Ultrasonic imaging device and parameter measurement method

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention provides an ultrasonic imaging device and a parameter measurement method. The method includes: emitting a first ultrasonic wave to a measured object through an ultrasonic probe to obtain first ultrasonic echo data carrying the tissue structure information of the liver and the kidney; generating an ultrasonic image including the liver tissue structure and the kidney tissue structure according to the first ultrasonic echo data and outputting it to a display interface of a display for display; determining a liver region of interest and a kidney region of interest according to the ultrasonic image, and determining the ratio of the sound attenuation coefficient of the liver to the sound attenuation coefficient of the kidney, that is, the liver-kidney attenuation ratio, according to the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the liver region of interest and the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the kidney region of interest, which can more accurately reflect the fat content in the liver.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of medical ultrasonic detection, and particularly relates to an ultrasonic imaging device and a parameter measurement method. Background Art

[0002] Fatty liver refers to a pathological change in which excessive fat accumulates in liver cells due to various reasons, and it is a common pathological change of the liver. A small amount of fat is contained in normal liver tissue, and its weight is about 3% - 5% of the liver weight. If the fat accumulation in the liver is excessive and exceeds 5% of the liver weight, it can be called fatty liver. In recent years, the incidence of fatty liver has been increasing continuously, and the age of onset is becoming younger and younger, and the clinical attention has been increasing day by day.

[0003] Currently, ultrasonic technology is often used in clinical practice for non-invasive examination of the liver to assist in the diagnosis of fatty liver. For example, existing ultrasonic imaging devices can, after obtaining an ultrasonic B image including the liver and the kidney, determine the liver-kidney echo ratio according to the brightness of the liver region and the kidney region on the ultrasonic B image for clinical diagnosis. However, since the brightness of the ultrasonic B image is affected by various image processing factors, and the size of the liver-kidney echo ratio is not only determined by the fat content of the liver, the accuracy of clinical diagnosis is affected. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Embodiments of the present invention provide an ultrasonic imaging device and a parameter measurement method for providing more accurate auxiliary information for the clinical diagnosis of fatty liver.

[0005] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a parameter measurement method, including:

[0006] Transmitting a first ultrasonic wave to a measured object through an ultrasonic probe and receiving the echo of the first ultrasonic wave to obtain first ultrasonic echo data carrying the tissue structure information of the liver and the kidney;

[0007] Generating an ultrasonic image including the liver tissue structure and the kidney tissue structure according to the first ultrasonic echo data and outputting it to a display interface of a display for display;

[0008] Determining a liver-kidney target region according to the ultrasonic image, where the liver-kidney target region includes a liver region of interest and a kidney region of interest;

[0009] Determining the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the liver region of interest and the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the kidney region of interest;

[0010] Determining a liver-kidney attenuation ratio according to the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the liver region of interest and the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the kidney region of interest, where the liver-kidney attenuation ratio is the ratio of the sound attenuation coefficient of the liver to the sound attenuation coefficient of the kidney;

[0011] Output the liver-kidney attenuation ratio.

[0012] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an ultrasonic imaging device, including:

[0013] An ultrasonic probe;

[0014] A transmitting circuit for exciting the ultrasonic probe to transmit a first ultrasonic wave to the object to be measured;

[0015] A receiving circuit for receiving the echo of the first ultrasonic wave through the ultrasonic probe to obtain first ultrasonic echo data;

[0016] A display for outputting visualization information;

[0017] A processor for executing the parameter measurement method described in any one of the first aspects.

[0018] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which computer-executable instructions are stored. When the computer-executable instructions are executed by a processor, they are used to implement the parameter measurement method described in any one of the first aspects.

[0019] The ultrasonic imaging device and the parameter measurement method provided by the embodiments of the present invention transmit a first ultrasonic wave to the object to be measured through the ultrasonic probe and receive the echo of the first ultrasonic wave to obtain first ultrasonic echo data carrying the tissue structure information of the liver and the kidney; generate an ultrasonic image including the liver tissue structure and the kidney tissue structure according to the first ultrasonic echo data and output it to the display interface of the display for display; determine the liver-kidney target area according to the ultrasonic image, and the liver-kidney target area includes the liver region of interest and the kidney region of interest; determine the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the liver region of interest and the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the kidney region of interest, and determine and output the ratio of the sound attenuation coefficient of the liver to the sound attenuation coefficient of the kidney according to the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the liver region of interest and the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the kidney region of interest, which can more accurately reflect the fat content in the liver and help provide more accurate auxiliary information for the clinical diagnosis of fatty liver. Description of the Drawings

[0020] Figure 1 It is a structural block diagram of an ultrasonic imaging device provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 It is a flowchart of a parameter measurement method provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of a display interface provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a display interface provided by another embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 5 A flowchart of a parameter measurement method provided by another embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a display interface provided by another embodiment of the present invention. Detailed implementation manners

[0026] The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings through specific implementation manners. Similar elements in different implementation manners are labeled with related similar element numbers. In the following implementation manners, many detailed descriptions are provided to enable a better understanding of the present application. However, those skilled in the art can easily recognize that some of the features can be omitted in different situations, or can be replaced by other elements, materials, or methods. In some cases, some operations related to the present application are not shown or described in the specification, which is to avoid the core part of the present application being overwhelmed by excessive descriptions. For those skilled in the art, it is not necessary to describe these related operations in detail, and they can fully understand the related operations based on the descriptions in the specification and the general technical knowledge in the art.

