A method for in situ ultrasound measurement of skull thickness and sound velocity
By acquiring reflected echoes using a multi-element probe and calculating skull thickness and sound velocity, the problem of measuring skull thickness and sound velocity in traditional methods has been solved, achieving accurate measurement without sampling and improving imaging quality.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Patents(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- PEKING UNIVERSITY THIRD HOSPITAL (THE THIRD CLINICAL MEDICAL SCHOOL OF PEKING UNIVERSITY)
- Filing Date
- 2022-11-04
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-30
Smart Images
Figure CN115804621B_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This application relates to the field of medical ultrasound measurement technology, and in particular to a method for in-situ measurement of skull thickness and sound velocity using ultrasound. Background Technology
[0002] Ultrasonic waves, with frequencies greater than 20,000 Hz, possess excellent directionality and strong penetrating power, making them well-suited for applications in ultrasonic thickness measurement and imaging technologies. An ultrasonic transmitter emits an ultrasonic signal to the target. Upon encountering the interface, the signal generates an echo. An ultrasonic receiver records the echo and extracts its travel time. If the thickness of the target is known, its sound velocity parameter can be estimated; conversely, if the sound velocity is known, the thickness can be estimated. This is the basic principle of traditional ultrasonic thickness or velocity measurement techniques, which can be implemented using an ultrasonic probe with both transmitting and receiving capabilities.
[0003] In practical applications of ultrasonic velocimetry (thickness measurement), obtaining accurate measurements requires not only accurately extracting the time difference (travel time) information between the emitted sound wave and the recorded echo, but also precisely acquiring the thickness (sound velocity) information of the target. Since sound velocity and thickness jointly determine the echo travel time, in a single emission observation, after measuring the travel time, either the sound velocity or the thickness must be known to determine the other. Traditionally, when measuring uniform targets, the target's sound velocity parameters are generally required to measure its thickness, or the target's thickness can be obtained through other methods (such as ruler measurement) to measure its sound velocity.
[0004] In the fields of transcranial ultrasound imaging and neuromodulation, the development of novel high-resolution imaging technologies places high demands on real-time and accurate measurements of skull thickness and sound velocity. Due to the heterogeneity and individual variability of the skull, and the difficulty in forming calibration parameters through sampling measurements, in-situ measurement of skull thickness and sound velocity using traditional methods remains quite challenging. Summary of the Invention
[0005] To address the aforementioned issues, this application provides a method for in-situ ultrasonic measurement of skull thickness and sound velocity, which can accurately measure the sound velocity and thickness of the skull in situ.
[0006] Therefore, this application adopts the following technical solution:
[0007] In one aspect, this application provides a method for in-situ ultrasonic measurement of skull thickness and sound velocity. The method employs a multi-element probe to emit ultrasonic waves and collect the reflected echoes; the speed of ultrasonic wave propagation at the target location on the skull is obtained based on the hyperbolic shape of the reflected echoes; finally, the thickness of the target location on the skull is calculated using the sound velocity and the reflected echo time. The multi-element probe comprises N elements, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2. The method includes: acquiring reflected echo data from the N emitting elements, wherein the N emitting elements emit ultrasonic waves sequentially towards the target location on the skull in a predetermined order. The wave array consists of array elements that are centrally symmetrical with the transmitting elements, receiving reflected echoes of ultrasonic waves. The reflected echo data of N transmitting elements are arranged together to form a wave train diagram of N transmitting elements. The sound pressure amplitude values corresponding to the normal incident reflection of the N transmitting elements are extracted from the wave train diagram. The extracted sound pressure amplitude values are superimposed to form a superimposed amplitude spectrum. The point where the superimposed sound pressure amplitude value is the maximum corresponding to the wave train diagram is the equivalent matching velocity. Based on the equivalent matching velocity at the maximum of multiple superimposed sound pressure amplitude values and the normal incident reflection time, the sound velocity and thickness at the point to be measured in the skull are calculated.
