Spectrum analysis method and ultrasonic imaging system

Abstract

A spectrum analysis method and ultrasonic imaging system, comprising: transmitting ultrasonic waves to the heart in a first imaging mode to obtain a first set of ultrasonic echo signals; generating a tissue structure image of the heart based on the first set of ultrasonic echo signals; automatically determining a first sampling volume of a blood flow spectrum and obtaining a corresponding blood flow spectrum based on the first tissue structure image; automatically switching to a second imaging mode and obtaining a second set of echo signals in the second imaging mode, thereby obtaining a tissue Doppler image and tissue Doppler spectrum of the heart; obtaining a first cardiac function parameter based on the blood flow spectrum and a second cardiac function parameter based on the tissue Doppler spectrum; obtaining a first cardiac function assessment result based on the first and second cardiac function parameters; and displaying the first cardiac function assessment result, the blood flow spectrum, the tissue Doppler spectrum, the cardiac tissue Doppler image, and the cardiac tissue structure image. This solution enables rapid and accurate automatic assessment of cardiac function.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of ultrasonic imaging, and more specifically to a spectrum analysis method and an ultrasonic imaging system. Background Art

[0002] Cardiac function analysis (such as diastolic function analysis) is gaining increasing attention in cardiology and point-of-care (POC) settings (including critical care, emergency, and anesthesia). Cardiac function analysis is complex and significantly impacted by patient aging and other cardiovascular conditions, requiring analysis based on multiple parameters. Many key diastolic function indicators require measurement using different ultrasound imaging modes and at different measurement locations, significantly inconvenient for physicians. Therefore, achieving rapid, automated cardiac function analysis has become a pressing issue. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The Summary of the Invention introduces a series of simplified concepts that will be further described in the Detailed Description of the Invention. The Summary of the Invention is not intended to limit the key features and essential features of the claimed technical solution, nor is it intended to determine the scope of protection of the claimed technical solution.

[0004] A first aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a spectrum analysis method, the method comprising:

[0005] transmitting an ultrasonic wave toward the heart and receiving an ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic wave to obtain at least one set of ultrasonic echo signals;

[0006] generating a cardiac tissue structure image based on the ultrasound echo signal;

[0007] automatically determining a first sampling volume of a blood flow spectrum and a second sampling volume of a tissue Doppler spectrum based on the tissue structure image;

[0008] obtaining a tissue Doppler image of the heart, a blood flow spectrum at the first sample volume, and a tissue Doppler spectrum at the second sample volume based on the ultrasonic echo signal;

[0009] obtaining a first cardiac function parameter based on the blood flow spectrum, and obtaining a second cardiac function parameter based on the tissue Doppler spectrum;

[0010] obtaining a first cardiac function assessment result based on the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter;

[0011] The first cardiac function evaluation result, the blood flow spectrum, the tissue Doppler spectrum, the heart tissue Doppler image, and the heart tissue structure image are displayed.

[0012] A second aspect of the present application provides a spectrum analysis method, the method comprising:

[0013] In response to the automatic spectrum analysis instruction, performing automatic spectrum analysis, the automatic spectrum analysis comprising:

[0014] transmitting an ultrasonic wave to the heart in a first imaging mode, and receiving an ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic wave to obtain a first set of ultrasonic echo signals;

[0015] generating a first tissue structure image of the heart based on the first set of ultrasound echo signals;

[0016] automatically determining a first sample volume of a blood flow spectrum based on the first tissue structure image;

[0017] obtaining a blood flow spectrum at the first sample volume based on the first group of ultrasonic echo signals;

[0018] automatically switching to a second imaging mode, transmitting ultrasound waves to the heart in the second imaging mode, and receiving ultrasound echoes of the ultrasound waves to obtain a second set of ultrasound echo signals;

[0019] generating a second tissue structure image of the heart based on the second set of ultrasound echo signals;

[0020] automatically determining a second sample volume of a tissue Doppler spectrum based on the second tissue structure image;

[0021] obtaining a tissue Doppler image of the heart and a tissue Doppler spectrum at the second sample volume based on the second group of ultrasonic echo signals;

[0022] obtaining a first cardiac function parameter based on the blood flow spectrum, and obtaining a second cardiac function parameter based on the tissue Doppler spectrum;

[0023] obtaining a first cardiac function assessment result based on the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter;

[0024] The first cardiac function evaluation result, the blood flow spectrum, the tissue Doppler spectrum, the tissue Doppler image of the heart, and the tissue structure image of the heart are displayed.

[0025] A third aspect of the present application provides a spectrum analysis method, the method comprising:

[0026] In response to the automatic spectrum analysis instruction, performing automatic spectrum analysis, the automatic spectrum analysis comprising:

[0027] transmitting an ultrasonic wave to the heart in a first imaging mode, and receiving an ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic wave to obtain a first set of ultrasonic echo signals;

[0028] generating a first tissue structure image of the heart based on the first set of ultrasound echo signals;

[0029] automatically determining a first sample volume of a blood flow spectrum based on the first tissue structure image;

[0030] obtaining a blood flow spectrum at the first sample volume based on the first group of ultrasonic echo signals;

[0031] automatically switching to a second imaging mode, transmitting ultrasound waves to the heart in the second imaging mode, and receiving ultrasound echoes of the ultrasound waves to obtain a second set of ultrasound echo signals;

[0032] generating a second tissue structure image of the heart based on the second set of ultrasound echo signals;

[0033] automatically determining a second sample volume of a tissue Doppler spectrum based on the second tissue structure image;

[0034] obtaining a tissue Doppler spectrum at the second sample volume based on the second group of ultrasonic echo signals;

[0035] obtaining a first cardiac function parameter based on the blood flow spectrum, and obtaining a second cardiac function parameter based on the tissue Doppler spectrum;

[0036] obtaining a first cardiac function assessment result based on the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter;

[0037] The first cardiac function evaluation result, the blood flow spectrum, the tissue Doppler spectrum, and the cardiac tissue structure image are displayed.

[0038] A fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a spectrum analysis method, the method comprising:

[0039] In response to the automatic spectrum analysis instruction, performing automatic spectrum analysis, the automatic spectrum analysis comprising:

[0040] transmitting ultrasonic waves to the heart in a second imaging mode, and receiving ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves to obtain a second set of ultrasonic echo signals;

[0041] generating a second tissue structure image of the heart based on the second set of ultrasound echo signals;

[0042] automatically determining a second sample volume of a tissue Doppler spectrum based on the second tissue structure image;

[0043] obtaining a tissue Doppler spectrum at the second sample volume based on the second group of ultrasonic echo signals;

[0044] automatically switching to a first imaging mode, transmitting ultrasound waves to the heart in the first imaging mode, and receiving ultrasound echoes of the ultrasound waves to obtain a first set of ultrasound echo signals;

[0045] generating a first tissue structure image of the heart based on the first set of ultrasound echo signals;

[0046] automatically determining a first sample volume of a blood flow spectrum based on the first tissue structure image;

[0047] obtaining a blood flow spectrum at the first sample volume based on the first group of ultrasonic echo signals;

[0048] obtaining a first cardiac function parameter based on the blood flow spectrum, and obtaining a second cardiac function parameter based on the tissue Doppler spectrum;

[0049] obtaining a first cardiac function assessment result based on the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter;

[0050] The first cardiac function evaluation result, the blood flow spectrum, the tissue Doppler spectrum, and the cardiac tissue structure image are displayed.

