Software beamforming method, device, ultrasonic imaging device and storage medium

Abstract

The present application relates to a software beamforming method, device, ultrasonic imaging equipment and storage medium, the method comprising: obtaining the echo signal returned by the imaging point through an ultrasonic probe; determining the position information of the auxiliary imaging point in the direction of the receiving sound beam axis for the imaging point; calculating the echo signal returned by the imaging point and the position information of the auxiliary imaging point for the auxiliary imaging point to obtain the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point; obtaining the imaging information of the imaging point according to the echo signal of the imaging point and the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point. The method increases the data volume of the echo signal after beamforming by increasing the auxiliary imaging point, thereby making full use of all the energy in the sampling volume of the ultrasonic transmission pulse, thereby achieving the effect of improving the image signal-to-noise ratio.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of medical image processing technology, and in particular to a software beamforming method, apparatus, ultrasonic imaging equipment, storage medium and computer program product. Background Art

[0002] Ultrasonic imaging technology has been widely used in clinical diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular, abdominal organs, and obstetrics and gynecology due to its safety and real-time characteristics. During ultrasound imaging, after sending pulsed sound waves to the target tissue through the ultrasound probe, the pulse echo refracted, reflected, and scattered by the target tissue is received and converted into an echo signal. Due to the scattering effect of sound waves, the echo signal needs to be beamformed (also called beamforming) to focus the echo signals returned from the target tissue through each channel and suppress the interference of sidelobe signals in the non-source direction. The final signal can be used for imaging.

[0003] Currently, commonly used beamforming methods include the delay and sum (DAS) algorithm and the minimum variance (MV) beamforming algorithm. These methods can improve the contrast or image resolution after imaging, but the image signal-to-noise ratio is still not high enough. Summary of the invention

[0004] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a software beamforming method, device, ultrasonic imaging equipment, computer-readable storage medium and computer program product to address the above technical problems.

[0005] In a first aspect, the present application provides a software beamforming method. The method comprises:

[0006] Acquire the echo signal returned by the imaging point through the ultrasonic probe;

[0007] For the point to be imaged, determining position information of an auxiliary imaging point in the direction of the axis of the receiving acoustic beam;

[0008] For the auxiliary imaging point, calculation is performed based on the echo signal returned by the point to be imaged and the position information of the auxiliary imaging point to obtain the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point;

[0009] Imaging information of the point to be imaged is obtained according to the echo signal of the point to be imaged and the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point.

[0010] In one embodiment, the number of the auxiliary imaging points is multiple; the imaging information includes pixel values; and obtaining the imaging information of the point to be imaged according to the echo signal of the point to be imaged and the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point includes:

[0011] Performing statistical processing on the echo signal intensity of the imaging point and the echo synthesis signal intensity of the plurality of auxiliary imaging points to obtain a statistical value; the statistical value includes an average value or a median value;

[0012] The statistical value is converted into the pixel value of the point to be imaged.

[0013] In one of the embodiments, the auxiliary imaging points are distributed on both sides of the axis direction of the receiving acoustic beam, and the number of the auxiliary imaging points on both sides of the axis direction of the receiving acoustic beam is the same.

[0014] In one embodiment, the imaging information further includes speed; and obtaining the imaging information of the point to be imaged according to the echo signal of the point to be imaged and the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point includes:

[0015] Performing time domain transformation on the echo signals of the plurality of auxiliary imaging points within a preset time period to obtain a synthetic signal;

[0016] The velocity of the point to be imaged is obtained according to the phase of the synthetic signal and the central frequency of the ultrasonic echo.

[0017] In one embodiment, the number of the auxiliary pixel point is one; the imaging information includes a pixel value; and obtaining the imaging information of the point to be imaged according to the echo signal of the point to be imaged and the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point includes:

[0018] The echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point is converted into the pixel value of the point to be imaged.

[0019] In one embodiment, the step of acquiring an echo signal returned by the imaging point through an ultrasonic probe includes:

[0020] Acquiring a channel signal returned by the point to be imaged through the ultrasonic probe;

[0021] The channel signal is sequentially subjected to analog / digital conversion, downsampling, and demodulation filtering to obtain the echo signal.

[0022] In one embodiment, the method further comprises:

[0023] The echo signal is transmitted to a processor using a remote direct data access protocol.

