Methods, devices and ultrasound equipment for enhancing visualization of puncture needles

Abstract

This invention relates to the field of ultrasound imaging technology, specifically to a method, apparatus, and ultrasound equipment for enhancing the display of puncture needles. The method includes acquiring an original image of the target site and an original puncture image; acquiring the current needle insertion state; when the current needle insertion state indicates the presence of a needle, identifying the puncture needle in the original puncture image to determine the position information of each puncture needle; enhancing the original puncture image based on the position information of each puncture needle to determine a target puncture image; and superimposing the original image and the target puncture image to determine and display the target image. By identifying the puncture needle only after determining that the current needle insertion state indicates the presence of a needle, accurate needle identification can be ensured during the identification process, avoiding the identification of fake needles and maintaining a high balance between the identification rate of fake and real needles.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of ultrasound imaging technology, specifically to a method, apparatus, and ultrasound equipment for enhancing the display of puncture needles. Background Technology

[0002] In the field of medical ultrasound technology, interventional ultrasound, as an important branch of ultrasound, has developed rapidly in clinical practice. Clinically, during punctures, doctors insert a puncture needle into the lesion site under the guidance of ultrasound equipment for diagnosis and treatment. Due to the reflective properties of acoustics, the puncture needle shows poor contrast in ultrasound images, making it difficult for doctors to determine its current position.

[0003] Because doctors hold the probe in one hand and the needle in the other during puncture preparation, it's impossible for them to activate the ultrasound enhancement button on the device only when inserting the needle; enhancement is always activated before needle insertion. This leads to the problem of identifying spurious needles. Existing methods for enhancing needle visualization are based on image segmentation and feature-based decision-making techniques. These methods primarily extract needle-like regions from the image, calculate various needle-related feature parameters for these regions, and set thresholds to determine whether the regions match needle characteristics, classifying them as spurious or real needles. However, when the threshold for needle detection is set too low, it's easy to misidentify needle-like tissue before insertion; conversely, when the threshold is set too high, weakly visualized needles are easily mistaken for tissue without enhancement. Therefore, none of these methods effectively address the challenge of balancing the high accuracy of identifying spurious and real needles during puncture visualization. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, embodiments of the present invention provide a method, apparatus and electronic device for enhancing the display of puncture needles, in order to solve the problem of the difficulty in balancing the high recognition rate of fake needles and real needles in the enhancement process of puncture needles.

[0005] According to a first aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a method for enhancing visualization with a puncture needle, applied to an ultrasound device, the method comprising:

[0006] Obtain the original image of the target area and the original puncture image;

[0007] Get the current needle insertion status;

[0008] When the current needle insertion status is needle present, the original puncture image is used to identify the puncture needle and determine the position information of each puncture needle;

[0009] Based on the position information of each puncture needle, the original puncture image is enhanced to determine the target puncture image;

[0010] The original image is overlaid with the target puncture image to determine and display the target image.

[0011] The enhanced display method for puncture needles provided in this embodiment of the invention identifies the puncture needle only when the current needle insertion status is determined to be needle-containing. This ensures accurate identification of the puncture needle during the identification process, avoids identifying fake needles, and maintains a high balance between the identification rate of fake needles and real needles.

[0012] In conjunction with the first aspect, in the first embodiment of the first aspect, the current needle insertion state further includes the current number of needles inserted, and the step of identifying the puncture needles based on the current number of needles inserted to determine the position information of each puncture needle includes:

[0013] The original puncture image is preprocessed to obtain the puncture image to be processed;

[0014] The puncture image to be processed is subjected to puncture needle identification, and the identification result is determined;

[0015] The puncture needles in the identification results are filtered based on the current number of needles inserted to determine the position information of each puncture needle, wherein the number of identified puncture needles is the same as the current number of needles inserted.

[0016] The enhanced display method for puncture needles provided in this embodiment of the invention can ensure that the obtained puncture image to be processed has a good image effect by preprocessing the original puncture image, which provides a reliable condition for subsequent puncture needle identification; at the same time, the identification results are filtered by using the current number of needles inserted, which ensures the accuracy of the determined puncture needle position information.

[0017] In conjunction with the first embodiment of the first aspect, in the second embodiment of the first aspect, the preprocessing of the original puncture image to obtain the puncture image to be processed includes:

[0018] The pixel mean is determined based on the pixel values ​​of each pixel in the original puncture image;

[0019] The difference between the pixel value of each pixel in the original puncture image and the pixel mean is calculated using the pixel mean to obtain a first image;

[0020] Obtain the threshold value;

[0021] The pixel values ​​of the first image are processed using the threshold value, and the puncture image corresponding to the puncture needle is extracted from the first image based on the processing result.