[0051] A fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a spectrum analysis method, the method comprising:

[0052] In response to the automatic spectrum analysis instruction, performing automatic spectrum analysis, the automatic spectrum analysis comprising:

[0053] transmitting ultrasonic waves to the heart in a second imaging mode, and receiving ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves to obtain a second set of ultrasonic echo signals;

[0054] generating a second tissue structure image of the heart based on the second set of ultrasound echo signals;

[0055] automatically determining a second sample volume of a tissue Doppler spectrum based on the second tissue structure image;

[0056] obtaining a tissue Doppler image of the heart and a tissue Doppler spectrum at the second sample volume based on the second group of ultrasonic echo signals;

[0057] automatically switching to a first imaging mode, transmitting ultrasound waves to the heart in the first imaging mode, and receiving ultrasound echoes of the ultrasound waves to obtain a first set of ultrasound echo signals;

[0058] generating a first tissue structure image of the heart based on the first set of ultrasound echo signals;

[0059] automatically determining a first sample volume of a blood flow spectrum based on the first tissue structure image;

[0060] obtaining a blood flow spectrum at the first sample volume based on the first group of ultrasonic echo signals;

[0061] obtaining a first cardiac function parameter based on the blood flow spectrum, and obtaining a second cardiac function parameter based on the tissue Doppler spectrum;

[0062] obtaining a first cardiac function assessment result based on the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter;

[0063] The first cardiac function evaluation result, the blood flow spectrum, the tissue Doppler spectrum, the heart tissue Doppler image, and the heart tissue structure image are displayed.

[0064] A sixth aspect of the embodiments of the present application provides a spectrum analysis method, the method comprising:

[0065] transmitting an ultrasonic wave toward the heart and receiving an ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic wave to obtain at least one set of ultrasonic echo signals;

[0066] generating a cardiac tissue structure image based on the ultrasound echo signal;

[0067] automatically determining a first sampling volume of a blood flow spectrum and a second sampling volume of a tissue Doppler spectrum based on the tissue structure image;

[0068] obtaining a blood flow spectrum at the first sampling volume and a tissue Doppler spectrum at the second sampling volume based on the ultrasonic echo signal;

[0069] obtaining a first cardiac function parameter based on the blood flow spectrum, and obtaining a second cardiac function parameter based on the tissue Doppler spectrum;

[0070] obtaining a first cardiac function assessment result based on the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter;

[0071] The first cardiac function evaluation result, the blood flow spectrum, the tissue Doppler spectrum, and the cardiac tissue structure image are displayed.

[0072] A seventh aspect of the present application provides an ultrasound imaging system, comprising:

[0073] Ultrasound probe;

[0074] A transmitting circuit, used for stimulating the ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves toward the heart;

[0075] a receiving circuit, configured to control the ultrasonic probe to receive the ultrasonic echo to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal;

[0076] A processor is used to execute the spectrum analysis method as described above.

[0077] The spectrum analysis method and ultrasound imaging system according to the embodiments of the present application can perform rapid and accurate automatic evaluation of cardiac function. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0078] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative labor.

[0079] In the attached figure:

[0080] Figure 1 A schematic block diagram of an ultrasound imaging system according to an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0081] Figure 2 A schematic flow chart of a spectrum analysis method according to an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0082] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing a display interface according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0083] Figure 4 A schematic flow chart showing a spectrum analysis method according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0084] Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing a display interface according to another embodiment of the present application is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0085] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more apparent, the following is a detailed description of example embodiments of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments of the present application, and it should be understood that the present application is not limited to the example embodiments described herein. Based on the embodiments of the present application described in this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work should fall within the scope of protection of this application.

[0086] In the following description, a large number of specific details are provided to provide a more thorough understanding of the present application. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present application can be implemented without one or more of these details. In other examples, some technical features well known in the art are not described in order to avoid confusion with the present application.

[0087] It should be understood that the present application can be implemented in different forms and should not be interpreted as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, providing these embodiments will make the disclosure thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the present application to those skilled in the art.

[0088] The purpose of the terms used herein is only to describe specific embodiments and is not intended to limit the present application. When used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the terms "comprising" and / or "including", when used in this specification, determine the presence of the features, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or parts, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, parts and / or groups. When used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of the relevant listed items.

[0089] In order to fully understand the present application, a detailed structure will be provided in the following description to illustrate the technical solution proposed by the present application. The optional embodiments of the present application are described in detail below. However, in addition to these detailed descriptions, the present application may also have other implementation methods.

[0090] Next, first refer to Figure 1 An ultrasound imaging system according to an embodiment of the present application is described. Figure 1 FIG. 1 shows a schematic structural block diagram of an ultrasound imaging system 100 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0091] like Figure 1 As shown, the ultrasound imaging system 100 includes an ultrasound probe 110, a transmitting circuit 112, a receiving circuit 114, a processor 116, and a display 118. Furthermore, the ultrasound imaging system may further include a transmit / receive selection switch 120 and a beamforming module 122. The transmitting circuit 112 and the receiving circuit 114 may be connected to the ultrasound probe 110 via the transmit / receive selection switch 120.

[0092] The ultrasound probe 110 includes multiple transducer elements. These elements can be arranged in a row to form a linear array, or arranged in a two-dimensional matrix to form a planar array. They can also form a convex array. The transducer elements are used to transmit ultrasonic waves based on excitation electrical signals, or to convert received ultrasonic waves into electrical signals. Therefore, each transducer element can be used to convert electrical pulse signals into and from ultrasonic waves, thereby transmitting ultrasonic waves to the tissue of the target area of ​​the object being tested, and also to receive ultrasonic echoes reflected from the tissue. During ultrasonic testing, the transmit and receive sequences can be used to control which transducer elements are used to transmit and which are used to receive ultrasonic waves, or to control the time slots used to transmit and receive ultrasonic echoes. Transducer elements involved in ultrasonic transmission can be simultaneously excited by electrical signals, thereby transmitting ultrasonic waves simultaneously; alternatively, transducer elements involved in ultrasonic beam transmission can be excited by multiple electrical signals with a certain time interval, thereby continuously transmitting ultrasonic waves with a certain time interval.

[0093] During ultrasound imaging, the transmitting circuit 112 sends delayed, focused transmit pulses to the ultrasound probe 110 via the transmit / receive selector switch 120. Energized by the transmit pulses, the ultrasound probe 110 transmits an ultrasonic beam toward the target tissue area of ​​the subject. After a certain delay, it receives ultrasonic echoes containing tissue information reflected from the target tissue area and reconverts these ultrasonic echoes into electrical signals. The receiving circuit 114 receives the converted electrical signals generated by the ultrasound probe 110, obtains ultrasonic echo signals, and sends these ultrasonic echo signals to the beamforming module 122. The beamforming module 122 performs processing such as focusing delay, weighting, and channel summing on the ultrasonic echo data before sending them to the processor 116. The processor 116 performs signal detection, signal enhancement, data conversion, and logarithmic compression on the ultrasonic echo signals to form an ultrasound image. The ultrasound image generated by the processor 116 can be displayed on the display 118 or stored in the memory 124.

[0094] Optionally, the processor 116 may be implemented as software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof, and may use one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more general-purpose integrated circuits, one or more microprocessors, one or more programmable logic devices, or any combination of the foregoing circuits and / or devices, or other suitable circuits or devices. Furthermore, the processor 116 may control other components in the ultrasound imaging system 100 to execute the corresponding steps of the methods described in various embodiments of this specification.

[0095] The display 118 is connected to the processor 116 and can be a touch screen display, a liquid crystal display, or the like. Alternatively, the display 118 can be an independent display such as a liquid crystal display or a television that is independent of the ultrasound imaging system 100. Alternatively, the display 118 can be a display screen of an electronic device such as a smartphone or a tablet computer. There can be one or more displays 118 .

[0096] The display 118 can display the ultrasound image generated by the processor 116. In addition to displaying the ultrasound image, the display 118 can also provide a graphical interface for human-computer interaction. One or more controlled objects can be set on the graphical interface, allowing the user to input operating instructions using a human-computer interaction device to control these controlled objects and perform corresponding control operations. For example, icons can be displayed on the graphical interface, and the human-computer interaction device can be used to operate these icons to perform specific functions, such as drawing a region of interest on the ultrasound image.

[0097] Optionally, the ultrasound imaging system 100 may further include other human-computer interaction devices in addition to the display 118, which are connected to the processor 116. For example, the processor 116 may be connected to the human-computer interaction device via an external input / output port. The external input / output port may be a wireless communication module, a wired communication module, or a combination of the two. The external input / output port may also be implemented based on USB, a bus protocol such as CAN, and / or a wired network protocol.