[0024] In one embodiment, determining the position information of the auxiliary imaging point of the to-be-imaged point in the direction of the axis of the received acoustic beam includes:

[0025] Determining the spacing between the imaging points according to the ultrasonic velocity and the sampling rate of analog / digital conversion;

[0026] The position information of the auxiliary imaging point is determined according to the angle between the axis direction of the receiving sound beam and the vertical direction and the spacing.

[0027] In a second aspect, the present application also provides a software beamforming device. The device comprises:

[0028] An imaging point echo signal acquisition module is used to acquire the echo signal returned by the imaging point through an ultrasonic probe;

[0029] A position information determination module, used to determine the position information of the auxiliary imaging point in the direction of the axis of the receiving sound beam for the point to be imaged;

[0030] An auxiliary imaging point echo signal acquisition module, used to calculate the auxiliary imaging point based on the echo signal returned by the point to be imaged and the position information of the auxiliary imaging point to obtain the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point;

[0031] The imaging information calculation module is used to obtain the imaging information of the point to be imaged according to the echo signal of the point to be imaged and the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point.

[0032] In a third aspect, the present application also provides an ultrasound imaging device, including an ultrasound probe and an ultrasound host, the ultrasound host including a memory and a processor, the memory storing a computer program, and the processor implementing the steps in the above-mentioned software beamforming method embodiment when executing the computer program.

[0033] In a fourth aspect, the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, each step in the above software beamforming method embodiment is implemented.

[0034] In a fifth aspect, the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, each step in the software beamforming method embodiment is implemented.

[0035] The above-mentioned software beamforming method, device, ultrasonic imaging equipment, storage medium and computer program product obtain the echo signal returned by the point to be imaged through the ultrasonic probe; for the point to be imaged, determine the position information of the auxiliary imaging point in the direction of the axis of the receiving sound beam; for the auxiliary imaging point, calculate based on the echo signal returned by the point to be imaged and the position information of the auxiliary imaging point to obtain the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point; obtain the imaging information of the point to be imaged based on the echo signal of the point to be imaged and the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point. This application increases the data volume of the echo signal after beamforming by adding auxiliary imaging points, thereby making full use of all the energy in the sampling volume of the ultrasonic transmission pulse to achieve the effect of improving the image signal-to-noise ratio. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] Figure 1 is an application environment diagram of a software beamforming method in an embodiment;

[0037] Figure 2 is a schematic flow chart of a software beamforming method in one embodiment;

[0038] FIG3( a ) is a schematic diagram of a point to be imaged in a software beamforming method in one embodiment;

[0039] FIG3( b ) is a schematic diagram of auxiliary imaging point interpolation in a software beamforming method in one embodiment;

[0040] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a velocity calculation flow of a point to be imaged in a software beamforming method in one embodiment;

[0041] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a demodulation process of an echo signal in one embodiment;

[0042] Figure 6 is an internal structural diagram of an ultrasonic imaging device in one embodiment;

[0043] Figure 7 is an internal structural diagram of an ultrasonic imaging device in another embodiment;

[0044] Figure 8 FIG. 4 is a structural block diagram of a software beamforming device in an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present application more clearly understood, the present application is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application and are not used to limit the present application.

[0046] The software beamforming method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to Figure 1In the application environment shown, the ultrasound probe 101 communicates with the ultrasound host 102 through a communication network. The ultrasound host includes a data storage system, which can store data that the ultrasound host 102 needs to process.

[0047] In one embodiment, Figure 2 As shown, a software beamforming method is provided, which is applied to Figure 1 Taking the ultrasound host 102 in the example as an example, the method includes the following steps:

[0048] Step S201, acquiring an echo signal returned by a point to be imaged through an ultrasonic probe;

[0049] Among them, the ultrasonic probe is a device that emits and receives ultrasonic waves during the ultrasonic detection process; ultrasonic waves are sound waves with a frequency greater than 20kHz, and their essence is a mechanical wave. Due to the characteristics of short wavelength, high frequency, good directionality and high energy, ultrasonic waves are used to image human tissues in medical ultrasound.

[0050] Generally speaking, ultrasonic imaging is constructed by scanning lines based on the pulse-echo principle. First, the ultrasonic transducer uses the inverse piezoelectric effect to convert voltage into sound pressure, generating an ultrasonic beam that is emitted into human tissue; then, the ultrasonic wave propagates in the human body, interacts with tiny scatterers in the tissue, and generates a large number of reflected, refracted, and scattered echoes. These echoes propagate back to the surface of the transducer, and the transducer converts these acoustic wave signals into electrical signals using the piezoelectric effect. The experimental acquisition system samples them to obtain the original channel signal. The original channel signal is beamformed to obtain ultrasonic RF data. After logarithmic compression and display processing of the ultrasonic RF data, an ultrasonic image of human tissue is obtained.