[0022] The enhanced display method for puncture needles provided in this embodiment of the invention can avoid processing all first images by extracting the puncture image to be processed corresponding to the puncture needle from the first image, thereby reducing the amount of data processing and improving processing efficiency.

[0023] In conjunction with the second embodiment of the first aspect, in the third embodiment of the first aspect, the step of identifying the puncture needle in the puncture image to be processed and determining the identification result includes:

[0024] Each of the puncture images to be processed is binarized to determine the connected regions in the puncture images to be processed.

[0025] Based on the pixel values ​​of the pixels within the connected region, the feature values ​​of the connected region are calculated;

[0026] The attribute value is compared with a threshold to determine the recognition result.

[0027] In conjunction with the first aspect, in the fourth embodiment of the first aspect, the ultrasound device includes a first acquisition module, wherein acquiring the current needle insertion status includes:

[0028] The needle insertion status input information collected by the first acquisition module is obtained to determine the current needle insertion status.

[0029] The enhanced display method for puncture needles provided in this embodiment of the invention can accurately and in real time determine the current needle insertion status by setting a first acquisition module to collect needle insertion status input information.

[0030] In conjunction with the first aspect, in the fifth embodiment of the first aspect, the ultrasound device includes a second acquisition module, wherein the step of enhancing the original puncture image based on the position information of each of the puncture needles to determine the target puncture image includes:

[0031] Obtain the enhanced control information collected by the second acquisition module;

[0032] The enhancement coefficient is determined based on the enhanced control information;

[0033] Using the enhancement coefficient and the position information of each puncture needle, the puncture needle in the original puncture image is enhanced to determine the target puncture image.

[0034] The enhanced display method for puncture needles provided in this embodiment of the invention can achieve real-time adjustment of the enhancement coefficient by acquiring enhancement control information through the second acquisition module, thus ensuring the enhancement effect of the target puncture image.

[0035] In conjunction with the fifth embodiment of the first aspect, in the sixth embodiment of the first aspect, the step of using the enhancement coefficient and the position information of each of the puncture needles to perform image enhancement on the puncture needles in the original puncture image to determine the target puncture image includes:

[0036] Based on the position information of each puncture needle, the pixel value of each pixel of the puncture needle is multiplied by the enhancement coefficient to enhance the image of the puncture needle and determine the target puncture image.

[0037] The puncture needle enhancement display method provided in this embodiment of the invention enhances the image of the puncture needle by multiplying the pixel value by the enhancement coefficient. The processing method is simple and easy to implement.

[0038] According to a second aspect, embodiments of the present invention also provide a puncture needle enhanced display device, applied to an ultrasound device, the device comprising:

[0039] The first acquisition module is used to acquire the original image of the target area and the original puncture image;

[0040] The second acquisition module is used to acquire the current needle insertion status;

[0041] The identification module is used to identify the puncture needles in the original puncture image based on the current needle insertion state, and to determine the position information of each puncture needle.

[0042] The enhancement module is used to enhance the original puncture image and determine the target puncture image when the current needle insertion state is needle present.

[0043] The overlay module is used to overlay the original image with the target puncture image to determine and display the target image.

[0044] According to a third aspect, embodiments of the present invention also provide an ultrasonic device, including: a main unit and a display device.

[0045] The host is used for,

[0046] Acquire the original image of the target site and the original puncture image; acquire the current needle insertion status; when the current needle insertion status is needle present, identify the puncture needles in the original puncture image to determine the position information of each puncture needle; perform image enhancement on the original puncture image based on the position information of each puncture needle to determine the target puncture image; superimpose the original image and the target puncture image to determine the target image;

[0047] The display is connected to the host computer and is used to display the target image.

[0048] In conjunction with the third aspect, in the first embodiment of the third aspect, the ultrasound device further includes a first acquisition module, which is connected to the host computer and is used to acquire needle insertion status input information and send it to the host computer.

[0049] In conjunction with the third aspect, the second embodiment of the third aspect further includes a second acquisition module, which is connected to the host and is used to acquire enhanced control information and send it to the host.

[0050] In conjunction with the first or second embodiment of the third aspect, in the third embodiment of the third aspect, the ultrasonic device further includes at least one ultrasonic probe, and the first or second acquisition module is disposed on the ultrasonic probe.

[0051] According to a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions for causing the computer to perform the puncture needle enhanced display method described in the first aspect or any embodiment of the first aspect.

