Puncture guiding method and ultrasonic imaging device

Abstract

A puncture guidance method and ultrasonic imaging device, the method comprising: obtaining a target elastic image obtained by elastic imaging of a target section of the prostate, and a corresponding target posture of the ultrasonic probe measured by a spatial positioning device of the ultrasonic probe; performing grayscale imaging of the prostate in real time, wherein during the grayscale imaging process, ultrasonic waves are emitted to multiple sections of the prostate to be scanned, ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves are received to obtain ultrasonic echo signals, and a grayscale image of the prostate is obtained based on the echo signals; during the grayscale imaging process, the current posture of the ultrasonic probe measured by the spatial positioning device is obtained in real time; and a first prompt message is generated based on the current posture and the target posture to guide the user to determine a section to be punctured that matches the target section in the sections to be scanned, wherein the section to be punctured is used to guide prostate puncture. This application guides the user to locate the section to be punctured based on the posture of the ultrasonic probe, thereby improving the success rate of puncture.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of ultrasonic imaging technology, and more specifically to a puncture guidance method and ultrasonic imaging equipment. Background Art

[0002] Prostate cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors of the male genitourinary system, with both its morbidity and mortality rates showing a significant upward trend in recent years. Ultrasound imaging is the most commonly used method for clinically screening prostate lesions. Ultrasound elastography, which can reveal the firmness and softness of lesions and surrounding tissues, offers unique diagnostic value and advantages for prostate disease. Consequently, it has become increasingly widely used in the clinical diagnosis of prostate disease in recent years.

[0003] Currently, prostate cancer is typically diagnosed by performing a biopsy on patients with elevated prostate serum antigen (PSA) levels or a prostate lump, with the biopsy results serving as the gold standard for prostate cancer diagnosis. However, because the frame rate of elastography is too low to guide the biopsy in real time, prostate biopsy is currently performed under ultrasound guidance. However, since most prostate cancers are diffuse, the location of prostate lesions cannot be determined from grayscale images, resulting in a consistently low success rate for prostate biopsy. Summary of the Invention

[0004] 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 of this application is not intended to limit the key features and essential technical features of the claimed technical solution, nor is it intended to determine the scope of protection of the claimed technical solution.

[0005] On the one hand, an embodiment of the present application provides a puncture guidance method, which is used in an ultrasonic imaging device, wherein the ultrasonic imaging device includes an ultrasonic probe, a transmitting circuit, a receiving circuit, and a processor, wherein the ultrasonic probe has a spatial positioning device. The method includes: obtaining a target elastic image obtained by elastic imaging of a target section of a prostate, and a target posture of the ultrasonic probe corresponding to the target elastic image and measured by the spatial positioning device; performing grayscale imaging of the prostate in real time, during the grayscale imaging, transmitting ultrasonic waves to multiple sections of the prostate to be scanned, receiving ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves to obtain echo signals of the ultrasonic waves, and obtaining a grayscale image of the prostate based on the echo signals; during the grayscale imaging, obtaining a current posture of the ultrasonic probe measured by the spatial positioning device in real time; and generating first prompt information based on the current posture and the target posture, wherein the first prompt information is used to guide a user to determine a section to be punctured that matches the target section among the sections to be scanned, wherein the section to be punctured is used to guide prostate puncture.

[0006] In one embodiment, the generating of the first prompt information based on the current posture and the target posture includes: generating a first graphic representing the target posture according to the target posture; generating a second graphic representing the current posture in real time according to the current posture; and superimposing and displaying the first graphic and the second graphic, wherein the degree of overlap between the first graphic and the second graphic represents the deviation between the current section to be scanned and the target section, and the degree of overlap is used to guide the user to determine the section to be punctured that matches the target section in the section to be scanned.

[0007] In one embodiment, the first prompt information is generated based on the current posture and the target posture, including: obtaining the similarity between the current section to be scanned and the target section according to the target posture and the current posture; and displaying the similarity between the current section to be scanned and the target section in real time, wherein the similarity is used to guide the user to determine the section to be punctured that matches the target section in the section to be scanned.

[0008] In one embodiment, the target posture and the current posture respectively include postures of the ultrasound probe in three different dimensions, and obtaining the similarity between the current section to be scanned and the target section according to the target posture and the current posture includes: obtaining deviations between the target posture and the current posture in the three different dimensions;

[0009] The deviations in the three different dimensions are weightedly summed to obtain the similarity between the current section to be scanned and the target section.

