

[0110] In the description provided herein, a large number of specific details are described. However, it is understood that embodiments of the present invention can be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques are not shown in detail so as not to obscure the understanding of this description.

[0111] Similarly, it should be understood that in order to streamline the present invention and help understand one or more of the various inventive aspects, in the description of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the various features of the present invention are sometimes grouped together into a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof. However, the method of the present invention should not be interpreted as reflecting the following intention: the claimed invention requires more features than the features explicitly stated in each claim. More specifically, as reflected in the corresponding claims, the inventive point is that the corresponding technical problem can be solved with less than all the features of a single disclosed embodiment. Therefore, the claims following the specific embodiment are hereby expressly incorporated into the specific embodiment, wherein each claim itself serves as a separate embodiment of the present invention.

[0112] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that, except for mutually exclusive features, all features disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstracts and drawings) and all processes or units of any method or device disclosed in this specification may be combined in any combination. Unless otherwise expressly stated, each feature disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstracts and drawings) may be replaced by an alternative feature that provides the same, equivalent or similar purpose.

[0113] In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that, although some embodiments described herein include certain features included in other embodiments but not other features, the combination of features of different embodiments is meant to be within the scope of the present invention and form different embodiments. For example, in the claims, any one of the claimed embodiments may be used in any combination.

[0114] The various component embodiments of the present invention can be implemented in hardware, or in software modules running on one or more processors, or in a combination thereof. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP) can be used in practice to implement some or all of the functions of some modules according to embodiments of the present invention. The present invention can also be implemented as a device program (e.g., a computer program and a computer program product) for executing part or all of the methods described herein. Such a program implementing the present invention can be stored on a computer-readable medium, or can have the form of one or more signals. Such a signal can be downloaded from an Internet website, or provided on a carrier signal, or provided in any other form.

[0115] It should be noted that the above embodiments illustrate rather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art may devise alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference symbol between brackets shall not be construed as a limitation on the claims. The invention may be implemented by means of hardware comprising a number of different elements and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In a unit claim enumerating a number of means, several of these means may be embodied by the same hardware item. The use of the words first, second, and third, etc., does not indicate any order. These words may be interpreted as names.

Claims

1. A method for measuring parameters of peristaltic waves, characterized in that: The method comprises: Transmitting a first ultrasonic wave to the endometrium of the subject to be measured, and receiving an ultrasonic echo returned by the endometrium to obtain a first ultrasonic echo signal; Processing the first ultrasonic echo signal to obtain peristaltic parameters that vary with time at different positions in the target area of ​​the endometrium, wherein the peristaltic parameters include at least one of the following: peristaltic velocity, peristaltic acceleration, tissue displacement, and tissue strain; Obtaining a propagation time of a peristaltic wave propagating within the target area based on peristaltic parameters varying with time at different positions within the target area; outputting the delivery time; The method further comprises: obtaining an ultrasound image of the endometrium; The target area is determined according to the ultrasound image.

2. The parameter measurement method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step of obtaining the propagation time of the peristaltic wave in the target area based on the peristaltic parameters at different positions in the target area that change with time includes: generating a peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram according to the peristaltic parameters that change with time at different positions in the target area, wherein the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram represents the change of the peristaltic parameters with time and space; The delivery time is determined based on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal profile.

3. The parameter measurement method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The step of obtaining an ultrasonic image of the endometrium comprises: transmitting a second ultrasonic wave to the endometrium of the subject; receiving a second ultrasonic echo returned by the endometrium to obtain a second ultrasonic echo signal; The second ultrasonic echo signal is processed to obtain an ultrasonic image of the endometrium.

4. The parameter measurement method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The step of obtaining the transmission time of the peristaltic wave in the target area based on the peristaltic parameters at different positions in the target area that change with time includes: Displaying the spatiotemporal distribution diagram of the peristaltic wave; Obtaining annotations of time points at which the peristaltic wave is transmitted to different positions in the target area on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram; The transmission time of the peristaltic wave between the different positions is determined according to the time points corresponding to the annotations.

5. The parameter measurement method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The obtaining of the annotations of the time points at which the peristaltic wave is transmitted to different positions in the target area on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram includes: receiving a point selection operation on the time point when the peristaltic wave is transmitted to the different positions on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram, and determining the marked position according to the point selection operation; Alternatively, an adjustable cursor is displayed on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram, an adjustment operation on the adjustable cursor is received, and the marked position is determined according to the adjustment operation.

6. The parameter measurement method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The determining of the transfer time based on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram comprises: Based on the spatiotemporal distribution diagram of the peristaltic wave, at least two curves of peristaltic parameter changes over time at at least two positions in the target area are obtained respectively; Corresponding time points of the same fluctuation segment of the peristaltic wave on the at least two curves are extracted, and the transmission time of the peristaltic wave between the at least two positions is determined according to the time interval between the corresponding time points.

7. The parameter measurement method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The corresponding time points include the time points corresponding to the peak value of the same fluctuation segment, the starting point of the same fluctuation segment or the end point of the same fluctuation segment on the at least two curves.

8. The parameter measurement method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The determining of the transfer time based on the peristaltic wave spatiotemporal distribution diagram comprises: Based on the time-space distribution diagram of the peristaltic wave, a peristaltic curve of the peristaltic parameter at a predetermined position varying with time is obtained; Corresponding time points on adjacent fluctuation segments on the creep curve are extracted, and the transfer time is determined according to the interval time between the corresponding time points.

9. The parameter measurement method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The step of obtaining the propagation time of the peristaltic wave in the target area based on the peristaltic parameters at different positions in the target area that change with time includes: The peristaltic wave transit time is automatically analyzed according to the peristaltic parameters based on a machine learning algorithm.

10. The parameter measurement method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: Obtaining a plurality of transmission times of a plurality of peristaltic waves passing through the target area; An average delivery time of a plurality of the delivery times is determined, and outputting the delivery time further comprises outputting the average delivery time.

11. The parameter measurement method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: The number of peristalsis in the target area within a predetermined time is obtained based on the peristalsis parameters in the target area that change with time.

12. An ultrasonic measurement system, characterized in that: The ultrasonic measurement system includes an ultrasonic probe, a transmitting circuit, a receiving circuit, a memory, a processor and a display. The memory stores a computer program executed by the processor. When the computer program is executed by the processor, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 are performed.

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