Ultrasound imaging method, apparatus, computer device and ultrasound imaging system

Abstract

The application relates to an ultrasonic imaging method, device, computer equipment and ultrasonic imaging system. The method comprises the following steps: acquiring a plurality of groups of ultrasonic echo data of an imaging area; a target ultrasonic pulse wave corresponding to the ultrasonic echo data is obtained by encoding an initial ultrasonic pulse wave; the number of periods of the target ultrasonic pulse wave is greater than the number of periods of the initial ultrasonic pulse wave; and the plurality of groups of ultrasonic echo data are decoded to obtain an ultrasonic image sequence. The method can improve the micro-blood flow imaging effect on deep tissues.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of imaging technology, in particular to an ultrasonic imaging method, device, computer equipment and ultrasonic imaging system. BACKGROUND

[0002] Traditional ultrasonic blood flow imaging cannot observe the structure and distribution of low flow rate and microvessels due to limitations such as high noise and low frame rate. In recent years, non-focused ultrasonic imaging technology based on plane wave or divergent wave greatly improves the data sampling frequency, and higher frequency means more rich time sequence information is obtained, and the advanced tissue clutter filter makes the micro blood flow imaging of superficial tissue under ultrasonic gradually get widely used.

[0003] However, due to the weak penetration ability of non-focused wave in deep tissue, the blood flow echo signal is inevitably greatly weakened, and even submerged in electronic noise. The current ultrasonic imaging method has the problem of poor micro blood flow imaging effect for deep tissue. SUMMARY

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to provide an ultrasonic imaging method, device, computer equipment and ultrasonic imaging system capable of improving the micro blood flow imaging effect for deep tissue.

[0005] In a first aspect, the present application provides an ultrasonic imaging method, the method comprising:

[0006] obtaining a plurality of groups of ultrasonic echo data of an imaging region; the target ultrasonic pulse wave corresponding to the ultrasonic echo data is obtained by encoding an initial ultrasonic pulse wave; the number of cycles of the target ultrasonic pulse wave is greater than the number of cycles of the initial ultrasonic pulse wave;

[0007] decoding the plurality of groups of ultrasonic echo data to obtain an ultrasonic image sequence.

[0008] In one of the embodiments, the imaging region comprises a target region; the method further comprises:

[0009] processing the ultrasonic image sequence in a multiplexing manner to obtain a plurality of target image sequences;

[0010] respectively performing coherent compounding processing on each target image sequence to obtain a target region image sequence used for imaging the target region; the target image sequence comprises a plurality of single-angle non-focused wave images sequentially adjacent in the ultrasonic image sequence.

[0011] In one of the embodiments, the step of processing the ultrasonic image sequence in a multiplexing manner to obtain a plurality of target image sequences comprises:

[0012] From each single-angle non-focused wave image in the ultrasound image sequence, a current target image sequence is selected;

[0013] Based on the current target image sequence, a next target image sequence is selected from each single-angle non-focused wave image in the ultrasound image sequence until a plurality of target image sequences are obtained; wherein the next target image sequence contains at least one single-angle non-focused wave image in the current target image sequence.

[0014] In one of the embodiments, the imaging region further includes a relevant region; the method further includes:

[0015] The target region image sequence is subjected to random singular value decomposition filtering processing to obtain a to-be-imaged complex image sequence for the target region;

[0016] The relevant region image sequence is obtained and subjected to singular value decomposition filtering processing to obtain a to-be-imaged complex image sequence for the relevant region;

[0017] Based on the imaging region, the to-be-imaged complex image sequence for the target region and the to-be-imaged complex image sequence for the relevant region are subjected to splicing processing to obtain an imaging region complex image sequence.

[0018] Before the step of obtaining the plurality of groups of ultrasound echo data of the imaging region, the method includes:

[0019] A Walsh matrix is obtained;

[0020] According to the Walsh matrix and the channel delays of the initial ultrasound pulse wave, a waveform coding matrix is formed;

[0021] The initial ultrasound pulse wave is coded based on the waveform coding matrix to obtain a target ultrasound pulse wave.

[0022] In one of the embodiments, the step of coding the initial ultrasound pulse wave based on the waveform coding matrix to obtain the target ultrasound pulse wave includes:

[0023] According to the waveform coding matrix, each channel of the initial ultrasound pulse wave is coded to obtain a channel transmission waveform;

[0024] According to the channel transmission waveform, the target ultrasound pulse wave is obtained.

[0025] In one of the embodiments, the step of decoding the plurality of groups of ultrasound echo data to obtain the ultrasound image sequence includes:

[0026] An inverse matrix corresponding to the waveform coding matrix is obtained to obtain a waveform decoding matrix; based on the waveform decoding matrix, each group of ultrasound echo data is decoded to obtain a plurality of groups of radio frequency data, respectively;

[0027] Based on the transmission parameters, the radio frequency data are respectively subjected to beamforming processing to obtain an ultrasound image sequence.

[0028] In a second aspect, the present application provides an ultrasound imaging device, the device comprising:

[0029] an echo acquisition module configured to acquire a plurality of sets of ultrasound echo data of an imaging region, wherein the target ultrasound pulse wave corresponding to the ultrasound echo data is obtained by encoding the initial ultrasound pulse wave, and the number of cycles of the target ultrasound pulse wave is greater than the number of cycles of the initial ultrasound pulse wave;

[0030] an echo decoding module configured to decode the plurality of sets of ultrasound echo data to obtain an ultrasound image sequence.

[0031] In a third aspect, the present application provides a computer device comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and the processor implements the steps of the method described above when executing the computer program.

[0032] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides an ultrasound imaging system, wherein the system comprises an ultrasound transducer configured to transmit a target ultrasound pulse wave and receive ultrasound echo data; the system further comprises a computer device connected to the ultrasound transducer, wherein the computer device implements the steps of the method described above when executing a computer program.

[0033] The ultrasound imaging method, device, computer device and ultrasound imaging system described above, by acquiring a plurality of sets of ultrasound echo data of an imaging region, wherein the target ultrasound pulse wave corresponding to the ultrasound echo data is obtained by encoding the initial ultrasound pulse wave, the target ultrasound pulse wave with an increased number of cycles is obtained, the target ultrasound pulse wave is used for transmission to increase the number of cycles of the transmitted pulse, thereby greatly improving the penetration ability of non-focused waves in deep tissue, avoiding the deep small blood flow signal from being submerged in noise; the ultrasound echo data signal corresponding to the target ultrasound pulse wave is enhanced, the intensity of the ultrasound echo data reflecting the blood flow echo signal and the noise suppression level are improved from the front end, and the signal-enhanced ultrasound echo data are obtained; decoding the plurality of sets of ultrasound echo data to obtain an ultrasound image sequence can enhance the intensity of each individual angle echo signal after echo decoding and ensure that the image axial resolution is not affected by the increase in the number of transmitted pulse cycles, the ultrasound image sequence can be used for subsequent coherent compounding and imaging, thereby improving the micro-blood flow imaging effect for deep tissue. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0034] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a flowchart of an ultrasound imaging method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] Figure 2 FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an ultrasound imaging method according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Figure 3 Flowchart of an ultrasound imaging method in another embodiment;

[0037] Figure 4 Flowchart of an ultrasound imaging method in one embodiment;

[0038] Figure 5(a) is a schematic diagram of a conventional coherent compounding in one embodiment;

[0039] Figure 5(b) is a schematic diagram of a cyclic multiplexed coherent compounding in one embodiment;

[0040] Figure 6 Flowchart of an ultrasound imaging step in one embodiment;

[0041] Figure 7 Flowchart of an ultrasound imaging step in another embodiment;