[0008] As one feasible implementation, the acquisition of reflected echo data from N transmitting array elements includes: the i-th array element transmits and the N-i+1 array element receives, and all received wave trains are arranged together to form observation data d(i,t), where i represents the position of the transmission point and t represents the recording time.
[0009] As one feasible implementation, arranging the reflected echo data of N transmitting array elements together to form a wave train diagram of N transmitting array elements includes: the arrival times of the reflected echoes on a total of N channels are arranged in a hyperbolic pattern.
[0010]
[0011] Where t is the time of reflection, x i The horizontal spatial position of array element i is represented by d, the thickness of the skull to be measured is d, T0 is the time of normal incident reflection, and v is the horizontal position of array element i. 等效 This is the equivalent speed.
[0012] As one feasible implementation, the step of extracting the sound pressure amplitude values corresponding to the normal incident reflection of N transmitting array elements based on the wave train diagram includes: for each group considering T0 and v 等效 Given a defined hyperbola on dataset d, iterate through reasonable T0 and v... 等效 The combination involves superimposing the corresponding sound pressure amplitude values along the hyperbola d each time. Let the superimposed amplitude spectrum D be the superposition method:
[0013] D(T0,v 等效 )=∑ i |d(i,t i )|,
[0014] D(T0,v 等效 )=∑ i d 2 (i,t i ),
[0015] or Any one of them.
[0016] As one feasible implementation, the step of calculating the sound velocity and thickness at the test site of the skull based on the equivalent matching velocity at the maximum of multiple superimposed sound pressure amplitude values and the time of normal incident reflection includes: picking up multiple sets of T0 and v based on multiple reflected echo data. 等效 The velocity was then converted into a velocity variation with depth using the Dix formula to determine the top and bottom of the velocity abrupt changes, and the skull thickness v was obtained. 颅骨 Then, based on the T0 information at the top and bottom, combine v 颅骨 Calculate d 颅骨 .
[0017] As one feasible implementation, the top and bottom of the velocity abrupt change correspond to two sets of T0 and v. 等效 ,Right now and in
[0018] In this embodiment, ...
[0019] As one feasible implementation, the speed of ultrasound propagation in the skull is: The thickness of the skull is:
[0020] Secondly, this application provides an ultrasonic in-situ measurement device for skull thickness and sound velocity, characterized in that it includes: a data acquisition module for acquiring reflected echo data from N transmitting array elements, wherein the N transmitting array elements sequentially transmit ultrasonic waves to the skull location to be measured in a predetermined order, and array elements on the array that are centrally symmetrical with respect to the transmitting array elements receive the reflected echoes of the ultrasonic waves; and a data processing and arrangement module for acquiring reflected echo data from the N transmitting array elements, wherein the N transmitting array elements sequentially transmit ultrasonic waves to the skull location to be measured in a predetermined order, and array elements on the array that are centrally symmetrical with respect to the transmitting array elements receive the reflected echoes of the ultrasonic waves; and a data processing and arrangement module for acquiring reflected echo data from the N transmitting array elements, wherein the N transmitting array elements sequentially transmit ultrasonic waves to the skull location to be measured in a predetermined order, and array elements on the array that are centrally symmetrical with respect to the transmitting array elements receive the reflected echoes of the ultrasonic waves. The system receives reflected echoes from N transmitting elements; it arranges the reflected echo data of N transmitting elements together to form a wave train diagram of N transmitting elements; an equivalent matching velocity superposition acquisition module is used to extract the sound pressure amplitude values corresponding to the normal incident reflection time of the N transmitting elements according to the wave train diagram, and superimposes the extracted sound pressure amplitude values to form a superimposed amplitude value spectrum; the point where the superimposed sound pressure amplitude value is the maximum corresponding to the wave train diagram is the equivalent matching velocity; a sound velocity and thickness calculation module is used to calculate the sound velocity and thickness of the skull at the test site according to the equivalent matching velocity at the maximum of multiple superimposed sound pressure amplitude values and the normal incident reflection time.
[0021] Thirdly, this application provides an electronic device, comprising: at least one memory for storing a program; and at least one processor for executing the program stored in the memory, wherein when the program stored in the memory is executed, the processor is configured to perform the method as implemented in any of the first aspects.