[0051] Specifically, in step S201, after ultrasonic waves are emitted by the ultrasonic probe, echo signals returned from the points to be imaged are received. The points to be imaged are also the reflection points on the target tissue. These points need to be converted into corresponding pixel values ​​before they can be displayed on the display device, so they are called points to be imaged.

[0052] Step S202: for the point to be imaged, determine the position information of the auxiliary imaging point in the direction of the axis of the receiving acoustic beam.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 3( a ), FIG. 3( a ) shows a schematic diagram of a point to be imaged in ultrasonic beam synthesis of a blood vessel. The ultrasonic probe includes a piezoelectric crystal, which includes a plurality of array elements arranged in a matrix. The array element is used to transmit or receive signals. By controlling the transmission mode of the array element, the acoustic axis direction of the transmitted or received ultrasonic beam, that is, the axis direction of the received acoustic beam, can be controlled. The dotted line in FIG. 3( a ) is the axis direction of the received acoustic beam. In the OXY plane coordinate system, it is assumed that there is a point to be imaged Xi =(x i ,y i ), (x i ,y i ) is its position coordinate; multiple auxiliary imaging points are determined in the direction of the receiving sound beam axis, as shown in Figure 3(b). In Figure 3(b), the position information of each auxiliary imaging point is X0 = (x0, y0), X1 = (x1, y1) ..., X i-1 =(x i-1 ,y i-1 ) and X i+1 =(x i+1 ,y i+1 ), X i+2 =(x i+2 ,y i+2 )…X N-1 =(x N-1 ,y N-1 ), if there are N imaging points including the above imaging points, they are X0=(x0,y0), X1=(x1,y1)…, X i =(x i ,y i ), …X N-1 =(x N-1 ,y N-1 ), the imaging points and the auxiliary imaging points are collectively referred to as imaging points, and the spacing between each imaging point is Δd.

[0054] Furthermore, the auxiliary imaging points are distributed on both sides of the point to be imaged, and the number of the auxiliary imaging points on both sides of the point to be imaged is the same.

[0055] Step S203, for the auxiliary imaging point, calculation is performed based on the echo signal returned by the to-be-imaged point and the position information of the auxiliary imaging point to obtain the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point;

[0056] Specifically, according to the position information X0, X1...X i-1 and X i+1 , X i+2 …X N-1 , calculate the echo signal of each auxiliary imaging point, so as to determine the signal data Y0, Y1...Y on each imaging point (imaging point includes auxiliary imaging point and to-be-imaging point) i ...Y N-1 , the signal data is represented by complex numbers, including amplitude and phase. At this time, Y0, Y1...Y i ...Y N-1 Also called baseband signal or analysis signal.

[0057] Specifically, after the positions of the to-be-imaged point and the corresponding auxiliary imaging point are determined, for each auxiliary imaging point, based on the echo signal of the to-be-imaged point received by each array element on the ultrasound probe, and the distance between the auxiliary imaging point and each array element, the echo signal on the auxiliary imaging point is calculated by a beam synthesis method, for example, using a traditional delay and sum (DAS) method or a mapping matrix method to obtain the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point.

[0058] For example, for any auxiliary imaging point X i , the delay-addition method (DAS) can be used to calculate the echo signal Y i :

[0059]

[0060] Among them, Y i represents the echo signal of the ith auxiliary imaging point; s n is the ultrasonic echo data obtained on the nth channel (i.e., the nth array element), w n is the beam synthesis aperture parameter, r n is the auxiliary imaging point X i The sum of the reciprocating distances between the nth array element, c is the propagation speed of ultrasound in the human body, is the phase compensation parameter of the baseband signal or analytical signal beamforming. Since the beamforming processing between the auxiliary imaging points is independent of each other, a parallel computing method can be used to perform beamforming calculations on all imaging points at the same time.

[0061] Step S204, obtaining imaging information of the point to be imaged according to the echo signal of the point to be imaged and the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point;

[0062] Specifically, after the echo signal at the auxiliary imaging point is obtained by using the above beam synthesis method, the pixel value of the corresponding imaging point can be processed and used for the final display. For example, for B-mode imaging, the echo signal set {Y0, Y1...Y i ...Y N} is selected for imaging the point to be imaged, that is, a result is selected and converted into a pixel value. It can also be that after obtaining a statistical value for the above echo signal set, the statistical value is converted into a pixel value of the point to be imaged.

