Ultrasonic imaging method and system for fetal face

Abstract

A fetal facial ultrasound imaging method and system, the method comprising: transmitting ultrasound to the fetal facial area to be imaged, receiving the ultrasound echo to obtain an ultrasound echo signal; obtaining ultrasound volume data based on the ultrasound echo signal; identifying a fetal facial area and a tissue area corresponding to at least one tissue category in the ultrasound volume data; determining an occlusion area in the tissue area that obscures the fetal facial area based on the relative positional relationship between the tissue area and the fetal facial area; determining a to-be-hidden area and a to-be-displayed area in the ultrasound volume data based on the occlusion area; performing different rendering processing on the to-be-hidden area and the to-be-displayed area or only performing rendering processing on the to-be-displayed area to obtain a rendered image, and displaying the rendered image. The present invention can reduce the occlusion of the fetal facial area by other tissue areas, thereby obtaining a better fetal facial ultrasound imaging effect.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of ultrasonic imaging, and more particularly to a fetal facial ultrasonic imaging method and an ultrasonic imaging system. Background Art

[0002] Ultrasound examinations are widely used in clinical settings due to their safety, convenience, lack of radiation, and low cost. They have become a primary aid for doctors in diagnosing diseases. Prenatal ultrasound, the primary imaging test in prenatal care, provides the most important imaging evidence for measuring fetal growth and development and screening for structural abnormalities. Prenatal ultrasound examinations are now mandatory during early, mid, and late pregnancy.

[0003] Currently, 3D fetal facial imaging is a mandatory feature of fetal 3D color Doppler ultrasound. It assists medical professionals in screening for fetal facial deformities. Pregnant women can also use 3D fetal facial imaging to observe their fetus's appearance in advance, enhancing confidence during the examination and fostering a strong mother-child bond. This has significant clinical significance and value.

[0004] In actual clinical applications, doctors must manually select regions of interest when rendering 3D images of the fetal face. However, in some 3D ultrasound images of the fetus' face, the face is obscured by other tissue structures. In these cases, doctors must manually adjust the imaging area to achieve better facial imaging results, a tedious and time-consuming process. Summary of the Invention

[0005] 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.

[0006] An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for ultrasonic imaging of a fetus' face, the method comprising:

[0007] transmitting an ultrasonic wave to the fetus to be imaged, and receiving an echo of the ultrasonic wave to obtain an echo signal of the ultrasonic wave;

[0008] obtaining the ultrasonic volume data based on the ultrasonic echo signal;

[0009] identifying a fetal facial region and a tissue region corresponding to at least one tissue category in the ultrasound volume data;

[0010] determining, in the tissue region, an obstruction region that obstructs the fetal face according to a relative positional relationship between the tissue region and the fetal facial region;

[0011] determining an area to be hidden and an area to be displayed in the ultrasound volume data according to the blocked area;

[0012] Different rendering processes are performed on the area to be hidden and the area to be displayed, or only the area to be displayed is rendered to obtain a rendered image, and the rendered image is displayed.

[0013] In some embodiments, the tissue region includes a first tissue region; and determining the region to be hidden and the region to be displayed in the ultrasound volume data according to the occluded region includes:

[0014] determining a proportion of the blocked area in the first tissue area;

[0015] If the proportion of the blocked area in the first tissue area is greater than or equal to a first preset threshold, determining the first tissue area as the area to be hidden;

[0016] If the proportion of the blocked area in the first tissue area is lower than the first preset threshold, the first tissue area is determined as the area to be displayed.

[0017] In some embodiments, the tissue region includes a first tissue region; and determining the region to be hidden and the region to be displayed in the ultrasound volume data according to the occluded region includes:

[0018] The portion of the first tissue region that belongs to the occlusion region is determined as the region to be hidden, and the portion of the first tissue region other than the occlusion region is determined as the region to be displayed.

[0019] In some embodiments, the tissue region comprises at least one of: a fetal arm region, a fetal umbilical cord region, a fetal body region, and a placenta region.

[0020] In some embodiments, determining the blocked area blocking the fetal face in the tissue region based on the relative positional relationship between the tissue region and the fetal facial region includes:

[0021] The fetal facial region and the tissue region are projected along a rendering direction, and a portion of the tissue region that overlaps with the fetal facial region and is located in front of the fetal facial region is determined as the occlusion region.

[0022] In some embodiments, determining the area to be hidden and the area to be displayed in the ultrasound volume data according to the blocked area includes:

[0023] determining the quality of ultrasound volume data of the fetal facial region blocked by the blocking region;

[0024] If the quality of the ultrasound volume data of the fetal facial area blocked by the blocking area is higher than or equal to a second preset threshold, the blocking area is determined as the area to be hidden;

[0025] If the quality of the ultrasound volume data of the fetal facial area blocked by the blocking area is lower than the second preset threshold, the blocking area is determined as the area to be displayed.

[0026] In some embodiments, the tissue region further includes a non-blocking region outside the blocking region, and the method further includes:

[0027] determining the quality of the ultrasound volume data of the non-blocked area;

[0028] If the quality of the ultrasound volume data of the non-blocked area is higher than or equal to a third preset threshold, determining the non-blocked area as the area to be displayed;

[0029] If the quality of the ultrasound volume data of the non-blocked area is lower than the third preset threshold, the non-blocked area is determined as the area to be hidden.