[0052] It should be noted that for the beneficial effects of the enhanced display device for puncture needles, ultrasound equipment, and computer-readable storage medium, please refer to the corresponding descriptions in the enhanced display method for puncture needles above, which will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0053] To more clearly illustrate the specific embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in 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 the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without creative effort.

[0054] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an ultrasonic device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0055] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a host according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0056] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of a puncture needle enhanced display method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0057] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of a puncture needle enhanced display method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0058] Figure 5 This is a flowchart of a puncture needle enhanced display method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0059] Figure 6 This is a structural block diagram of a puncture needle enhancement display device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0060] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of a puncture needle image according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0061] Figure 8a This is a schematic diagram of the original image according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0062] Figure 8b This is a schematic diagram of a target image according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0063] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0064] This invention provides an ultrasonic device, such as... Figure 1 As shown, it includes a display unit 10 and a host unit 20, which are connected. It should be noted that the display unit 10 and the host unit 20 can be independent entities or integrated together; no limitation is made here, and they are only distinguished according to their functions.

[0065] Specifically, the host 20 is used to acquire the original image and the original puncture image of the target site. The original image and the original puncture image correspond at the same time, that is, at time t1, the original image and the corresponding original puncture image are obtained.

[0066] The host 20 is also used to acquire the current needle insertion status, informing the ultrasound equipment of the current puncture needle status, including whether a puncture needle is present, or, optionally, the number of puncture needles currently present. If puncture needle identification is performed without knowing the current needle insertion status, there is a precise requirement for setting the identification threshold. If the threshold is set too low, tissue resembling a puncture needle may be identified as one, leading to the identification of a fake needle; if the threshold is set too high, genuine puncture needles may be missed due to poor image quality. Therefore, in this embodiment, by acquiring the current needle insertion status and identifying the puncture needle based on that status, the puncture needle can be accurately identified.

[0067] The host unit 20 is also used to identify puncture needles in the original puncture image when the current needle insertion status is needle present, and to determine the position information of each puncture needle. The identification of puncture needles can be achieved through image processing or by combining puncture needle identification models, etc. No specific limitations are made on the specific identification method here.

[0068] The host 20 is also used to perform image enhancement on the original puncture needle image based on the position information of each puncture needle to determine the target puncture image. After identifying the position information of the puncture needle, the host 20 locates the puncture needle on the original puncture needle image and then performs image enhancement processing on it. The image enhancement processing can be done by increasing the image quality of the puncture needle area, or by increasing the pixel value of the pixels in the puncture needle area, etc.

[0069] The host 20 is also used to overlay the original image with the target puncture image to determine and display the target image. The overlay can be achieved by adding the pixel values ​​of corresponding pixels in the original image and the target puncture image, or by placing the target puncture image over the original image to determine the target image. The host 20 is also used to send the target image to the display device 10.

[0070] After receiving the target image sent by the host 20, the display unit 10 displays the target image on the interface. For example, the display unit 10 is also used to display ultrasound images in real time during ultrasound scanning so as to accurately locate the target site. When the target site is located, the puncture needle enhancement processing is activated so as to display the enhanced target image.

[0071] The application scenario of the enhanced display method for puncture needles in this embodiment of the invention can be as follows: When medical staff are preparing to perform a puncture, they first need to locate the target site by imaging. This process does not require puncture needle enhancement processing, so there will be no false needles. Moreover, because no puncture enhancement processing is performed, the frame rate can be greatly improved, and the imaging is smoother, which helps medical staff quickly locate the target site. Once the doctor has located the target site, the probe basically stops moving. At this time, the needle needs to be inserted for puncture. After the needle is inserted, the medical staff informs the ultrasound equipment of the current needle insertion status, and the ultrasound equipment can obtain the current needle insertion status accordingly. When it is confirmed that a needle has been inserted, the puncture needle enhancement processing is activated to enhance the puncture needle.

[0072] In one optional implementation of this embodiment, the ultrasound device further includes a first acquisition module, which is used to acquire needle insertion status input information. Specifically, the first acquisition module can be a voice recognition module, which recognizes the current needle insertion status based on the voice input by medical personnel; or it can be a button module, which sets an initial value for the current number of needle insertions, for example, 0, and increments the number of needle insertions by 1 for each button press, thus determining the current number of needle insertions by the number of button presses. Of course, the first acquisition module is not limited to the implementation described above, and can also be implemented in other ways, which are not limited here.

[0073] Furthermore, the first acquisition module can be installed on the probe of the ultrasound equipment, on the main unit of the ultrasound equipment, or connected to the main unit of the ultrasound equipment externally, etc. The specific installation can be determined according to actual needs.