[0042] Figure 8 Flowchart of an ultrasound imaging step in yet another embodiment;

[0043] Figure 9 Flowchart of an ultrasound imaging step in still another embodiment;

[0044] Figure 10(a) is a schematic diagram of an initial ultrasound pulse wave in one embodiment;

[0045] Figure 10(b) is a schematic diagram of a target ultrasound pulse wave in one embodiment;

[0046] Figure 10(c) is a schematic diagram of ultrasound echo data in one embodiment;

[0047] Figure 10(d) is a schematic diagram of radio frequency data in one embodiment;

[0048] Figure 11(a) is a flowchart of an ultrasound imaging method in one example;

[0049] Figure 11(b) is a flowchart of an ultrasound imaging method in another example;

[0050] Figure 12 B-scan ultrasonography image of an adult kidney in one embodiment;

[0051] Figure 13(a) is an ultrasound blood flow image of a kidney in a conventional approach;

[0052] Figure 13(b) is an ultrasound micro blood flow image of a kidney in one embodiment;

[0053] Figure 14 Block diagram of an ultrasound imaging apparatus in one embodiment;

[0054] Figure 15 Figure 1 is a diagram of an internal structure of a computer device in one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0055] In order to make the purposes, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application and not used to limit the present application.

[0056] It should be noted that the wall filter technology of early continuation of traditional ultrasonic Doppler imaging uses a low-pass or band-pass filter as a clutter suppression method to filter a plurality of continuous ultrasonic radio frequency data frames along the slow time signal direction, but often due to tissue motion and noise, the detection of small blood flow is not ideal. The traditional ultrasonic blood flow imaging has limitations such as high noise and low frame rate, and cannot observe the structure and distribution of low flow rate and small blood vessels, and the detection and imaging of small blood vessels play a crucial role in evaluating the physiological state of the human body.

[0057] With the development of non-focusing ultrasonic imaging technology of plane wave or divergent wave, the data sampling frequency is greatly improved. Plane wave ultrasonic imaging uses plane wave transmission, which can cover the entire imaging area with a single transmission, which can greatly reduce the transmission times of a frame of image compared with the traditional line-scan focusing ultrasonic, thereby significantly improving the scanning frame rate, but the resolution and signal-to-noise ratio of the plane wave image obtained by single transmission are seriously reduced. The use of non-focusing wave ultrahigh frame rate can greatly highlight the difference between tissue and blood flow, improve the minimum blood flow velocity that can be detected by Doppler effect, and thus detect smaller blood flow signals and blood vessel structures. The multi-angle coherent compound plane wave imaging method delays the phase of the pulses transmitted by different elements of the ultrasonic transducer to generate plane waves with different angles with the transducer, acquires echo signals reflected by plane waves at different angles, and superimposes multiple frames of images through coherent compounding. The multi-angle coherent compound plane wave imaging method increases the number of compound angles to suppress noise, which can effectively improve the resolution and signal-to-noise ratio of the image, thereby improving the imaging quality of the plane wave. Compared with the conventional focusing wave, the frame rate is greatly improved under the condition of equivalent image quality. The ultrasonic micro-blood flow imaging based on coherent compound plane wave and feature decomposition can be widely used in blood flow detection of small animals and superficial parts of the human body.

[0058] However, the limitation of coherent compounding plane wave is that the imaging frame rate will decrease with the increase of the total number of plane wave transmission angles. When the imaging depth is shallow, the time required to receive single plane wave echo data is short, and the frame rate is not seriously affected by the total number of plane wave transmission angles. However, for deep tissue imaging, the time required to receive single plane wave echo data has been greatly increased. At this time, if the number of transmission angles is increased, the final imaging frame rate will be greatly reduced, thereby significantly reducing the detection sensitivity of micro blood flow, and it is difficult to balance the signal noise level and the detection sensitivity of micro blood flow. Another effective strategy to increase the echo signal strength of deep blood flow is to increase the number of transmission pulse cycles. For example, in traditional ultrasonic Doppler blood flow imaging, transmission ultrasonic pulses with lower frequency and much higher cycle number than conventional imaging mode are usually used to overcome the attenuation of blood flow echo signals during tissue transmission. However, with the increase of the number of transmission pulse cycles, the axial resolution of the image will inevitably decrease, and it is difficult to achieve high-resolution imaging of micro blood vessels. In summary, due to the weak penetration ability of non-focused waves in deep tissue, the blood flow echo signal is inevitably greatly weakened, and even submerged in electronic noise. Especially for abdominal solid organs located in the deep part of the body, such as liver and kidney, the challenge of detecting micro blood flow in abdominal solid organs is more prominent.

[0059] In recent years, methods based on singular value decomposition (SVD) or principal component analysis (PCA) and other feature decompositions have been widely used in ultrasonic microvascular imaging. Traditional clutter filters only operate in the time dimension, while SVD and other methods utilize the different characteristics of tissue and blood movement in terms of spatial coherence, providing more high-dimensional feature information and greatly improving the sensitivity to micro blood flow. However, due to the weak signal of red blood cell movement alone, the noise resistance of this method is poor, and when there is a lot of noise or artifact interference, the imaging sensitivity to micro blood vessels will be greatly reduced.

[0060] According to traditional experience, increasing the number of transmission ultrasonic pulse cycles is an effective way to improve the penetration depth of non-focused waves, but it will also cause a significant decrease in the axial resolution of the image. Increasing the number of transmission angles of non-focused waves and performing coherent compounding imaging is also a commonly used noise suppression method, but it comes at the cost of the final imaging frame rate, especially in deep imaging, and further reduces the detection sensitivity of micro blood flow. In addition, abdominal solid organs are affected by heartbeats and respiration, and there is slow movement. Too many transmission angles will introduce new clutter artifacts during coherent compounding. In summary, traditional methods for enhancing micro blood flow echo signals and suppressing noise are difficult to function in deep imaging sites such as abdominal solid organs.

[0061] Therefore, the conventional ultrasound blood flow imaging method is not suitable for the detection and imaging of the micro blood flow in the deep tissue and organs of the human body, and an ultrasound imaging method for the detection of the micro blood flow of the abdominal parenchymal organs is urgently needed.

[0062] In one embodiment, as shown in Figure 1 An ultrasound imaging method is provided, the method comprising:

[0063] In step 110, a plurality of sets of ultrasound echo data of an imaging region are acquired; the target ultrasound pulse wave corresponding to the ultrasound echo data is obtained by encoding the initial ultrasound pulse wave; the number of cycles of the target ultrasound pulse wave is greater than the number of cycles of the initial ultrasound pulse wave;

[0064] Specifically, the initial ultrasound pulse wave can be encoded to determine the target ultrasound pulse wave, and the number of cycles of the target ultrasound pulse wave obtained by encoding is greater than the number of cycles of the initial ultrasound pulse wave. The initial ultrasound pulse wave can be a multi-angle coherent composite non-focused wave, and the multi-angle coherent composite non-focused wave can include at least one of a multi-angle coherent composite plane wave and a multi-angle coherent composite divergent wave. Further, based on the determined target ultrasound pulse wave, the target ultrasound pulse wave can be used as the waveform transmitted by each channel, and a plurality of sets of ultrasound pulses are transmitted in sequence, and the echo data corresponding to the received target ultrasound pulse wave is saved, thereby obtaining a plurality of sets of ultrasound echo data. The plurality of sets of ultrasound echo data can be the original acquired radio frequency data. By the above method of encoding the initial ultrasound pulse wave to obtain the target ultrasound pulse wave, the number of cycles of the transmitted pulse can be increased, thereby greatly improving the penetration ability of the non-focused wave in the deep tissue, avoiding the deep micro blood flow signal from being submerged in the noise; the ultrasound echo data corresponding to the target ultrasound pulse wave can improve the intensity of the ultrasound echo data reflecting the blood flow echo signal and the noise suppression level from the front end.