[0022] Fourthly, an embodiment of this application provides a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a terminal, cause a first terminal to perform the method as described in any of the first aspects.
[0023] As can be seen from the above scheme, this application has the following advantages and beneficial effects:
[0024] 1. This application enables the accurate, rapid, and effective simultaneous determination of skull thickness and ultrasonic wave propagation speed within the skull using the ultrasonic probe's emission technology and data processing algorithm, without the need for skull sampling.
[0025] 2. The skull velocity and thickness information obtained in this application can be applied to transcranial ultrasound imaging, which can significantly improve imaging quality by reducing the signal distortion caused by ultrasound signals passing through the skull, and provide better imaging evidence for the diagnosis of neurological diseases such as Parkinson's disease. Attached Figure Description
[0026] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the specific embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the specific embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without creative effort.
[0027] Figure 1 This is a schematic flowchart of a method for in-situ ultrasonic measurement of skull thickness and sound velocity provided in an embodiment of this application;
[0028] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the transmission and reception methods of the multi-element ultrasonic transducer in the embodiments of this application;
[0029] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the data collection environment in an embodiment of this application;
[0030] Figure 4 The waveform diagram of a certain transmitting element in an embodiment of this application: the horizontal axis represents the distance between the transmitting element and the receiving element;
[0031] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of equivalent matching velocity selection through wave train in an embodiment of this application, used to illustrate the generation of superimposed amplitude spectrum;
[0032] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the superimposed amplitude under different equivalent matching velocities in the embodiments of this application;
[0033] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of a cross-section of an X-CT skull model provided in the embodiments of this application: the temporal bone is marked with a black box;
[0034] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of an ultrasonic in-situ measurement device for skull thickness and sound velocity provided in an embodiment of this application;
[0035] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of an electronic device provided for an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation
[0036] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0037] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the specific details are not required to practice this application. In other instances, well-known steps or operations have not been described in detail to avoid obscuring the scope of this application.
[0038] In the description of this specification, the references to terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., refer to specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in connection with that embodiment or example, which are included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples. Moreover, without contradiction, those skilled in the art can combine and integrate the different embodiments or examples described in this specification, as well as the features of different embodiments or examples.
[0039] In the following description, the terms “first, second, third, etc.” or module A, module B, module C, etc. are used only to distinguish similar objects and do not represent a specific ordering of objects. It is understood that a specific order or sequence may be interchanged where permitted so that the embodiments of this application described herein can be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described herein.
[0040] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing embodiments of this application only and is not intended to limit this application.
[0041] In practical applications of ultrasonic velocimetry (thickness measurement), obtaining accurate measurements requires not only accurately extracting the time difference (travel time) information of the emitted sound waves and recorded echoes, but also precisely acquiring the thickness (sound velocity) information of the target being measured. However, in practical applications, the thickness (sound velocity) information of the target is often not known in advance. Therefore, conventional ultrasonic velocimetry (thickness measurement) methods cannot accurately measure the thickness and sound velocity of the target. Therefore, this invention provides a method for in-situ ultrasonic measurement of skull thickness and sound velocity, used for in-situ measurement of skull thickness and sound velocity.
[0042] Figure 1 This is a schematic flowchart of a method for in-situ ultrasonic measurement of skull thickness and sound velocity provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 1 As shown, this application provides a method for in-situ ultrasonic measurement of skull thickness and sound velocity. The method employs a multi-element probe to emit ultrasonic waves and collect the reflected echoes; the speed of ultrasonic wave propagation at the measured location in the skull is obtained based on the hyperbolic shape of the reflected echoes; finally, the thickness of the skull at the measured location is calculated using the sound velocity and the reflection time. The multi-element probe includes N elements, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2. The method includes:
[0043] S1. Acquire the reflected echo data of N transmitting array elements, wherein the N transmitting array elements transmit ultrasonic waves to the test position of the skull one by one in a set order, and the array elements on the array that are centrally symmetrical with the transmitting array elements receive the reflected echoes of the ultrasonic waves.