[0027] In addition, the features, operations, or characteristics described in the specification can be combined in any appropriate manner to form various implementation manners. At the same time, the steps or actions in the method description can also be reordered or adjusted in an obvious manner by those skilled in the art. Therefore, the various sequences in the specification and the drawings are only for clearly describing a certain embodiment and do not mean that they are the necessary sequences, unless it is stated that a certain sequence must be followed.

[0028] The serial numbers assigned to the components herein, such as "first", "second", etc., are only used to distinguish the described objects and do not have any sequential or technical meanings. And the "connection" and "coupling" mentioned in the present application, unless otherwise specified, both include direct and indirect connections (couplings).

[0029] As Figure 1 shown, the ultrasonic imaging device provided by the present invention may include: an ultrasonic probe 20, a transmitting / receiving circuit 30 (i.e., a transmitting circuit 310 and a receiving circuit 320), a beam synthesis module 40, an IQ demodulation module 50, a memory 60, a processor 70, and a human-machine interaction device. The processor 70 may include a control module 710 and an image processing module 720.

[0030] The ultrasonic probe 20 includes a transducer (not shown in the figure) composed of a plurality of arrayed elements. The plurality of elements are arranged in a row to form a linear array, or arranged in a two-dimensional matrix to form a planar array. The plurality of elements can also form a convex array. The elements are used to emit ultrasonic beams according to the excitation electrical signals, or convert the received ultrasonic beams into electrical signals. Therefore, each element can be used to realize the mutual conversion between electrical pulse signals and ultrasonic beams, so as to emit ultrasonic waves to the target area of the human tissue (for example, the target area including liver tissue structure and kidney tissue structure in this embodiment), and can also be used to receive the echoes of the ultrasonic waves reflected by the tissue. During ultrasonic detection, the transmitting circuit 310 and the receiving circuit 320 can be used to control which elements are used to emit ultrasonic beams, which elements are used to receive ultrasonic beams, or control the elements to be used to emit ultrasonic beams or receive the echoes of ultrasonic beams in time slots. The elements participating in ultrasonic emission can be simultaneously excited by electrical signals to emit ultrasonic waves simultaneously; or the elements participating in ultrasonic emission can also be excited by several electrical signals with a certain time interval to continuously emit ultrasonic waves with a certain time interval.

[0031] In this embodiment, the user moves the ultrasonic probe 20 to select a suitable position and angle to emit ultrasonic waves to the target area 10 including liver tissue structure and kidney tissue structure and receive the echoes of the ultrasonic waves returned by the target area 10, and obtains and outputs the electrical signals of the echoes. The electrical signals of the echoes are channel analog electrical signals formed by taking the receiving elements as channels, and carry amplitude information, frequency information and time information.

[0032] The transmitting circuit 310 is used to generate a transmission sequence according to the control of the control module 710 of the processor 70. The transmission sequence is used to control some or all of the plurality of elements to emit ultrasonic waves to the biological tissue. The transmission sequence parameters include the positions of the elements for transmission, the number of elements, and ultrasonic beam emission parameters (such as amplitude, frequency, number of transmissions, transmission interval, transmission angle, waveform, focusing position, etc.). In some cases, the transmitting circuit 310 is also used to perform phase delay on the transmitted beam, so that different transmitting elements emit ultrasonic waves at different times, so that the transmitted ultrasonic beams can be focused on a predetermined region of interest. For different working modes, such as B-image mode, C-image mode, and D-image mode (Doppler mode), the transmission sequence parameters may be different. After the echo signals are received by the receiving circuit 320 and processed by subsequent modules and corresponding algorithms, B-images reflecting tissue structures, C-images reflecting tissue structures and blood flow information, and D-images reflecting Doppler spectrum images can be generated.

[0033] The receiving circuit 320 is configured to receive the electrical signal of the ultrasonic echo from the ultrasonic probe 20 and process the electrical signal of the ultrasonic echo. The receiving circuit 320 may include one or more amplifiers, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), etc. The amplifier is used to amplify the received electrical signal of the ultrasonic echo after appropriate gain compensation, and the analog-to-digital converter is used to sample the analog echo signal at a predetermined time interval, so as to convert it into a digital signal. The digitized echo signal still retains amplitude information, frequency information and phase information. The data output by the receiving circuit 320 can be output to the beamforming module 40 for processing, or output to the memory 60 for storage.

[0034] The beamforming module 40 is signal-connected to the receiving circuit 320 and is configured to perform beamforming processing such as corresponding delay and weighted summation on the signal output by the receiving circuit 320. Since the distances from the ultrasonic receiving points in the tissue under test to the receiving array elements are different, therefore, the channel data of the same receiving point output by different receiving array elements have a delay difference and need to be delayed to align the phases, and the different channel data of the same receiving point are weighted and summed to obtain the ultrasonic image data after beamforming. The ultrasonic image data output by the beamforming module 40 is also called radio frequency data (RF data). The beamforming module 40 outputs the RF data to the IQ demodulation module 50. In some embodiments, the beamforming module 40 may also output the RF data to the memory 60 for caching or storage, or directly output the RF data to the image processing module 720 of the processor 70 for image processing.

[0035] The beamforming module 40 can perform the above functions in a hardware, firmware or software manner. For example, the beamforming module 40 may include a central controller circuit (CPU) capable of processing input data according to specific logic instructions, one or more microprocessing chips or any other electronic components. When the beamforming module 40 is implemented in software, it can execute the instructions stored on a tangible and non-transitory computer-readable medium (such as the memory 60) to perform beamforming calculations using any appropriate beamforming method.