[0074] In some alternative embodiments of this example, the ultrasound device further includes a second acquisition module. This second acquisition module is used to acquire enhancement control information, which is used to adjust the degree of enhancement treatment of the puncture needle. That is, the enhancement effect of the puncture needle can be adjusted in real time through the settings of the second acquisition module. The second acquisition module can be a voice recognition module, recognizing the enhancement control information input by medical personnel; or it can be a button module, determining the enhancement control information based on the number of button presses.

[0075] The second acquisition module is set up in a similar way to the first acquisition module. It can be set on the ultrasound probe or on the host, etc., depending on the actual needs.

[0076] The first and second acquisition modules can be the same module or different modules. When they are the same module, the host can output guidance information to allow medical staff to input needle insertion count or enhance control information based on the guidance information.

[0077] As an optional implementation of this embodiment, a puncture enhancement trigger module is also provided on the ultrasound device. Before the target site is located, the puncture enhancement process is not triggered to ensure the quality of the ultrasound scan; upon locating the target site, the puncture enhancement process is triggered by the puncture enhancement trigger module. This puncture enhancement trigger module can be a voice recognition module, a button module, or other modules, etc. No specific limitations are placed on its specific form.

[0078] The location of the puncture enhancement processing module can also be set according to actual needs, for example, it can be set on the ultrasound probe.

[0079] Optionally, the puncture enhancement processing module can be the same module as the first acquisition module and the second acquisition module, or it can be a partially identical module, or it can be a completely different module, etc. No restrictions are placed on it here.

[0080] In some optional implementations of this embodiment, Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a host provided in an optional embodiment of the present invention, such as... Figure 2 As shown, the host may include: at least one processor 201, such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), at least one communication interface 203, memory 204, and at least one communication bus 202. The communication bus 202 is used to enable communication between these components. The communication interface 203 may include a display screen or a keyboard; optionally, the communication interface 203 may also include a standard wired interface or a wireless interface. The memory 204 may be high-speed RAM (Random Access Memory) or non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk drive. Optionally, the memory 204 may also be at least one storage device located remotely from the processor 201. The memory 204 stores application programs, and the processor 201 calls the program code stored in the memory 204 to execute any of the above-described method steps.

[0081] The communication bus 202 can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The communication bus 202 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, Figure 2 The bus is represented by a single thick line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0082] The memory 204 may include volatile memory, such as random-access memory (RAM); the memory may also include non-volatile memory, such as flash memory, hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD); the memory 204 may also include a combination of the above types of memory.

[0083] The processor 201 can be a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), or a combination of CPU and NP.

[0084] The processor 201 may further include a hardware chip. This hardware chip may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a combination thereof. The PLD may be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL), or any combination thereof.

[0085] Optionally, the memory 204 is also used to store program instructions. The processor 201 can invoke the program instructions to implement the puncture needle enhanced display method as shown in any of the following embodiments of this application.

[0086] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method for enhancing visualization of a puncture needle is provided. It should be noted that the steps shown in the flowchart in the accompanying drawings can be executed in a computer system such as a set of computer-executable instructions. Furthermore, although a logical order is shown in the flowchart, in some cases, the steps shown or described may be executed in a different order than that shown here.

[0087] This embodiment provides a method for enhancing visualization with a puncture needle, which can be used in ultrasound equipment. Figure 3This is a flowchart of a puncture needle enhanced display method according to an embodiment of the present invention, such as... Figure 3 As shown, the process includes the following steps:

[0088] S11, acquire the original image of the target area and the original puncture image.

[0089] An ultrasound probe emits ultrasound waves towards the target area and receives the ultrasound echoes, generating an ultrasound image based on the echo data. When the target area is located, the ultrasound probe is controlled to emit ultrasound waves towards the target area of ​​the object being measured at a certain deflection angle sequence. At this time, puncture enhancement processing is activated. The probe deflection angle sequence is, for example, -5, 0, -5, -18, -20, -22, -5, 0, -5, -18, -20, -22... The ultrasound waves returning from the target area are received to obtain echo signals. The echo signals are then processed, including time gain compensation, analog-to-digital conversion, beamforming, demodulation, filtering, envelope extraction, logarithmic compression, etc., to form the original image signal.