[0098] The human-computer interaction device may include an input device for detecting user input information. The input information may be, for example, a control instruction for the timing of ultrasonic transmission / reception, an operation input instruction for drawing a point, line, or frame on an ultrasonic image, or other instruction types. The input device may include one or a combination of a keyboard, a mouse, a scroll wheel, a trackball, a mobile input device (such as a mobile device with a touch screen display, a mobile phone, etc.), a multi-function knob, etc. The human-computer interaction device may also include an output device such as a printer.

[0099] The ultrasound imaging system 100 may further include a memory 124 for storing instructions executed by the processor, storing received ultrasound echoes, storing ultrasound images, and the like. The memory may be a flash memory card, a solid-state memory, a hard disk, and the like. The memory may be a volatile memory and / or a non-volatile memory, a removable memory and / or a non-removable memory, and the like.

[0100] It should be understood that Figure 1 The components included in the ultrasound imaging system 100 are merely illustrative, and the system may include more or fewer components, which is not limited in the present application.

[0101] Previous cardiac function analysis solutions required professional echocardiologists to manually set the sampling volume, collect spectrum images in multiple modes, and then analyze them one by one. The entire analysis process was relatively complicated and could not meet the high timeliness requirements of the POC field. Based on this, the present application embodiment proposes a spectrum analysis method. Figure 2 It is a schematic flow chart of the spectrum analysis method 200 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0102] like Figure 2 As shown, a spectrum analysis method 200 according to an embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

[0103] In step S201, ultrasonic waves are transmitted to the heart, and ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves are received to obtain at least one set of ultrasonic echo signals;

[0104] In step S202, a tissue structure image of the heart is generated based on the ultrasound echo signal;

[0105] In step S203, a first sampling volume of a blood flow spectrum and a second sampling volume of a tissue Doppler spectrum are automatically determined based on the tissue structure image;

[0106] In step S204, a tissue Doppler image of the heart, a blood flow spectrum at the first sample volume, and a tissue Doppler spectrum at the second sample volume are obtained based on the ultrasonic echo signal.

[0107] In step S205, a first cardiac function parameter is obtained based on the blood flow spectrum, and a second cardiac function parameter is obtained based on the tissue Doppler spectrum;

[0108] In step S207, a first cardiac function assessment result is obtained based on the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter;

[0109] In step S208 , the first cardiac function evaluation result, the blood flow spectrum, the tissue Doppler spectrum, the heart tissue Doppler image, and the heart tissue structure image are displayed.

[0110] The spectrum analysis method 200 of the embodiment of the present application is based on the quadruple imaging mode, automatically sets the sampling volume according to the tissue structure image to obtain the blood flow spectrum and tissue Doppler spectrum, and obtains the tissue Doppler image at the same time; and automatically performs spectrum analysis to obtain the cardiac function parameters required for cardiac function evaluation, thereby realizing rapid and accurate automatic evaluation of cardiac function.

[0111] In one embodiment, the spectrum analysis method 200 does not need to obtain a tissue Doppler image of the heart, nor does it need to display the tissue Doppler image of the heart.

[0112] For example, in step S201, based on Figure 1 The ultrasonic imaging system 100 shown performs ultrasonic scanning to acquire at least one set of ultrasonic echo signals. Specifically, the processor 116 controls the transmitting circuit 112 to send the delayed and focused transmit pulse to the ultrasonic probe 110 via the transmit / receive selector switch 120. The ultrasonic probe 110, stimulated by the transmit pulse, transmits an ultrasonic beam toward the heart of the subject being measured. After a certain delay, it receives the ultrasonic echo containing tissue information reflected from the heart and reconverts the ultrasonic echo into an electrical signal. The receiving circuit 114 receives the electrical signal converted and generated by the ultrasonic probe 110 to obtain at least one set of ultrasonic echo signals. The subject being measured may include a human or various animals. Exemplarily, the duration of collecting the ultrasonic echo signal covers at least one cardiac cycle.

[0113] Next, in step S202, processor 116 generates a cardiac tissue structure image based on the ultrasound echo signals. During ultrasound scanning, the ultrasound beam generated by ultrasound probe 110 enters the chest wall and scans in a sector-shaped pattern. Depending on the position and angle of ultrasound probe 110, cross-sectional images of cardiac tissue at different levels and orientations can be obtained. Typically, the cardiac sections included in the tissue structure image may include the apical four-chamber view or the apical two-chamber view.

[0114] For example, after receiving the ultrasonic echo signal, the receiving circuit 114 sends the ultrasonic echo signal to the beamforming module 122. The beamforming module 122 performs processing such as focusing delay, weighting, and channel summing on the ultrasonic echo data, and then sends it to the processor 116. The processor 116 performs signal detection, signal enhancement, data conversion, logarithmic compression, and other processing on the ultrasonic echo signal to generate a cardiac tissue structure image (i.e., a B-mode ultrasound image). The tissue structure image obtained by the processor 116 can be sent to the display 118 for display.

[0115] After obtaining the tissue structure image of the heart, in step S203, the processor 116 automatically determines the first sampling volume of the blood flow spectrum and the second sampling volume of the tissue Doppler spectrum based on the tissue structure image. The blood flow spectrum can also be called the Doppler blood flow spectrum, which is used to describe the change of blood flow velocity over time. The blood flow spectrum of the embodiment of the present invention can adopt the pulsed Doppler (Pulsed Wave Doppler, PW) spectrum. The PW spectrum has distance gating and can accurately measure the blood flow velocity at the sampling volume. The tissue Doppler (Tissue Doppler Imaging Pulsed Wave, TDI PW) spectrum displays the change of the heart tissue movement velocity over time within the sampling volume in the form of a spectrum diagram, thereby quantitatively analyzing the movement velocity of the heart tissue. When analyzing cardiac function (e.g., diastolic function), it is usually necessary to measure different parameters in PW mode and TDIPW mode, respectively. For example, it is necessary to measure the ratio of the E peak in the blood flow spectrum to the E' peak in the tissue Doppler spectrum (E / E'). The embodiment of the present application automatically sets the first sampling volume of the blood flow spectrum and the second sampling volume of the tissue Doppler spectrum at appropriate positions, eliminating the need for the doctor to manually set the sampling volume, thereby simplifying the operation process.

[0116] For example, when automatically determining the first and second sampling volumes based on a tissue structure image, a target tissue structure may be identified in the tissue structure image, and the locations of the first and second sampling volumes may be determined based on the target tissue structure. For example, the target tissue structure may include the mitral valve. After the location of the mitral valve is identified, the first sampling volume for the blood flow spectrum is set at the mitral valve orifice, and the second sampling volume for the tissue Doppler spectrum is set at the basal segment of the lateral wall or the basal segment of the ventricular septum.

[0117] For example, a machine learning method can be used to identify the target tissue structure in the tissue structure image. Specifically, the tissue structure image is first subjected to feature extraction. The feature extraction method used can be traditional PCA (principal component analysis), LDA (linear discriminant analysis), Haar feature extraction, texture feature extraction, etc., or a deep neural network can be used for feature extraction; then, the extracted features are matched with the features in a pre-built database, and the extracted features are classified using classifiers such as KNN (K-nearest neighbor classifier), SVM (support vector machine), random forest, neural network, etc. to determine the category of the image features of each image block in the tissue structure image, and the area where the target tissue structure is located is divided in the tissue structure image according to the category of the image block.

[0118] Alternatively, an end-to-end deep learning neural network based on deep learning can be used to learn features of a pre-built database by stacking convolutional layers and fully connected layers, and adding upsampling or deconvolution layers to make the input and output sizes the same, thereby directly obtaining the target organizational structure of the input image and its corresponding category. The deep learning neural networks used include FCN (fully convolutional neural network), U-Net (U-net), Mask R-CNN (mask candidate region neural network), etc.