[0036] The IQ demodulation module 50 removes the signal carrier through IQ demodulation, extracts the tissue structure information contained in the signal, and filters out the noise. The signal obtained at this time is called the baseband signal (IQ data pair). The IQ demodulation module 50 outputs the IQ data pair to the image processing module 720 of the processor 70 for image processing. In some embodiments, the IQ demodulation module 50 also outputs the IQ data pair to the memory 60 for caching or storage, so that the image processing module 720 can read the data from the memory 60 for subsequent image processing.

[0037] The processor 70 is used for a central controller circuit (CPU), one or more microprocessors, a graphics controller circuit (GPU), or any other electronic component configured to be able to process input data according to specific logical instructions. It can execute control over peripheral electronic components according to input instructions or predetermined instructions, or perform data reading and / or saving on the memory 60. It can also process input data by executing a program in the memory 60. For example, it can perform one or more processing operations on the acquired ultrasonic data according to one or more working modes. The processing operations include, but are not limited to, adjusting or defining the form of the ultrasonic waves emitted by the ultrasonic probe 20, generating various image frames for subsequent display on the display 80 of the human-computer interaction device, or adjusting or defining the content and form displayed on the display 80, or adjusting one or more image display settings (such as ultrasonic images, interface components, positioning regions of interest) displayed on the display 80.

[0038] The image processing module 720 is used to process the data output by the beam synthesis module 40 or the data output by the IQ demodulation module 50 to generate a grayscale image of the signal strength change within the scanning range. This grayscale image reflects the internal structure of the tissue and is called a B image. The image processing module 720 can output the B image to the display 80 of the human-computer interaction device for display.

[0039] The human-computer interaction device is used for human-computer interaction, that is, receiving user input and outputting visual information. The user input it receives can be through a keyboard, operation buttons, mouse, trackball, etc., or it can also be a touch screen integrated with the display. It outputs visual information using the display 80.

[0040] The memory 60 can be a tangible and non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a flash card, solid-state memory, hard disk, etc., for storing data or programs. For example, the memory 60 can be used to store the acquired ultrasonic data or the image frames generated by the processor 70 that are not immediately displayed. Or the memory 60 can store a graphical user interface, one or more default image display settings, and programming instructions for the processor, beam synthesis module, or IQ decoding module.

[0041] The ultrasonic imaging device and parameter measurement method provided by this application can be applicable to the human body and can also be applicable to various animals. That is, the so-called object to be measured can be the human body or various animals.

[0042] Please refer to Figure 2 , based on Figure 1 the ultrasonic imaging device shown, its parameter measurement method is as Figure 2 shown and can include the following steps:

[0043] Step 101: Transmit a first ultrasonic wave to the object to be measured through an ultrasonic probe, and receive the echo of the first ultrasonic wave to obtain first ultrasonic echo data carrying the tissue structure information of the liver and kidneys.

[0044] In this embodiment, when an ultrasonic examination of the liver is required, the corresponding transmission sequence can be output to the ultrasonic probe 20 through the transmission circuit 310. The ultrasonic probe 20 transmits a first ultrasonic wave to the object to be measured and receives the echo of the first ultrasonic wave returned by the object to be measured. Based on the received echo of the first ultrasonic wave, a first ultrasonic echo signal is output. The first ultrasonic echo signal carries the tissue structure information of the liver and kidneys. Then, the receiving circuit 320 receives the first ultrasonic echo signal output by the ultrasonic probe 20 and generates first ultrasonic echo data.

[0045] To simplify the operation of the user, this embodiment also provides a liver examination mode for performing an ultrasonic examination of the liver. When the user needs to perform an ultrasonic examination of the liver, the user only needs to switch to the liver examination mode through the man-machine interaction device of the ultrasonic imaging device. At this time, the transmission circuit 310 will use the transmission sequence corresponding to the liver examination mode to excite the ultrasonic probe 20. The user only needs to adjust the angle at which the ultrasonic probe 20 is placed on the object to be measured to obtain first ultrasonic echo data carrying the tissue structure information of the liver and kidneys.

[0046] Step 102: Generate an ultrasonic image including the liver tissue structure and the kidney tissue structure according to the first ultrasonic echo data, and output it to the display interface of the display for display.

[0047] In this embodiment, after the first ultrasonic echo data carrying the tissue structure information of the liver and kidneys is obtained, the image processing module 720 can process the first ultrasonic echo data, such as magnification, analog-to-digital conversion ADC, beam synthesis, image processing, etc. Finally, a visual ultrasonic image for displaying the liver tissue structure and the kidney tissue structure is generated, and the generated ultrasonic image is output to the display for real-time display, so that the user can observe the ultrasonic image in real time and adjust the examination range, the angle of the probe placement, etc. as needed.

[0048] The ultrasonic image in this embodiment can be a B-image, a C-image, or an image with B and C superimposed, which can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or four-dimensional. Among them, the B-image mainly reflects the organizational structure and is usually represented by gray scale or can also be represented by pseudo-color. Through the B-image, the tissue condition can be viewed, such as whether there is a lesion in the tissue or the position of blood vessels. The C-image is mainly a color image reflecting blood flow, and the blood flow can be viewed through the C-image. The image with B and C superimposed is an image synthesized after strictly corresponding the tissue in the B-image and the blood flow in the C-image in the physical position. For example, when the blood flow is just inside the blood vessel area, the position of the blood vessel can be determined through the image with B and C superimposed. The field of view of the ultrasonic image can be of various shapes according to the shape of the ultrasonic probe. For example, a linear array probe corresponds to a rectangular image, a convex array probe corresponds to a convex image, and a phased array probe corresponds to a fan-shaped image, etc.