[0030] In some embodiments, performing different rendering processes on the area to be hidden and the area to be displayed to obtain a rendered image includes:

[0031] The to-be-hidden area is processed as invisible in the rendered image, or the to-be-hidden area is processed as having a preset transparency in the rendered image.

[0032] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

[0033] extracting two-dimensional ultrasound data from the ultrasound volume data, generating a two-dimensional ultrasound image based on the two-dimensional ultrasound data, and displaying the two-dimensional ultrasound image;

[0034] Displaying adjustable position markers of the area to be hidden and the area to be displayed in the two-dimensional ultrasound image;

[0035] When an adjustment operation on the position marker is received, the area to be hidden and the area to be displayed in the ultrasound volume data are re-determined according to the adjusted position marker.

[0036] In some embodiments, identifying the fetal facial region and tissue regions corresponding to at least one tissue category in the ultrasound volume data includes:

[0037] performing target detection on the ultrasound volume data to determine the fetal facial region and a tissue region corresponding to the at least one tissue category;

[0038] Alternatively, semantic segmentation is performed on the ultrasound volume data to determine the fetal facial region and the tissue region corresponding to the at least one tissue category;

[0039] Alternatively, the ultrasound volume data is matched with a fetal volume data template to determine the fetal facial region and the tissue region corresponding to the at least one tissue category.

[0040] Another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for ultrasonic imaging of the fetal face, the method comprising:

[0041] transmitting an ultrasonic wave to the fetus to be imaged, and receiving an echo of the ultrasonic wave to obtain an echo signal of the ultrasonic wave;

[0042] obtaining ultrasonic volume data of the fetus based on the ultrasonic echo signal;

[0043] identifying at least one tissue region in the ultrasound volume data, where different tissue regions correspond to different tissue categories;

[0044] performing rendering processing on the ultrasound volume data to obtain a rendered image, and displaying the rendered image;

[0045] receiving a selection operation of a target tissue region among the at least one tissue region;

[0046] Based on the selection operation, the target tissue region is hidden in the rendered image, or based on the selection operation, the ultrasound volume data is re-rendered to hide the target tissue region.

[0047] In some embodiments, the at least one tissue region comprises at least one of: a fetal arm region, a fetal umbilical cord region, a fetal body region, and a placenta region.

[0048] In some embodiments, the at least one tissue region includes at least one of the following: a fetal arm region that obscures the fetal face, a fetal arm region that does not obstruct the fetal face, a fetal umbilical cord region that obscures the fetal face, a fetal umbilical cord region that does not obstruct the fetal face, a placenta region that obscures the fetal face, a placenta region that does not obstruct the fetal face, and a fetal body region.

[0049] In some embodiments, rendering the ultrasound volume data to obtain a rendered image includes rendering different tissue regions into different colors.

[0050] In some embodiments, the number of the tissue regions is at least two, and the method further comprises:

[0051] receiving an adjustment operation on a boundary between two adjacent tissue regions through the rendered image;

[0052] The boundary between two adjacent tissue regions is redefined according to the adjustment operation.

[0053] In some embodiments, the number of the tissue regions is at least two, and the method further comprises:

[0054] extracting two-dimensional ultrasound data from the ultrasound volume data, generating a two-dimensional ultrasound image based on the two-dimensional ultrasound data, and displaying the two-dimensional ultrasound image;

[0055] receiving an adjustment operation on a boundary between two adjacent tissue regions through the two-dimensional ultrasound image;

[0056] The boundary between two adjacent tissue regions is redefined according to the adjustment operation.

[0057] In some embodiments, receiving a selection operation of a target tissue region among the at least one tissue region comprises:

[0058] displaying the at least one tissue region in the rendered image, and receiving a selection operation of a target tissue region in the at least one tissue region based on the rendered image.

[0059] Alternatively, two-dimensional ultrasound data is extracted from the ultrasound volume data, a two-dimensional ultrasound image is generated based on the two-dimensional ultrasound data, the at least one tissue region is displayed in the two-dimensional image, and a selection operation for a target tissue region in the at least one tissue region is received based on the two-dimensional ultrasound image.

[0060] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: displaying, according to the tissue categories corresponding to the different tissue regions, identifiers representing the tissue categories;

[0061] The receiving a selection operation of a target tissue region in the at least one tissue region comprises:

[0062] A selection operation of the target tissue region is received based on the identifier representing the tissue category.

[0063] A third aspect of an embodiment of the present invention provides an ultrasound imaging system, comprising:

[0064] Ultrasound probe;

[0065] a transmitting circuit, configured to stimulate the ultrasound probe to transmit ultrasound waves toward the fetus to be imaged;

[0066] a receiving circuit, configured to control the ultrasonic probe to receive the ultrasonic echo to obtain the ultrasonic echo signal;

[0067] A processor, configured to execute the steps of the method for ultrasonic imaging of the fetal face as described above to obtain a rendered image;

[0068] A display is used to display the rendered image.

[0069] The ultrasound imaging method and ultrasound imaging system of the fetal face of the embodiment of the present invention identify the occluded area that blocks the fetal face in the ultrasound volume data, and determine the area to be hidden during processing based on the rendering of the occluded area, which can reduce the occlusion of the fetal face by other tissue areas, thereby obtaining a better fetal facial ultrasound imaging effect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0070] The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent through a more detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are provided to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present invention and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments of the present invention, they are used to explain the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. In the drawings, the same reference numerals generally represent the same components or steps.