[0063] In the above embodiment, auxiliary imaging points are added to increase the data volume of the echo signal after beam synthesis, thereby making full use of all the energy in the ultrasonic transmission pulse sampling volume to achieve the effect of improving the image signal-to-noise ratio.

[0064] In one embodiment, the number of the auxiliary imaging points is multiple; the imaging information includes pixel values; and the step S204 includes:

[0065] Statistical processing is performed on the echo signal intensity of the imaging point and the echo signal intensity of multiple auxiliary imaging points to obtain a statistical value; the statistical value includes an average value or a median value; and the statistical value is converted into a pixel value of the imaging point.

[0066] Specifically, for B-mode ultrasound imaging, in addition to the above-mentioned direct acquisition of the echo signal set {Y0, Y1...Y i ...Y N} to generate the imaging result of the point to be imaged. i ...Y N}Perform statistical processing, such as calculating the mean, median, etc., and convert the statistical results into pixel values ​​as the pixel values ​​of the points to be imaged.

[0067] In the above embodiment, a plurality of auxiliary pixel points are obtained by using a demodulated signal interpolation method, and statistical processing is performed on the plurality of auxiliary pixel points to finally obtain the pixel value of the point to be imaged, so that the calculated pixel value of the point to be imaged is more accurate, and the image signal-to-noise ratio is further improved.

[0068] In one embodiment, if Figure 4 As shown, Figure 4 The calculation steps of the speed in the imaging information are shown. The imaging information also includes the speed. The step S204 includes:

[0069] Step S401 : performing time domain transformation on echo signals of multiple auxiliary imaging points within a preset time period to obtain a synthetic signal.

[0070] Specifically, for color flow mode or elastic imaging, it is necessary not only to calculate the pixel value of the imaging point, but also to calculate the velocity or displacement of the imaging point. In order to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of weak signal detection, the final velocity v or displacement of the imaging point is determined by the entire set. The calculation process is as follows:

[0071] First, the echo signals of multiple auxiliary imaging points are transformed in the time domain within a preset time period to obtain a synthetic signal R(1):

[0072] The synthesized signal R(1) can be obtained by using the signal set {Y0, Y1...Y i ...Y N}Calculated by the following formula:

[0073]

[0074] Among them, Y i(t) represents the echo signal obtained at the i-th auxiliary imaging point after the t-th transmission, (·)* represents the complex conjugate, represents the complex conjugate of the echo signal obtained at the i-th auxiliary imaging point after the t+1-th transmission. This process is also the time domain transformation in digital signal processing, that is, by obtaining Y i The cross-correlation function of (t) finally determines the synthetic signal R(1); N is the total number of imaging points, and the selection of N is related to the length of the ultrasonic emission pulse. T It is the number of repetitions of ultrasound pulses during blood flow or elasticity imaging.

[0075] Step S402, obtaining the velocity of the point to be imaged according to the phase of the synthetic signal and the center frequency of the ultrasonic echo.

[0076] Specifically, the velocity v of the point to be imaged is obtained according to the phase of the synthetic signal and the center frequency of the ultrasonic echo, and the calculation formula is as follows:

[0077]

[0078] Where v is the velocity of the imaging point; c is the propagation velocity of ultrasound in the human body; f prf is the repetition frequency of the ultrasonic pulse, f0 is the center frequency of the ultrasonic echo, the synthesized signal R(1) is a complex number, Imag(R(1)) is the imaginary part of R(1), that is, the phase of the synthesized signal; Real(R(1)) is the real part of R(1), which is the amplitude of the synthesized signal.

[0079] In the above embodiment, the velocity of the point to be imaged is obtained by performing digital signal processing on the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point, so that the interpolation method can be applied to color flow pattern imaging or elastic imaging.

[0080] In one embodiment, the number of the auxiliary pixel points is one; the imaging information includes pixel values, and the step S204 includes: converting the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point into the pixel value of the point to be imaged.