[0049] Step 103: Determine the liver-kidney target area according to the ultrasonic image. The liver-kidney target area includes the liver region of interest and the kidney region of interest.

[0050] In this embodiment, after generating the ultrasonic image, the liver-kidney target area can be determined according to the ultrasonic image. The liver-kidney target area in this embodiment is a dual region of interest (ROI), and the shape, size, and position of the ROI can be adjusted. One ROI is placed in the liver region, and the other ROI is placed in the kidney region, that is, the liver-kidney target area includes the liver region of interest and the kidney region of interest.

[0051] In an optional implementation manner, determining the liver-kidney target area according to the ultrasonic image may include: detecting the user's operation on the ultrasonic image; and determining the liver-kidney target area according to the user's operation.

[0052] In this embodiment, the user is allowed to select the liver-kidney target area on the ultrasonic image through the region of interest identifier. The region of interest identifier can be in shapes such as rectangle, circle, ellipse, fan, etc. For example, when the ultrasonic image is displayed on the display interface, two editable selection boxes can be simultaneously displayed on the ultrasonic image, one for identifying the liver region of interest and the other for identifying the kidney region of interest. For easy distinction, the two editable selection boxes can be displayed in different colors or different line types. The user can adjust the height, width, and position of the selection box through a mouse, touch screen, etc. The area within the selection box 301 is the region of interest. When the user completes the adjustment of the size and position of the two selection boxes, the liver-kidney target area is determined. Optionally, the user can also directly trace the liver region of interest and the kidney region of interest on the ultrasonic image in a manual tracing manner through an input device such as a mouse or a touch screen, so as to determine the liver-kidney target area.

[0053] In this embodiment, the liver and kidney target regions can also be determined from the ultrasound image based on methods such as target recognition, target detection, and target segmentation.

[0054] In another alternative embodiment, determining the liver and kidney target regions from the ultrasound image may include: inputting the ultrasound image into a pre-trained region of interest detection model to determine the liver and kidney target regions according to the region of interest detection model, where the region of interest detection model is trained based on sample ultrasound images annotated with the liver region of interest and / or the kidney region of interest. Among them, the region of interest detection model can adopt a neural network architecture, take the ultrasound image as the input, and take the position information of the liver region of interest and the kidney region of interest as the output, and use the ultrasound images collected clinically and annotated with the liver region of interest and / or the kidney region of interest to construct a training sample set to train the region of interest detection model.

[0055] Please refer to Figure 3 As shown, after determining the liver and kidney target regions, the liver and kidney target regions can also be marked in the ultrasound image displayed on the display interface, enabling the user to conveniently and intuitively view the liver region of interest and the kidney region of interest. As Figure 3 shown, the selected box on the left in the figure is used to mark the liver region of interest, and the selected box on the right is used to mark the kidney region of interest.

[0056] Step 104: Determine the depth range and the echo intensities of the upper and lower edges of the liver region of interest and the depth range and the echo intensities of the upper and lower edges of the kidney region of interest. In this embodiment, after determining the liver and kidney target regions, the depth range and the echo intensities of the upper and lower edges of the liver region of interest and the kidney region of interest can be determined respectively. In this embodiment, the echo intensities of the upper and lower edges can be determined according to either the ultrasonic echo data or the ultrasonic image data. In an alternative embodiment, the echo intensities of the upper and lower edges of the liver region of interest and the kidney region of interest can be determined according to the first ultrasonic echo data, such as by determining according to the intensity of the echo signal in the first ultrasonic echo data; in another alternative embodiment, the echo intensities of the upper and lower edges of the liver region of interest and the kidney region of interest can also be determined based on the ultrasonic image, such as by determining according to the gray value of the ultrasonic image.

[0057] In this embodiment, the depth range of the liver region of interest and the depth range of the kidney region of interest can be determined based on the ultrasound image or based on the ultrasound echo data. Among them, the depth range of the liver region of interest can be, for example, the depth difference between the upper and lower edges of the liver region of interest; the depth range of the kidney region of interest can be, for example, the depth difference between the upper and lower edges of the kidney region of interest. The upper and lower edges in this application can be understood as the upper edge and the lower edge of the region of interest. The upper edge can be understood as the boundary of the region of interest close to the near field end, and the lower edge can be understood as the boundary of the region of interest close to the far field end.

[0058] Step 105: Determine the liver-kidney attenuation ratio according to the depth range and the echo intensities of the upper and lower edges of the liver region of interest and the depth range and the echo intensities of the upper and lower edges of the kidney region of interest. The liver-kidney attenuation ratio is the ratio of the acoustic attenuation coefficient of the liver to the acoustic attenuation coefficient of the kidney.

[0059] When the fat content in the liver changes, it will cause a change in the acoustic attenuation coefficient of the liver, while the acoustic attenuation coefficient of the kidney will not change in this case. Therefore, the fat content in the liver can be reflected by the ratio of the acoustic attenuation coefficient of the liver to the acoustic attenuation coefficient of the kidney.

[0060] In an alternative implementation, the acoustic attenuation coefficient of the liver can be determined according to the depth range and the echo intensities of the upper and lower edges of the liver region of interest; the acoustic attenuation coefficient of the kidney can be determined according to the depth range and the echo intensities of the upper and lower edges of the kidney region of interest. Calculate the liver-kidney attenuation ratio according to the acoustic attenuation coefficient of the liver and the acoustic attenuation coefficient of the kidney.

