Robotic ultrasonic elastic imaging method and system

Abstract

The present invention discloses a robot ultrasonic elastic imaging method and system, and relates to the technical field of ultrasonic elastic imaging. The present invention provides a semi-autonomous expected force adjustment method, in which an ultrasound doctor inputs the pressure range of pressure elastic imaging in advance, calculates the Z-axis expected force required for pressure elastic imaging, and the ultrasonic robot performs ultrasonic examination according to the Z-axis expected force. The present invention also provides an autonomous expected force adjustment method, which first performs an adaptive process, in which an ultrasonic examination is performed using the maximum and minimum pressure values ​​pre-set in the system to obtain a section of ultrasonic image, and obtains the pressure curve of the ultrasonic image in the adaptive process; then, the pressure range of the pressure elastic imaging after adaptation is calculated according to the pressure curve, and finally, according to the pressure range of the pressure elastic imaging after adaptation, the Z-axis expected force after adaptation is obtained for ultrasonic examination, so as to realize adaptive pressure elastic imaging.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of ultrasonic elastic imaging, in particular to a robot ultrasonic elastic imaging method and system. Background Art

[0002] Ultrasound elastography is a new application form of ultrasound technology. It mainly uses the correlation between the elastic modulus of tissue and the biological characteristics of lesions for imaging, which is similar to the method of diagnosing diseases by percussing the softness and hardness of tissue. The elastic modulus of tissue can be expressed by the formula E=T / S, where E represents the elastic modulus, T represents stress, and S represents strain. Ultrasound elastography applies an external or internal (including the body's own breathing, heartbeat, etc.) static / dynamic pressure to the tissue, and uses ultrasound imaging methods combined with digital signal processing or digital image processing technology to estimate the corresponding changes in parameters such as displacement, strain, and velocity inside the tissue, and indirectly or directly obtain the atlas distribution of mechanical properties such as the elastic modulus inside the tissue.

[0003] Pressure elastography and shear wave elastography are two main forms of ultrasound elastography technology, and their principles are based on the deformation characteristics of tissues after being subjected to force. Pressure elastography reflects the hardness characteristics of tissues by comparing the degree of deformation of tissues before and after being subjected to force. Shear wave elastography, on the other hand, generates shear waves through an ultrasound probe and observes the propagation speed and propagation of shear waves in the tissue to evaluate the elastic characteristics of the tissue. Both technologies are based on ultrasound imaging, and the elastic parameters of the structure are obtained through computer processing and analysis, which can more accurately reflect the hardness, elasticity and other characteristics of the tissue. In the differential diagnosis of breast nodules, both technologies can provide doctors with more diagnostic information.

[0004] The existing pressure elastography requires the doctor's hand to generate a stable periodic force during the examination process, and the force variation range should be as consistent as possible; the existing shear wave does not require the doctor's hand to generate a periodic force, but requires the doctor's hand to generate a stable force, the magnitude of the force should be kept as constant as possible, and the applied force should not cause the patient's skin to deform. At the same time, the pressure variation range of pressure elastography or the pressure value of shear wave elastography needs to be changed according to the different body shapes of patients and different scanning parts. Therefore, the existing pressure elastography and shear wave elastography have great requirements on the doctor's operating skills, increase the incidence of occupational diseases of ultrasound doctors, and once the ultrasound doctor is fatigued, the credibility of the examination results will be greatly reduced. Summary of the invention

[0005] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects in the prior art, the present invention provides a robot ultrasonic elastography method, which calculates the Z-axis expected force required for pressure elastography, and the ultrasonic robot performs ultrasonic inspection according to the Z-axis expected force to realize pressure elastography.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions, including:

[0007] Robotic ultrasonic elastography method, when using an ultrasonic robot for pressure elastography, the expected Z-axis force of the end effector of the robotic arm is:

[0008] ;

[0009] Among them, f max is the maximum pressure of pressure elastography, f min is the minimum pressure value of pressure elastography; w is the frequency of pressure change; t represents time; F dz (t) is the expected Z-axis force of the end effector of the robot arm at the tth moment, which is equivalent to the pressing force of ultrasonic scanning.