[0044] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the transmission and reception methods of the multi-element ultrasonic transducer in an embodiment of this application. Figure 2 As shown, a multi-element probe can be a multi-element ultrasonic transducer, comprising N elements, each of which emits ultrasonic waves sequentially, with the emission order determined by a pre-defined sequence. The element emitting the ultrasonic wave is called the transmitting element (e.g., element i), and the transmitting element also acts as the receiving element after emitting the ultrasonic wave. The reflected echo of the ultrasonic wave includes reflected waves and refracted waves, and the acquired echo data is acoustic data. It should be noted that this scheme considers multiple elements to be at the same vertical height (see [reference]). Figure 2 ).
[0045] In one specific implementation, the i-th array element transmits, and the N-i+1 array elements receive. All received wave trains are arranged together to form observation data d(i,t), where i represents the transmission point position and t represents the recording time. It should be noted that in this implementation, the observation data d(i,t) contains N echo data.
[0046] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a data collection environment according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 3 As shown, the embodiments of this application require ultrasonic thickness measurement to be performed in a water immersion environment or under the condition of using a coupling agent. For example, when measuring the thickness of a workpiece, a water immersion environment is used. When measuring the thickness of a human or animal skull, the probe can be coupled to the skull using a water bladder, hydrogel, coupling agent, or other methods.
[0047] Step S2: Arrange the reflected echo data of N transmitting array elements together to form a wave train diagram of N transmitting array elements.
[0048] Figure 4 This is a wave pattern diagram of a certain transmitting element in an embodiment of this application: the horizontal axis represents the distance between the transmitting element and the receiving element. For example... Figure 4 As shown, the echo data of one transmitting element from the N elements of the multi-element ultrasonic transducer is arranged in a pre-defined order. This arrangement can be based on the transmission order of the transmitting elements, the order in which the receiving elements receive the echoes, or the element matrix arrangement order of the multi-element ultrasonic transducer.
[0049] In a preferred embodiment, the order in which the array elements emit ultrasonic waves is the same as the arrangement order of the array element matrix. Therefore, in this embodiment, the echo data of N transmitting array elements in the multi-element ultrasonic transducer collected in step S1 are arranged according to the order in which the transmitting array elements emit ultrasonic waves. After arrangement, a wave train diagram of N transmitting array elements is obtained, where the arrival time of the reflected wave represents a time, which is recorded from the start of the transmitting array element emitting ultrasonic waves to the receiving array element receiving the ultrasonic wave echo.
[0050] According to the above arrangement method, all array elements collected in step S1 are arranged as echo data of the transmitting array elements to obtain multiple wave train diagrams of all array elements as transmitting array elements. In this scheme, N wave train diagrams will be obtained.
[0051] Step S3: Extract the sound pressure amplitude values corresponding to the normal incident reflection of N transmitting array elements according to the wave train diagram, and superimpose the extracted sound pressure amplitude values to form a superimposed amplitude spectrum. The maximum superimposed sound pressure amplitude value corresponding to the wave train diagram is the equivalent matching velocity.
[0052] In one possible embodiment, the superimposed amplitude diagram corresponding to the arrival of the normally incident reflected wave can be extracted from the wave train diagram of a certain transmitting element.
[0053] Each transmitting element contains an amplitude diagram of a normally incident reflected wave in its wave train diagram, and each receiving element contains a normally incident reflected wave in its echo data. Therefore, in this embodiment, a superimposed amplitude diagram corresponding to the arrival of N normally incident reflected waves will be obtained.
[0054] In one possible implementation, if element i transmits, then element N-i+1 receives. All received wave trains are arranged together to form observation data d(i,t), where i represents the transmission point location and t represents the recording time. The arrival times of the reflected waves at different elements i exhibit a hyperbolic arrangement, with the arrival time t... i The functional relationship between the reflected wave and the arrival time T0 can be expressed by the following formula:
[0055]
[0056] Where t is the time of reflection, x i The horizontal spatial position of array element i is represented by d, the thickness of the skull to be measured is d, T0 is the time of normal incident reflection, and v is the horizontal position of array element i. 等效 This is the equivalent speed.