[0010] In one embodiment, the method of obtaining a target elastic image obtained by elastic imaging of a target section of the prostate, and a target posture of the ultrasound probe corresponding to the target elastic image and measured by the spatial positioning device, includes: obtaining elastic images of multiple sections of the prostate, and the posture of the ultrasound probe corresponding to each frame of the elastic image measured by the spatial positioning device; selecting a target elastic image of the target section from the elastic images of the multiple sections, and obtaining the target posture corresponding to the target elastic image.

[0011] In one embodiment, the method further includes: after the puncture is completed, storing the grayscale image of the section to be scanned that matches the target section.

[0012] In one embodiment, the spatial positioning device comprises an inertial measurement unit.

[0013] In one embodiment, the method further includes: obtaining the target position of the ultrasound probe corresponding to the target elastic image and measured by the spatial positioning device; during the grayscale imaging process, obtaining the current position of the ultrasound probe measured by the spatial positioning device in real time; and generating a second prompt information based on the current position and the target position, the second prompt information being used to guide the user to determine the section to be punctured.

[0014] In one embodiment, the spatial positioning device comprises a magnetic navigation device.

[0015] In one embodiment, the ultrasound probe comprises a bi-plane probe.

[0016] In one embodiment, the target elasticity image is a strain elasticity image or a shear wave elasticity image.

[0017] A second aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides a puncture guidance method, which is used in an ultrasonic imaging device, wherein the ultrasonic imaging device includes an ultrasonic probe, a transmitting circuit, a receiving circuit, and a processor, wherein the ultrasonic probe has a spatial positioning device, and the method includes: obtaining a target elastic image obtained by elastic imaging of a target section of the prostate, and a target posture of the ultrasonic probe corresponding to the target elastic image and measured by the spatial positioning device; performing grayscale imaging of the prostate in real time, and during the grayscale imaging process, transmitting ultrasonic waves to multiple sections of the prostate to be scanned, receiving ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves to obtain echo signals of the ultrasonic waves, and obtaining a grayscale image of the prostate based on the echo signals; during the grayscale imaging process, obtaining the current posture of the ultrasonic probe measured by the spatial positioning device in real time; and displaying the size of the current posture and the target posture in real time to guide the user to determine a section to be punctured that matches the target section in the section to be scanned based on the size of the current posture and the target posture, wherein the section to be punctured is used to guide prostate puncture.

[0018] A third aspect of an embodiment of the present application provides an ultrasonic imaging device, comprising: an ultrasonic probe having a spatial positioning device; a transmitting circuit for stimulating the ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves to the target tissue; a receiving circuit for controlling the ultrasonic probe to receive the echo of the ultrasonic waves to obtain the echo signal of the ultrasonic waves; and a processor for executing the steps of the puncture guidance method as described above.

[0019] The puncture guidance method and ultrasound imaging device of the embodiment of the present application pre-find the target section of the prostate and the corresponding target posture of the ultrasound probe through elastic imaging. During the puncture process, guidance information is generated based on the real-time posture and target posture of the ultrasound probe to guide the user to find the section to be punctured that matches the target section, which can improve the success rate of the puncture. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The above and other purposes, features, and advantages of the present application will become more apparent through a more detailed description of the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are intended to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present application and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments of the present application, they are used to explain the present application and do not constitute a limitation of the present application. In the drawings, the same reference numerals generally represent the same components or steps.

[0021] Figure 1 A structural block diagram of an ultrasonic imaging device according to an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0022] Figure 2 A schematic flow chart showing a puncture guidance method according to one embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figures 3A-3D A schematic diagram showing first prompt information according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0024] Figures 4A-4D A schematic diagram showing first prompt information according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 5 A schematic flow chart showing a puncture guidance method according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figures 6A-6D A schematic diagram showing the sizes of the current posture and the target posture according to one embodiment of the present application is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more apparent, the following is a detailed description of example embodiments of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments of the present application, and it should be understood that the present application is not limited to the example embodiments described herein. Based on the embodiments of the present application described in this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work should fall within the scope of protection of this application.

[0028] In the following description, a large number of specific details are provided to provide a more thorough understanding of the present application. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present application can be implemented without one or more of these details. In other examples, some technical features well known in the art are not described in order to avoid confusion with the present application.

[0029] It should be understood that the present application can be implemented in different forms and should not be interpreted as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, providing these embodiments will make the disclosure thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the present application to those skilled in the art.