[0061] Step 106: Output the liver-kidney attenuation ratio.

[0062] In this embodiment, after determining the liver-kidney attenuation ratio, the liver-kidney attenuation ratio can also be output so that the user can timely obtain the auxiliary information for diagnosing fatty liver. For example, the liver-kidney attenuation ratio can be displayed on the display interface of the display, and / or the liver-kidney attenuation ratio can be output through audio information. Please refer to Figure 4 , and display the value of the liver-kidney attenuation ratio in the form of text. Further, while displaying, the liver-kidney attenuation ratio can also be broadcast by voice.

[0063] The parameter measurement method provided in this embodiment emits a first ultrasonic wave to the object to be measured through an ultrasonic probe, and receives the echo of the first ultrasonic wave to obtain first ultrasonic echo data carrying the tissue structure information of the liver and the kidney; generates an ultrasonic image including the liver tissue structure and the kidney tissue structure according to the first ultrasonic echo data, and outputs it to the display interface of the display for display; determines the liver-kidney target region according to the ultrasonic image, and the liver-kidney target region includes the liver region of interest and the kidney region of interest; determines the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the liver region of interest and the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the kidney region of interest, and determines and outputs the ratio of the sound attenuation coefficient of the liver to the sound attenuation coefficient of the kidney according to the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the liver region of interest and the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the kidney region of interest, which can more accurately reflect the fat content in the liver and help provide more accurate auxiliary information for the clinical diagnosis of fatty liver.

[0064] If the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the liver region of interest and the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the kidney region of interest are determined according to the first ultrasonic echo data, the signal quality cannot be readjusted as needed. And the first ultrasonic echo data is mainly used to generate ultrasonic images. It can be understood that in order to make the ultrasonic image display uniformly and improve the display effect of the ultrasonic image, different multiples of signal amplification need to be performed on the ultrasonic echo signals in different regions. For example, increasing the signal amplification multiple in the weak echo region will cause deviation in the liver-kidney attenuation ratio.

[0065] If the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the liver region of interest and the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the kidney region of interest are determined according to the ultrasonic image, the image gray information may be distorted due to the influence of the image processing link. For example, when using a non-linear curve mapping relationship to map the echo signal to gray, it may cause distortion of the liver-kidney attenuation ratio. In addition, since the image gray information loses the phase information and the amplitude is only distributed in the range of 0 to 255, the dynamic range is insufficient, which may lead to a decrease in the accuracy of the liver-kidney attenuation ratio.

[0066] Therefore, on the basis of the above embodiments, in order to improve the accuracy of the liver-kidney attenuation ratio, in the parameter measurement method provided in this embodiment, determining the depth range and the echo intensities of the upper and lower edges of the liver region of interest and the depth range and the echo intensities of the upper and lower edges of the kidney region of interest may include: exciting an ultrasonic probe to emit a second ultrasonic wave towards the liver-kidney target region; receiving the echo of the second ultrasonic wave through the ultrasonic probe to obtain second ultrasonic echo data of the liver-kidney target region; and determining the depth range and the echo intensities of the upper and lower edges of the liver region of interest and the depth range and the echo intensities of the upper and lower edges of the kidney region of interest according to the second ultrasonic echo data of the liver-kidney target region. In this embodiment, when the second ultrasonic wave is directionally emitted towards the liver-kidney target region, the signal quality of the second ultrasonic wave can be adjusted as needed, so that the signal-to-noise ratio of the echo signals in the liver region of interest and the kidney region of interest is higher and the energy is stronger, in order to improve the accuracy of the liver-kidney attenuation ratio.

[0067] Among them, the second ultrasonic wave needs to satisfy at least one of the following conditions:

[0068] The emission frequency point of the second ultrasonic wave is lower than that of the first ultrasonic wave, so that the second ultrasonic wave has stronger penetration to penetrate through the liver-kidney target region to obtain accurate ultrasonic data;

[0069] The emission voltage of the second ultrasonic wave is higher than that of the first ultrasonic wave, so that the second ultrasonic wave has stronger energy, so as to retain a more real ultrasonic echo attenuation trend in the liver-kidney target region;

[0070] The emission waveform length of the second ultrasonic wave is greater than that of the first ultrasonic wave, so that the second ultrasonic wave has stronger penetration to penetrate through the liver-kidney target region to obtain accurate ultrasonic data;

[0071] The emission focusing intensity of the second ultrasonic wave is greater than that of the first ultrasonic wave, so that the second ultrasonic wave can be better focused on the liver-kidney target region;

[0072] No signal amplification processing is performed on the second ultrasonic echo data corresponding to the second ultrasonic wave, or the magnification multiple of the signal amplification of the second ultrasonic echo data corresponding to the second ultrasonic wave is different from that of the first ultrasonic echo data; for example, no signal amplification processing is performed on the ultrasonic echo data corresponding to the liver region of interest and the kidney region of interest, or the same magnification multiple is performed, so as to retain a more real ultrasonic echo attenuation trend in the liver-kidney target region;

[0073] The line density and / or the dot density of receiving the echo of the second ultrasonic wave is greater than the line density of receiving the echo of the first ultrasonic wave, so as to obtain more echo data in the determined liver region of interest and kidney region of interest.