[0071] Figure 1 A structural block diagram of an ultrasound imaging system according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0072] Figure 2 A schematic flow chart showing a method for ultrasonic imaging of the fetal face according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0073] Figure 3A Shows a rendered image without hidden processing according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0074] Figure 3B Shows a rendered image after hiding the placenta region according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0075] Figure 3C A rendered image is shown after hiding the placenta region and the fetal arm region according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0076] Figure 4 A schematic flowchart illustrating a method for ultrasonic imaging of a fetus's face according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0077] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments of the present invention, and it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein. Based on the embodiments of the present invention described in the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work should fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0078] In the following description, numerous specific details are provided to provide a more thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without one or more of these details. In other instances, certain technical features well known in the art are not described to avoid confusion with the present invention.

[0079] It should be understood that the present invention can be implemented in different forms and should not be interpreted as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided to make disclosure thorough and complete and to fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art.

[0080] The purpose of the terms used herein is only to describe specific embodiments and is not intended to limit the present invention. 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 "comprising", when used in this specification, determine the presence of the features, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or parts, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, parts and / or groups. When used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of the relevant listed items.

[0081] In order to fully understand the present invention, a detailed structure will be provided in the following description to illustrate the technical solution proposed by the present invention. Optional embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below. However, in addition to these detailed descriptions, the present invention may also have other implementations.

[0082] Next, first refer to Figure 1 An ultrasound imaging system according to an embodiment of the present invention 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 invention.

[0083] like Figure 1As 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.

[0084] 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.

[0085] During ultrasound imaging, processor 116 controls transmit circuit 112 to transmit delayed, focused transmit pulses to ultrasound probe 110 via transmit / receive selector switch 120. Energized by the transmit pulses, ultrasound probe 110 transmits an ultrasonic beam toward the target tissue area of ​​the subject. After a certain delay, it receives ultrasound echoes containing tissue information reflected from the target tissue area and reconverts these ultrasound echoes into electrical signals. Receive circuit 114 receives the converted electrical signals generated by ultrasound probe 110, obtains ultrasound echo signals, and transmits these ultrasound echo signals to beamforming module 122. Beamforming module 122 performs processing on the ultrasound echo data, including focusing delay, weighting, and channel summing, before transmitting them to processor 116. Processor 116 performs signal detection, signal enhancement, data conversion, and logarithmic compression on the ultrasound echo signals to form an ultrasound image. The ultrasound image generated by processor 116 can be displayed on display 118 or stored in memory 124.

[0086] 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.

[0087] 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 .

[0088] 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.

[0089] 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.

[0090] 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.

[0091] 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.

[0092] It should be understood that Figure 1 The components included in the ultrasound imaging system 100 are merely exemplary, and the system may include more or fewer components, which is not a limitation of the present invention.

[0093] Below, we will refer to Figure 2 A method for ultrasonic imaging of the fetal face according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. This method may be implemented in the ultrasonic imaging system 100 described above. Figure 2 FIG. 2 is a schematic flow chart of a method 200 for ultrasonic imaging of the fetal face according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0094] like Figure 2 As shown, a method 200 for ultrasonic imaging of the fetal face according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the following steps:

[0095] In step S210, an ultrasonic wave is transmitted to the fetus to be imaged, and an echo of the ultrasonic wave is received to obtain an echo signal of the ultrasonic wave;

[0096] In step S220, ultrasonic volume data of the fetus is obtained based on the ultrasonic echo signal;

[0097] In step S230, a fetal facial region and a tissue region corresponding to at least one tissue category related to the fetal facial region are identified in the ultrasound volume data.

[0098] In step S240, based on the relative positional relationship between the tissue region and the fetal facial region, an obstruction region that obstructs the fetal facial region is determined in the tissue region;

[0099] In step S250, a region to be hidden and a region to be displayed in the ultrasound volume data are determined according to the blocked region;

[0100] In step S260 , different rendering processes are performed on the area to be hidden and the area to be displayed, or only the area to be displayed is rendered to obtain a rendered image, and the rendered image is displayed.

[0101] The fetal facial ultrasound imaging method 200 of an embodiment of the present invention identifies the occluded area that blocks the fetal facial area in the ultrasound volume data, and determines the area to be hidden during rendering processing based on the occluded area, which can reduce the occlusion of the fetal facial area by other tissue areas, thereby obtaining a better fetal facial ultrasound imaging effect.

[0102] First, refer to Figure 1 In the ultrasound imaging system 100, during ultrasound imaging of the fetus's face, the user moves the ultrasound probe 110 to select an appropriate position and angle. The transmitting circuit 112 sends a set of delayed and focused transmit pulses to the ultrasound probe 110, stimulating the ultrasound probe 110 to transmit ultrasound waves along a two-dimensional scanning plane toward the target tissue. The receiving circuit 114 controls the ultrasound probe 110 to receive ultrasound echoes reflected from the target tissue and converts them into electrical signals. The beamforming module 112 performs corresponding delay and weighted summation on the echo signals obtained from multiple transmissions and receptions to achieve beamforming. The echo signals are then sent to the processor 116 for logarithmic compression, dynamic range adjustment, and digital scan conversion. The processor 116 integrates the three-dimensional spatial relationships of the ultrasound echo signals obtained by the ultrasound probe 110 within a series of scanning planes, thereby achieving three-dimensional scanning of the fetus to be imaged and reconstructing ultrasound volume data. Finally, after some or all of the image post-processing steps, such as denoising, smoothing, and enhancement, ultrasound volume data of the fetus is obtained.