[0065] In some examples, the target ultrasonic pulse wave can be determined according to the initial ultrasonic pulse wave and a waveform coding matrix; the waveform coding matrix can be determined based on the code division multiplexing principle in the communication field, and the target ultrasonic pulse wave can be determined based on the convolution output of the initial ultrasonic pulse wave and the waveform coding matrix. The waveform coding matrix can be an M-order matrix, for example, the order M can be na power of 2, and the order M of the waveform coding matrix can be determined according to the number of transmission angles. The initial ultrasonic pulse wave can be processed by the waveform coding matrix, for example, convolution processing, and the total length of the target ultrasonic pulse wave obtained is several times larger than the length of the initial ultrasonic pulse wave, for example, the order M of the waveform coding matrix, that is, the target ultrasonic pulse wave is divided into M segments with the same length as the initial ultrasonic pulse wave, and the number of cycles of the target ultrasonic pulse wave is greater than that of the initial ultrasonic pulse wave, wherein the number of cycles of the target ultrasonic pulse wave = the number of cycles of the initial ultrasonic pulse wave * the order of the waveform coding matrix. Then, the target ultrasonic pulse wave obtained based on the waveform coding matrix and the initial ultrasonic pulse wave is used for transmission, which improves the number of cycles of the transmitted pulse compared with the initial ultrasonic pulse wave. Further, based on the determined target ultrasonic pulse wave, the target ultrasonic pulse wave can be used as the waveform of each channel, and a plurality of groups of ultrasonic pulses are transmitted in sequence, and the echo data corresponding to the received target ultrasonic pulse wave is saved, and a plurality of groups of ultrasonic echo data are obtained. The plurality of groups of ultrasonic echo data can be raw radio frequency data.

[0066] In some examples, the target ultrasonic pulse wave can be determined based on a preset transmission parameter and a waveform coding matrix; the waveform coding matrix can be a matrix for coding waveform data. For example, the initial ultrasonic pulse wave can be generated based on the transmission parameters of the multi-angle coherent composite non-focused wave. The transmission parameters can include at least one of the number of transmission angles, the maximum transmission angle, the center frequency of the transmission pulse, the number of transmission pulse cycles, and the initial phase of the transmission pulse. The waveform coding matrix can be obtained by convolution of the delay of each channel corresponding to the angle of the non-focused wave transmission and the Walsh matrix.

[0067] Step 120, decoding a plurality of groups of ultrasonic echo data to obtain an ultrasonic image sequence.

[0068] Specifically, each group of ultrasonic echo data can be decoded to obtain an ultrasonic image sequence; the ultrasonic image sequence can include a plurality of single-angle non-focused wave images; wherein the single-angle non-focused wave image can include at least one of a single-angle plane wave image and a single-angle divergent wave image; the single-angle non-focused wave image can be a complex image. By decoding each group of ultrasonic echo data, a signal-enhanced ultrasonic image sequence can be obtained for subsequent coherent composite processing, thereby improving the micro blood flow imaging effect of deep tissue.

[0069] In some examples, each group of the ultrasonic echo data can be decoded respectively based on a waveform decoding matrix corresponding to the multi-waveform encoding matrix, to obtain an ultrasonic image sequence; wherein the waveform decoding matrix can be a matrix used for decoding the waveform data, and the waveform decoding matrix can be used for decoding each group of the obtained ultrasonic echo data respectively, so as to enhance the intensity of each individual angle echo signal after echo decoding, and ensure that the image axial resolution is not affected by the increase in the number of transmission pulse cycles, thereby obtaining the ultrasonic image sequence with signal enhancement.

[0070] In some examples, each group of the ultrasonic echo data obtained can be decoded respectively based on a waveform decoding matrix, to obtain decoded radio frequency data. The waveform decoding matrix can be a matrix obtained based on the waveform encoding matrix, and used for decoding the waveform data. Each group of the ultrasonic echo data after the decoding processing can be beamformed based on the transmission parameters, for example, the decoded radio frequency data can be beamformed based on the transmission parameters, to obtain an ultrasonic image sequence. The ultrasonic image sequence can include N F groups of complex image sequences IQData(t), t = 1, 2, 3 … N F , N F may be 50-300; each group of the complex image sequences IQData(t) can include 2 na single-angle non-focused wave images IQData(p, t), where p = 1, 2, 3 … 2 na , 2 na is the number of transmission angles in the transmission parameters, that is, the single-angle non-focused wave images IQData(p, t) in each group of the complex image sequences IQData(t) can be sorted according to the index number p of the transmission times.

[0071] The method of the embodiment of the application obtains a plurality of groups of ultrasonic echo data of an imaging region; wherein the target ultrasonic pulse wave corresponding to the ultrasonic echo data is obtained by encoding an initial ultrasonic pulse wave, and the target ultrasonic pulse wave has an increased number of cycles compared with the initial ultrasonic pulse wave. The target ultrasonic pulse wave is used for emission, which can increase the number of cycles of the emitted pulse, thereby greatly improving the penetration ability of non-focused waves in deep tissue and avoiding that the deep micro blood flow signal is submerged in noise. The obtained ultrasonic echo data signal corresponding to the target ultrasonic pulse wave is enhanced, which can improve the intensity of the ultrasonic echo data reflecting the blood flow echo signal and suppress the noise level from the front end, and obtain the ultrasonic echo data with signal enhancement. The plurality of groups of ultrasonic echo data are decoded to obtain an ultrasonic image sequence, which can enhance the intensity of each individual angle echo signal after echo decoding and ensure that the image axial resolution is not affected by the increase in the number of emitted pulse cycles. The ultrasonic image sequence can be used for subsequent coherent compounding and imaging, thereby improving the micro blood flow imaging effect for deep tissue.

[0072] In one embodiment, as shown in Figure 2 the imaging region includes a target region; the method further comprises:

[0073] Step 210, processing the ultrasonic image sequence in a multiplexing manner to obtain a plurality of target image sequences;

[0074] Step 220, respectively performing coherent compounding processing on each target image sequence to obtain a target region image sequence for imaging the target region; the target image sequence includes a plurality of single-angle non-focused wave images sequentially adjacent in the ultrasonic image sequence.

[0075] Specifically, the sequence of ultrasound images can include a plurality of single-angle non-focused wave images arranged in sequence; each single-angle non-focused wave image in the sequence of ultrasound images can be processed in a multiplexing manner to obtain a plurality of target image sequences, wherein each target image sequence can include a plurality of single-angle non-focused wave images adjacent in sequence in the sequence of ultrasound images; the target image sequences can be processed by coherent compounding until each selected target image sequence is processed, and a target region image sequence can be obtained; the target region image sequence can be used for imaging the target region. Through the above coherent compounding processing, the number of target image sequences can be selected according to actual needs, and the number of target image sequences can be increased in a multiplexing manner. For example, the target image sequence can include a plurality of complex image sequences arranged in sequence, each complex image sequence can include a plurality of single-angle non-focused wave images arranged in sequence, so that the number of target image sequences is greater than the number of groups of complex image sequences in the sequence of ultrasound images, the frame rate of the target region image sequence can be improved, and finally a target region image sequence for reflecting echo complex data with signal enhancement, low noise and high frame rate can be obtained, which improves signal strength and reduces noise level compared with traditional methods, and the frame rate can be set according to actual needs to improve the micro blood flow imaging effect of deep tissue.