[0010] Preferably, when the ultrasonic robot is used for adaptive pressure elastic imaging, the Z-axis expected force of the end effector of the adaptive robot arm is:

[0011] ;

[0012] Among them, f u f is the maximum pressure of pressure elastography after adaptation; p F' is the minimum pressure value of pressure elastography after adaptation; dz (t) is the Z-axis expected force of the end effector of the robot arm at the tth moment after adaptation;

[0013] f u = f a + k1d u ;

[0014] f p = f i + k2d p ;

[0015] Among them, f a is the maximum pressure value preset in adaptive pressure elastography, f i is the minimum pressure value preset in the adaptive pressure elastography; k1 is the correction coefficient for the maximum pressure value, and k2 is the correction coefficient for the minimum pressure value; d u The pressure value f1 at the highest point of the pressure curve of the ultrasound image during the adaptive process and the upper limit value F of the pressure curve upper The distance betweenu = F upper - f1;d p is the pressure value f2 at the lowest point of the pressure curve of the ultrasound image during the adaptive process and the lower limit value F of the pressure curve lower The distance between p = F lower - f2;

[0016] The adaptive process refers to: the ultrasonic robot first uses the maximum pressure value f pre-set in the adaptive pressure elastic imaging a and minimum pressure f i Perform pressure elastic imaging and calculate the Z-axis expected force of the end effector of the robot arm as follows:

[0017] , using F dz (t) is used as the ultrasonic scanning pressure to obtain a section of ultrasonic image, and obtain the pressure curve of the ultrasonic image during the adaptive process, and then obtain the highest point pressure value f1 and the lowest point pressure value f2 of the pressure curve.

[0018] Preferably, an image processing algorithm based on a neural network model is used to identify the pressure curve of the ultrasound image and obtain d u and d p , the specific process is as follows:

[0019] S1, preprocessing of ultrasound images for pressure elastography;

[0020] S2, annotating the pressure curve of the ultrasound image and constructing sample data, where the sample data is the ultrasound image and the corresponding pressure curve;

[0021] S3, establishing a neural network model, using deep learning algorithms and sample data to train the neural network model for automatically identifying the pressure curve of ultrasound images;

[0022] S4, subsequently using the trained neural network model to detect the ultrasound image during the adaptive process to obtain a pressure curve of the ultrasound image during the adaptive process;

[0023] S5, after detecting the pressure curve, tracking the pressure curve using an optical flow method and reconstructing its shape to obtain a motion trajectory of the pressure curve in continuous frames;

[0024] S6, obtaining the pressure value f1 at the highest point of the pressure curve and the upper limit value F of the pressure curve of the ultrasound image from the tracked pressure curve upper The distance between u , and the pressure value f2 at the lowest point of the pressure curve and the lower limit value F of the pressure curve of the ultrasound image lower The distance between p .

[0025] The present invention also provides a robot ultrasonic elastic imaging system, which includes: a hand controller, a touch screen, a mechanical arm, a six-dimensional torque sensor, a gripper handle, a gripper, an ultrasonic probe, an ultrasonic machine, and a robot controller;

[0026] The hand controller is used to control the emergency stop and reset of the robot arm, and to control the selection and authorization of the elastic imaging mode; the hand controller is connected to the robot controller, and is used to send the selected elastic imaging mode to the robot controller;

[0027] The touch screen is used to realize the functions of ultrasonic robot self-check, robot motion status prompt, pressure range setting of pressure elastography, and pressure value adjustment of shear wave elastography; the touch screen is connected to the robot controller and is used to send the input pressure value to the robot controller;

[0028] The mechanical arm, the gripper handle and the gripper are connected in sequence; a six-dimensional torque sensor is provided at the end of the mechanical arm;

[0029] The ultrasonic probe is clamped on the clamping claw and connected to the ultrasonic machine, and is used to send the collected ultrasonic signal to the ultrasonic machine;

[0030] The ultrasound machine is used to obtain the ultrasound signal collected by the ultrasound probe and generate ultrasound image data; the ultrasound machine is connected to the robot controller and is used to send the generated ultrasound image data to the robot controller;

[0031] The robot controller is used to control the movement of the robot arm.