[0103] Ultrasound volume data can be acquired in real time by the ultrasound imaging system or retrieved from the ultrasound imaging system's memory. Ultrasound volume data is obtained by scanning the fetus's face and is used to screen for fetal facial deformities or observe fetal appearance. It can be full-body ultrasound data or half-body ultrasound data.

[0104] In step S230, a fetal facial region and tissue regions corresponding to at least one tissue category related to the fetal facial region are identified in the ultrasound volume data. The fetal facial region can be the head region or a portion of the head region. Exemplarily, the tissue regions include tissue regions that easily obstruct the fetal facial region, such as the fetal arm region, the fetal umbilical cord region, the fetal body region, and the placenta region. The fetal arm region can be divided into the fetal left hand region and the fetal right hand region. Furthermore, the tissue regions may also include tissue regions that are less likely to obstruct the fetal facial region, such as the fetal torso region.

[0105] In some embodiments, target detection can be performed on the ultrasound volume data to identify the fetal facial region and tissue regions corresponding to at least one tissue category. Target detection is implemented based on a pre-trained target detection model. For example, a database of fetal ultrasound volume data is first established, with each ultrasound volume data item in the database labeled with the location of the fetal facial region and various tissue regions. Subsequently, a traditional machine learning method or a deep learning method is used to learn an optimal mapping function for obtaining the location of the fetal facial region or target tissue region from the fetal ultrasound volume data. This allows identification of the fetal facial region and tissue regions corresponding to various tissue categories in the ultrasound volume data based on the trained target detection model.

[0106] Alternatively, the ultrasound volume data can be semantically segmented to determine the fetal facial region and the tissue region corresponding to at least one tissue category. Semantic segmentation is the process of segmenting the ultrasound volume data based on its semantic content and classifying each pixel in the ultrasound volume data. For example, a fully convolutional neural network can be used to semantically segment the ultrasound volume data. Manually labeled fetal facial regions and tissue regions are used as labels, and the fully convolutional neural network is trained point-to-point. The trained fully convolutional neural network directly predicts pixel categories, thereby completing the segmentation of the ultrasound volume data.

[0107] Alternatively, the ultrasound volume data can be matched with a fetal volume data template to determine the fetal facial region and the tissue region corresponding to at least one tissue category. As an example, matching the ultrasound volume data with the fetal volume data template includes finding an optimal three-dimensional spatial transformation relationship so that the ultrasound volume data and the fetal volume data template have the highest similarity or the smallest difference. Alternatively, image features, such as gradient features, texture features, etc., can be first extracted from the ultrasound volume data and the fetal volume data template, and then an optimal three-dimensional spatial transformation relationship can be found so that the similarity between the image features extracted from the ultrasound volume data and the fetal volume data template is the highest or the difference is the smallest. After the matching is completed, the corresponding position of each tissue region in the ultrasound volume data can be determined based on the position of each tissue region pre-marked in the fetal volume data template and the three-dimensional spatial transformation relationship obtained by matching.

[0108] Various methods can be used to identify fetal facial regions and other tissue regions in ultrasound volume data. For example, the ultrasound volume data can be pre-segmented using methods such as threshold segmentation to obtain a set of candidate boundary regions. Feature extraction is then performed on each tissue region. The extracted features are then matched with features extracted from labeled fetal facial regions and tissue regions in a database to determine the tissue category corresponding to the candidate boundary region. The embodiments of the present invention do not limit the specific method for identifying fetal facial regions and other tissue regions in ultrasound volume data.

[0109] In step S240, based on the relative positional relationship between the tissue region and the fetal facial region, an occlusion region that blocks the fetal facial region is determined in the tissue region. The occlusion region may be the fetal arm region, the fetal umbilical cord region, or the placenta region, or a portion of the fetal arm region, the fetal umbilical cord region, or the placenta region.

[0110] In some embodiments, determining an occlusion region within the tissue region that obscures the fetal face based on the relative positional relationship between the tissue region and the fetal facial region includes projecting the fetal facial region and the tissue region along a rendering direction and determining a portion of the tissue region that overlaps with and is located in front of the fetal facial region as the occlusion region. In other words, if a portion of the tissue region overlaps with the fetal facial region and is closer to the observer in the rendering direction, the portion of the tissue region will obscure the fetal face in the rendered image, and therefore the portion of the tissue region is determined as the occlusion region.

[0111] In an embodiment of the present invention, the occlusion region may specifically include at least one of a placenta region occluding the fetal face, an arm region occluding the fetal face, and a fetal umbilical cord region occluding the fetal face. The occlusion region is determined based on the relative positional relationship between different types of tissue regions and the fetal face region. Each type of occlusion region may include one or more connected domains or may be a portion of a connected domain.

[0112] After the occlusion region is determined, in step S250, a region to be hidden and a region to be displayed in the ultrasound volume data are determined according to the occlusion region. Exemplarily, the region to be hidden includes at least a portion of the occlusion region.