[0074] Based on any of the above embodiments, this embodiment provides a simple method for calculating the liver-kidney attenuation ratio, which is suitable for use on hardware platforms with different levels of complexity. In the parameter measurement method provided in this embodiment, it is possible to

[0075] determine the liver-kidney attenuation ratio according to the following expression:

[0076]

[0077] where LKAttR represents the liver-kidney attenuation ratio, ID1 represents the echo intensity of the lower edge of the liver region of interest, IU1 represents the echo intensity of the upper edge of the liver region of interest, ID0 represents the echo intensity of the lower edge of the kidney region of interest, IU0 represents the echo intensity of the upper edge of the kidney region of interest, depth0 represents the depth range of the kidney region of interest, and depth1 represents the depth range of the liver region of interest.

[0078] After determining the liver-kidney target regions, it is possible to obtain the depth range depth1 of the liver region of interest and the depth range depth0 of the kidney region of interest. Taking Figure 3 as an example, depth1 can be determined based on the upper and lower edges of the liver ROI, and depth0 can be determined based on the upper and lower edges of the kidney ROI. The echo intensities of the upper and lower edges of the liver ROI are IU1 and ID1 (unit: dB) respectively, and the echo intensities of the upper and lower edges of the kidney ROI are IU0 and ID0 (unit: dB) respectively. The acoustic attenuation coefficient of the liver is α1, and the acoustic attenuation coefficient of the kidney is α0. It should be noted that if the ultrasonic data of the liver-kidney target regions is obtained based on the first ultrasonic echo data, the echo intensity can be determined according to the intensity of the first ultrasonic echo signal; if the ultrasonic data of the liver-kidney target regions is obtained based on the second ultrasonic echo data, the echo intensity can be determined according to the intensity of the second ultrasonic echo signal; if the ultrasonic data of the liver-kidney target regions is obtained based on the image gray information of the ultrasonic image, the echo intensity can be determined according to the gray scale amplitude.

[0079] According to the propagation law of ultrasonic waves in the liver ROI, it can be known that: ID1 - IU1 = 2 * depth1 * α1;

[0080] According to the propagation law of ultrasonic waves in the kidney ROI, it can be known that: ID0 - IU0 = 2 * depth0 * α0;

[0081] Therefore, the liver-kidney attenuation ratio

[0082] In the parameter measurement method provided in this embodiment, according to the echo intensities of the upper and lower edges of the liver ROI and the kidney ROI, as well as the depth ranges of the liver ROI and the kidney ROI, the liver-kidney attenuation ratio can be determined. The calculation is simple, and using the ratio method can eliminate the influence of noise interference and can more accurately reflect the fat content in the liver.

[0083] Table 1

[0084] Liver-kidney attenuation ratio LKAttR Liver fat content range <![CDATA[(r1, r2)]]> A <![CDATA[(r3, r4)]]> B <![CDATA[(r5, r6)]]> C

[0085] It can be understood that after determining and outputting the liver-kidney attenuation ratio, medical staff can timely and accurately master the degree of fat content in the patient's liver according to the determined liver-kidney attenuation ratio and clinical experience, providing auxiliary information for the clinical diagnosis of fatty liver. On the basis of the above embodiment, in order to further reduce the requirements for medical staff's clinical knowledge and reduce the influence of personal subjective factors, a corresponding relationship between the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and the liver fat content range can also be pre-established according to clinical data, that is, a first preset corresponding relationship is established. Table 1 shows the first preset corresponding relationship provided in an embodiment, and r1, r2,..., r6 are values greater than 0. As shown in Table 1, when r1 < LKAttR < r2, the corresponding liver fat content range is A. The first preset corresponding relationship can be a quantitative corresponding relationship. For example, A, B, and C can be specific numerical values or numerical ranges; the first preset corresponding relationship can also be a qualitative corresponding relationship. For example, A, B, and C can be respectively low, moderate, and high liver fat content.

[0086] On the basis of any of the above embodiments, the parameter measurement method provided in this embodiment may further include: determining the liver fat content range according to the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and the first preset corresponding relationship, where the first preset corresponding relationship is the corresponding relationship between the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and the liver fat content range; visually displaying the liver fat content range on the display interface of the display. For example, the fat content range in the liver can be visually displayed by at least one of color, pattern, and text, so that users can intuitively and conveniently obtain the fat content range in the liver. For example, the numerical value representing the liver fat content range can be directly displayed on the display interface, and a red exclamation mark can also be displayed on the display interface to indicate that the liver fat content is high.

[0087] In order to obtain more comprehensive quantitative information about the liver fat content, on the basis of any of the above embodiments, the parameter measurement method provided in this embodiment may further include: determining the liver-kidney echo ratio, where the liver-kidney echo ratio is the ratio of the average echo intensity of the liver region of interest to the average echo intensity of the kidney region of interest, and outputting the liver-kidney echo ratio.

[0088] For example, the liver-kidney echo ratio can be determined according to the following expression:

[0089]

[0090] Among them, LKIntR represents the liver-kidney echo ratio, Mag1 represents the average echo intensity of the region of interest in the liver, and Mag0 represents the average echo intensity of the region of interest in the kidney.

[0091] Please refer to Figure 5 , based on Figure 1 the ultrasonic imaging device shown, on the basis of the parameter measurement method shown in Figure 2 , in order to obtain more comprehensive quantitative information, calculate the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and the liver-kidney echo ratio respectively, and output the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and the liver-kidney echo ratio simultaneously, so as to provide more accurate and more comprehensive auxiliary information for the clinical diagnosis of fatty liver. As Figure 5 shown, the parameter measurement method provided in this embodiment may include:

[0092] Step 201: Transmit a first ultrasonic wave to the object to be measured through an ultrasonic probe, and receive the echo of the first ultrasonic wave to obtain first ultrasonic echo data carrying the tissue structure information of the liver and the kidney.