[0081] Specifically, after the channel signal received by the ultrasound probe is demodulated and the echo signal after downsampling is transmitted to the computer memory, the computer can start the software beamforming process. i =(x i ,y i ), the software can define the value of the auxiliary imaging point N associated with it to optimize the signal processing overhead. For example, for B-mode ultrasound imaging, the number of auxiliary imaging points N can be taken as 1, that is, the number of auxiliary imaging points is 1, which can be directly used for imaging the point to be imaged. For color blood flow ultrasound imaging, N can be taken as 15.

[0082] In the above embodiment, in B-mode ultrasound imaging, only one auxiliary imaging point is selected, and the auxiliary imaging point is directly used as the target imaging result of the point to be imaged, so that the method can also be applied to B-mode imaging.

[0083] In one embodiment, the above-mentioned step S201 - obtaining the echo signal returned by the point to be imaged through the ultrasonic probe, includes: obtaining the channel signal returned by the point to be imaged through the ultrasonic probe; and obtaining the echo signal by subjecting the channel signal to analog / digital conversion, downsampling and demodulation filtering in sequence.

[0084] Specifically, the ultrasonic imaging device works in the pulse-echo mode. Under the control of a computer, the ultrasonic circuit emits an ultrasonic pulse with a certain center frequency to detect human tissue. The ultrasonic echo reflected / scattered by the human tissue obtains the channel signal (or original signal) returned by the imaging point through the ultrasonic probe, and is converted into a digital signal after amplification and analog / digital conversion. The sampling rate of the analog / digital conversion is f. s Usually it is 20MHz to 80MHz. Since the original signal has a bandpass characteristic (for example, the bandwidth is 60% to 100% of the center frequency f0 of the ultrasonic pulse), its effective frequency range does not cover the entire sampling frequency range. Therefore, the original signal needs to be demodulated. The demodulation method can be orthogonal demodulation, Hilbert transform demodulation or complex frequency domain filter demodulation. The demodulation process diagram is shown in Figure 5 As shown in FIG. 1 , these methods can reduce the bandwidth of the original signal to half of the original bandwidth, thereby ensuring that frequency aliasing does not occur after the original signal is downsampled. Downsampling can reduce the sampling rate of the data to 10 MHz to 40 MHz.

[0085] Furthermore, after the echo signal obtained after demodulation and downsampling is transmitted to the computer memory, the computer can start the software beamforming process. i =(x i ,y i ), the software can define the value of the auxiliary imaging point N associated with it to optimize the signal processing overhead. For example, for B-mode ultrasound imaging, the number of auxiliary imaging points N = 1; for color blood flow ultrasound imaging, the number of auxiliary imaging points N = 15. After determining the number of auxiliary imaging points N, the auxiliary imaging points can be arranged in the vicinity of the imaging point to be imaged, and the interval Δd between the auxiliary imaging points can be determined as 2×c / f s , where f s is the sampling rate of analog / digital conversion, c is the propagation speed of ultrasound in the human body. i , the delay-addition method (DAS) can be used to calculate its echo signal:

[0086]

[0087] Among them, Y i represents the echo signal of the ith auxiliary imaging point; s n is the ultrasonic echo data obtained on the nth channel, w n is the beam synthesis aperture parameter, r n is the auxiliary imaging point Y i The sum of the reciprocating distances between the nth channel array element, c is the propagation speed of ultrasound in the human body, is the phase compensation parameter of the baseband signal or analytical signal beamforming. Since the beamforming processing between the auxiliary imaging points is independent of each other, a parallel computing method can be used to perform beamforming calculations on all imaging points at the same time.

[0088] In the above embodiment, the echo signal is obtained by subjecting the original channel signal to analog / digital conversion, downsampling, demodulation and filtering, which is beneficial to the subsequent calculation of imaging information of the imaging point.

[0089] In one embodiment, the above step S202 includes: determining the spacing between imaging points based on the ultrasonic velocity and the sampling rate of analog / digital conversion; determining the position information of the auxiliary imaging point based on the angle between the axis direction of the received sound beam and the vertical direction, the spacing and the position information of the point to be imaged.

[0090] Specifically, the interval Δd between auxiliary pixels can be determined as 2×c / f s , where f s is the sampling rate of analog / digital conversion, c is the propagation speed of ultrasound in the human body; in Figure 3(b), the position information of the auxiliary imaging point can be determined through mathematical calculation according to the angle α between the axis direction of the received sound beam and the vertical direction, the spacing Δd, and the position information X of the imaging point to be imaged.

[0091] In the above embodiment, by determining the position information of the auxiliary imaging point, data is laid for the subsequent calculation of the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point.