[0076] In some examples, the sequence of ultrasound images can be processed in a multiplexing manner to obtain a plurality of target image sequences IQDataH(t), t = 1, 2, 3 … 2 na *(N F -1)+1; each target image sequence IQDataH(t) includes a plurality of single-angle non-focused wave images IQData(p,t) adjacent in sequence in the sequence of ultrasound images. The number of target image sequences can be greater than the number of groups of complex image sequences in the sequence of ultrasound images. For example, the number of groups of complex image sequences in the sequence of ultrasound images can be 100 groups, and the number of selected target image sequences from the sequence of ultrasound images can be greater than 100 groups, that is, at least two groups of target image sequences include the same single-angle non-focused wave image, and the frame rate of the target region image sequence finally used to reflect the image clarity of the target region after the target image sequence is processed by coherent compounding is improved.

[0077] In one embodiment, as shown in Figure 3 the step of processing the sequence of ultrasound images in a multiplexing manner to obtain a plurality of target image sequences includes:

[0078] Step 310, selecting a current target image sequence from each single-angle non-focused wave image in the sequence of ultrasound images;

[0079] Step 320, based on the current target image sequence, selecting a next target image sequence from each single-angle non-focused wave image in the ultrasound image sequence until a plurality of target image sequences are obtained; wherein the next target image sequence contains at least one single-angle non-focused wave image in the current target image sequence.

[0080] Specifically, each target image sequence can be sequentially selected from each single-angle non-focused wave image in the ultrasound image sequence in a step-by-step manner, and the step length can be less than the number of single-angle non-focused wave images in the target image sequence and greater than 0, so as to obtain a plurality of target image sequences. Further, each selected target image sequence can be subjected to coherent compounding processing to obtain a target region image sequence with improved frame rate compared to a conventional coherent compounding method. By including at least one single-angle non-focused wave image in the current selected target image sequence in the next selected target image sequence, each single-angle non-focused wave image can be cyclically multiplexed and coherently compounded to improve the frame rate of the target region image sequence for imaging.

[0081] In some examples, the number of groups of complex image sequences in the ultrasound image sequence can be 100 groups, and in the ultrasound image sequence, 4 adjacent single-angle non-focused wave images can be sequentially selected with 1 single-angle non-focused wave image as a moving selection step length, so as to obtain 397 target image sequences, that is, 3 adjacent target image sequences select the same 3 single-angle non-focused wave images.

[0082] In one embodiment, the imaging region further includes a related region, wherein the imaging target volume in the target region is smaller than the imaging target volume in the related region; the ultrasound image sequence includes a plurality of groups of complex image sequences arranged in sequence; as shown in Figure 4 The method further includes:

[0083] Step 410, respectively performing coherent compounding processing on each complex image sequence to obtain a related region image sequence;

[0084] Step 420, based on the imaging region, performing splicing processing on the target region image sequence and the related region image sequence to obtain an imaging region complex image sequence;

[0085] Step 430, performing imaging processing on the imaging region complex image sequence to obtain an imaging region image.

[0086] Specifically, the imaging region can include a target region and a related region at the same time, wherein the imaging target volume of the target region is smaller than the imaging target volume in the related region, for example, the imaging region can be a kidney region, the target region can be a microvessel region in the kidney region, and the related region can be a large vessel region in the kidney region; the coherent compounding processing can be performed on each complex image sequence respectively, and the coherent compounding processing can be a conventional coherent compounding method, for example, the conventional coherent compounding method is used to process each complex image sequence for the related region, and then the related region image sequence for the related region can be obtained; further, based on the relationship between the target region and the related region in the imaging region, the obtained target region image sequence and the related region image sequence can be spliced to obtain an imaging region complex image sequence; the imaging region complex image sequence is subjected to imaging processing, for example, post-processing operation for a conventional image sequence, and then an imaging region image is obtained, which can be an ultrasonic micro blood flow image for the imaging region. Through the above-mentioned way of dividing the imaging region into the target region and the related region, the related region with a larger imaging target volume can be subjected to conventional coherent compounding processing, the calculation amount is reduced, and the processing efficiency is improved; and the target region with a smaller imaging target volume is subjected to coherent compounding processing by selecting a target image sequence, which can effectively improve the imaging frame rate and signal strength for the imaging target with a smaller volume and reduce noise; finally, the imaging region image obtained by splicing imaging has a higher resolution for imaging targets with different volumes, and the smaller imaging target in the imaging region is effectively detected.

[0087] In some examples, the relevant region R1 and the target region R2 in the imaging region can be divided by a box selection manner, where the target region R2 is a region of interest which needs to be suppressed by clutter; then, the relevant region R1 can be processed by a conventional coherent compounding manner as shown in FIG. 5(a), for example, the single-angle non-focused wave images IQData(p, t) arranged in sequence in the ultrasound image sequence are taken as a division manner, each complex image sequence IQData(t) (for example, the complex image sequence IQData(1) can include IQData(1, 1), IQData(2, 1), IQData(3, 1) and IQData(4, 1), where p = 1, 2, 3, 4) is processed by coherent compounding to obtain a relevant region image sequence IQDataN(t) for the relevant region (for example, the complex image sequence IQData(1) is processed by coherent compounding to obtain the relevant region image sequence IQDataN(1)). The target region R2 can be processed by the method as described in steps 110 to 130 by a coherent compounding manner as shown in FIG. 5(b), where a plurality of target image sequences IQDataH(t) can be selected from the ultrasound image sequence, each target image sequence IQDataH(t) includes a plurality of single-angle non-focused wave images IQData(p, t) arranged in sequence and adjacent to each other in the ultrasound image sequence, for example, IQDataH(1) can include IQData(1, 1), IQData(2, 1), IQData(3, 1) and IQData(4, 1), IQDataH(2) can include IQData(2, 1), IQData(3, 1), IQData(4, 1) and IQData(1, 2), and so on, the adjacent target image sequences IQDataH(t) can include the same single-angle non-focused wave image IQData(p, t). Further, the relevant region image sequence IQDataN(1) and the target image sequence IQDataH(t) can be processed by splicing to obtain an imaging region complex image sequence I(t); the imaging region complex image sequence I(t) is processed by imaging, for example, the imaging region complex image sequence I(t) is multiplied by its own conjugate, summed along the time dimension, and logarithmically compressed to obtain a final ultrasound micro blood flow image.

[0088] In one of the embodiments, the imaging region further includes a relevant region; as Figure 6 shown, the method further includes:

[0089] In step 610, the target region image sequence is processed by random singular value decomposition filtering to obtain a to-be-imaged complex image sequence for the target region;

[0090] At step 620, the relevant region image sequence is acquired, and the relevant region image sequence is subjected to singular value decomposition filtering processing to obtain a to-be-imaged complex image sequence for the relevant region;

[0091] At step 630, based on the imaging region, the to-be-imaged complex image sequence for the target region and the to-be-imaged complex image sequence for the relevant region are subjected to splicing processing to obtain an imaging region complex image sequence.