[0030] The purpose of the terms used herein is only to describe specific embodiments and is not intended to limit the present application. When used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the terms "comprising" and / or "including", when used in this specification, determine the presence of the features, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or parts, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, parts and / or groups. When used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of the relevant listed items.

[0031] In order to fully understand the present application, a detailed structure will be provided in the following description to illustrate the technical solution proposed by the present application. The optional embodiments of the present application are described in detail below. However, in addition to these detailed descriptions, the present application may also have other implementation methods.

[0032] Next, first refer to Figure 1 An ultrasonic imaging device according to an embodiment of the present application is described. Figure 1 A schematic structural block diagram of an ultrasonic imaging device 100 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0033] like Figure 1 As shown, the ultrasound imaging device 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 device may also 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.

[0034] 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. The ultrasound probe 110 in the embodiment of the present application further includes a spatial positioning device, which includes, for example, an inertial measurement unit, a magnetic navigation device, and the like.

[0035] 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 of the subject. After a certain delay, it receives ultrasound echoes containing tissue information reflected from the target tissue and reconverts these echoes into electrical signals. Receive circuit 114 receives the converted electrical signals generated by ultrasound probe 110, obtains ultrasound echo signals, and feeds these signals into beamforming module 122. Beamforming module 122 performs processing on the ultrasound echo data, including focusing delay, weighting, and channel summing, before feeding them into 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.

[0036] 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 ultrasonic imaging apparatus 100 to execute the corresponding steps of the methods described in various embodiments of this specification.

[0037] The display 118 is connected to the processor 116. The display 118 may be a touch screen display, a liquid crystal display, or the like. Alternatively, the display 118 may be an independent display such as a liquid crystal display or a television that is independent of the ultrasound imaging device 100. Alternatively, the display 118 may be a display screen of an electronic device such as a smartphone or a tablet computer. There may be one or more displays 118.

[0038] 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.

[0039] Optionally, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 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.

[0040] 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.

[0041] The ultrasound imaging device 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.

[0042] It should be understood that Figure 1 The components included in the ultrasonic imaging device 100 are merely illustrative, and the device may include more or fewer components, which is not limited in the present application.

[0043] Below, we will refer to Figure 2 A puncture guidance method according to an embodiment of the present application is described. Figure 2 This is a schematic flow chart of the puncture guidance method 200 of the embodiment of the present application. The puncture guidance method 200 of the embodiment of the present application is used in an ultrasonic imaging device, which includes an ultrasonic probe, a transmitting circuit, a receiving circuit and a processor, wherein the ultrasonic probe has a spatial positioning device. Figure 2 As shown, the puncture guidance method 200 includes the following steps:

[0044] In step S210, a target elastic image obtained by performing elastic imaging on a target section of the prostate, and a target posture of the ultrasound probe corresponding to the target elastic image and measured by the spatial positioning device are acquired;

[0045] In step S220, grayscale imaging of the prostate is performed in real time. During the grayscale imaging, ultrasound waves are transmitted to multiple sections of the prostate to be scanned, ultrasound echoes of the ultrasound waves are received to obtain echo signals of the ultrasound waves, and a grayscale image of the prostate is obtained based on the echo signals.

[0046] In step S230, during the grayscale imaging process, the current posture of the ultrasound probe measured by the spatial positioning device is obtained in real time;

[0047] In step S240, first prompt information is generated based on the current posture and the target posture, wherein the first prompt information is used to guide the user to determine a section to be punctured that matches the target section in the section to be scanned, and the section to be punctured is used to guide prostate puncture.

[0048] In this embodiment of the present application, a target elastic image of the target prostate section is acquired before puncture using elastic imaging. This target section is the section to be punctured. Pathologically, prostate cancer-induced collagen deposition in prostate tissue can lead to increased prostate tissue hardness. Therefore, the tissue hardness indicated by the elastic image can identify suspected prostate areas with higher hardness. Because the position of the ultrasound probe may change during needle insertion, and the image may change after the puncture needle is inserted, it is difficult to determine whether the currently scanned section matches the target section using similarity matching. Therefore, while acquiring the target elastic image of the target section, this embodiment of the present application also uses a spatial positioning device on the ultrasound probe to obtain the target position of the ultrasound probe at that time. Subsequently, during real-time grayscale imaging, a first prompt message indicating the deviation between the current and target positions of the ultrasound probe is generated based on the real-time acquired current position of the ultrasound probe and the target position. This prompts the user to find a section to be punctured that matches the target section for prostate puncture, thereby improving the positive puncture rate for prostate cancer and reducing the possibility of missed punctures and repeated punctures.