[0090] The -5, 0, and 5 angle images are used for raw image processing, while -18, -20, and -22 angle images are special images requiring puncture analysis and are only used to extract needle information. Without a control module on the probe, processing takes 10 frames to produce the first puncture enhancement image. Spatial composite imaging is performed on the raw -5, 0, and 5 angle images. The -18, -20, and -22 angle images are temporarily stored. Frame correlation is performed when the next -5, 0, and 5 angle image arrives to form the raw image. Then, the first puncture enhancement is performed when the -18 angle image arrives, and the image is fused with the raw image before being displayed on the interface. When a control module is present on the probe, puncture enhancement is not required initially; the raw image is obtained first and temporarily stored. When puncture enhancement is needed, the image is output in the first frame at the puncture angle.

[0091] The above are merely examples of acquiring original images and original ultrasound images, and do not limit the scope of protection of this invention. In this invention, it is only necessary to ensure that the ultrasound equipment can acquire the original images of the target area and the original puncture images.

[0092] S12, Get the current needle insertion status.

[0093] The current needle insertion status indicates whether a needle is currently inserted. Optionally, it also includes the number of puncture needles and the number of puncture needles to be identified. Regardless of the actual number of puncture needles used, the number of identified puncture needles is based on the current insertion count. For details on how to obtain the current needle insertion status, please refer to the detailed description in the ultrasound equipment section above; it will not be repeated here.

[0094] S13, when the current needle insertion status is needle present, perform puncture needle identification on the original puncture image to determine the position information of each puncture needle.

[0095] The ultrasound device activates enhanced needle processing only when it determines that a needle is present during insertion. For needle identification, the ultrasound device incorporates a needle recognition model. The original puncture image is input into this model, and the output includes the location and probability of each target in the original puncture image that belongs to the needle. The ultrasound device sorts the probabilities and identifies the top N targets as needles, where N is the current needle insertion number.

[0096] Alternatively, ultrasound equipment can identify connected regions in the original puncture image, extract features from these regions, and score the probability that each region belongs to a puncture needle. The score is then compared to a preset value to determine the puncture needles in the original puncture image. The preset value can be set to 50%, because the current number of needle insertions is already given. If more connected regions exceeding the preset value are identified than the current number of needle insertions, the current number of needle insertions can be used to further filter the region and determine the location information of each puncture needle.

[0097] The specifics of this step will be described in detail below.

[0098] S14, perform image enhancement on the original puncture image based on the position information of each puncture needle to determine the target puncture image.

[0099] After determining the location information of each puncture needle, the ultrasound equipment can locate each puncture needle in the original puncture image, and then enhance the pixel value of the corresponding pixel of each puncture needle to determine the target puncture image.

[0100] Alternatively, the puncture needle image can be extracted from the original puncture image, and then the extracted puncture needle image can be enhanced to determine the target puncture image.

[0101] The specifics of this step will be described in detail below.

[0102] S15, overlay the original image with the target puncture image, determine and display the target image.

[0103] The target puncture image is an image after image enhancement processing. Since the position information of the puncture needle in the target puncture image is certain, the ultrasound equipment can directly overlay the original image with the target puncture image pixel by pixel to determine the target image, and then display the target image on the display of the ultrasound equipment.

[0104] The enhanced display method for puncture needles provided in this embodiment identifies the puncture needle only when the current needle insertion status is determined to be needle-containing. This ensures accurate identification of the puncture needle during the identification process, avoids identifying fake needles, and maintains a high balance between the identification rate of fake needles and real needles.

[0105] This embodiment provides a method for enhancing visualization with a puncture needle, which can be used in ultrasound equipment. Figure 4 This is a flowchart of a puncture needle enhanced display method according to an embodiment of the present invention, such as... Figure 4 As shown, the process includes the following steps:

[0106] S21, acquire the original image of the target area and the original puncture image.

[0107] Please see details Figure 3 S11 of the illustrated embodiment will not be described again here.

[0108] S22, Get the current needle insertion status.

[0109] The current needle insertion status also includes the current number of needles inserted. Please refer to [link / reference] for details. Figure 3 S12 of the illustrated embodiment will not be described again here.

[0110] S23, when the current needle insertion status is needle present, perform puncture needle identification on the original puncture image to determine the position information of each puncture needle.

[0111] Specifically, S23 above includes:

[0112] S231, preprocess the original puncture image to obtain the puncture image to be processed.

[0113] Preprocessing of the original puncture images can include noise removal, thresholding, etc. There are no restrictions on these processes, as long as the ultrasound equipment can obtain the puncture images to be processed.

[0114] In some optional embodiments of this example, taking preprocessing including image mean removal, elliptical direction filtering, and threshold processing as an example, S231 above may include:

[0115] (1) Determine the pixel mean based on the pixel value of each pixel in the original puncture image.

[0116] (2) The difference between the pixel value of each pixel in the original puncture image and the pixel mean is calculated using the pixel mean to obtain the first image.