[0092] Specifically, the target region image sequence can include a plurality of high-frame-rate composite non-focusing wave complex images, wherein the high-frame-rate composite non-focusing wave complex image can include at least one of a high-frame-rate composite plane wave complex image and a high-frame-rate composite divergent wave complex image; the target region image sequence can be subjected to random singular value decomposition filtering processing, for example, a plurality of high-frame-rate composite non-focusing wave complex images are filtered by using a random singular value decomposition filter to obtain a to-be-imaged complex image sequence for the target region, for example, a microvessel complex image sequence. Each complex image sequence can be subjected to coherent compounding processing, which can be a conventional coherent compounding method, for example, each complex image sequence is processed for a relevant region by using a conventional coherent compounding method, and then a relevant region image sequence for the relevant region can be obtained; the relevant region image sequence can include a plurality of composite non-focusing wave complex images, wherein the composite non-focusing wave complex image can include at least one of a composite plane wave complex image and a composite divergent wave complex image; the relevant region image sequence can be subjected to singular value decomposition filtering processing, for example, a plurality of composite non-focusing wave complex images are filtered by using a singular value decomposition filter to obtain a to-be-imaged complex image sequence for the relevant region, which can be a blood vessel complex image sequence. In the above manner, the imaging region can be divided into a target region and a relevant region according to the imaging requirements, for example, the relevant region with a large imaging target volume is subjected to conventional coherent compounding processing, thereby reducing the calculation amount and improving the processing efficiency; the target region with a small imaging target volume is subjected to coherent compounding processing by selecting a target image sequence, thereby effectively improving the imaging frame rate and signal strength of the small imaging target and reducing noise; after the target region image sequence and the relevant region image sequence are subjected to filtering processing, the to-be-imaged complex image sequence for the target region and the to-be-imaged complex image sequence for the relevant region are spliced, wherein the singular value decomposition filter utilizes different characteristics of tissue and blood movement in terms of spatial and temporal coherence, provides more high-dimensional feature information, and can improve the sensitivity to the region target (for example, a large blood vessel or a microvessel); the random singular value decomposition filter can stably and quickly perform dimensionality reduction processing on the target region image sequence, the performance does not depend on local features, and the processing efficiency and sensitivity to the microvessel region can be further improved, and finally the spliced imaging region complex image sequence can improve the clarity of the target region image sequence and the relevant region image sequence for imaging.

[0093] In some examples, as shown in Figure 5(b), the target region image sequence may include 397 high frame rate composite unfocused complex images. For the target region R2 used to characterize the microvascular region, a random singular value decomposition filter can be used to filter the 397 high frame rate composite unfocused complex images IQDataH(t) to obtain the microvascular complex image sequence I2(t). As shown in Figure 5(a), the related region image sequence may include 100 composite unfocused complex images. For the related region R1 used to characterize the large blood vessel region, a singular value decomposition filter can be used to filter the 100 composite unfocused complex images IQDataN(t) to obtain the large blood vessel complex image sequence I1(t). I1(t) and I2(t) are placed at the corresponding positions of the related region R1 and the target region R2, respectively, and spliced ​​together to form the final ultrasound microblood flow complex image sequence I(t).

[0094] In one embodiment, such as Figure 7 As shown, before the step of acquiring multiple sets of ultrasound echo data of the imaging area, the following steps are included:

[0095] Step 710, obtain the Walsh matrix;

[0096] Step 720: Based on the Walsh matrix and the channel delays of the initial ultrasonic pulse wave, form a waveform encoding matrix;

[0097] Step 730: Encode the initial ultrasonic pulse wave based on the waveform encoding matrix to obtain the target ultrasonic pulse wave.

[0098] Specifically, a Walsh matrix is acquired, and based on the Walsh matrix and channel delays of an initial ultrasonic pulse wave, a waveform coding matrix can be composed, for example, the waveform coding matrix is composed according to the convolution of channel delays corresponding to the emission angles of non-focused waves and the Walsh matrix; wherein the channel delays of the initial ultrasonic pulse wave can be determined according to the emission angles of the non-focused waves. Wherein the Walsh matrix can be a square matrix with a dimension of M, where M is a natural number. The Walsh matrix is composed of -1 and 1, and all its rows and columns are pairwise orthogonal, that is, the dot product is 0. The order M of the Walsh matrix can be determined according to the number of emission angles. The initial ultrasonic pulse wave can be determined based on the emission parameters of the initial ultrasonic pulse wave, for example, based on the emission parameters of the multi-angle coherent composite non-focused wave, the initial ultrasonic pulse wave can be determined, and the initial ultrasonic pulse wave can be a multi-angle coherent composite non-focused wave; the emission parameters can include the center frequency of the emission pulse, the number of emission pulse cycles, the initial phase of the emission pulse, the number of emission angles, and the maximum emission angle; based on the number of emission angles and the maximum emission angle, the emission delay of the emission pulse can be determined; the emission delay of the emission pulse can also be determined based on the number of emission angles, the maximum emission angle, and the transducer parameters. Further, based on the center frequency of the emission pulse, the number of emission pulse cycles, the initial phase of the emission pulse, and the number of emission pulse cycles, the initial ultrasonic pulse wave can be determined.

[0099] Further, based on the waveform coding matrix, the initial ultrasonic pulse wave can be encoded to obtain a target ultrasonic pulse wave; wherein the waveform coding matrix can be generated based on the following Walsh matrix W(p,q):

[0100]

[0101] wherein R(k+1,q) is an arbitrary Rademacher function; g(p) is the Gray code of p; g(p) k is the kth digit of the Gray code g(p); p is the index number of the number of emissions, p = 1, 2, 3……2 na ; M is the order of the Walsh matrix, M = 2 naThe waveform coding matrix can be obtained by the above method, and the initial ultrasonic pulse wave can be coded, for example, based on the code division multiplexing principle in the communication field to code the initial ultrasonic pulse wave to determine the target ultrasonic pulse wave, and the total length of the target ultrasonic pulse wave is M times the length of the initial ultrasonic pulse wave, thereby expanding the order of the waveform coding matrix; based on the target ultrasonic pulse wave obtained above, the imaging area is emitted, which can increase the number of transmission pulse cycles, thereby greatly improving the penetration ability of the non-focused wave in the deep tissue and avoiding that the deep micro blood flow signal is submerged in the noise; and the corresponding multiple groups of ultrasonic echo data of the target ultrasonic pulse wave can be obtained, which can improve the intensity of the ultrasonic echo data reflecting the blood flow echo signal and suppress the noise level from the front end.

[0102] In some examples, the initial ultrasonic pulse wave can be TWA(i,j), where i is the index number of the transducer element, i = 1, 2, 3, …, N, N is the number of elements of the ultrasonic transducer; j is the index number of the initial transmission angle, j = 1, 2, 3, …, na na , 2 na is the number of transmission angles, and na can be any one of 1, 2, 3, or 4; the length of the initial ultrasonic pulse wave TWA(i,j) is N TW .

[0103] Based on the waveform coding matrix and the initial ultrasonic pulse wave, the target ultrasonic pulse wave can be determined, for example, based on the Walsh matrix W(p,q) used to determine the waveform coding matrix, and the initial ultrasonic pulse wave TWA(i,j), the target ultrasonic pulse wave TWB(i,p) can be determined, where the total length of the target ultrasonic pulse wave TWB(i,p) is 2 na ×N TW , and is divided into 2 na segments in time sequence, and each segment is composed of the multiplication result of the corresponding initial ultrasonic pulse wave TWA(i,j) and Walsh matrix W(p,q), that is:

[0104] TWB(i,p)[1+(j-1)×N TW ~j×N TW ] = TWA(i,j) × W(p,q).

[0105] In the formula, TWB(i,p) is the target ultrasonic pulse wave; i is the index number of the transducer element; j is the index number of the initial transmission angle; p is the index number of the transmission times; N TW is the length of the initial ultrasonic pulse wave TWA(i,j); TWA(i,j) is the initial ultrasonic pulse wave; and W(p,q) is the Walsh matrix.