[0113] For ease of description, one of the tissue regions is defined as the first tissue region. The first tissue region can be any of the fetal arm region, the fetal umbilical cord region, and the placenta region. In one embodiment, the proportion of the occluded region in the first tissue region is determined. If the proportion of the occluded region in the first tissue region is greater than or equal to a first preset threshold, that is, a large portion of the first tissue region obscures the fetal face, then the entire first tissue region is determined as a region to be hidden. Conversely, if the proportion of the occluded region in the first tissue region is less than the first preset threshold, that is, only a small portion of the first tissue region obscures the fetal face, then the entire first tissue region is determined as a region to be displayed. Taking the placenta region as an example, if the proportion of the occluded region in the placenta region is greater than or equal to the first preset threshold, the entire placenta region is determined as a region to be hidden. If the proportion of the occluded region in the placenta region is less than the first preset threshold, the entire placenta region is determined as a region to be displayed. During subsequent rendering, the entire first tissue region will be hidden or displayed to prevent the remaining portion of the first tissue region from disturbing the user.

[0114] In another embodiment, the portion of the first tissue region that is the occluded area can be directly determined as the area to be hidden, and the portion of the first tissue region outside the occluded area can be determined as the area to be displayed. In this way, the tissue region that obscures the fetal face can be accurately hidden. For example, if the first tissue region is a fetal arm region, the fetal arm region can be divided into two parts: the portion that obscures the fetal face is determined as the area to be hidden, and the portion that does not obscure the fetal face is determined as the area to be displayed.

[0115] In some embodiments, the tissue region further includes a fetal body region. Since the fetal body region is unlikely to block the fetal face, the fetal body region can be directly determined as the region to be displayed.

[0116] In addition to determining the area to be hidden and the area to be displayed based on the occluded area, other classification rules can also be used to assist in the classification of the area to be hidden and the area to be displayed. For example, the ultrasound volume data quality of the fetal facial area obscured by the occluded area can be determined; if the ultrasound volume data quality of the fetal facial area obscured by the occluded area is higher than or equal to a second preset threshold, the occluded area is determined as the area to be hidden; if the ultrasound volume data quality of the fetal facial area obscured by the occluded area is lower than the second preset threshold, the occluded area is determined as the area to be displayed. The ultrasound volume data quality of the fetal facial area obscured by the occluded area can be calculated based on the grayscale value of the ultrasound volume data to evaluate whether the image of the fetal face is clear and complete. If the ultrasound volume data quality of the fetal facial area is poor and hiding the occluded area does not allow the user to clearly view the fetal face, it is not necessary to hide the occluded area, but rather to retain the occluded area for the user to view other tissue areas.

[0117] In some embodiments, the ultrasound volume data quality of the non-obstructed area can also be determined; if the ultrasound volume data quality of the non-obstructed area is greater than or equal to a third preset threshold, the non-obstructed area is determined as an area to be displayed; if the ultrasound volume data quality of the non-obstructed area is less than the third preset threshold, the non-obstructed area is determined as an area to be hidden. The ultrasound volume data quality of the non-obstructed area can also be calculated based on the grayscale value of the ultrasound volume data to assess whether the image of the sub-obstructed area is clear and complete. If the ultrasound volume data quality of the non-obstructed area is poor, retaining the non-obstructed area will not only prevent the user from viewing the tissue in the non-obstructed area, but will also affect the overall imaging effect. In this case, the non-obstructed area can be hidden.

[0118] The above rules for determining the areas to be hidden and the areas to be displayed can be used in combination with each other. For example, the hiding score and display score of each organizational area are calculated under each rule, and the scores under different rules are weighted and summed. For a certain organizational area, if the total hiding score is higher than the total display score, then the organizational area is determined as the area to be hidden, otherwise, the organizational area is determined as the area to be displayed. Combining multiple rules can obtain classification results that better meet actual needs.

[0119] For example, for the fetal arm area, a first hidden score and a first display score are obtained according to the ratio of the occluded area to the non-occluded area, a second hidden score and a second display score are obtained according to the ultrasound volume data quality of the fetal facial area occluded by the occluded area of ​​the fetal arm, and a third hidden score and a third display score are obtained according to the ultrasound volume data quality of the non-occluded area of ​​the fetal arm. The first hidden score, the second hidden score and the third hidden score are weightedly summed to obtain a total hidden score, and the first display score, the second display score and the third display score are weightedly summed to obtain a total display score. If the total hidden score is higher than the total display score, the fetal arm area is determined as the area to be hidden; otherwise, the fetal arm area is determined as the area to be displayed.

[0120] In step S260, different rendering processes are performed on the to-be-hidden area and the to-be-displayed area of ​​the ultrasound volume data, or only the to-be-displayed area is rendered to obtain a rendered image, and the rendered image is displayed. The different rendering processes performed on the to-be-hidden area and the to-be-displayed area are used to reduce the occlusion of the fetal face by the to-be-hidden area. For example, the to-be-hidden area can be rendered invisible in the rendered image, or the to-be-hidden area can be rendered with a preset transparency in the rendered image so that the fetal face below can be viewed through the to-be-hidden area. When only the to-be-displayed area is rendered, only the to-be-displayed area is displayed in the rendered image, and the to-be-hidden area is not displayed, which can also prevent the to-be-hidden area from occluding the fetal face. By performing the above-mentioned differentiated rendering processes on the to-be-hidden area and the to-be-displayed area, or only performing the rendering process on the to-be-displayed area, the occlusion of the fetal face by the to-be-hidden area can be reduced, making it easier for users to screen for fetal facial deformities or observe the fetal appearance.