[0119] Alternatively, a conventional image segmentation algorithm may be used to determine the target tissue structure in the tissue structure image. The image segmentation algorithm may include various applicable image segmentation algorithms such as Graph Cut algorithm, Level Set algorithm, Random Walker algorithm, etc.

[0120] Thereafter, in step S204 , a tissue Doppler image of the heart, a blood flow spectrum at the first sample volume, and a tissue Doppler spectrum at the second sample volume are generated based on the ultrasonic echo signal obtained in step S201 .

[0121] Exemplarily, the processor 116 can generate a tissue structure image, a tissue Doppler image, a blood flow spectrum, and a tissue Doppler spectrum based on at least one set of ultrasonic echo signals received in step S201 in a quadruplex mode. Since the sampling volume needs to be determined based on the tissue structure image, the tissue structure image is generated first, and then the tissue Doppler image, the blood flow spectrum, and the tissue Doppler spectrum are generated. However, the tissue structure image, the tissue Doppler image, the blood flow spectrum, and the tissue Doppler spectrum are all obtained by signal processing the ultrasonic echo signals received in step S201 under the same ultrasonic mode (i.e., the quadruplex mode).

[0122] Exemplarily, it may be a triple-mode, that is, in the above solution, it is not necessary to obtain a tissue Doppler image, nor is it necessary to display the tissue Doppler image.

[0123] Specifically, the simplex mode is to transmit only one type of ultrasonic pulse during one scanning process to generate an ultrasonic image of one mode; the quadruplex mode is to transmit multiple types of ultrasonic pulses during one scanning process to generate ultrasonic images of four modes. In the embodiment of the present application, the ultrasonic pulse signal transmitted in step S201 includes a B-type pulse signal and a Doppler pulse signal, and the B-type pulse signal and the Doppler pulse signal can be transmitted at alternating intervals. The ultrasonic echo signal of the B-type pulse signal is used to generate a tissue structure image, and the ultrasonic echo signal of the Doppler pulse signal is used to generate a tissue Doppler image, a blood flow spectrum, and a tissue Doppler spectrum. Due to the adoption of the quadruplex mode, the user does not need to obtain an ultrasonic image of one mode in one imaging mode, freeze the image, switch the imaging mode, and then obtain an ultrasonic image of another mode. Moreover, since the blood flow spectrum and the tissue Doppler spectrum are obtained simultaneously in the quadruplex mode, the blood flow spectrum and the tissue Doppler spectrum of the same cardiac cycle can be obtained.

[0124] As mentioned above, the blood flow spectrum and tissue Doppler spectrum can be obtained simultaneously based on the echo signal of the Doppler pulse signal. Specifically, the movement information of the heart mainly includes the flow of blood and the contraction and relaxation of myocardial tissue. The blood flow spectrum mainly describes the flow of blood, and the tissue Doppler spectrum mainly describes the movement of myocardial tissue. By changing the Doppler filter system and the gain controller, high-frequency and low-amplitude blood flow information is selected for Doppler estimation, and the blood flow spectrum can be obtained; by selecting low-frequency and high-amplitude myocardial motion information for Doppler estimation, the tissue Doppler spectrum can be obtained. After color coding the estimated parameters, a tissue Doppler image can be obtained. The obtained tissue Doppler image can be combined with the tissue structure image for display, see Figure 3 .

[0125] In step S205, a first cardiac function parameter is obtained based on the blood flow spectrum, and a second cardiac function parameter is obtained based on the tissue Doppler spectrum; in step S206, a first cardiac function assessment result is obtained based on the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter. The first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter are parameters directly measured based on the blood flow spectrum and the tissue Doppler spectrum, and the first cardiac function assessment result is an assessment result of cardiac function obtained by combining the two. For example, the first cardiac function parameter is the E peak velocity value in the blood flow spectrum, and the second cardiac function parameter is the E' peak velocity value in the tissue Doppler spectrum. The first cardiac function assessment result obtained based on the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter is the ratio of the E peak velocity value to the E' peak velocity value (E / E'). E / E' can be used to assess cardiac diastolic function.

[0126] Since the spectrum analysis method 200 of the embodiment of the present application adopts a multiplexed imaging mode to simultaneously obtain the tissue Doppler spectrum and the blood flow spectrum, that is, the blood flow spectrum and the tissue Doppler spectrum are collected at the same time, it is possible to find signals of the same cardiac cycle in the tissue Doppler spectrum and the blood flow spectrum. Therefore, the spectrum of the same cardiac cycle is taken to measure the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter, thereby obtaining a more accurate cardiac function assessment result. Among them, the cardiac cycle can be determined directly based on the tissue Doppler spectrum and the blood flow spectrum, or the electrocardiogram signal can be collected at the same time as the ultrasonic signal, and the cardiac cycle can be determined based on the electrocardiogram signal. In addition, in other embodiments, it is also possible to select a suitable cardiac cycle from the tissue Doppler spectrum and the blood flow spectrum for measurement.

[0127] Exemplarily, the blood flow spectrum and tissue Doppler spectrum are threshold segmented based on the Otsu threshold method or other suitable spectrum segmentation methods, thereby obtaining a first spectrum envelope of the blood flow spectrum and a second spectrum envelope of the tissue Doppler spectrum. Subsequently, peak identification is performed on the segmented first spectrum envelope and second spectrum envelope to locate multiple peaks (e.g., multiple E peaks) on the blood flow spectrum and multiple peaks (e.g., multiple E' peaks) on the tissue Doppler spectrum. Furthermore, the cardiac cycle corresponding to the blood flow spectrum is determined based on the time interval between multiple identical peaks (i.e., multiple E peaks) in the first spectrum envelope, and the cardiac cycle corresponding to the tissue Doppler spectrum is determined based on the time interval between multiple identical peaks (i.e., multiple E' peaks) in the second spectrum envelope. Subsequently, the E peak and E' peak of the same cardiac cycle can be selected to evaluate cardiac function, obtaining a first cardiac function assessment result (E / E'). Among them, E peak is the peak blood flow velocity at the mitral valve orifice in the early stage of left ventricular diastole in the blood flow spectrum; E' peak is the peak tissue movement velocity at the mitral valve annulus in the early stage of left ventricular diastole; E / E' index is mainly used to evaluate left ventricular diastolic function. For example, when E / E'>15, it indicates impaired left ventricular diastolic function, and E / E'<8 indicates normal left ventricular diastolic function.

[0128] In some embodiments, in addition to obtaining the first cardiac function assessment result based on the blood flow spectrum and the tissue Doppler spectrum, other cardiac function assessment results can also be obtained based on the blood flow spectrum or based on the tissue Doppler spectrum alone. For example, a third cardiac function parameter can be obtained based on the blood flow spectrum, and a second cardiac function assessment result can be obtained based on the third cardiac function parameter and the first cardiac function parameter, and the second cardiac function assessment result can be displayed. The first cardiac function parameter includes the E peak velocity value in the blood flow spectrum, the third cardiac function parameter includes the A peak velocity value in the blood flow spectrum, and the second cardiac function assessment result includes the ratio of the E peak velocity value to the A peak velocity value. During cardiac diastole, the mitral valve opens, and blood from the left atrium enters the left ventricle. In the early diastole, due to the pressure difference between the left atrium and the left ventricle, the left ventricle fills rapidly to form the first peak of mitral valve forward blood flow, i.e., the E peak. In the late diastole, due to the active contraction of the left atrium, the blood in the left atrium actively fills into the left ventricle, forming the second peak of mitral valve forward blood flow, i.e., the A peak. Normally, the peak-to-peak E value is greater than the peak-to-peak A value, so cardiac function can be assessed based on the E / A ratio. An abnormal ratio generally indicates decreased or impaired diastolic function. The E / A ratio can complement the E / E' ratio in assessing cardiac function. For example, when the E / E' ratio is between 8 and 15, the E / A ratio can be used in conjunction with the E / A ratio to assess left ventricular diastolic function.