[0049] The elastic imaging performed in advance may be strain elastic imaging or shear wave elastic imaging. The target elastic image obtained by strain elastic imaging is a strain elastic image, and the target elastic image obtained by shear wave elastic imaging is a shear wave elastic image.

[0050] Strain elastography primarily uses a handheld ultrasound probe to apply pressure to prostate tissue, acquiring ultrasonic echo signals before and after compression. The displacements at corresponding locations before and after compression are calculated, providing information on the spatial position change of the prostate at two different moments. By calculating the axial gradient of the displacement, the strain values at each point in the prostate tissue can be determined. This strain value is then displayed as an image, known as a strain elastography image. The strain elastography image intuitively reflects the differences in firmness or elasticity between different prostate tissues. Under the same external compressive force, greater strain indicates softer tissue, while smaller strain indicates firmer tissue.

[0051] Shear wave elastography first uses an ultrasound probe to excite a focused ultrasound beam, forming an acoustic radiation force, which creates a shear wave source within the prostate and generates transversely propagating shear waves. By identifying and detecting the shear waves generated inside the tissue and their propagation parameters and imaging these propagation parameters, the hardness differences of the prostate tissue can be quantitatively and visually obtained.

[0052] Strain elastography or shear wave elastography can be used to obtain elasticity images of multiple sections of the prostate. The elasticity image of a target section can then be selected from the elasticity images to serve as the target elasticity image. The target elasticity image can be selected from the elasticity images using image recognition by the ultrasound imaging device, or the ultrasound imaging device can display the elasticity images of multiple sections on its display, allowing the user to select the target elasticity image.

[0053] Furthermore, while obtaining elastic images of multiple sections of the prostate, the ultrasound probe's spatial positioning device also measures the ultrasound probe's posture corresponding to each elastic image frame. The ultrasound probe's posture corresponding to each elastic image frame indicates the posture of the ultrasound probe when acquiring the elastic image. This allows for determining whether, when the ultrasound probe is positioned in that posture, it will be able to scan a section identical or similar to the elastic image. After selecting a target elastic image from the multiple elastic images of the sections, the posture corresponding to the target elastic image can be determined based on the correspondence between the elastic image and the ultrasound probe's posture, serving as the target posture. The section scanned by the ultrasound probe in the target posture is the same as or similar to the target section.

[0054] For example, the ultrasound probe with a spatial positioning device can be a biplane probe. A biplane probe can be a linear-convex intracavitary probe, i.e., an ultrasound probe comprising a linear array plane and a convex array plane. This linear-convex intracavitary probe can be used for transrectal ultrasound imaging of the prostate, including grayscale imaging and elastography. When using a linear-convex intracavitary probe for transrectal ultrasound imaging, since the patient remains in a recumbent position and the ultrasound probe's position changes minimally, it is sufficient to maintain a consistent ultrasound probe posture to scan substantially the same cross-section.

[0055] Exemplarily, the spatial positioning device of the ultrasound probe includes an inertial measurement unit (IMU). The inertial measurement unit can be fixed to the ultrasound probe in an internal or external manner. The inertial measurement unit includes but is not limited to a gyroscope and an accelerometer. The accelerometer can sense linear acceleration and tilt angle, has good low-frequency characteristics, and can measure low-speed static acceleration. The accelerometer can specifically adopt a three-axis accelerometer, a six-axis accelerometer, etc. The gyroscope can sense the rotational angular velocity of a single axis or multiple axes, and can accurately sense complex moving movements in free space. The gyroscope can specifically adopt a three-axis gyroscope, a six-axis gyroscope, etc. According to the inertial data measured by the inertial measurement unit, the three-axis posture of the ultrasound probe can be obtained.

[0056] Subsequently, during the puncture guidance process, real-time grayscale imaging of the prostate is performed. Grayscale imaging has a high frame rate, enabling real-time puncture guidance. During grayscale imaging, the ultrasound probe's spatial positioning device measures the current posture of the ultrasound probe in real time. Once the current posture of the ultrasound probe matches the target posture, indicating that the current scanning section of the ultrasound probe matches the target section, the user can maintain the ultrasound probe in the current posture and perform puncture on the current scanning section.