[0121] Reference Figures 3A to 3C ,in, Figure 3A The rendered image without concealment processing is shown, in which part of the placenta area and part of the fetal arm area block the fetal face, making the fetal face unable to be viewed in the rendered image. Figure 3B The rendered image is shown after the placenta region that obscures the fetal face is hidden. Although the fetal arm region still obscures the fetal face, the fetal face can be presented more clearly. Figure 3C The rendered image is shown after both the placenta area and the fetal arm area are hidden. The rendered image can show more details of the fetal face. However, since the ultrasound volume data of the fetal facial area blocked by the fetal arm area is not complete, it is also possible to choose not to hide the fetal arm area.

[0122] Exemplarily, the rendering mode for rendering ultrasound volume data can be surface rendering or volume rendering. Among them, the surface rendering method may include extracting isosurface (i.e., surface contour) information from the ultrasound volume data, and then performing stereo rendering in combination with the illumination model, wherein the illumination model includes ambient light, scattered light, highlights, etc. Volume rendering is mainly a ray tracing algorithm. In an example of volume rendering, multiple rays are emitted through the ultrasound volume data based on the line of sight, and each ray is advanced at a fixed step size. The volume data on the ray path is sampled, and the opacity of each sampling point is determined according to the grayscale value of each sampling point. The opacity of each sampling point on each ray path is then accumulated to obtain the cumulative opacity. Finally, the cumulative opacity on each ray path is mapped to a color value through a mapping table of cumulative opacity and color, and the color value is then mapped to a pixel of the two-dimensional image. In this way, the color values ​​of the pixels corresponding to all ray paths are obtained, and a rendered image can be obtained.

[0123] In order to further meet user needs, the user can also be allowed to manually adjust the boundaries of the area to be hidden and the area to be displayed. Specifically, two-dimensional ultrasound data can be extracted from the ultrasound volume data, a two-dimensional ultrasound image can be generated based on the two-dimensional ultrasound data, and the two-dimensional ultrasound image can be displayed; adjustable position markers of the area to be hidden and the area to be displayed are displayed in the two-dimensional ultrasound image; when an adjustment operation on the position marker is received, the area to be hidden and the area to be displayed in the ultrasound volume data are re-determined based on the adjusted position marker. The two-dimensional ultrasound image can include a two-dimensional ultrasound image of at least one section, and the tissue category of each tissue area can be marked in the two-dimensional ultrasound image; the adjustable position markers of the area to be hidden and the area to be displayed can be an adjustable dividing line between the area to be hidden and the area to be displayed.

[0124] In summary, the fetal facial ultrasound imaging method 200 of the embodiment of the present invention identifies the occluded area that blocks the fetal facial area in the ultrasound volume data, and determines the area to be hidden during rendering processing based on the occluded area, which can reduce the occlusion of the fetal facial area by other tissue areas, thereby obtaining a better fetal facial ultrasound imaging effect.

[0125] Another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for ultrasonic imaging of the fetus's face, such as Figure 4 As shown, a method 400 for ultrasonic imaging of the fetal face according to another embodiment of the present invention includes the following steps:

[0126] In step S410, an ultrasonic wave is transmitted to the face of the fetus to be imaged, and an echo of the ultrasonic wave is received to obtain an echo signal of the ultrasonic wave;

[0127] In step S420, ultrasonic volume data of the fetus is obtained based on the ultrasonic echo signal;

[0128] In step S430 , at least one tissue region is identified in the ultrasound volume data, where different tissue regions correspond to different tissue types.

[0129] In step S440, rendering is performed on the ultrasound volume data to obtain a rendered image, and the rendered image is displayed;

[0130] In step S450, a selection operation of a target tissue region in the at least one tissue region is received;

[0131] In step S460, based on the selection operation, the target tissue region is hidden in the rendered image, or based on the selection operation, the ultrasound volume data is re-rendered to hide the target tissue region.

[0132] In some embodiments, the at least one tissue region identified in the ultrasound volume data includes at least one of the following: a fetal arm region, a fetal umbilical cord region, a fetal body region, and a placenta region. For example, if the user believes that the fetal arm region obscures the fetal face, the fetal arm region can be selected to be hidden. Manual user selection of target tissue regions for hiding can further satisfy user needs. Tissue regions that do not obscure the fetal face but that the user believes need to be hidden can also be hidden; however, tissue regions that obscure the fetal face but that the user believes need to be retained can be left unhidden.

[0133] In another embodiment, the at least one tissue region identified in the ultrasound volume data includes at least one of the following: a fetal arm region that obscures the fetal face, a fetal arm region that does not obscures the fetal face, a fetal umbilical cord region that obscures the fetal face, a fetal umbilical cord region that does not obscures the fetal face, a placenta region that obscures the fetal face, a placenta region that does not obscures the fetal face, and a fetal body region. In this embodiment, the fetal arm region, the fetal umbilical cord region, and the placenta region are further divided based on their relative positional relationship to the fetal face region. When a selection operation is received for the fetal arm region that obscures the fetal face, only the fetal arm region that obscures the fetal face is hidden in the rendered image, while the fetal arm region that does not obscures the fetal face is retained.

[0134] In step S450, at least one tissue region may be displayed in the rendered image, and a selection operation for a target tissue region in the at least one tissue region may be received based on the rendered image. When a selection operation input by a user in the rendered image is received, the tissue region to which the location indicated by the selection operation belongs is determined, and the tissue region is determined as the target tissue region. For example, a user may click on a placenta region in the rendered image, and the ultrasound imaging system determines that the location clicked by the user is the placenta region, and then hides the placenta region in the rendered image. The hiding process may include making the target tissue region invisible, or making the target tissue region have a preset transparency in the rendered image.