[0129] In step S207, the first cardiac function assessment result, blood flow spectrum, tissue Doppler spectrum, cardiac tissue Doppler image and cardiac tissue structure image are displayed. For example, the first cardiac function assessment result, blood flow spectrum, tissue Doppler spectrum, tissue Doppler image and tissue structure image can be displayed synchronously on the display interface. Figure 3 The heart tissue Doppler image 302 is a color-coded image, which is superimposed on the heart tissue structure image 301 for display; the blood flow spectrum 303 is displayed below the tissue Doppler image 302 and the tissue structure image 301, and the tissue Doppler spectrum 304 is displayed below the blood flow spectrum 303. Furthermore, an electrocardiogram 305 is also displayed below the tissue Doppler spectrum 304. Of course, Figure 3 The display interface is only used as an example, and the first cardiac function assessment result, blood flow spectrum, tissue Doppler spectrum, cardiac tissue Doppler image and cardiac tissue structure image can be arranged in any suitable manner.

[0130] In one embodiment, markers corresponding to the first and second cardiac function parameters are also displayed on the blood flow spectrum 303 and tissue Doppler spectrum 304. Specifically, the first and second cardiac function parameters are the peaks at the point marked "E" on the blood flow spectrum 303 and "E'" on the tissue Doppler spectrum 304, respectively. In some embodiments, the user can adjust these markers to change the cardiac cycle used to measure the first and second cardiac function parameters. For example, when the user adjusts the marker on one spectrum, the marker on the other spectrum moves accordingly, ensuring that both correspond to the same cardiac cycle.

[0131] In one embodiment, markers of the first sampling volume and the second sampling volume may also be displayed on the tissue structure image 301. For example, the markers of the first sampling volume and the second sampling volume are adjustable, and the user may adjust the positions of the markers of the first sampling volume and the second sampling volume. The processor 116 reprocesses the ultrasound echo signal according to the received user adjustment instructions to generate a blood flow spectrum and a tissue Doppler spectrum.

[0132] In one embodiment, the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter determined in step S205 may also be displayed on the display interface. For example, the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter may be displayed side by side with the first cardiac function assessment result, or the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter may also be displayed in other locations, such as on the blood flow spectrum and the tissue Doppler spectrum, respectively.

[0133] Furthermore, if a third cardiac function parameter and a second cardiac function assessment result are measured during the spectrum analysis process, the third cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function assessment result can be displayed on the same display interface. The third cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function assessment result can be displayed side by side with the first cardiac function assessment result. Of course, the third cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function assessment result can also be displayed in other locations on the display interface, and this embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0134] In summary, the spectrum analysis method 200 of the embodiment of the present application can generate tissue structure images, blood flow spectrum, tissue Doppler spectrum and tissue Doppler images in a quadruple mode, thereby enabling rapid and accurate automatic evaluation of cardiac function.

[0135] The present application also provides an ultrasonic imaging system for implementing the above-mentioned spectrum analysis method 200. The ultrasonic imaging system includes an ultrasonic probe, a transmitting circuit, a receiving circuit, a processor, and a display. Figure 1 , the ultrasound imaging system can be implemented as follows Figure 1The ultrasound imaging system 100 shown may include an ultrasound probe 110, a transmitting circuit 112, a receiving circuit 114, a processor 116, and a display 118. Optionally, the ultrasound imaging system 100 may further include a transmit / receive selection switch 120 and a beamforming module 122. The transmitting circuit 112 and the receiving circuit 114 may be connected to the ultrasound probe 110 via the transmit / receive selection switch 120. For the description of each component, please refer to the above description and will not be repeated here.

[0136] The transmitting circuit 112 is configured to excite the ultrasonic probe 110 to transmit ultrasonic waves toward the subject; the receiving circuit 114 is configured to control the ultrasonic probe 110 to receive echoes of the ultrasonic waves to obtain ultrasonic echo signals; the processor 116 is configured to: control the ultrasonic probe 110 to transmit ultrasonic waves toward the heart and receive ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves to obtain at least one set of ultrasonic echo signals; generate a tissue structure image of the heart based on the ultrasonic echo signals; automatically determine a first sampling volume of a blood flow spectrum and a second sampling volume of a tissue Doppler spectrum based on the tissue structure image; obtain a tissue Doppler image of the heart, a blood flow spectrum at the first sampling volume, and a tissue Doppler spectrum at the second sampling volume based on the ultrasonic echo signals; obtain a first cardiac function parameter based on the blood flow spectrum and a second cardiac function parameter based on the tissue Doppler spectrum; and obtain a first cardiac function assessment result based on the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter; and control the display 118 to display the first cardiac function assessment result, the blood flow spectrum, the tissue Doppler spectrum, the tissue Doppler image of the heart, and the tissue structure image of the heart.

[0137] In one embodiment, the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter correspond to the same cardiac cycle. Furthermore, obtaining the first cardiac function parameter based on the blood flow spectrum and obtaining the second cardiac function parameter based on the tissue Doppler spectrum includes: performing threshold segmentation on the blood flow spectrum and the tissue Doppler spectrum, respectively, to obtain a first spectral envelope of the blood flow spectrum and a second spectral envelope of the tissue Doppler spectrum; determining the cardiac cycle corresponding to the blood flow spectrum based on the time intervals between multiple identical peaks in the first spectral envelope, and determining the cardiac cycle corresponding to the tissue Doppler spectrum based on the time intervals between multiple identical peaks in the second spectral envelope; and measuring the blood flow spectrum and the tissue Doppler spectrum corresponding to the same cardiac cycle to obtain the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter, respectively.

[0138] In one embodiment, automatically determining a first sampling volume of a blood flow spectrum and a second sampling volume of a tissue Doppler spectrum based on the tissue structure image includes: identifying a target tissue structure in the tissue structure image; and determining positions of the first sampling volume and the second sampling volume according to the target tissue structure.

[0139] In one embodiment, the processor 116 is further configured to display cardiac cycle marks corresponding to the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter on the blood flow spectrum and the tissue Doppler spectrum.

[0140] In one embodiment, the processor 116 is further configured to display marks of the first sample volume and the second sample volume on the tissue structure image.

[0141] In one embodiment, the target tissue structure includes a mitral valve, the first sampling volume is disposed at the mitral valve orifice, and the second sampling volume is disposed at the lateral wall basal segment or the ventricular septum basal segment.

[0142] In one embodiment, the first cardiac function parameter includes the E peak velocity value in the blood flow spectrum, the second cardiac function parameter includes the E' peak velocity value in the tissue Doppler spectrum, and the first cardiac function assessment result includes the ratio of the E peak velocity value to the E' peak velocity value.

[0143] In one embodiment, the processor 116 is further configured to: obtain a third cardiac function parameter based on the blood flow spectrum; obtain a second cardiac function assessment result based on the third cardiac function parameter and the first cardiac function parameter; and control the display to display the second cardiac function assessment result.

[0144] In one embodiment, the first cardiac function parameter includes the E peak velocity value in the blood flow spectrum, the third cardiac function parameter includes the A peak velocity value in the blood flow spectrum, and the second cardiac function assessment result includes the ratio of the E peak velocity value to the A peak velocity value.

[0145] In one embodiment, the processor 116 is further configured to control a display to display the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter.

[0146] The above only describes the main functions of the components of the ultrasound imaging system. For more details, please refer to the description of the spectrum analysis method 200. The ultrasound imaging system of the embodiment of the present application can perform rapid and accurate automatic evaluation of cardiac function in the quadruple mode.