[0093] Step 202: Generate an ultrasonic image including the liver tissue structure and the kidney tissue structure according to the first ultrasonic echo data, and output it to the display interface of the display for display.

[0094] Step 203: Determine the liver-kidney target region according to the ultrasonic image, and the liver-kidney target region includes the region of interest in the liver and the region of interest in the kidney.

[0095] Step 204: Determine the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the region of interest in the liver and the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the region of interest in the kidney.

[0096] Step 205: Determine the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and the liver-kidney echo ratio. The liver-kidney attenuation ratio is the ratio of the sound attenuation coefficient of the liver to the sound attenuation coefficient of the kidney, and the liver-kidney echo ratio is the ratio of the average echo intensity of the region of interest in the liver to the average echo intensity of the region of interest in the kidney.

[0097] Step 206: Output the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and the liver-kidney echo ratio.

[0098] In this embodiment, after determining the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and the liver-kidney echo ratio, the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and the liver-kidney echo ratio can also be respectively displayed on the display interface of the display in at least one of the ways of text, chart and color, and / or the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and the liver-kidney echo ratio are output through audio information. Please refer to Figure 6 , and the numerical values of the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and the liver-kidney echo ratio can be displayed in the form of text.

[0099] For the specific implementation manners of the above steps, reference may be made to the above embodiments, which will not be elaborated herein.

[0100] The parameter measurement method provided in this embodiment respectively determines the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and the liver-kidney echo ratio. By combining the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and the liver-kidney echo ratio, more comprehensive quantitative information can be obtained, which can more accurately and comprehensively reflect the fat content in the liver and help provide more accurate and comprehensive auxiliary information for the clinical diagnosis of fatty liver.

[0101] After determining the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and the liver-kidney echo ratio, the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and the liver-kidney echo ratio can be combined, and the liver fat content range can be jointly determined according to the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and the liver-kidney echo ratio.

[0102] In an alternative implementation manner, the liver-kidney ratio (LK) can be calculated according to the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and the liver-kidney echo ratio. The liver-kidney ratio (LK) is the weighted average of the liver-kidney attenuation ratio (LKAttR) and the liver-kidney echo ratio (LKIntR), that is, LK = ratio * LKAttR + (1 - ratio)LKIntR, where ratio is the weighting coefficient and ratio ∈ [0, 1]. Then, the liver fat content range is determined according to the liver-kidney ratio.

[0103] Table 2

[0104] Liver-kidney attenuation ratio LKAttR and liver-kidney echo ratio LKIntR Liver fat content score a1 < LKAttR < a2 and b1 < LKIntR < b2 1 a3 < LKAttR < a4 and b3 < LKIntR < b4 2 a5 < LKAttR < a6 and b5 < LKIntR < b6 3 a7 < LKAttR < a8 and b7 < LKIntR < b8 4

[0105] In another alternative implementation manner, a corresponding relationship between the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and the liver-kidney echo ratio and the liver fat content range can be established according to clinical data, that is, a second preset corresponding relationship is established in advance, and then the liver fat content range is determined according to the liver-kidney attenuation ratio, the liver-kidney echo ratio, and the second preset corresponding relationship. The liver fat content range can also be visually displayed on the display interface of the display. Table 2 shows the second preset corresponding relationship provided in an embodiment, and a1 - a8 and b1 - b8 are values greater than 0. As shown in Table 2, in this embodiment, the liver fat content range is represented by the liver fat content score, and the higher the score, the higher the fat content in the liver.

[0106] This article is described with reference to various exemplary embodiments. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that changes and modifications can be made to the exemplary embodiments without departing from the scope of this article. For example, various operation steps and the components used to perform the operation steps can be implemented in different ways according to a specific application or considering any number of cost functions associated with the operation of the system (e.g., one or more steps can be deleted, modified, or combined into other steps).

[0107] In addition, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, the principles herein can be embodied in a computer program product on a computer-readable storage medium preloaded with computer-readable program code. Any tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage medium can be used, including magnetic storage devices (hard disks, floppy disks, etc.), optical storage devices (CD-ROMs, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), flash memory, and / or the like. These computer program instructions can be loaded onto a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing devices to form a machine, such that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus can generate a device for implementing the specified functions. These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable memory, which can direct the computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory can form a manufactured article, including an implementation device for implementing the specified functions. The computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device, thereby performing a series of operational steps on the computer or other programmable device to generate a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device can provide steps for implementing the specified functions.

[0108] While the principles herein have been shown in various embodiments, many modifications of structure, arrangement, proportions, elements, materials, and components, which are particularly adapted to specific environments and operational requirements, may be used without departing from the principles and scope of this disclosure. The above modifications and other changes or revisions will be included within the scope of this disclosure.

[0109] The foregoing detailed description has been described with reference to various embodiments. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Accordingly, the contemplation of this disclosure is in an illustrative rather than a limiting sense, and all such modifications will be included within its scope. Similarly, the advantages, other advantages, and solutions to problems of the various embodiments have been described above. However, benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any elements that can produce these, or solutions that make them more apparent, should not be construed as critical, essential, or necessary. As used herein, the term "comprising" and any other variants thereof are non-exclusive inclusions, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that includes a list of elements not only includes those elements, but also includes other elements not expressly listed or belonging to the process, method, system, article, or apparatus. In addition, as used herein, the term "coupled" and any other variants thereof refer to physical connection, electrical connection, magnetic connection, optical connection, communication connection, functional connection, and / or any other connection.