[0117] The ultrasound equipment calculates the pixel value of each pixel in the original puncture image and calculates the pixel mean. Then, the difference between the pixel value of each pixel and the pixel mean is calculated to obtain the first image. The pixel value of each pixel in the first image is represented as follows:

[0118] image(i)=imagesrc(i)-mean(imagesrc)

[0119] If image(i) < 0, then image(i) = 0, where mean(imagesrc) is the mean of the original puncture images.

[0120] Optionally, after obtaining the first image, the ultrasound device can also use an elliptic direction filter for convolution filtering.

[0121] (3) Obtain the threshold value.

[0122] (4) The pixel values ​​of the first image are processed using a threshold, and the puncture image corresponding to the puncture needle is extracted from the first image based on the processing result.

[0123] The ultrasound equipment processes the first image using a threshold, resulting in images of segmented strip regions with specific angles, such as... Figure 7 As shown.

[0124] if imageFilt(i) <Threshold,imageFilt(i)=0

[0125] Where imageFilt(i) is the pixel value of pixel i in the segmented puncture image to be processed.

[0126] By extracting the puncture image corresponding to the puncture needle from the first image, processing of all first images can be avoided, reducing the amount of data processing and improving processing efficiency.

[0127] S232, perform puncture needle identification on the puncture image to be processed, and determine the identification result.

[0128] The method for identifying puncture needles in the puncture image to be processed can be found in S13 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0129] In some optional implementations of this embodiment, S232 may include:

[0130] (1) Binarize each puncture image to be processed to determine the connected regions in the puncture images to be processed.

[0131] (2) Calculate the feature value of the connected region based on the pixel value of the pixel point in the connected region.

[0132] (3) Compare the attribute values ​​with the threshold to determine the recognition result.

[0133] Specifically, the puncture image to be processed is first binarized, that is:

[0134] if imageFilt(i)<0,imageFilt(i)=0

[0135] else imageFilt(i) = 1

[0136] After binarization, the binary image is labeled to identify all connected regions. In a binary image, the smallest unit is a pixel, and each pixel has eight neighboring pixels. There are two common adjacency relationships: 4-adjacency and 8-adjacency. 4-adjacency involves four points (top, bottom, left, and right), while 8-adjacency involves eight points, including those on the diagonal.

[0137] After identifying the connected regions, the ultrasound equipment scores each region based on its needle-like characteristics. By calculating the feature values ​​of each connected region, a score is determined for each region to belong to the puncture needle region. For example, information such as brightness, major axis, minor axis, direction, and size of each connected region is calculated, and corresponding thresholds are set for scoring.

[0138] Specifically, the region with the highest score is selected, and it is determined whether the score is greater than a threshold. If it is, it is considered an actual frame and further enhancement is performed; otherwise, it is determined that there is no needle. Unlike existing enhancement methods, where the threshold cannot be too low (generally above 90 points) due to the need to consider pseudo-needles before needle insertion, this can potentially reduce the actual needle recognition rate. In this embodiment, since the current number of needles is known, the presence of a needle is confirmed, and the threshold can be appropriately lowered; a score above 50 is sufficient to determine the presence of a needle, only preventing situations where the needle is no longer within the probe plane.

[0139] S233, based on the current number of needles inserted, filter the puncture needles in the identification results and determine the position information of each puncture needle.

[0140] The number of puncture needles identified is the same as the current number of needles inserted.

[0141] Furthermore, to ensure the reliability of the identification results, the ultrasound equipment also filters the puncture needles in the identification results based on the current number of needles inserted, and finally determines the position information of each puncture needle.

[0142] S24, image enhancement is performed on the original puncture image based on the position information of each puncture needle to determine the target puncture image.

[0143] Please see details Figure 3 S14 of the illustrated embodiment will not be described again here.

[0144] S25, overlay the original image with the target puncture image, determine and display the target image.

[0145] Please see details Figure 3 S15 of the illustrated embodiment will not be described again here.

[0146] The enhanced display method for puncture needles provided in this embodiment can ensure that the obtained puncture image to be processed has a good image effect by preprocessing the original puncture image, which provides a reliable condition for subsequent puncture needle identification; at the same time, the identification results are filtered by using the current number of needles inserted, which ensures the accuracy of the determined puncture needle position information.

[0147] This embodiment provides a method for enhancing the display of a puncture needle, which can be used in an ultrasound device, the ultrasound device including a first acquisition module and a second acquisition module. Figure 5 This is a flowchart of a puncture needle enhanced display method according to an embodiment of the present invention, such as... Figure 5 As shown, the process includes the following steps:

[0148] S31, acquire the original image of the target area and the original puncture image.