[0092] In one embodiment, if Figure 6 As shown, Figure 6The internal structure diagram of the ultrasonic imaging device is shown. In medical ultrasonic imaging equipment, the sampling frequency range of ultrasonic signals is generally 20MHz to 80MHz. For a 128-receiving channel device, considering that the sampling resolution of the signal is 14bit, the data transmission bandwidth required for the ultrasonic signal can reach 4.17GByte / s to 16.69GByte / s. This data bandwidth requirement often exceeds the transmission capacity of the computer interface. (The peak data transmission bandwidth of the 16-way PCI-Express 3.0 bus supported by conventional computers can be 15.8GByte / s.) In order to transmit the ultrasonic signal completely to the computer for processing, the data usually needs to be buffered (cached) in the ultrasonic electronic circuit, resulting in a significant delay between signal acquisition and software processing.

[0093] In the device composition principle of the ultrasonic imaging device proposed in this embodiment, as shown in Figure (6), in order to reduce the requirements for data transmission bandwidth, the hardware includes a demodulation / downsampling circuit. After the echo data is sampled (A / D), the demodulation / downsampling circuit converts the echo signal into a baseband or analysis signal with a relatively small bandwidth, thereby reducing the amount of ultrasonic data to less than 50% in real time, reducing the demand for data transmission bandwidth to 2.09GByte / s~8.34GByte / s. The ultrasonic echo data after demodulation / downsampling processing can be directly transmitted in real time through the direct interface between the circuit and the computer without the need for electronic circuit buffering. This process is reflected in Figure 6 In the step (1), the ultrasonic echo data after demodulation / downsampling processing is transmitted to the computer memory in the ultrasonic host through the data path (i.e., the ultrasonic circuit); in the step (2), the ultrasonic echo data in the memory can be copied into the GPU memory for calculation processing; or after the step (3), the ultrasonic echo data in the memory can be directly processed by the CPU.

[0094] In the above-mentioned embodiment, a large number of echo signals are converted into baseband or analysis signals with relatively small bandwidth by using a demodulation / downsampling circuit, thereby reducing the data volume of the echo signals, so that the echo signals can quickly enter the computer's memory for further processing by the CPU or GPU without the need for electronic circuit buffering, thereby improving the data processing speed of the ultrasonic imaging device and improving the imaging quality.

[0095] Furthermore, as a variation of the above embodiment, the above method further includes: transmitting the echo signal to a processor using a remote direct data access protocol, such as Figure 7 As shown, the present application also provides the use of RDMA (Remote direct memory access) technology to further reduce latency. Figure 7In the step (1), the ultrasonic echo data after demodulation / downsampling processing is directly transmitted to the GPU in the ultrasonic host through the data path (i.e., the ultrasonic circuit) for processing without being buffered by the computer memory, and the data after the GPU processing in step (2) can be transmitted to the computer memory.

[0096] In the above embodiment, the RDMA technology is used to allow the ultrasound echo data to directly enter the GPU for processing without being buffered by the computer memory, thereby further improving the signal processing speed of the ultrasound imaging device and thus improving the imaging speed.

[0097] It should be understood that, although the various steps in the flowcharts involved in the above-mentioned embodiments are displayed in sequence according to the indication of the arrows, these steps are not necessarily executed in sequence according to the order indicated by the arrows. Unless there is a clear explanation in this article, the execution of these steps does not have a strict order restriction, and these steps can be executed in other orders. Moreover, at least a part of the steps in the flowcharts involved in the above-mentioned embodiments can include multiple steps or multiple stages, and these steps or stages are not necessarily executed at the same time, but can be executed at different times, and the execution order of these steps or stages is not necessarily to be carried out in sequence, but can be executed in turn or alternately with other steps or at least a part of the steps or stages in other steps.

[0098] Based on the same inventive concept, the embodiment of the present application further provides a software beamforming device for implementing the software beamforming method involved above. The implementation scheme for solving the problem provided by the device is similar to the implementation scheme recorded in the above method, so the specific limitations in the one or more software beamforming device embodiments provided below can refer to the limitations on the software beamforming method above, and will not be repeated here.