[0057] The first prompt information generated based on the current posture and the target posture is used to guide the user to determine the section to be punctured that matches the target section in the section to be scanned. The first prompt information can be any form of prompt information that can show the difference between the current posture and the target posture.

[0058] In one embodiment, generating a first prompt based on the current posture and the target posture includes: generating a first graphic representing the target posture based on the target posture; generating a second graphic representing the current posture in real time based on the current posture; and superimposing and displaying the first and second graphics. The degree of overlap between the first and second graphics indicates the deviation between the current section to be scanned and the target section. The degree of overlap between the first and second graphics is used to guide the user to identify a section to be punctured that matches the target section among the sections to be scanned. The higher the degree of overlap between the first and second graphics, the closer the current section to be scanned is to the target section. When the first and second graphics substantially overlap, the user can determine that the ultrasound probe has scanned a section that is consistent or substantially consistent with the target section and select it as the section to be punctured.

[0059] See also Figure 3A and Figure 3CBy performing elastic imaging on the prostate, the target elastic image of the target section and the target posture of the ultrasound probe are obtained. The target posture is the three-axis posture of the ultrasound probe in the X, Y, and Z directions. The target posture is converted into angle information, and the target angle of the ultrasound probe is represented by a dotted line, which is displayed above the target elastic image. After that, the grayscale imaging mode is switched to perform puncture guidance. During the grayscale imaging process, the current three-axis posture of the ultrasound probe is obtained in real time. After being converted into an angle, the current angle of the ultrasound probe is represented by a solid line, as shown in FIG. Figure 3B and Figure 3D The doctor can adjust the angle of the ultrasound probe according to the angle between the dotted line and the solid line so that the two overlap. Figure 3A and Figure 3B The larger the angle between the middle dashed line and the solid line, the larger the deviation between the current section to be scanned and the target section. Figure 3C and Figure 3D When the dashed line overlaps the solid line, it indicates that the current section to be scanned is essentially the same as the target section. This section can be identified as the section to be punctured, guiding needle insertion. Besides line segments, the first and second graphics can also be any other graphic that represents the ultrasound probe's position. The user can adjust the ultrasound probe to bring the first and second graphics closer together, ultimately finding the section to be punctured. Compared to numerical values, indicating the distance between the current section to be scanned and the target section through the degree of graphic overlap is more intuitive.

[0060] In another embodiment, generating a first prompt based on the current and target postures includes: determining the similarity between the current section to be scanned and the target section based on the target and current postures; and displaying the similarity between the current section to be scanned and the target section in real time. This similarity is used to guide the user in identifying the section to be punctured that matches the target section among the sections to be scanned. Calculating similarity based on the ultrasound probe posture, rather than through image matching, can significantly reduce computational complexity.

[0061] Exemplarily, the target posture and current posture respectively include the posture of the ultrasound probe in three different dimensions, X, Y, and Z. Here, the target posture is denoted as X0, Y0, and Z0, and the current posture is denoted as X1, Y1, and Z1. When calculating the similarity between the target section to be scanned and the target section, the deviations dX, dY, and dZ of the target posture and the current posture in the three different dimensions, X, Y, and Z, can be obtained to obtain dX = X0 - X1, dY = Y0 - Y1, and dZ = Z0 - Z1. The deviations dX, dY, and dZ in the three different dimensions are then weighted and summed to obtain the similarity S between the current section to be scanned and the target section, S = a*dX + b*dY + c*dZ; where a, b, and c represent the weights of the three different dimensions, respectively. Any one or two of a, b, and c can be 0, indicating that the posture result in that dimension is not used.

[0062] See also Figures 4A to 4D ,in Figure 4A and Figure 4C shows the target elasticity image, Figure 4B and Figure 4D A grayscale image acquired in real time is shown, and a similarity obtained based on the target posture and the current posture is displayed above the grayscale image acquired in real time. Figure 4B The grayscale image shown corresponds to the current posture and Figure 4A The target posture corresponding to the target elastic image shown has a large deviation, and the similarity obtained is 15%, indicating that the current section to be scanned cannot be used as the section to be punctured; Figure 4D The grayscale image shown corresponds to the current posture and Figure 4C The target elasticity image shown corresponds to a relatively close target posture, resulting in a similarity of 94%, indicating that the current section to be scanned can be used as the section to be punctured to guide prostate puncture. For example, a similarity threshold can be pre-set, and similarities above the threshold can be displayed differently from similarities below the threshold. For example, similarities below the threshold can be displayed in red, while similarities above the threshold can be displayed in green. This clearly indicates to the user whether the current section to be scanned can be used as the section to be punctured.