[0135] Alternatively, two-dimensional ultrasound data can be extracted from the ultrasound volume data, a two-dimensional ultrasound image can be generated based on the two-dimensional ultrasound data, at least one tissue region can be displayed in the two-dimensional ultrasound image, and a selection operation of a target tissue region in the at least one tissue region can be received based on the two-dimensional ultrasound image. When performing ultrasound imaging, a rendered image and a two-dimensional ultrasound image of at least one section can be displayed simultaneously, allowing the user to view the details of the tissue structure through the two-dimensional ultrasound image. For example, a user can click on the placenta region in the two-dimensional ultrasound image, and the ultrasound imaging system determines that the location clicked by the user is the placenta region. The placenta region in the rendered image is hidden, while the placenta region in the two-dimensional ultrasound image is retained.

[0136] In addition to directly receiving a selection operation for a target tissue region based on an ultrasound image, an identifier representing a tissue category can be displayed according to the tissue category corresponding to different tissue regions, and a selection operation for a target tissue region can be received based on the identifier representing the tissue category. The identifier representing the tissue category can be displayed inside the corresponding tissue region in a rendered image or a two-dimensional ultrasound image, or displayed near the corresponding tissue region; alternatively, multiple identifiers representing tissue categories can be displayed in the same table. When a selection operation is received by clicking on an identifier representing a tissue category, the selected target identifier is determined, and the tissue region corresponding to the selected target identifier is determined as the target tissue region.

[0137] After the target tissue region is determined, in step S460, the target tissue region is hidden in the rendered image, or the ultrasound volume data is re-rendered to hide the target tissue region. If the target tissue region is hidden in the rendered image, the target tissue region can be rendered invisible, or the target tissue region can be rendered with a preset transparency so that the fetal face below can be viewed through the target tissue region. If the ultrasound volume data is re-rendered, only tissue regions other than the target tissue region can be rendered so that the target tissue region is not displayed in the rendered image. This can also prevent the target tissue region from obscuring the fetal face, making it easier for the user to screen for fetal facial deformities or observe the fetal appearance.

[0138] To make it easier for users to distinguish different tissue regions in the rendered image, different tissue regions can be rendered in different colors when rendering ultrasound volume data. Displaying different tissue regions in the rendered image in different colors allows users to view the boundary between two adjacent tissue regions. Furthermore, when there are at least two tissue regions, the user can adjust the boundary between two adjacent tissue regions through the rendered image. When an adjustment operation is received through the rendered image regarding the boundary between two adjacent tissue regions, the boundary between the two adjacent tissue regions can be redefined based on the received adjustment operation, so that the target tissue region that has been hidden meets the user's requirements.

[0139] Optionally, the user may be allowed to adjust the boundary between two adjacent tissue regions through a two-dimensional ultrasound image. Specifically, two-dimensional ultrasound data is extracted from the ultrasound volume data, a two-dimensional ultrasound image is generated based on the two-dimensional ultrasound data, and the two-dimensional ultrasound image is displayed; an adjustment operation on the boundary between two adjacent tissue regions is received through the two-dimensional ultrasound image; and the boundary between two adjacent tissue regions is re-determined based on the received adjustment operation. An adjustable position marker of at least one tissue region may be displayed in the two-dimensional ultrasound image, and an adjustment operation on the boundary between two adjacent tissue regions may be received through the position marker. When the user believes that the boundary of the automatically identified tissue region is inaccurate, the boundary between the two adjacent tissue regions may be manually adjusted as needed.

[0140] In summary, the fetal facial ultrasound imaging method 400 of the embodiment of the present invention can hide the target tissue area selected by the user, reduce the occlusion of the fetal facial area by the target tissue area, and obtain better fetal facial ultrasound imaging effect.

[0141] The embodiment of the present invention further provides an ultrasound imaging system for implementing the above-mentioned ultrasound imaging method 200 or ultrasound imaging method 400 of the fetal face. 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.

[0142] The transmitting circuit 112 is used to activate the ultrasound probe 110 to transmit ultrasound waves toward the target tissue; the receiving circuit 112 is used to control the ultrasound probe 110 to receive ultrasound echoes to obtain ultrasound echo signals. The processor 116 can execute the steps of the fetal facial ultrasound imaging method 200 to obtain a rendered image of the fetal facial area and control the display 118 to display the rendered image obtained by the processor 116.

[0143] The above description only describes the primary functions of the various components of the ultrasound imaging system. For more details, see the descriptions of fetal facial ultrasound imaging method 200 and fetal facial ultrasound imaging method 400, which are omitted here. The ultrasound imaging system of an embodiment of the present invention can block tissue areas that obstruct the fetal facial area, thereby achieving better ultrasound imaging of the fetal facial area.

[0144] 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 invention. Various changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention as claimed in the appended claims.

[0145] 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. Professionals and technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present invention.

[0146] In the several embodiments provided by the present invention, 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 functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another device, or some features may be ignored or not implemented.

[0147] In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are described. However, it is understood that embodiments of the present invention may 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.

[0148] Similarly, it should be understood that in order to streamline the present invention and aid in understanding one or more of the various inventive aspects, in the description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the various features of the present invention are sometimes grouped together into a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof. However, this approach to the present invention should not be interpreted as reflecting the intention that the claimed invention 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 invention.