[0057] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of equivalent matching velocity selection through wave train in an embodiment of this application, used to illustrate the generation of superimposed amplitude spectrum; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the superimposed amplitude under different equivalent matching velocities in the embodiments of this application. (See also...) Figure 5 and Figure 6 The amplitude diagram of the normally incident reflected wave is extracted from the wave train diagram corresponding to each transmitting element. The amplitude at time t0 when the normally incident reflected wave arrives corresponds to different hyperbolas of sound speed (v1, v2, v3). Then, the amplitudes of different elements at the corresponding time t are superimposed. The velocity at the maximum superposition of amplitudes is taken as the equivalent matching velocity. In this figure, the velocity at the maximum superposition of amplitudes is v2. Therefore, v2 is determined to be the equivalent matching velocity of the transmitting element when the normally incident reflected wave arrives.
[0058] Based on the above method, the equivalent matching velocity of all array elements when the normally incident reflected wave arrives is determined. In this embodiment, N equivalent matching velocities will be determined.
[0059] In one possible embodiment, each group considers T0 and v 等效 Given a defined hyperbola on dataset d, iterate through reasonable T0 and v... 等效 The combination involves superimposing the corresponding sound pressure amplitude values along the hyperbola d each time. There are several possible superposition methods. Let the superimposed amplitude spectrum D be:
[0060] D(T0,v 等效 )=∑ i |d(i,t i )|,
[0061] D(T0,v 等效 )=∑ i d 2 (i,t i ),
[0062]
[0063] The point where the superimposed sound pressure amplitude corresponding to the hyperbola is the maximum is the equivalent matching velocity.
[0064] Step S4: Calculate the sound velocity and thickness at the point to be measured in the skull based on the equivalent matching velocity at the point where the superimposed sound pressure amplitude values are at their maximum and the time of normal incident reflection.
[0065] In the context of skull thickness measurement, the recorded ultrasound reflected waves mainly include two sets of reflections from the outer and inner interfaces of the skull. Correspondingly, the superimposed amplitude spectrum should have two energy convergence points, corresponding to two sets of T0 and v. 等效 ,Right now and in
[0066] A two-layer model is constructed using water (or hydrogel, coupling agent) and skull, where the speed of sound in water (or hydrogel, coupling agent) is v. 水 The speed of sound in the skull is v 颅骨 Then it can be calculated
[0067] Furthermore, it is known that the equivalent speed is:
[0068]
[0069] Therefore, the propagation speed of ultrasound in the skull can be determined as follows:
[0070]
[0071] And the thickness of the skull is:
[0072]
[0073] If there are many reflected waves, it indicates a more complex skull structure, and multiple sets of T0 and V signals can be picked up. 等效 The velocity was then converted into a velocity variation with depth using the Dix formula to determine the top and bottom of the velocity abrupt changes, and the skull thickness v was obtained. 颅骨 Then, based on the T0 information at the top and bottom, combine v 颅骨 Calculate d 颅骨 .
[0074] To provide a more complete understanding of this application, the following embodiments are provided. These embodiments are used to specifically illustrate implementation schemes of this application and should not be construed in any way as limiting the scope of this application.
[0075] Example 1
[0076] like Figure 2 As shown, the thickness of the temporal bone was measured using a 64-element 5 MHz linear array probe (element spacing of 0.2 mm). The skull under test was an ex vivo model. The steps for in-situ measurement of skull thickness and sound velocity are as follows:
[0077] a. In a water-immersion environment, each element of a multi-element ultrasonic transducer emits ultrasonic waves sequentially. During each emission, the elements on the array positioned symmetrically to the transmitting element receive the ultrasonic data. The acquisition environment is as follows: Figure 3 As shown.
[0078] b. Arrange all received wave trains together to obtain, for example... Figure 4 Example wavelet plot. Using the aforementioned processing method, traverse the appropriate T0 and v. 等效 The combination involves superimposing the corresponding sound pressure amplitude value along the hyperbola d each time to obtain, as shown in the figure. Figure 6 The superimposed amplitude spectrum is shown.