[0110] The above uses specific examples to illustrate the present invention, which is only used to help understand the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. For those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains, based on the idea of the present invention, several simple deductions, deformations or substitutions can also be made.

Claims

1. A parameter measurement method, characterized in that, Including: Emitting a first ultrasonic wave to the object to be measured through an ultrasonic probe, and receiving the echo of the first ultrasonic wave to obtain first ultrasonic echo data carrying tissue structure information of the liver and the kidney; Generating an ultrasonic image including the liver tissue structure and the kidney tissue structure according to the first ultrasonic echo data, and outputting it to a display interface of a display for display; Determining a liver-kidney target region according to the ultrasonic image, where the liver-kidney target region includes a liver region of interest and a kidney region of interest; Determining the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the liver region of interest and the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the kidney region of interest; Determining a liver-kidney attenuation ratio according to the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the liver region of interest and the depth range and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the kidney region of interest, where the liver-kidney attenuation ratio is the ratio of the acoustic attenuation coefficient of the liver to the acoustic attenuation coefficient of the kidney; Outputting the liver-kidney attenuation ratio.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The determining the liver-kidney target region according to the ultrasonic image includes: Detecting the operation of the user on the ultrasonic image; Determining the liver-kidney target region according to the operation of the user.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The determining the liver-kidney target region according to the ultrasonic image includes: Inputting the ultrasonic image into a pre-trained region of interest detection model to determine the liver-kidney target region according to the region of interest detection model, where the region of interest detection model is trained based on sample ultrasonic images annotated with the liver region of interest and / or the kidney region of interest.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The determining the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the liver region of interest and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the kidney region of interest includes: Exciting the ultrasonic probe to emit a second ultrasonic wave to the liver-kidney target region; Receiving the echo of the second ultrasonic wave through the ultrasonic probe to obtain second ultrasonic echo data of the liver-kidney target region; Determining the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the liver region of interest and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the kidney region of interest according to the second ultrasonic echo data of the liver-kidney target region.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein The second ultrasonic wave satisfies at least one of the following conditions: The emission frequency point of the second ultrasonic wave is lower than the emission frequency point of the first ultrasonic wave; The emission voltage of the second ultrasonic wave is higher than the emission voltage of the first ultrasonic wave; The emission waveform length of the second ultrasonic wave is greater than the emission waveform length of the first ultrasonic wave; The emission focusing intensity of the second ultrasonic wave is greater than the emission focusing intensity of the first ultrasonic wave; No signal amplification processing is performed on the second ultrasonic echo data corresponding to the second ultrasonic wave or the signal amplification multiple of the second ultrasonic echo data corresponding to the second ultrasonic wave is different from that of the first ultrasonic echo data; The line density of receiving the echo of the second ultrasonic wave is greater than the line density of receiving the echo of the first ultrasonic wave; The point density of receiving the echo of the second ultrasonic wave is greater than the point density of receiving the echo of the first ultrasonic wave.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The determining the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the liver region of interest and the upper and lower edge echo intensities of the kidney region of interest includes: Determine the echo intensities of the upper and lower edges of the liver region of interest and the echo intensities of the upper and lower edges of the kidney region of interest based on the first ultrasonic echo data or based on the ultrasonic image.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The output of the liver-kidney attenuation ratio includes: Display the liver-kidney attenuation ratio on the display interface of the display, and / or output the liver-kidney attenuation ratio through audio information.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The method further includes: Determine the liver fat content range according to the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and a first preset correspondence relationship, where the first preset correspondence relationship is the correspondence relationship between the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and the liver fat content range; Visually display the liver fat content range on the display interface of the display.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein The visually displaying the liver fat content range on the display interface of the display includes: Visually display the fat content range in the liver by at least one of color, pattern, and text.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The method further includes: Determine the liver-kidney echo ratio, where the liver-kidney echo ratio is the ratio of the average echo intensity of the liver region of interest to the average echo intensity of the kidney region of interest; Output the liver-kidney echo ratio.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein The method further includes: Determine the liver fat content range according to the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and the liver-kidney echo ratio.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The determining the liver fat content range according to the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and the liver-kidney echo ratio includes: Calculate the liver-kidney ratio, where the liver-kidney ratio is the weighted average of the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and the liver-kidney echo ratio; Determine the liver fat content range according to the liver-kidney ratio.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein The determining the liver fat content range according to the liver-kidney attenuation ratio and the liver-kidney echo ratio includes: Determine the liver fat content range according to the liver-kidney attenuation ratio, the liver-kidney echo ratio, and a second preset correspondence relationship, where the second preset correspondence relationship is the correspondence relationship between the liver-kidney attenuation ratio, the liver-kidney echo ratio, and the liver fat content range.

14. An ultrasonic imaging device, characterized in that, Comprising: An ultrasonic probe; A transmitting circuit for exciting the ultrasonic probe to transmit a first ultrasonic wave to the object to be measured; A receiving circuit for receiving the echo of the first ultrasonic wave through the ultrasonic probe to obtain first ultrasonic echo data; A display for outputting visual information; A processor for executing the parameter measurement method according to any one of claims 1-13.

15. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions, which are used to implement the parameter measurement method according to any one of claims 1-13 when executed by the processor.

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