[0147] Below, we will refer to Figure 4 A spectrum analysis method according to another embodiment of the present application is described. Figure 4FIG. 4 is a schematic flow chart of a spectrum analysis method 400 according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 4 As shown, the spectrum analysis method 400 of the embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

[0148] In step S401, in response to an automatic spectrum analysis instruction, ultrasonic waves are transmitted to the heart in a first imaging mode, and ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves are received to obtain a first group of ultrasonic echo signals;

[0149] In step S402, a first tissue structure image of the heart is generated based on the first group of ultrasonic echo signals;

[0150] In step S403, a first sampling volume of a blood flow spectrum is automatically determined based on the first tissue structure image;

[0151] In step S404, a blood flow spectrum at the first sample volume is obtained based on the first set of ultrasonic echo signals;

[0152] In step S405, the second imaging mode is automatically switched to, in which ultrasonic waves are transmitted to the heart and ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves are received to obtain a second set of ultrasonic echo signals;

[0153] At step S406, a second tissue structure image of the heart is generated based on the second set of ultrasound echo signals;

[0154] In step S407, a second sample volume of the tissue Doppler spectrum is automatically determined based on the second tissue structure image;

[0155] At step S408, a tissue Doppler image of the heart and a tissue Doppler spectrum at the second sample volume are obtained based on the second set of ultrasonic echo signals;

[0156] In step S409, a first cardiac function parameter is obtained based on the blood flow spectrum, and a second cardiac function parameter is obtained based on the tissue Doppler spectrum;

[0157] In step S410, a first cardiac function assessment result is obtained based on the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter;

[0158] In step S411 , the first cardiac function evaluation result, the blood flow spectrum, the tissue Doppler spectrum, the heart tissue Doppler image, and the heart tissue structure image are displayed.

[0159] The spectrum analysis method 400 of the embodiment of the present application is mainly used to realize automatic evaluation of cardiac function, wherein a first sampling volume of a blood flow spectrum is automatically determined based on a first tissue structure image, and a first cardiac function parameter is obtained based on the blood flow spectrum, and a second sampling volume of a tissue Doppler spectrum is automatically determined based on a second tissue structure image, and a second cardiac function parameter is obtained based on the tissue Doppler spectrum. It should be noted that the present application does not restrict the order of generating the blood flow spectrum and the tissue Doppler spectrum. The ultrasound imaging system can first enter the blood flow spectrum imaging mode (i.e., the above-mentioned first imaging mode), obtain the blood flow spectrum (for example, first enter the PW mode and obtain the PW spectrum), and then enter the tissue Doppler spectrum imaging mode (i.e., the above-mentioned second imaging mode) to obtain a tissue Doppler image and a tissue Doppler spectrum; it can also first enter the tissue Doppler spectrum imaging mode (i.e., the above-mentioned second imaging mode), and then enter the blood flow spectrum imaging mode (i.e., the above-mentioned first imaging mode). Illustratively, the spectrum analysis method 400 of the embodiment of the present application can automatically switch between the first imaging mode and the second imaging mode, that is, after obtaining cardiac function parameters in one imaging mode, automatically switch to another imaging mode without the user having to manually switch the imaging mode.

[0160] In one embodiment, the spectrum analysis method 400 does not need to obtain or display a tissue Doppler image.

[0161] In one embodiment, after acquiring a first tissue structure image, the target tissue structure in the first tissue structure image is identified, and the position of the first sampling volume is determined based on the target tissue structure. After acquiring a second tissue structure image, the same target tissue structure in the second tissue structure image is identified, and the position of the second sampling volume is determined based on the target tissue structure. The mark of the first sampling volume and the mark of the second sampling volume can be displayed on the first tissue structure image and the second tissue structure image, respectively. Exemplarily, the target tissue structure includes the mitral valve, the first sampling volume is set at the mitral valve orifice, and the second sampling volume is set at the lateral wall basal segment or the ventricular septum basal segment. The specific method for identifying the target tissue structure and determining the sampling volume can refer to the relevant description in the spectrum analysis method 100.

[0162] Unlike spectrum analysis method 100, spectrum analysis method 400 does not collect the blood flow spectrum and tissue Doppler spectrum synchronously. Therefore, a first target cardiac cycle must be selected from the multiple cardiac cycles corresponding to the blood flow spectrum for measurement to obtain a first cardiac function parameter, and a second target cardiac cycle must be selected from the multiple cardiac cycles corresponding to the tissue Doppler spectrum for measurement to obtain a second cardiac function parameter. After determining the first target cardiac cycle and the second target cardiac cycle, markers for the first target cardiac cycle and the second target cardiac cycle can be displayed on the blood flow spectrum and the tissue Doppler spectrum, respectively.

[0163] Exemplarily, the first target cardiac cycle and the second target cardiac cycle are selected based on at least one of the following: spectral qualities of different cardiac cycles, differences between waveform parameters of different cardiac cycles and average waveform parameters, and lengths of different cardiac cycles.

[0164] Specifically, the first and second target cardiac cycles are selected based on the spectral quality of different cardiac cycles. This means that cardiac cycles with good spectral quality are selected for measurement. For example, the cardiac cycle with the best spectral quality in the blood flow spectrum is selected as the first target cardiac cycle, and the cardiac cycle with the best spectral quality in the tissue Doppler spectrum is selected as the second target cardiac cycle. Spectral quality can be determined through deep learning network training or through traditional methods such as energy and signal-to-noise ratio. The higher the spectral quality, the more reliable the measurement results.

[0165] The first and second target cardiac cycles are selected based on the differences between the waveform parameters of different cardiac cycles and the average waveform parameters. Specifically, the cardiac cycles with waveform parameters that differ less from the average waveform parameters are selected. For example, the cardiac cycle with waveform parameters closest to the average waveform parameters in the blood flow spectrum is selected as the first target cardiac cycle, and the cardiac cycle with waveform parameters closest to the average waveform parameters in the tissue Doppler spectrum is selected as the second target cardiac cycle. Waveform parameters include waveform characteristics and peak values. The cardiac cycle with waveform parameters closest to the average waveform parameters can be considered the most representative cardiac cycle.

[0166] The first target cardiac cycle and the second target cardiac cycle are selected according to the lengths of different cardiac cycles, that is, a cardiac cycle is selected from the blood flow spectrum and the tissue Doppler spectrum respectively so that the lengths of the two are closest.

[0167] Furthermore, at least two of the above three evaluation criteria can be combined to jointly select the first target cardiac cycle and the second target cardiac cycle to further improve the accuracy of cardiac function parameter measurement. The following are two methods for selecting the first target cardiac cycle and the second target cardiac cycle by combining the three evaluation criteria.

[0168] In one example, multiple cardiac cycles with the highest spectral quality in the blood flow spectrum are first selected and recorded as first cardiac cycles. Then, a first cardiac cycle with waveform parameters closest to the average waveform parameters of the blood flow spectrum is selected from the multiple first cardiac cycles as the first target cardiac cycle ultimately selected from the blood flow spectrum. Thus, the first target cardiac cycle selected from the blood flow spectrum has the highest spectral quality and waveform parameters closest to the average waveform parameters of the blood flow spectrum.

[0169] Next, multiple cardiac cycles with the highest spectral quality from the tissue Doppler spectrum are selected and recorded as second cardiac cycles. At least two second cardiac cycles are selected from these multiple second cardiac cycles whose waveform parameters are closest to the average waveform parameters of the tissue Doppler spectrum. Finally, a second cardiac cycle with a length closest to the first target cardiac cycle is selected from the at least two second cardiac cycles as the final second target cardiac cycle selected from the tissue Doppler spectrum. This ensures that the second target cardiac cycle selected from the tissue Doppler spectrum has the highest spectral quality and waveform parameters closest to the average waveform parameters of the tissue Doppler spectrum; in addition, the lengths of the first target cardiac cycle and the second target cardiac cycle are closest.

[0170] Similarly, in another example, multiple cardiac cycles with the highest spectral quality in the blood flow spectrum may be first selected as first cardiac cycles, and at least two first cardiac cycles whose waveform parameters are closest to the average waveform parameters of the blood flow spectrum may be selected from the multiple first cardiac cycles. Subsequently, multiple cardiac cycles with the highest spectral quality in the tissue Doppler spectrum may be selected as second cardiac cycles, and a second cardiac cycle whose waveform parameters are closest to the average waveform parameters of the tissue Doppler spectrum may be selected from the multiple second cardiac cycles as the second target cardiac cycle. Finally, a first cardiac cycle whose length is closest to the second target cardiac cycle may be selected from the at least two first cardiac cycles as the first target cardiac cycle. In this example, the second target cardiac cycle with the highest spectral quality and whose waveform parameters are closest to the average waveform parameters is first determined in the tissue Doppler spectrum, and then the first target cardiac cycle whose length is closest to the second target cardiac cycle is determined based on the second target cardiac cycle.