[0099] In one embodiment, Figure 8 As shown, a software beamforming device 800 is provided, comprising: an imaging point echo signal acquisition module 801, a position information determination module 802, an auxiliary imaging point echo signal acquisition module 803 and an imaging information calculation module 804, wherein:

[0100] The echo signal acquisition module 801 of the imaging point is used to acquire the echo signal returned by the imaging point through the ultrasonic probe;

[0101] The position information determination module 802 is used to determine the position information of the auxiliary imaging point in the direction of the axis of the receiving sound beam for the imaging point;

[0102] The auxiliary imaging point echo signal acquisition module 803 is used to calculate the auxiliary imaging point based on the echo signal returned by the point to be imaged and the position information of the auxiliary imaging point to obtain the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point;

[0103] The imaging information calculation module 804 is used to obtain the imaging information of the point to be imaged according to the echo signal of the point to be imaged and the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point.

[0104] In one embodiment, the number of the auxiliary imaging points is multiple; the imaging information includes pixel values; the above-mentioned imaging information calculation module 804 is further used to: perform statistical processing on the echo signal intensity of the point to be imaged and the echo signal intensity of multiple auxiliary imaging points to obtain a statistical value; the statistical value includes an average value or a median value; and convert the statistical value into the pixel value of the point to be imaged.

[0105] In one embodiment, the auxiliary imaging points are distributed on both sides of the point to be imaged, and the number of the auxiliary imaging points on both sides of the point to be imaged is the same.

[0106] In one embodiment, the imaging information also includes speed; the imaging information calculation module 804 is further used to: perform time domain transformation on the echo signals of multiple auxiliary imaging points within a preset time period to obtain a synthetic signal; and obtain the speed of the point to be imaged based on the phase of the synthetic signal and the center frequency of the ultrasonic echo.

[0107] In one embodiment, the number of the auxiliary pixel point is one; the imaging information includes a pixel value; and the imaging information calculation module 804 is further used to: convert the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point into the pixel value of the point to be imaged.

[0108] In one embodiment, the above-mentioned echo signal acquisition module 801 of the point to be imaged is further used to: acquire the channel signal returned by the point to be imaged through the ultrasonic probe; and obtain the echo signal by subjecting the channel signal to analog / digital conversion, downsampling and demodulation filtering in sequence.

[0109] In one embodiment, the software beamforming device 800 further includes a remote direct data access unit, which is used to transmit the echo signal to a processor using a remote direct data access protocol.

[0110] In one embodiment, the above-mentioned position information determination module 802 is further used to: determine the spacing between the imaging points based on the ultrasonic velocity and the sampling rate of the analog / digital conversion; determine the position information of the auxiliary imaging point based on the angle between the axial direction of the received sound beam and the vertical direction, the spacing and the position information of the point to be imaged.

[0111] Each module in the above-mentioned software beamforming device can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware or a combination thereof. Each of the above-mentioned modules can be embedded in or independent of a processor in a computer device in the form of hardware, or can be stored in a memory in a computer device in the form of software, so that the processor can call and execute operations corresponding to each of the above modules.

[0112] Those skilled in the art will understand that Figure 8 The structure shown in the figure is only a block diagram of a part of the structure related to the solution of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the computer device to which the solution of the present application is applied. The specific computer device may include more or fewer components than those shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or have a different arrangement of components.

[0113] In one embodiment, an ultrasound imaging device is provided, including an ultrasound probe and an ultrasound host. The ultrasound host includes a memory and a processor. The memory stores a computer program. When the processor executes the computer program, each step in the above-mentioned software beamforming method embodiment is implemented.

[0114] In one embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, each step in the above software beamforming method embodiment is implemented.

[0115] In one embodiment, a computer program product is provided, including a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps in the above software beamforming method embodiment are implemented.

[0116] It should be noted that the user information (including but not limited to user device information, user personal information, etc.) and data (including but not limited to data used for analysis, stored data, displayed data, etc.) involved in this application are all information and data authorized by the user or fully authorized by all parties.

[0117] Those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the processes in the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be completed by instructing the relevant hardware through a computer program, and the computer program can be stored in a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium. When the computer program is executed, it can include the processes of the embodiments of the above-mentioned methods. Among them, any reference to the memory, database or other medium used in the embodiments provided in the present application can include at least one of non-volatile and volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can include read-only memory (ROM), magnetic tape, floppy disk, flash memory, optical memory, high-density embedded non-volatile memory, resistive random access memory (ReRAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM), phase change memory (PCM), graphene memory, etc. Volatile memory can include random access memory (RAM) or external cache memory, etc. As an illustration and not limitation, RAM can be in various forms, such as static random access memory (SRAM) or dynamic random access memory (DRAM). The database involved in each embodiment provided in this application may include at least one of a relational database and a non-relational database. Non-relational databases may include distributed databases based on blockchains, etc., but are not limited to this. The processor involved in each embodiment provided in this application may be a general-purpose processor, a central processing unit, a graphics processor, a digital signal processor, a programmable logic device, a data processing logic device based on quantum computing, etc., but are not limited to this.