[0063] Optionally, in order to further improve the accuracy of section matching, during the elastic imaging process, the target position of the ultrasound probe at the moment of scanning the target section can also be obtained through the spatial positioning device of the ultrasound probe. Correspondingly, during the grayscale imaging process, the current position of the ultrasound probe can also be obtained through the spatial positioning device, and a second prompt information is generated based on the current position and the target position. The second prompt information is used to assist and guide the user to determine the section to be punctured. That is, when the current posture of the ultrasound probe is basically consistent with the target posture, and the current position is also basically consistent with the target position, it is considered that the section to be scanned at this time matches the target section. The position of the ultrasound probe can be the coordinates of the ultrasound probe in any spatial coordinate system. In some embodiments, the spatial positioning device of the ultrasound probe can also include a magnetic navigation device. With the help of the electromagnetic sensor provided on the ultrasound probe and the magnetic field generator of the navigation system, the ultrasound probe can be spatially positioned and freely tracked, thereby measuring the target position and current position of the ultrasound probe.

[0064] Once the section to be scanned is located, it can be punctured under the guidance of real-time grayscale imaging. After the puncture is completed, a grayscale image of the section to be scanned that matches the target section can be stored as proof of the puncture.

[0065] To sum up, the puncture guidance method 200 of the embodiment of the present application pre-finds the target section of the prostate and the corresponding target posture of the ultrasound probe through elastic imaging, and generates guidance information according to the real-time posture and target posture of the ultrasound probe during the puncture process to guide the user to find the section to be punctured that matches the target section, thereby improving the success rate of the puncture.

[0066] Below, we will refer to Figure 5 A puncture guidance method according to another embodiment of the present application is described. Figure 5 This is a schematic flow chart of a puncture guidance method 500 according to an embodiment of the present application. The puncture guidance method 500 is used in an ultrasonic imaging device, which includes an ultrasonic probe, a transmitting circuit, a receiving circuit, and a processor. The ultrasonic probe has a spatial positioning device. Figure 5 As shown, the puncture guidance method 500 includes the following steps:

[0067] In step S510, a target elastic image obtained by performing elastic imaging on a target section of the prostate, and a target posture of the ultrasound probe corresponding to the target elastic image and measured by the spatial positioning device are acquired;

[0068] In step S520, grayscale imaging of the prostate is performed in real time. During the grayscale imaging process, ultrasound waves are transmitted to multiple sections of the prostate to be scanned, ultrasound echoes of the ultrasound waves are received to obtain ultrasound echo signals, and a grayscale image of the prostate is obtained based on the echo signals.

[0069] In step S530, during the grayscale imaging process, the current posture of the ultrasound probe measured by the spatial positioning device is obtained in real time;

[0070] In step S540, the current posture and the size of the target posture are displayed in real time to guide the user to determine a section to be punctured that matches the target section in the section to be scanned based on the sizes of the current posture and the target posture, and the section to be punctured is used to guide prostate puncture.

[0071] Similar to the puncture guidance method 200 described above, the puncture guidance method 500 of the embodiment of the present application also guides the user to locate the section to be punctured based on the posture information of the ultrasound probe. The main difference is that in the puncture guidance method 500, the size of the current posture and the target posture is directly displayed, and the user can directly judge whether the current posture and the target posture are close based on the size of the current posture and the target posture. The size of the current posture and the target posture can be the numerical value of the three-axis posture of the ultrasound probe. 6A to 6D ,in Figure 6A and Figure 6C The size of the target posture is displayed above the target elastic image. Figure 6B and Figure 6D The size of the current posture is displayed above the grayscale image collected in real time. Figure 6A and Figure 6B The difference between the current posture and the target posture values is large, indicating that the deviation between the section to be scanned and the target section is large; Figure 6C and Figure 6D The current posture shown is very close to the target posture. It can be considered that the section to be scanned at this time is the section that matches the target section, and can be used as the section to be punctured to guide the puncture of the prostate.

[0072] For other specific details of the puncture guidance method 500, reference may be made to the relevant descriptions in the puncture guidance method 200 and will not be repeated here.

[0073] The puncture guidance method 500 of the embodiment of the present application displays the size of the current posture and the target posture, allowing the user to accurately locate the section to be punctured that matches the target section based on the numerical size, thereby improving the accuracy of section matching.