[0149] Please see details Figure 3 S11 of the illustrated embodiment will not be described again here.

[0150] S32, get the current needle insertion status.

[0151] Specifically, the needle insertion status input information collected by the first acquisition module is obtained to determine the current needle insertion status.

[0152] Please see details Figure 3 S12 of the illustrated embodiment will not be described again here.

[0153] S33, when the current needle insertion status is needle present, perform puncture needle identification on the original puncture image to determine the position information of each puncture needle.

[0154] Please see details Figure 4 S23 of the illustrated embodiment will not be described again here.

[0155] S34, image enhancement is performed on the original puncture image based on the position information of each puncture needle to determine the target puncture image.

[0156] Specifically, S34 includes:

[0157] S341, acquire the enhanced control information acquired by the second acquisition module.

[0158] Enhancement control information is used to indicate whether the puncture effect is enhanced or weakened. The second acquisition module acquires the enhancement control information, and the ultrasound equipment can then obtain this enhancement control information accordingly.

[0159] S342, determine the enhancement coefficient based on the enhanced control information.

[0160] There is a corresponding relationship between enhancement control information and enhancement coefficient. For example, if the initial value of the enhancement coefficient is 1, and an adjustment step size is set, the ultrasound device will adjust the value based on the initial value each time enhancement control information is received, thereby determining the current enhancement coefficient. For example, if the step size is 0.1, and the enhancement control information indicates enhanced puncture effect, the enhancement coefficient will be 1.1; if the enhancement control information indicates weakened puncture effect, the enhancement coefficient will be 0.9.

[0161] Furthermore, during a continuous ultrasound acquisition process, if the enhancement coefficient determined at time t1 is 1.1, and enhancement control information indicating enhanced puncture effect is received at time t2, then the enhancement coefficient at time t2 is 1.2. At this point, the ultrasound equipment uses the enhancement coefficient of 1.2 to perform image enhancement processing on the original image at time t2 and the original puncture image.

[0162] S343, using the enhancement coefficient and the position information of each puncture needle, image enhancement is performed on the puncture needle in the original puncture image to determine the target puncture image.

[0163] Specifically, based on the position information of each puncture needle, the pixel value of each pixel of the puncture needle is multiplied by an enhancement coefficient to enhance the image of the puncture needle and determine the target puncture image.

[0164] If the puncture effect is enhanced, the pixel value of each pixel in the puncture needle image is multiplied by a coefficient greater than 1, such as 1.2, and then superimposed on the original image in a certain way. If a control command is input to further enhance the effect, the pixel value of each pixel in the puncture needle image is multiplied by 1.4, and then superimposed on the original image in a certain way. This process continues, with the coefficient increasing by 0.2 each time the effect is enhanced. If the enhancement control information indicates that the puncture effect is weakened, the pixel value of each pixel in the puncture needle image is multiplied by a coefficient less than 1, such as 0.8, and then superimposed on the original image in a certain way. If the enhancement control information indicates that the puncture effect is weakened again, the pixel value of each pixel in the puncture needle image is multiplied by 0.6, and then superimposed on the original image in a certain way. This process continues, with the coefficient decreasing by 0.2 each time the effect is weakened.

[0165] In this embodiment, the target puncture image is a binary image. That is, after the puncture needle is identified, the pixel value of the pixel that is not located at the puncture needle is set to 0. In the subsequent enhancement process, only the pixel value of the non-zero pixel is enhanced, that is, multiplied by the enhancement coefficient to obtain the target puncture image.

[0166] Image enhancement of the puncture needle is achieved by multiplying the pixel value by the enhancement coefficient. This method is simple and easy to implement.

[0167] S35, overlay the original image with the target puncture image, determine and display the target image.

[0168] Among them, the original image is as follows Figure 8a As shown, the superimposed target image is as follows Figure 8b As shown.

[0169] For details on this step, please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 3 S35 of the illustrated embodiment will not be described again here.

[0170] The enhanced display method for puncture needles provided in this embodiment can accurately and in real-time determine the current number of needle insertions by setting a first acquisition module to collect the needle insertion number input information. By acquiring enhancement control information through a second acquisition module, the enhancement coefficient can be adjusted in real-time, ensuring the enhancement effect of the target puncture image.

[0171] This embodiment also provides a puncture needle enhancement display device, which is used to implement the above embodiments and preferred embodiments, and will not be repeated as already described. As used below, the term "module" can be a combination of software and / or hardware that implements a predetermined function. Although the device described in the following embodiments is preferably implemented in software, hardware implementation, or a combination of software and hardware, is also possible and contemplated.