[0171] After determining the first target cardiac cycle and the second target cardiac cycle, the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter can be measured according to the blood flow spectrum corresponding to the first target cardiac cycle and the tissue Doppler spectrum corresponding to the second target cardiac cycle, and then the first cardiac function evaluation result can be obtained according to the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter. In addition to displaying the first cardiac function evaluation result, the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter can also be displayed at the same time. For example, when the target tissue structure is the mitral valve, the first cardiac function parameter includes the E peak velocity value in the blood flow spectrum, the second cardiac function parameter includes the E' peak velocity value in the tissue Doppler spectrum, and the first cardiac function evaluation result includes the ratio of the E peak velocity value to the E' peak velocity value (E / E').

[0172] In some embodiments, other cardiac function assessment results can be obtained based solely on the blood flow spectrum or solely on the tissue Doppler spectrum. For example, a third cardiac function parameter can be obtained based on the blood flow spectrum, and a second cardiac function assessment result can be obtained based on the third cardiac function parameter and the first cardiac function parameter, and the second cardiac function assessment result can be displayed. In addition, the third cardiac function parameter can also be displayed simultaneously. The first cardiac function parameter includes the E peak velocity value in the blood flow spectrum, the third cardiac function parameter includes the A peak velocity value in the blood flow spectrum, and the second cardiac function assessment result includes the ratio of the E peak velocity value to the A peak velocity value (E / A).

[0173] Reference Figure 5 , which shows the display interface of the spectrum analysis method 400 according to an embodiment of the present application. Displayed on the display interface are a first tissue structure image 501, a second tissue structure image 502, a tissue Doppler image 503 (the tissue Doppler image 503 is displayed together with the second tissue structure image 502), a blood flow spectrum 504, and a tissue Doppler spectrum 505. In addition, the display interface also displays a first cardiac function parameter (E), a second cardiac function parameter (E'), and a third cardiac function parameter (A). Marks for the first target cardiac cycle and the second target cardiac cycle are displayed on the blood flow spectrum 504 and the tissue Doppler spectrum 505, respectively, that is, the positions marked with E and E'. A mark for the first sampling volume is displayed on the first tissue structure image 501, and a mark for the second sampling volume is displayed on the second tissue structure image 502.

[0174] The spectrum analysis method 400 of the embodiment of the present application can realize automatic evaluation of cardiac function and improve the accuracy of the evaluation result by matching the appropriate cardiac cycle.

[0175] The present application also provides an ultrasonic imaging system for implementing the above-mentioned spectrum analysis method 200. The ultrasonic imaging system includes an ultrasonic probe, a transmitting circuit, a receiving circuit, a processor, and a display. Figure 1 , the ultrasound imaging system can be implemented as follows Figure 1 The ultrasound imaging system 100 shown may include an ultrasound probe 110, a transmitting circuit 112, a receiving circuit 114, a processor 116, and a display 118. Optionally, the ultrasound imaging system 100 may further include a transmit / receive selection switch 120 and a beamforming module 122. The transmitting circuit 112 and the receiving circuit 114 may be connected to the ultrasound probe 110 via the transmit / receive selection switch 120. For the description of each component, please refer to the above description and will not be repeated here.

[0176] The transmitting circuit 112 is used to stimulate the ultrasonic probe 110 to transmit ultrasonic waves to the object under test; the receiving circuit 114 is used to control the ultrasonic probe 110 to receive the echo of the ultrasonic waves to obtain ultrasonic echo signals; the processor 116 is used to: control the ultrasonic probe 110 to transmit ultrasonic waves to the heart, receive ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves to obtain a first group of ultrasonic echo signals; generate a first tissue structure image of the heart based on the first group of ultrasonic echo signals; automatically determine a first sampling volume of a blood flow spectrum based on the first tissue structure image; obtain a blood flow spectrum at the first sampling volume based on the first group of ultrasonic echo signals; transmit ultrasonic waves to the heart, receive ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves to obtain a second group of ultrasonic echo signals echo signal; generating a second tissue structure image of the heart based on the second group of ultrasonic echo signals; automatically determining a second sampling volume of the tissue Doppler spectrum based on the second tissue structure image; obtaining a tissue Doppler image of the heart and a tissue Doppler spectrum at the second sampling volume based on the second group of ultrasonic echo signals; obtaining a first cardiac function parameter based on the blood flow spectrum, and obtaining a second cardiac function parameter based on the tissue Doppler spectrum; obtaining a first cardiac function evaluation result based on the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter; controlling the display 118 to display the first cardiac function evaluation result, the blood flow spectrum, the tissue Doppler spectrum, the tissue Doppler image of the heart, and the tissue structure image of the heart.

[0177] In one embodiment, obtaining a first cardiac function parameter based on the blood flow spectrum includes: selecting a first target cardiac cycle from multiple cardiac cycles corresponding to the blood flow spectrum for measurement to obtain the first cardiac function parameter; obtaining a second cardiac function parameter based on the tissue Doppler spectrum includes: selecting a second target cardiac cycle from multiple cardiac cycles corresponding to the tissue Doppler spectrum for measurement to obtain the second cardiac function parameter.

[0178] In one embodiment, the first target cardiac cycle and the second target cardiac cycle are selected based on at least one of the following: spectral qualities of different cardiac cycles, differences between waveform parameters of different cardiac cycles and average waveform parameters, and lengths of different cardiac cycles.

[0179] For example, selecting the first target cardiac cycle and the second target cardiac cycle includes: selecting multiple first cardiac cycles with the highest spectral quality in the blood flow spectrum, and selecting a first cardiac cycle with a waveform parameter closest to the average waveform parameter among the multiple first cardiac cycles as the first target cardiac cycle; selecting multiple second cardiac cycles with the highest spectral quality in the tissue Doppler spectrum, and selecting at least two second cardiac cycles with waveform parameters closest to the average waveform parameter among the multiple second cardiac cycles; selecting a second cardiac cycle with a length closest to the first target cardiac cycle among the at least two second cardiac cycles as the second target cardiac cycle.

[0180] Alternatively, selecting the first target cardiac cycle and the second target cardiac cycle includes: selecting multiple first cardiac cycles with the highest spectral quality in the blood flow spectrum, and selecting at least two first cardiac cycles whose waveform parameters are closest to the average waveform parameters among the multiple first cardiac cycles; selecting multiple second cardiac cycles with the highest spectral quality in the tissue Doppler spectrum, and selecting a second cardiac cycle whose waveform parameters are closest to the average waveform parameters among the multiple second cardiac cycles as the second target cardiac cycle; selecting a first cardiac cycle whose length is closest to the second target cardiac cycle among the at least two first cardiac cycles as the first target cardiac cycle.

[0181] In one embodiment, the processor 116 is further configured to control the display 118 to display marks of the first target cardiac cycle and the second target cardiac cycle on the blood flow spectrum and the tissue Doppler spectrum, respectively.

[0182] In one embodiment, the processor 116 is further configured to control the display 118 to display a mark of the first sample volume on the first tissue structure image, and to display a mark of the second sample volume on the second tissue structure image.

[0183] In one embodiment, the automatic determination of the first sampling volume of the blood flow spectrum based on the first tissue structure image includes: identifying the target tissue structure in the first tissue structure image; and determining the position of the first sampling volume according to the target tissue structure; the automatic determination of the second sampling volume of the blood flow spectrum based on the second tissue structure image includes: identifying the target tissue structure in the second tissue structure image; and determining the position of the second sampling volume according to the target tissue structure.

[0184] The target tissue structure includes the mitral valve, the first sampling volume is set at the mitral valve orifice, and the second sampling volume is set at the lateral wall basal segment or the ventricular septum basal segment. The first cardiac function parameter includes the E peak velocity value in the blood flow spectrum, the second cardiac function parameter includes the E' peak velocity value in the tissue Doppler spectrum, and the first cardiac function assessment result includes the ratio of the E peak velocity value to the E' peak velocity value.