[0106] In one embodiment, as Figure 8As shown, the step of encoding the initial ultrasonic pulse wave based on the waveform encoding matrix to obtain the target ultrasonic pulse wave comprises:

[0107] Step 810, encode each channel of the initial ultrasonic pulse wave according to the waveform encoding matrix to obtain a channel transmission waveform;

[0108] Step 820, obtain the target ultrasonic pulse wave according to the channel transmission waveform.

[0109] Specifically, according to the initial ultrasonic pulse wave and the waveform encoding matrix, a plurality of channel transmission waveforms can be obtained as the target ultrasonic pulse wave, wherein the length of each channel transmission waveform is the same as that of the initial ultrasonic pulse wave, and the channel transmission waveforms are composed of the multiplication result of the initial ultrasonic pulse wave and the waveform encoding matrix. Using the plurality of channel transmission waveforms as the target ultrasonic pulse wave for transmission in the imaging area can increase the number of transmission pulse cycles, thereby greatly improving the penetration ability of non-focused waves in deep tissue, overcoming the attenuation of blood flow echo signals in tissue transmission, and avoiding deep micro blood flow signals from being submerged in noise.

[0110] In some examples, the order M of the Walsh matrix can be na power of 2, and the order M of the Walsh matrix can be equal to the number of transmission angles. For example, the Walsh matrix can be a 4-order square matrix, and then the waveform encoding matrix can be determined based on the 4-order Walsh matrix.

[0111] In one embodiment, as shown, Figure 9 The step of decoding the plurality of groups of ultrasonic echo data to obtain the ultrasonic image sequence comprises:

[0112] Step 910, obtain an inverse matrix corresponding to the waveform encoding matrix to obtain a waveform decoding matrix;

[0113] Step 920, decode each group of ultrasonic echo data based on the waveform decoding matrix to obtain a plurality of groups of radio frequency data respectively;

[0114] Step 930, perform beamforming processing on each radio frequency data respectively to obtain the ultrasonic image sequence.

[0115] Specifically, an inverse matrix corresponding to the waveform encoding matrix can be obtained to obtain a waveform decoding matrix. The waveform decoding matrix can be an inverse matrix corresponding to the waveform encoding matrix, or a matrix obtained based on the inverse matrix corresponding to the waveform encoding matrix. Based on the waveform decoding matrix, each group of ultrasonic echo data can be decoded. For example, the ultrasonic echo data RFA(i,j) can be decoded according to the inverse matrix of the waveform encoding matrix to obtain a plurality of groups of decoded radio frequency data RFB(i,p). For example, based on the inverse matrix W' of the Walsh matrix, a plurality of groups of radio frequency data RFB(i,p) can be obtained:

[0116]

[0117] wherein RFB(p) is the radio frequency data; RFA(j) is the ultrasound echo data; and W'(p,j) is the inverse matrix of the Walsh matrix.

[0118] Further, the radio frequency data can be respectively processed by beamforming to obtain an ultrasound image sequence, for example, the radio frequency data is respectively processed by beamforming based on the transmission parameters to obtain an ultrasound image sequence. Corresponding to the coded target ultrasound pulse wave, the ultrasound echo data can be decoded by the above-mentioned manner, which can enhance the intensity of each individual angle echo signal after echo decoding, and ensure that the image axial resolution is not affected by the increase of the number of transmission pulse cycles, and further improve the intensity of the ultrasound echo data for reflecting the blood flow echo signal and the noise suppression level from the front end.

[0119] In some examples, the decoded radio frequency data RFB(1,2) corresponding to the second transmission of the first array element can be obtained by using the following formula:

[0120]

[0121]

[0122] Further, the sorting of the single-angle non-focused wave images in the complex image sequence can be determined based on the transmission angle sequence; the transmission parameters can include the number of transmission angles and the maximum transmission angle; the transmission angle sequence can be determined based on the number of transmission angles and the maximum transmission angle; and the number of single-angle non-focused wave images in the target image sequence can be the same as the number of single-angle non-focused wave images in the complex image sequence.

[0123] Specifically, the number of transmission angles can be 2 na , na can be one of 1, 2, 3 or 4; the maximum transmission angle can be any value in 3°-24°; the transmission angle sequence can be determined based on the number of transmission angles and the maximum transmission angle, and the transmission angle sequence can include the number of transmission angles of sequentially arranged transmission angles. Further, the single-angle non-focused wave images can be sorted based on the transmission angle sequence to obtain the corresponding complex image sequence, and the complex image sequence can include the number of transmission angles of single-angle non-focused wave images. As shown in FIG. 5(b), the number of single-angle non-focused wave images in the target image sequence can be the same as the number of single-angle non-focused wave images in the complex image sequence, both of which are the number of transmission angles, for example, 4.

[0124] In some examples, the transmission parameters of the multi-angle coherent compounded non-focused wave can further include a center frequency of the transmission pulse, a number of transmission pulse cycles, and an initial phase of the transmission pulse, wherein the center frequency of the transmission pulse can be any value in 1 MHz-5 MHz; the number of transmission pulse cycles can be set to any value in 1-5; and the initial phase of the transmission pulse can be any value in 0°-180°. For example, the number of transmission angles is 4, the maximum transmission angle is 6°, the center frequency of the transmission pulse is 3.5 MHz, the number of transmission pulse cycles is 2, the initial phase of the transmission pulse is 0°, the number of elements of the ultrasonic transducer is 128, the length N of the initial ultrasonic pulse wave TWA(i,j) is 800 points (each point is 0.004 us), i=1, 2, 3,..., 128, j=1, 2, 3, 4, and the corresponding waveform coding matrix can be determined based on the following fourth-order Walsh matrix W: TW

[0125]

[0126] Based on the above transmission parameters, as shown in FIG. 10(a), the initial ultrasonic pulse wave TWA(i,j) of the element 1, the element 64, and the element 128; as shown in FIG. 10(b), the target ultrasonic pulse wave TWB(i,p) of the element 1, the element 64, and the element 128; as shown in FIG. 10(c), the ultrasonic echo data RFA(i,j) of the element 1, the element 64, and the element 128; and as shown in FIG. 10(d), the decoded radio frequency data RFB(i,p) of the element 1, the element 64, and the element 128. For 100 groups of continuous multi-angle coherent compounded non-focused waves, based on the above transmission parameters, 400 single-angle non-focused wave images IQData(i,t) can be obtained after beamforming processing; further, through the cyclic multiplexing coherent compounding processing as shown in FIG. 5(b), a high frame rate compounded non-focused wave complex image IQDataH(t) with a frame rate increased by 4 times can be obtained, wherein t=1, 2, 3,..., 397.

[0127] In some examples, as shown in FIG. 11(a), the target ultrasonic pulse wave TWB(i,p) can be determined first, specifically, the total length of the target ultrasonic pulse wave TWB(i,p) can be 3200 points, and in time sequence, the target ultrasonic pulse wave TWB(i,p) can be divided into 4 segments, each of which is composed of the multiplication result of the corresponding initial ultrasonic pulse wave TWA(i,j) and the Walsh matrix W, that is:

[0128] TWB(i,p)[1+(j-1)×800~j×800]=TWA(i,j)×W(p,j)

[0129] ​wherein, i is the index number of transducer element, j is the index number of initial transmitting angle, p is the index number of transmitting times, i = 1, 2, 3…128, j = 1, 2, 3, 4, p = 1, 2, 3, 4.

[0130] As shown in Fig. 11(b), the initial ultrasonic pulse wave TWA(i,j) and the waveform coding matrix can be generated based on the transmitting parameters respectively by setting the transmitting parameters, and the target ultrasonic pulse wave TWB(i,p) for final transmission can be obtained by coding the initial ultrasonic pulse wave TWA(i,j) based on the waveform coding matrix according to the above formula.