[0079] c. Pick up the parameters at the two points with the strongest energy. and This parameter corresponds to Figure 4 The two overlapping curves are marked with a middle line.
[0080] Calculate the velocity of the skull at this location based on the collected parameter combinations.
[0081]
[0082] And thickness is:
[0083]
[0084] d. For example Figure 7 As shown, by comparing the skull thickness at this cross-section in the X-CT scan, the measurement results have good accuracy.
[0085] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of an ultrasonic in-situ measurement device for skull thickness and sound velocity according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 7 As shown, the device includes: a data acquisition module for acquiring reflected echo data from N transmitting elements, wherein the N transmitting elements sequentially emit ultrasonic waves towards the target location on the skull in a predetermined order, and array elements on the array that are centrally symmetrical with the transmitting elements receive the reflected echoes of the ultrasonic waves; and a data processing and arrangement module for acquiring reflected echo data from N transmitting elements, wherein the N transmitting elements sequentially emit ultrasonic waves towards the target location on the skull in a predetermined order, and array elements on the array that are centrally symmetrical with the transmitting elements receive the reflected echoes of the ultrasonic waves; and a data processing and arrangement module for processing the N transmitting elements. The reflected echo data of the transmitting array elements are arranged together to form a wave train diagram of N transmitting array elements; the equivalent matching velocity superposition acquisition module is used to extract the sound pressure amplitude value corresponding to the normal incident reflection time of the N transmitting array elements according to the wave train diagram, and superimpose the extracted sound pressure amplitude values to form a superimposed amplitude value spectrum; the point where the superimposed sound pressure amplitude value is the maximum corresponding to the wave train diagram is the equivalent matching velocity; the sound velocity and thickness calculation module is used to calculate the sound velocity and thickness of the skull at the test site according to the equivalent matching velocity at the maximum of multiple superimposed sound pressure amplitude values and the normal incident reflection time.
[0086] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of an electronic device provided for an embodiment of this application. (e.g.) Figure 9 As shown, it includes: at least one memory 1102 for storing a program; and at least one processor 1101 for executing the program stored in the memory. When the program stored in the memory 1102 is executed, the processor 1101 is used to execute the method of any of the above embodiments.
[0087] This application provides a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a terminal, cause a first terminal to perform the method as described above.
[0088] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples 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 implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art 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 embodiments of this application.
[0089] Furthermore, various aspects or features of the embodiments of this application may be methods, apparatus, or articles of manufacture using standard programming and / or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" as used in this application encompasses a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or medium. For example, computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to: magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, or magnetic tapes), optical discs (e.g., compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMs), cards, sticks, or key drives, etc.). Additionally, the various storage media described herein may represent one or more devices and / or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term "machine-readable medium" may include, but is not limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and / or carrying instructions and / or data.
[0090] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of this application, the order of the above-mentioned processes does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of this application.
[0091] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the devices, apparatuses, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.
[0092] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another device, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between devices or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.
[0093] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.
[0094] If the aforementioned function is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application embodiment, essentially, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or an access network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.
[0095] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application. Those skilled in the art should understand that although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. These modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to depart from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application.
Claims
1. A method of in situ ultrasonic measurement of skull thickness and sound speed, characterized by, include: The multi-element probe uses N transmitting elements to emit ultrasonic waves and acquires the reflected echo data of N transmitting elements, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2. The N transmitting elements emit ultrasonic waves one by one to the test position of the skull in a set order, and the array elements that are centrally symmetrical with the transmitting elements receive the reflected echoes of the ultrasonic waves. The reflected echo data of N transmitting array elements are arranged together to form a wave train diagram of N transmitting array elements; Based on the wave train diagram, extract the sound pressure amplitude values corresponding to the normal incident reflection of N transmitting array elements, and superimpose the extracted sound pressure amplitude values to form a superimposed amplitude spectrum. The maximum superimposed sound pressure amplitude value corresponding to the wave train diagram is the equivalent matching velocity. The sound velocity and thickness at the test site of the skull are calculated based on the equivalent matching velocity at the point of maximum superimposed sound pressure amplitude and the time of normal incident reflection; wherein, the calculation of the sound velocity and thickness at the test site of the skull includes: picking up multiple sets of echo data. and ,in, When the incident light is reflected normally, The equivalent velocity was calculated and transformed into a velocity variation with depth using the Dix formula. The top and bottom points of velocity abrupt changes were then identified to obtain the skull velocity. Then based on the top and bottom Information Union calculate The top and bottom of the velocity mutation correspond to two sets. and ,Right now and ,in The speed of ultrasound propagation in the skull is: The thickness of the skull is: .