[0149] 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.

[0150] 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 the present invention and to form different embodiments. For example, in the claims, any of the claimed embodiments may be used in any combination.

[0151] The various component embodiments of the present invention can be implemented in hardware, or in software modules running on one or more processors, or in a combination thereof. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP) can be used in practice to implement some or all of the functions of some modules according to embodiments of the present invention. The present invention can also be implemented as a device program (e.g., a computer program and a computer program product) for executing a part or all of the methods described herein. Such a program implementing the present invention can be stored on a computer-readable medium, or can have the form of one or more signals. Such a signal can be downloaded from an Internet website, or provided on a carrier signal, or provided in any other form.

[0152] It should be noted that the above embodiments illustrate rather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art may devise alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed between brackets should not be construed as limiting the claims. The invention 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.

[0153] The foregoing description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention or an illustration of a specific embodiment. The scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any modifications or substitutions that can be readily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention are intended to be encompassed by the scope of protection of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention shall be subject to the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for ultrasonic imaging of the fetal face, characterized in that: The method comprises: transmitting an ultrasonic wave to the fetus to be imaged, and receiving an echo of the ultrasonic wave to obtain an echo signal of the ultrasonic wave; obtaining ultrasonic volume data of the fetus based on the ultrasonic echo signal; identifying a fetal facial region and a tissue region corresponding to at least one tissue category related to the fetal facial region in the ultrasound volume data; determining, in the tissue region, an obstruction region that obstructs the fetal face based on a relative positional relationship between the tissue region and the fetal face; determining an area to be hidden and an area to be displayed in the ultrasound volume data according to the blocked area; performing different rendering processes on the area to be hidden and the area to be displayed, or performing rendering process only on the area to be displayed, to obtain a rendered image, and displaying the rendered image; The determining of the area to be hidden and the area to be displayed in the ultrasound volume data according to the blocked area includes at least one of the following: determining a proportion of the occluded area in the first tissue region; if the proportion of the occluded area in the first tissue region is greater than or equal to a first preset threshold, determining the first tissue region as the area to be hidden; if the proportion of the occluded area in the first tissue region is less than the first preset threshold, determining the first tissue region as the area to be displayed; determining the ultrasound volume data quality of the fetal facial region blocked by the occlusion region; if the ultrasound volume data quality of the fetal facial region blocked by the occlusion region is higher than or equal to a second preset threshold, determining the occlusion region as the region to be hidden; if the ultrasound volume data quality of the fetal facial region blocked by the occlusion region is lower than the second preset threshold, determining the occlusion region as the region to be displayed; Determine the ultrasound volume data quality of a non-occluded area in the tissue region except the occluded area; if the ultrasound volume data quality of the non-occluded area is higher than or equal to a third preset threshold, determine the non-occluded area as the area to be displayed; if the ultrasound volume data quality of the non-occluded area is lower than the third preset threshold, determine the non-occluded area as the area to be hidden.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The tissue region includes a first tissue region; The determining, according to the blocked area, the area to be hidden and the area to be displayed in the ultrasound volume data includes: The portion of the first tissue region that belongs to the occlusion region is determined as the region to be hidden, and the portion of the first tissue region other than the occlusion region is determined as the region to be displayed.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The tissue region includes at least one of: a fetal arm region, a fetal umbilical cord region, a fetal body region, and a placenta region.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The determining, in the tissue region, a blocking region that blocks the fetal face based on the relative positional relationship between the tissue region and the fetal face region, comprises: The fetal facial region and the tissue region are projected along a rendering direction, and a portion of the tissue region that overlaps with the fetal facial region and is located in front of the fetal facial region is determined as the occlusion region.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein The performing different rendering processes on the area to be hidden and the area to be displayed to obtain a rendered image includes: The to-be-hidden area is processed as invisible in the rendered image, or the to-be-hidden area is processed as having a preset transparency in the rendered image.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further comprises: extracting two-dimensional ultrasound data from the ultrasound volume data, generating a two-dimensional ultrasound image based on the two-dimensional ultrasound data, and displaying the two-dimensional ultrasound image; Displaying adjustable position markers of the area to be hidden and the area to be displayed in the two-dimensional ultrasound image; When an adjustment operation on the position marker is received, the area to be hidden and the area to be displayed in the ultrasound volume data are re-determined according to the adjusted position marker.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The identifying of the fetal facial region and at least one tissue region corresponding to a tissue category in the ultrasound volume data includes: performing target detection on the ultrasound volume data to determine the fetal facial region and a tissue region corresponding to the at least one tissue category; Alternatively, semantic segmentation is performed on the ultrasound volume data to determine the fetal facial region and the tissue region corresponding to the at least one tissue category; Alternatively, the ultrasound volume data is matched with a fetal volume data template to determine the fetal facial region and the tissue region corresponding to the at least one tissue category.

8. An ultrasonic imaging system, characterized in that: include: Ultrasound probe; a transmitting circuit, configured to stimulate the ultrasound probe to transmit ultrasound waves toward the fetus to be imaged; a receiving circuit, configured to control the ultrasonic probe to receive the ultrasonic echo to obtain the ultrasonic echo signal; A processor, configured to execute the steps of the method for ultrasonic imaging of the fetal face according to any one of claims 1 to 7 to obtain a rendered image; A display is used to display the rendered image.

Images