[0131] Further, a group of ultrasonic pulses are transmitted based on the target ultrasonic pulse wave TWB(i,p), and the corresponding echo signals of the ultrasonic pulses are received to obtain the ultrasonic echo data RFA(i,j); the ultrasonic echo data RFA(i,j) is decoded to obtain the radio frequency data RFB(i,p); the radio frequency data RFB(i,p) is subjected to pixel-based conventional beam synthesis to obtain the corresponding image sequence IQData(p); the above steps are repeated t times, i.e., t groups of ultrasonic pulses are transmitted to obtain the ultrasonic image sequence IQData(p,t); the ultrasonic image sequence IQData(p,t) is subjected to conventional coherent compounding to obtain the relevant region image sequence IQDataN(t); as shown in Fig. 11(c), the relevant region image sequence IQDataN(t) is displayed on the display screen of the ultrasonic imaging device. Figure 12As shown, the imaging region (region of interest R) requiring clutter suppression can be manually framed, and divided into a relevant region R1 (large vessel region R1) and a target region R2 (microvessel region R2), the tissue clutter filter is used to filter the pixel points belonging to the relevant region R1 in the relevant region image sequence IQDataN(t) to obtain the large vessel complex image sequence I1(t); the ultrasound image sequence IQData(p,t) is cyclically multiplexed and coherently compounded as shown in Fig. 5(b) to obtain a target image sequence IQDataH(t), and the tissue clutter filter is used to filter the pixel points belonging to the target region R2 in the target image sequence IQDataH(t) to obtain a microvessel complex image sequence I2(t); the large vessel complex image sequence I1(t) and the microvessel complex image sequence I2(t) are spliced to obtain an ultrasound microblood flow complex image sequence I(t), and the ultrasound microblood flow complex image sequence I(t) is subjected to conventional image sequence post-processing to obtain an ultrasound microblood flow image for display, for example, the ultrasound microblood flow complex image sequence I(t) is multiplied by its own conjugate, and the sum along the time dimension is taken and then logarithmic compression is performed to obtain the final ultrasound microblood flow image, as shown in Fig. 13(a), which is an ultrasound blood flow image obtained by the conventional scheme for the kidney, as shown in Fig. 13(b), which is an ultrasound microblood flow image obtained by the present application for the kidney, compared with the conventional scheme, the obtained ultrasound microblood flow image has reduced noise and improved frame rate. The above method improves the steps of transmission, reception and beam synthesis of ultrasound non-focused waves based on the code division multiplexing principle, improves the penetration ability of non-focused waves in deep tissues and the minimum flow rate detectable range without sacrificing the axial resolution and imaging frame rate of the image, thereby effectively retaining the echo signals of deep microblood flow, and then splicing imaging after filtering processing by the tissue clutter filter, to realize clear imaging of microblood flow in deep organ tissues.

[0132] It should be understood that although each step in the flowchart involved in each embodiment as described above is shown in sequence according to the direction of the arrow, these steps are not necessarily executed in sequence according to the direction of the arrow. Unless otherwise specified herein, the execution of these steps is not strictly limited in sequence, and these steps can be executed in other sequences. Moreover, at least part of the steps in the flowchart involved in each embodiment as described above can include multiple steps or stages, which are not necessarily executed at the same time, but can be executed at different times, and the execution sequence of these steps or stages is not necessarily sequential, but can be executed in rotation or alternation with at least part of other steps or steps or stages in other steps.

[0133] Based on the same inventive concept, the embodiments of the present application also provide an ultrasound imaging apparatus for implementing the above-mentioned ultrasound imaging method. The implementation scheme for solving the problem provided by the apparatus is similar to the implementation scheme described in the above-mentioned method, and therefore the specific limitations in one or more ultrasound imaging apparatus embodiments provided below can refer to the limitations of the ultrasound imaging method described above, which will not be described here again.

[0134] In one embodiment, as shown in Figure 14 An ultrasound imaging apparatus is provided, and the apparatus comprises:

[0135] The echo acquisition module 1410 is configured to acquire a plurality of groups of ultrasound echo data of an imaging region; the ultrasound echo data correspond to a target ultrasound pulse wave obtained by encoding an initial ultrasound pulse wave; the target ultrasound pulse wave has a number of cycles greater than that of the initial ultrasound pulse wave;

[0136] The echo decoding module 1420 is configured to decode the plurality of groups of ultrasound echo data to obtain an ultrasound image sequence.

[0137] In one of the embodiments, the imaging region comprises a target region; and the apparatus further comprises:

[0138] The coherent compounding module is configured to process the ultrasound image sequence in a multiplexing manner to obtain a plurality of target image sequences; and perform coherent compounding processing on each of the target image sequences to obtain a target region image sequence used for imaging the target region; and the target image sequence comprises a plurality of single-angle non-focusing wave images sequentially adjacent in the ultrasound image sequence.

[0139] In one of the embodiments, the coherent compounding module is further configured to select a current target image sequence from the single-angle non-focusing wave images in the ultrasound image sequence; and based on the current target image sequence, select a next target image sequence from the single-angle non-focusing wave images in the ultrasound image sequence, until a plurality of target image sequences are obtained; and the next target image sequence contains at least one single-angle non-focusing wave image in the current target image sequence.

[0140] In one of the embodiments, the imaging region further comprises a relevant region; and the apparatus further comprises:

[0141] The target region image sequence processing module is configured to perform random singular value decomposition filtering processing on the target region image sequence to obtain a to-be-imaged complex image sequence of the target region;

[0142] The relevant region image sequence processing module is configured to acquire a relevant region image sequence, and perform singular value decomposition filtering processing on the relevant region image sequence to obtain a to-be-imaged complex image sequence of the relevant region;

[0143] The splicing processing module is configured to perform splicing processing on the to-be-imaged complex image sequence of the target region and the to-be-imaged complex image sequence of the related region based on the imaging region, to obtain a complex image sequence of the imaging region.

[0144] In one of the embodiments, the apparatus further includes:

[0145] The Walsh matrix obtaining module is configured to obtain a Walsh matrix.

[0146] The waveform coding matrix obtaining module is configured to compose a waveform coding matrix according to the Walsh matrix and the channel delay of the initial ultrasonic pulse wave.

[0147] The target ultrasonic pulse obtaining module is configured to code the initial ultrasonic pulse wave based on the waveform coding matrix to obtain a target ultrasonic pulse wave.

[0148] In one of the embodiments, the echo obtaining module 1410 is further configured to code each channel of the initial ultrasonic pulse wave according to the waveform coding matrix to obtain a channel transmission waveform, and obtain the target ultrasonic pulse wave according to the channel transmission waveform.

[0149] In one of the embodiments, the echo decoding module 1420 is further configured to obtain an inverse matrix corresponding to the waveform coding matrix to obtain a waveform decoding matrix, decode the multiple groups of ultrasonic echo data based on the waveform decoding matrix to obtain multiple groups of radio frequency data respectively, and perform beamforming processing on each radio frequency data based on the transmission parameter to obtain an ultrasonic image sequence.

[0150] The above modules in the ultrasonic imaging apparatus can be realized by software, hardware, or a combination thereof, in whole or in part. The above modules can be embedded in or independent of a processor in a computer device in hardware form, or stored in a memory in a computer device in software form, so as to be called and executed by a processor to perform the operations corresponding to the above modules.

[0151] In one embodiment, a computer device is provided, which includes a memory and a processor, the memory stores a computer program, and the processor implements the steps of the above method when executing the computer program.