[0185] In one embodiment, the processor 116 is further configured to: obtain a third cardiac function parameter based on the blood flow spectrum; obtain a second cardiac function assessment result based on the third cardiac function parameter and the first cardiac function parameter; and control the display 118 to display the second cardiac function assessment result.

[0186] In one embodiment, the first cardiac function parameter includes the E peak velocity value in the blood flow spectrum, the third cardiac function parameter includes the A peak velocity value in the blood flow spectrum, and the second cardiac function assessment result includes the ratio of the E peak velocity value to the A peak velocity value.

[0187] In one embodiment, the processor 116 is further configured to control the display 118 to display the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter.

[0188] The ultrasound imaging system of the embodiment of the present application can realize automatic evaluation of cardiac function and improve the accuracy of the evaluation results by matching the appropriate cardiac cycle.

[0189] Although example embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the above example embodiments are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application. Various changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present application. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present application as required by the appended claims.

[0190] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0191] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units described is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used, such as combining or integrating multiple units or components into another device, or ignoring or not performing some features.

[0192] In the description provided herein, a large number of specific details are described. However, it is understood that the embodiments of the present application can be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known methods, structures, and techniques are not shown in detail so as not to obscure the understanding of this description.

[0193] Similarly, it should be understood that in order to streamline the present application and aid in understanding one or more of the various inventive aspects, in the description of the exemplary embodiments of the present application, the various features of the present application are sometimes grouped together into a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof. However, this approach of the present application should not be interpreted as reflecting the intention that the application claimed for protection requires more features than those explicitly recited in each claim. More precisely, as reflected in the corresponding claims, the inventive point is that the corresponding technical problem can be solved with fewer features than all the features of a single disclosed embodiment. Therefore, the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into the detailed description, with each claim itself serving as a separate embodiment of the present application.

[0194] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that, except where mutually exclusive, all features disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings) and all processes or units of any method or apparatus disclosed herein may be combined in any combination. Unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings) may be replaced by an alternative feature providing the same, equivalent, or similar purpose.

[0195] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that although some embodiments described herein include certain features included in other embodiments but not other features, combinations of features from different embodiments are intended to be within the scope of this application and to form different embodiments. For example, in the claims, any of the claimed embodiments may be used in any combination.

[0196] The various component embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware, or in a software module running on one or more processors, or in a combination thereof. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP) can be used in practice to implement some or all of the functions of some modules according to the embodiments of the present application. The application can also be implemented as a part or all of a device program (e.g., a computer program and a computer program product) for performing the method described herein. Such a program implementing the present application can be stored on a computer-readable medium, or can have the form of one or more signals. Such a signal can be downloaded from an Internet website, or provided on a carrier signal, or provided in any other form.

[0197] It should be noted that the above embodiments illustrate rather than limit the present application, and that those skilled in the art may devise alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference symbols placed between brackets should not be construed as limiting the claims. The present application may be implemented by means of hardware comprising several different elements and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In a unit claim enumerating several means, several of these means may be embodied by the same item of hardware. The use of the words first, second, and third, etc. does not indicate any order. These words may be interpreted as names.

[0198] The above description is merely a specific embodiment or illustration of a specific embodiment of the present application, and the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application. The scope of protection of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A spectrum analysis method, characterized in that: The method comprises: transmitting an ultrasonic wave toward the heart and receiving an ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic wave to obtain at least one set of ultrasonic echo signals; generating a cardiac tissue structure image based on the ultrasound echo signal; automatically determining a first sampling volume of a blood flow spectrum and a second sampling volume of a tissue Doppler spectrum based on the tissue structure image; obtaining a tissue Doppler image of the heart, a blood flow spectrum at the first sample volume, and a tissue Doppler spectrum at the second sample volume based on the ultrasonic echo signal; Obtaining a first cardiac function parameter based on the blood flow spectrum, and obtaining a second cardiac function parameter based on the tissue Doppler spectrum; wherein the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter correspond to the same cardiac cycle; obtaining a first cardiac function assessment result based on the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter; The first cardiac function evaluation result, the blood flow spectrum, the tissue Doppler spectrum, the heart tissue Doppler image, and the heart tissue structure image are displayed.

2. A spectrum analysis method, characterized in that: The method comprises: transmitting an ultrasonic wave toward the heart and receiving an ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic wave to obtain at least one set of ultrasonic echo signals; generating a cardiac tissue structure image based on the ultrasound echo signal; automatically determining a first sampling volume of a blood flow spectrum and a second sampling volume of a tissue Doppler spectrum based on the tissue structure image; obtaining a blood flow spectrum at the first sampling volume and a tissue Doppler spectrum at the second sampling volume based on the ultrasonic echo signal; Obtaining a first cardiac function parameter based on the blood flow spectrum, and obtaining a second cardiac function parameter based on the tissue Doppler spectrum; wherein the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter correspond to the same cardiac cycle; obtaining a first cardiac function assessment result based on the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter; The first cardiac function evaluation result, the blood flow spectrum, the tissue Doppler spectrum, and the cardiac tissue structure image are displayed.

3. The spectrum analysis method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The obtaining of a first cardiac function parameter based on the blood flow spectrum and a second cardiac function parameter based on the tissue Doppler spectrum includes: performing threshold segmentation on the blood flow spectrum and the tissue Doppler spectrum respectively to obtain a first spectrum envelope of the blood flow spectrum and a second spectrum envelope of the tissue Doppler spectrum; determining the cardiac cycle corresponding to the blood flow spectrum based on the time intervals between the multiple identical peaks in the first spectrum envelope, and determining the cardiac cycle corresponding to the tissue Doppler spectrum based on the time intervals between the multiple identical peaks in the second spectrum envelope; The blood flow spectrum and the tissue Doppler spectrum corresponding to the same cardiac cycle are measured to obtain the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter respectively.

4. The spectrum analysis method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The automatically determining a first sampling volume of a blood flow spectrum and a second sampling volume of a tissue Doppler spectrum based on the tissue structure image includes: identifying a target tissue structure in the tissue structure image; Positions of the first sampling volume and the second sampling volume are determined according to the target tissue structure.

5. The spectrum analysis method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: Also includes: Marks of cardiac cycles corresponding to the first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter are displayed on the blood flow spectrum and the tissue Doppler spectrum.

6. The spectrum analysis method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: Also includes: Marks of the first sample volume and the second sample volume are displayed on the tissue structure image.

7. The spectrum analysis method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The target tissue structure includes a mitral valve, the first sampling volume is set at the mitral valve orifice, and the second sampling volume is set at the lateral wall basal segment or the ventricular septum basal segment.

8. The spectrum analysis method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The first cardiac function parameter includes the E peak velocity value in the blood flow spectrum, the second cardiac function parameter includes the E' peak velocity value in the tissue Doppler spectrum, and the first cardiac function evaluation result includes the ratio of the E peak velocity value to the E' peak velocity value.

9. The spectrum analysis method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: Also includes: obtaining a third cardiac function parameter based on the blood flow spectrum; obtaining a second cardiac function assessment result based on the third cardiac function parameter and the first cardiac function parameter; The second heart function assessment result is displayed.

10. The spectrum analysis method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The first cardiac function parameter includes the E peak velocity value in the blood flow spectrum, the third cardiac function parameter includes the A peak velocity value in the blood flow spectrum, and the second cardiac function evaluation result includes the ratio of the E peak velocity value to the A peak velocity value.

11. The spectrum analysis method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that: Also includes: The first cardiac function parameter and the second cardiac function parameter are displayed.

12. An ultrasonic imaging system, characterized in that: The ultrasound imaging system comprises: Ultrasound probe; A transmitting circuit, used for stimulating the ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves toward the heart; a receiving circuit, configured to control the ultrasonic probe to receive the ultrasonic echo to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal; A processor, configured to execute the spectrum analysis method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

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