[0074] The present application also provides an ultrasonic imaging device for implementing the above-mentioned puncture guidance method 200. Figure 1 , the ultrasonic imaging device can be implemented as follows Figure 1The ultrasonic imaging device 100 shown in the figure may include an ultrasonic probe 110, a transmitting circuit 112, a receiving circuit 114, a processor 116 and a display 118. Optionally, the ultrasonic imaging device 100 may also include a transmit / receive selection switch 120 and a beamforming module 122. The transmitting circuit 112 and the receiving circuit 114 can be connected to the ultrasonic probe 110 through the transmit / receive selection switch 120. The relevant description of each component can refer to the relevant description above and will not be repeated here.

[0075] Among them, the ultrasound probe 110 includes a spatial positioning device, such as an inertial measurement unit or a magnetic navigation device; the transmitting circuit 112 is used to excite the ultrasound probe 110 to transmit ultrasonic waves to the target tissue; the receiving circuit 114 is used to control the ultrasound probe 110 to receive the echo of the ultrasonic wave to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal; the processor 116 is used to execute the steps of the above-mentioned puncture guidance method 200 or puncture guidance method 500, please refer to the above for details.

[0076] The above description only describes the main functions of the various components of the ultrasound imaging device. For more details, please refer to the description of the puncture guidance method 200 and the puncture guidance method 500. The ultrasound imaging device of the embodiment of the present application guides the user to locate the section to be punctured based on the posture of the ultrasound probe, which can improve the success rate of puncture.

[0077] Although example embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the above example embodiments are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application. Various changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present application. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present application as required by the appended claims.

[0078] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0079] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units described is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used, such as combining or integrating multiple units or components into another device, or ignoring or not performing some features.

[0080] In the description provided herein, a large number of specific details are described. However, it is understood that the embodiments of the present application can be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known methods, structures, and techniques are not shown in detail so as not to obscure the understanding of this description.

[0081] Similarly, it should be understood that in order to streamline the present application and aid in understanding one or more of the various inventive aspects, in the description of the exemplary embodiments of the present application, the various features of the present application are sometimes grouped together into a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof. However, this approach of the present application should not be interpreted as reflecting the intention that the application claimed for protection requires more features than those explicitly recited in each claim. More precisely, as reflected in the corresponding claims, the inventive point is that the corresponding technical problem can be solved with fewer features than all the features of a single disclosed embodiment. Therefore, the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into the detailed description, with each claim itself serving as a separate embodiment of the present application.

[0082] 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.

[0083] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that although some embodiments described herein include certain features included in other embodiments but not other features, combinations of features from different embodiments are intended to be within the scope of this application and to form different embodiments. For example, in the claims, any of the claimed embodiments may be used in any combination.

[0084] The various component embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware, or in a software module running on one or more processors, or in a combination thereof. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP) can be used in practice to implement some or all of the functions of some modules according to the embodiments of the present application. The application can also be implemented as a part or all of a device program (e.g., a computer program and a computer program product) for performing the method described herein. Such a program implementing the present application can be stored on a computer-readable medium, or can have the form of one or more signals. Such a signal can be downloaded from an Internet website, or provided on a carrier signal, or provided in any other form.

[0085] It should be noted that the above embodiments illustrate rather than limit the present application, and that those skilled in the art may devise alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference symbols placed between brackets should not be construed as limiting the claims. The present application may be implemented by means of hardware comprising several different elements and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In a unit claim enumerating several means, several of these means may be embodied by the same item of hardware. The use of the words first, second, and third, etc. does not indicate any order. These words may be interpreted as names.

[0086] The above description is merely a specific embodiment or illustration of a specific embodiment of the present application, and the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application. The scope of protection of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic imaging device, comprising an ultrasonic probe, a transmitting circuit, a receiving circuit, and a processor, wherein the ultrasonic probe has a spatial positioning device, and the processor is configured to execute: Acquiring a target elastic image obtained by performing elastic imaging on a target section of the prostate, and a target posture of the ultrasound probe corresponding to the target elastic image and measured by the spatial positioning device; performing grayscale imaging of the prostate in real time, wherein during the grayscale imaging process, ultrasonic waves are emitted toward a plurality of sections of the prostate to be scanned, ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves are received to obtain echo signals of the ultrasonic waves, and a grayscale image of the prostate is obtained based on the echo signals; During the grayscale imaging process, obtaining in real time the current posture of the ultrasound probe measured by the spatial positioning device; A first prompt information is generated based on the current posture and the target posture, wherein the first prompt information is used to guide the user to determine a section to be punctured that matches the target section in the section to be scanned, and the section to be punctured is used to guide prostate puncture.