2. The method for in-situ ultrasonic measurement of skull thickness and sound velocity according to claim 1, characterized in that, The acquisition of reflected echo data from N transmitting array elements includes: No. The array element is launched. The array elements receive the data, and all the received wave trains are arranged together to form the observation data. ,in Represents the launch point location. Indicates the recording time.
3. The method for in-situ ultrasonic measurement of skull thickness and sound velocity according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of arranging the reflected echo data of N transmitting array elements together to form a wave train diagram of N transmitting array elements includes: The reflected echoes are in total The arrival times on the road are arranged in a hyperbolic pattern: in When reflected, Indicates array element The horizontal spatial position, For the thickness of the skull to be measured, When the incident light is reflected normally, This is the equivalent speed.
4. A method for in-situ ultrasonic measurement of skull thickness and sound velocity according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The step of extracting the sound pressure amplitude values corresponding to the normal incident reflection of N transmitting array elements based on the wave train diagram includes: Each group considers and In the dataset The above corresponds to a specific hyperbola, and the reasonable traversal... and Combinations, each time superimposed along a hyperbola The corresponding sound pressure amplitude value is set as the superimposed amplitude spectrum. The superposition method is as follows: ， ， or Any one of them.
5. A device for in-situ ultrasonic measurement of skull thickness and sound velocity, characterized in that, include: The data acquisition module is used to acquire reflected echo data from N transmitting array elements. The N transmitting array elements transmit ultrasonic waves to the test location of the skull one by one in a set order. The array elements that are centrally symmetrical with the transmitting array elements receive the reflected echoes of the ultrasonic waves. The data processing and arrangement module is used to acquire the reflected echo data of N transmitting array elements. The N transmitting array elements emit ultrasonic waves to the test position of the skull one by one in a set order. The array elements that are centrally symmetrical with the transmitting array elements receive the reflected echoes of the ultrasonic waves. The reflected echo data of the N transmitting array elements are arranged together to form a wave train diagram of the N transmitting array elements. The equivalent matching velocity superposition acquisition module is used to extract the sound pressure amplitude values corresponding to the normal incident reflection of N transmitting array elements according to the wave train diagram, and superimpose the extracted sound pressure amplitude values to form a superimposed amplitude value spectrum; the maximum superimposed sound pressure amplitude value corresponding to the wave train diagram is the equivalent matching velocity; The sound velocity and thickness calculation module is used to calculate the sound velocity and thickness of the skull at the test site based on the equivalent matching velocity at the maximum of multiple superimposed sound pressure amplitude values and the time of normal incident reflection; wherein, the calculation of the sound velocity and thickness of the skull at the test site includes: picking up multiple sets of data based on multiple reflected echo data. and ,in, When the incident light is reflected normally, The equivalent velocity was calculated and transformed into a velocity variation with depth using the Dix formula. The top and bottom points of velocity abrupt changes were then identified to obtain the skull velocity. Then based on the top and bottom Information Union calculate The top and bottom of the velocity mutation correspond to two sets. and ,Right now and ,in The speed of ultrasound propagation in the skull is: The thickness of the skull is: .
6. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: At least one memory for storing programs; and At least one processor is configured to execute a program stored in the memory, wherein when the program stored in the memory is executed, the processor performs the method as described in any one of claims 1-4.
7. A storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a terminal, cause a first terminal to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-4.