[0152] In one embodiment, a computer device is provided, which can be a terminal, and its internal structure diagram can be as shown in Figure 15The computer device includes a processor, a memory, an input / output interface, a communication interface, a display unit and an input device. The processor, the memory and the input / output interface are connected through a system bus. The communication interface, the display unit and the input device are connected to the system bus through the input / output interface. The processor of the computer device is configured to provide computing and control capabilities. The memory of the computer device includes a non-volatile storage medium and an internal memory. The non-volatile storage medium stores an operating system and a computer program. The internal memory provides an environment for running the operating system and the computer program in the non-volatile storage medium. The input / output interface of the computer device is configured to exchange information between the processor and external devices. The communication interface of the computer device is configured to perform wired or wireless communication with external terminals. The wireless communication can be achieved through WIFI, mobile cellular network, NFC (Near Field Communication) or other technologies. The computer program is executed by the processor to implement an ultrasonic imaging method. The display unit of the computer device is configured to form a visually visible picture, which can be a display screen, a projection device or a virtual reality imaging device. The display screen can be a liquid crystal display screen or an electronic ink display screen. The input device of the computer device can be a touch layer overlaid on the display screen, or a key, trackball or touchpad arranged on the shell of the computer device, or an external keyboard, touchpad or mouse, etc.

[0153] Those skilled in the art can understand that, Figure 15 The structure shown in the figure is only a block diagram of part of the structure related to the scheme of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the computer device to which the scheme of the present application is applied. The specific computer device can include more or fewer components than those shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or have a different arrangement of components.

[0154] In one embodiment, an ultrasonic imaging system is provided, which includes an ultrasonic transducer for transmitting target ultrasonic pulse waves and receiving ultrasonic echo data. The system further includes a computer device connected to the ultrasonic transducer, which implements the steps of the method described above when the computer program is executed.

[0155] In one embodiment, a computer readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program. The computer program is executed by the processor to implement the steps of the method described above.

[0156] In one embodiment, a computer program product is provided, which includes a computer program. The computer program is executed by the processor to implement the steps of the method described above.

[0157] Those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the processes in the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be completed by instructing the relevant hardware through a computer program. The computer program can be stored in a non-volatile computer readable storage medium, and when the computer program is executed, the processes of the above-mentioned embodiments of the methods can be included. Any reference to memory, database or other medium used in the embodiments provided in the present application can include at least one of non-volatile and volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can include read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, ROM), magnetic tape, floppy disk, flash memory, optical storage, high-density embedded non-volatile memory, resistive memory (ReRAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory, MRAM), ferroelectric memory (Ferroelectric Random Access Memory, FRAM), phase change memory (Phase Change Memory, PCM), graphene memory, etc. Volatile memory can include random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM) or external cache memory, etc. As an illustration but not limitation, RAM can be in various forms, such as static random access memory (Static Random Access Memory, SRAM) or dynamic random access memory (Dynamic Random Access Memory, DRAM), etc. The database involved in the embodiments provided in the present application can include at least one of a relational database and a non-relational database. The non-relational database can include a distributed database based on a block chain, etc., without being limited thereto. The processor involved in the embodiments provided in the present application can be a general-purpose processor, a central processing unit, a graphics processing unit, a digital signal processor, a programmable logic device, a data processing logic device based on quantum computing, etc., without being limited thereto.

[0158] Any combination of the technical features of the above embodiments can be made. In order to make the description simple, all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are not described, however, as long as the combination of the technical features does not exist contradictory, it should be considered as the scope of the present application.

[0159] The above embodiments only express several implementation manners of the present application, and the description is more specific and detailed, but it should not be understood as a limitation on the scope of the patent of the present application. It should be pointed out that for ordinary skilled in the art, without departing from the concept of the present application, a number of modifications and improvements can be made, which are within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic imaging method, characterized by, The method comprises: acquiring a Walsh matrix; composing a waveform coding matrix according to the Walsh matrix and channel delays of an initial ultrasonic pulse wave; encoding the initial ultrasonic pulse wave based on the waveform coding matrix to obtain a target ultrasonic pulse wave; the target ultrasonic pulse wave has a number of cycles greater than that of the initial ultrasonic pulse wave; acquiring a plurality of sets of ultrasonic echo data of an imaging region; the ultrasonic echo data correspond to the target ultrasonic pulse wave; decoding the plurality of sets of ultrasonic echo data to obtain an ultrasonic image sequence.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The imaging region comprises a target region; the method further comprises: processing the ultrasonic image sequence in a multiplexed manner to obtain a plurality of target image sequences; respectively performing coherent compounding processing on the target image sequences to obtain a target region image sequence for imaging the target region; the target image sequence comprises a plurality of single-angle non-focused wave images successively adjacent in the ultrasonic image sequence.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The step of processing the ultrasonic image sequence in a multiplexed manner to obtain a plurality of target image sequences comprises: selecting a current target image sequence from the single-angle non-focused wave images in the ultrasonic image sequence; based on the current target image sequence, selecting a next target image sequence from the single-angle non-focused wave images in the ultrasonic image sequence until a plurality of target image sequences are obtained; the next target image sequence contains at least one single-angle non-focused wave image in the current target image sequence.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein, The imaging region further comprises a related region; the method further comprises: performing random singular value decomposition filtering processing on the target region image sequence to obtain a to-be-imaged complex image sequence for the target region; acquiring a related region image sequence and performing singular value decomposition filtering processing on the related region image sequence to obtain a to-be-imaged complex image sequence for the related region; based on the imaging region, performing splicing processing on the to-be-imaged complex image sequence for the target region and the to-be-imaged complex image sequence for the related region to obtain an imaging region complex image sequence.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein, The step of encoding the initial ultrasonic pulse wave based on the waveform coding matrix to obtain the target ultrasonic pulse wave comprises: encoding each channel of the initial ultrasonic pulse wave according to the waveform coding matrix to obtain a channel transmission waveform; obtaining the target ultrasonic pulse wave according to the channel transmission waveform.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein, The step of decoding a plurality of sets of ultrasonic echo data to obtain an ultrasonic image sequence comprises: acquiring an inverse matrix corresponding to the waveform coding matrix to obtain a waveform decoding matrix; based on the waveform decoding matrix, decoding each set of ultrasonic echo data to obtain a plurality of sets of radio frequency data; respectively performing beamforming processing on each radio frequency data to obtain the ultrasonic image sequence.

7. An ultrasound imaging apparatus, characterized by The device comprises: a Walsh matrix acquisition module configured to acquire a Walsh matrix; a waveform coding matrix acquisition module configured to compose a waveform coding matrix according to the Walsh matrix and channel delays of an initial ultrasonic pulse wave; an object ultrasonic pulse acquisition module, configured to encode the initial ultrasonic pulse wave based on the waveform coding matrix to obtain an object ultrasonic pulse wave; the object ultrasonic pulse wave has a number of cycles greater than that of the initial ultrasonic pulse wave; an echo acquisition module, configured to acquire a plurality of groups of ultrasonic echo data of an imaging region; the ultrasonic echo data correspond to the object ultrasonic pulse wave; an echo decoding module, configured to decode the plurality of groups of ultrasonic echo data to obtain an ultrasonic image sequence.

8. A computer device comprising a memory and a processor, the memory storing a computer program, characterized in that, The processor, when executing the computer program, implements the steps of the method in any one of claims 1 to 6.

9. An ultrasound imaging system, characterized by The system comprises an ultrasonic transducer configured to emit the object ultrasonic pulse wave and receive ultrasonic echo data; the system further comprises a computer device connected to the ultrasonic transducer, and the computer device, when executing a computer program, implements the steps of the method in any one of claims 1 to 6.

Images