2. The ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 1, wherein The generating first prompt information based on the current posture and the target posture includes: generating a first graphic representing the target posture according to the target posture; generating, in real time, a second graphic representing the current posture according to the current posture; The first graphic and the second graphic are displayed in a superimposed manner. The degree of overlap between the first graphic and the second graphic represents the deviation between the current section to be scanned and the target section. The degree of overlap is used to guide the user to determine the section to be punctured that matches the target section in the section to be scanned.

3. The ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 1, wherein The generating first prompt information based on the current posture and the target posture includes: Obtaining a similarity between a current section to be scanned and the target section according to the target posture and the current posture; The similarity between the current section to be scanned and the target section is displayed in real time, and the similarity is used to guide the user to determine the section to be punctured that matches the target section among the sections to be scanned.

4. The ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 3, wherein: The target posture and the current posture respectively include postures of the ultrasound probe in three different dimensions, and obtaining the similarity between the current section to be scanned and the target section according to the target posture and the current posture includes: Obtaining deviations between the target posture and the current posture in three different dimensions; The deviations in the three different dimensions are weightedly summed to obtain the similarity between the current section to be scanned and the target section.

5. The ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 1, wherein: The step of acquiring a target elastic image obtained by elastic imaging a target section of the prostate, and a target posture of the ultrasound probe corresponding to the target elastic image and measured by the spatial positioning device, includes: Acquiring elastic images of multiple sections of the prostate and the posture of the ultrasound probe corresponding to each frame of the elastic image measured by the spatial positioning device; A target elastic image of the target section is selected from the elastic images of the multiple sections, and the target posture corresponding to the target elastic image is acquired.

6. The ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 1, wherein: The processor is further configured to execute: after the puncture is completed, storing the section to be scanned that matches the target section.

7. The ultrasonic imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The spatial positioning device includes an inertial measurement unit.

8. The ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 1, wherein: The processor is further configured to execute: Acquiring a target position of the ultrasound probe corresponding to the target elastic image and measured by the spatial positioning device; During the grayscale imaging process, obtaining in real time the current position of the ultrasound probe measured by the spatial positioning device; Second prompt information is generated based on the current position and the target position, and the second prompt information is used to guide the user to determine the section to be punctured.

9. The ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 8, characterized in that The spatial positioning device includes a magnetic navigation device.

10. The ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 1, wherein: The ultrasound probe includes a biplane probe.

11. The ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 1, wherein: The target elastic image is a strain elastic image or a shear wave elastic image.

12. The ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 1, wherein The transmitting circuit is used to stimulate the ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves to the prostate; the receiving circuit is used to control the ultrasonic probe to receive the echo of the ultrasonic waves to obtain the echo signal of the ultrasonic waves.

13. An ultrasonic imaging device, comprising an ultrasonic probe, a transmitting circuit, a receiving circuit, and a processor, wherein the ultrasonic probe has a spatial positioning device, and the processor is configured to execute: Acquiring a target elastic image obtained by performing elastic imaging on a target section of the prostate, and a target posture of the ultrasound probe corresponding to the target elastic image and measured by the spatial positioning device; performing grayscale imaging of the prostate in real time, wherein during the grayscale imaging process, ultrasonic waves are emitted toward a plurality of sections of the prostate to be scanned, ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic waves are received to obtain echo signals of the ultrasonic waves, and a grayscale image of the prostate is obtained based on the echo signals; During the grayscale imaging process, obtaining in real time the current posture of the ultrasound probe measured by the spatial positioning device; The numerical values of the three-axis posture of the ultrasound probe in the current posture and the target posture are displayed in real time to guide the user to determine the section to be punctured that matches the target section in the section to be scanned based on the numerical values of the three-axis posture of the ultrasound probe in the current posture and the target posture, and the section to be punctured is used to guide prostate puncture.

14. The ultrasonic imaging device according to claim 13, wherein: The transmitting circuit is used to stimulate the ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves to the prostate; the receiving circuit is used to control the ultrasonic probe to receive the echo of the ultrasonic waves to obtain the echo signal of the ultrasonic waves.

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