[0118] The technical features of the above embodiments may be combined arbitrarily. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0119] The above-described embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present application, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the present application. It should be pointed out that, for a person of ordinary skill in the art, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A software beamforming method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Acquire the echo signal returned by the imaging point through each array element on the ultrasonic probe; For the point to be imaged, determining position information of its auxiliary imaging points in the direction of the axis of the receiving acoustic beam; the auxiliary imaging points are distributed on both sides of the point to be imaged; For the auxiliary imaging point, determining the distance between the auxiliary imaging point and each of the array elements based on the position information of the auxiliary imaging point; Based on the echo signal returned by the to-be-imaged point and the distance between the auxiliary imaging point and each of the array elements, the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point is calculated by a beam synthesis method; According to the echo signal of the point to be imaged and the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point, imaging information of the point to be imaged is obtained; the imaging information includes a pixel value, and the method further includes: performing statistical processing on the echo signal intensity of the point to be imaged and the echo signal intensity of multiple auxiliary imaging points to obtain a statistical value; the statistical value includes an average value or a median value; and converting the statistical value into a pixel value of the point to be imaged.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The number of the auxiliary imaging points is multiple, and the number of the auxiliary imaging points on both sides of the point to be imaged is the same.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The imaging information also includes speed; the imaging information of the point to be imaged is obtained according to the echo signal of the point to be imaged and the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point, including: Performing time domain transformation on the echo signals of the plurality of auxiliary imaging points within a preset time period to obtain a synthetic signal; The velocity of the point to be imaged is obtained according to the phase of the synthetic signal and the central frequency of the ultrasonic echo.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The number of the auxiliary imaging point is one; the imaging information includes a pixel value; and obtaining the imaging information of the point to be imaged according to the echo signal of the point to be imaged and the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point includes: The echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point is converted into the pixel value of the point to be imaged.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The method of obtaining the echo signal returned by the imaging point through each array element on the ultrasonic probe includes: Acquiring a channel signal returned by the point to be imaged through each array element on the ultrasonic probe; The channel signal is sequentially subjected to analog / digital conversion, downsampling, and demodulation filtering to obtain the echo signal.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The method further comprises: The echo signal is transmitted to a processor using a remote direct data access protocol.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The step of determining the position information of the auxiliary imaging point of the to-be-imaged point in the direction of the axis of the received acoustic beam comprises: Determining the spacing between the auxiliary imaging points according to the ultrasonic velocity and the sampling rate of analog / digital conversion; The position information of the auxiliary imaging point is determined according to the angle between the axis direction of the receiving acoustic beam and the vertical direction, the spacing, and the position information of the point to be imaged.

8. A software beamforming device, characterized in that: The device comprises: The echo signal acquisition module of the imaging point is used to acquire the echo signal returned by the imaging point through each array element on the ultrasonic probe; A position information determination module, used to determine the position information of auxiliary imaging points of the imaged point in the direction of the axis of the received acoustic beam; the auxiliary imaging points are distributed on both sides of the imaged point; The auxiliary imaging point echo signal acquisition module is used to determine the distance between the auxiliary imaging point and each of the array elements based on the position information of the auxiliary imaging point; and calculate the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point through a beam synthesis method based on the echo signal returned by the imaging point and the distance between the auxiliary imaging point and each of the array elements; An imaging information calculation module, used to obtain imaging information of the point to be imaged according to the echo signal of the point to be imaged and the echo signal of the auxiliary imaging point; the imaging information includes a pixel value; The imaging information calculation module is also used to perform statistical processing on the echo signal intensity of the point to be imaged and the echo signal intensity of multiple auxiliary imaging points to obtain a statistical value; the statistical value includes an average value or a median value; and the statistical value is converted into a pixel value of the point to be imaged.

9. An ultrasonic imaging device, comprising an ultrasonic probe and an ultrasonic host, wherein the ultrasonic host comprises a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, wherein: When the processor executes the computer program, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 are implemented.

10. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 are implemented.

11. A computer program product, comprising a computer program, characterized in that When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 are implemented.

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