[0172] This embodiment provides a puncture needle enhancement display device, such as Figure 6 As shown, it includes:

[0173] The first acquisition module 41 is used to acquire the original image of the target area and the original puncture image;

[0174] The second acquisition module 42 is used to acquire the current needle insertion status;

[0175] The identification module 43 is used to identify the puncture needles in the original puncture image when the current needle insertion state is needle present, and to determine the position information of each puncture needle.

[0176] Enhancement module 44 is used to enhance the original puncture image based on the position information of each puncture needle to determine the target puncture image;

[0177] The overlay module 45 is used to overlay the original image with the target puncture image to determine and display the target image.

[0178] The enhanced display device for puncture needles in this embodiment is presented in the form of a functional unit. Here, a unit refers to an ASIC circuit, a processor and memory that execute one or more software or fixed programs, and / or other devices that can provide the above-mentioned functions.

[0179] This invention also provides a non-transitory computer storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that can execute the puncture needle enhanced display method in any of the above method embodiments. The storage medium can be a magnetic disk, optical disk, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, hard disk drive (HDD), or solid-state drive (SSD), etc.; the storage medium may also include combinations of the above types of memory.

[0180] Although embodiments of the invention have been described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and such modifications and variations all fall within the scope defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic device, characterized in that, include: Main unit and display components, The host is used for, Acquire the original image of the target site and the original puncture image; acquire the current needle insertion status; when the current needle insertion status is needle present, identify the puncture needles in the original puncture image to determine the position information of each puncture needle; perform image enhancement on the original puncture image based on the position information of each puncture needle to determine the target puncture image; superimpose the original image and the target puncture image to determine the target image; The display device is connected to the host computer and is used to display the target image. The current needle insertion status also includes the current number of needles inserted. The step of identifying the puncture needles in the original puncture image and determining the position information of each puncture needle includes: The original puncture image is preprocessed to obtain the puncture image to be processed; The puncture image to be processed is subjected to puncture needle identification, and the identification result is determined; Based on the current number of needles inserted, the puncture needles in the identification results are filtered to determine the position information of each puncture needle, wherein the number of identified puncture needles is the same as the current number of needles inserted; The preprocessing of the original puncture image to obtain the puncture image to be processed includes: The pixel mean is determined based on the pixel values ​​of each pixel in the original puncture image; The difference between the pixel value of each pixel in the original puncture image and the pixel mean is calculated using the pixel mean to obtain a first image; Obtain the threshold value; The pixel values ​​of the first image are processed using the threshold value, and the puncture image corresponding to the puncture needle is extracted from the first image based on the processing result.

2. The ultrasonic device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of identifying the puncture needle in the puncture image to be processed and determining the identification result includes: Each of the puncture images to be processed is binarized to determine the connected regions in the puncture images to be processed. Based on the pixel values ​​of the pixels within the connected region, the feature values ​​of the connected region are calculated; The feature value is compared with a threshold to determine the recognition result.

3. The ultrasonic device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ultrasound device includes a first acquisition module, wherein acquiring the current needle insertion status includes: The needle insertion status input information collected by the first acquisition module is obtained to determine the current needle insertion status.

4. The ultrasonic device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ultrasound device includes a second acquisition module, wherein the step of enhancing the original puncture image based on the position information of each of the puncture needles to determine the target puncture image includes: Obtain the enhanced control information collected by the second acquisition module; The enhancement coefficient is determined based on the enhanced control information; Using the enhancement coefficient and the position information of each puncture needle, the puncture needle in the original puncture image is enhanced to determine the target puncture image.

5. The ultrasonic device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The step of using the enhancement coefficient and the position information of each of the puncture needles to perform image enhancement on the puncture needles in the original puncture image to determine the target puncture image includes: Based on the position information of each puncture needle, the pixel value of each pixel of the puncture needle is multiplied by the enhancement coefficient to enhance the image of the puncture needle and determine the target puncture image.

6. The ultrasonic device according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a first acquisition module, which is connected to the host and is used to acquire needle insertion status input information and send it to the host.

7. The ultrasonic device according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a second acquisition module, which is connected to the host and is used to acquire enhanced control information and send it to the host.

8. The ultrasonic device according to claim 6, characterized in that, The ultrasonic device also includes at least one ultrasonic probe, and the first acquisition module is disposed on the ultrasonic probe.

9. The ultrasonic device according to claim 7, characterized in that, The ultrasonic device also includes at least one ultrasonic probe, and the second acquisition module is disposed on the ultrasonic probe.

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