[0032] Preferably, the robot controller is installed inside the mobile trolley, and the reserved external interfaces include HDMI IN, HDMI OUT, USB, and IO interfaces, which are connected to different types of ultrasound machines through the HDMI IN interface; the clamps clamp ultrasound probes of different sizes and shapes; the hand controller is provided with: a robotic arm emergency stop button, a scan preset position button, a pressure elastic imaging / shear wave elastic imaging selection knob, an off-machine preset position button, a robotic arm reset button, an authorization button, and a folding preset position button.

[0033] Preferably, the specific process of using the system to perform pressure elastography is as follows:

[0034] S11, the ultrasound doctor uses the robot self-inspection function on the touch screen to complete the robot self-inspection;

[0035] S12, the ultrasound doctor clamps the ultrasound probe onto the clamping claws;

[0036] S13, the ultrasound doctor inputs the pressure range of the pressure elastography on the touch screen, that is, inputs the maximum pressure value f of the pressure elastography.max and the minimum pressure value f of pressure elastography min ;

[0037] S14, the ultrasound doctor moves the end of the mechanical arm to the upper part of the part to be scanned, and moves the ultrasound probe clamped on the clamping claw to the standard surface to be detected, ensuring that the ultrasound image on the ultrasound machine is clear and accurate;

[0038] S15, the ultrasound physician selected pressure elastography through the hand controller;

[0039] S16, the ultrasound doctor authorizes the ultrasound robot to perform pressure elastography examination through the hand controller, and then the ultrasound robot performs pressure elastography examination:

[0040] According to the input pressure elastography pressure maximum value f max and the minimum pressure value f of pressure elastography min , the desired Z-axis force F of the end effector of the robot at the tth moment is obtained dz (t), the ultrasonic robot is based on the expected force F on the Z axis dz (t) Performing ultrasound examination;

[0041] S17, after the pressure elastography examination is completed, the ultrasound doctor ends the authorization of the ultrasound robot again through the hand controller;

[0042] S18, the ultrasound doctor moves the robotic arm to the off-machine position, ending the pressure elastography examination.

[0043] Preferably, in step S16, the ultrasonic robot is operated according to the desired Z-axis force F dz (t) After the ultrasound examination, an ultrasound image is obtained, and a pressure curve of the ultrasound image is obtained. The ultrasound doctor observes the pressure value f1 at the highest point of the pressure curve and the upper limit value F upper The positional relationship between the pressure value f2 at the lowest point of the pressure curve and the lower limit value F lower The positional relationship between them;

[0044] If f1 is higher than F upper , the ultrasound doctor reduces the maximum pressure f of pressure elastography on the touch screen max ; If f1 is lower than F upper , the ultrasound doctor increases the maximum pressure f of pressure elastography on the touch screen max ; If f1 and F upper If the pressure is the same as the maximum value f of the pressure elastography, the ultrasound doctor does not adjust the pressure max ;

[0045] If f2 is higher than F lower, the ultrasound doctor increases the minimum pressure value f of pressure elastography on the touch screen min ; If f2 is lower than F lower , then the ultrasound doctor reduces the minimum pressure value f of pressure elastography on the touch screen min ; If f2 and F lower At the same position, the ultrasound doctor does not adjust the minimum pressure value f of pressure elastography min .

[0046] Preferably, the specific process of using the system to perform adaptive pressure elastography is as follows:

[0047] S21, the ultrasound doctor uses the robot self-inspection function on the touch screen to complete the robot self-inspection;

[0048] S22, the ultrasound doctor clamps the ultrasound probe onto the clamping claws;

[0049] S23, the ultrasound doctor moves the end of the mechanical arm to the upper part of the part to be scanned, and moves the ultrasound probe clamped on the clamping claw to the standard surface to be detected, ensuring that the ultrasound image on the ultrasound machine is clear and accurate;

[0050] S24, the ultrasound physician selected adaptive pressure elastography via the hand controller;

[0051] S25, the ultrasound doctor authorizes the ultrasound robot to perform the adaptive pressure elastography examination through the hand controller, and then the ultrasound robot performs the adaptive pressure elastography examination, as shown below:

[0052] S251, first perform an adaptive process, the ultrasonic robot first uses the maximum pressure value f pre-set in the adaptive pressure elastic imaging a and the preset minimum pressure f i Perform pressure elastic imaging and calculate the Z-axis expected force of the end effector of the robot arm as F dz (t), according to the expected force F on the Z axis dz (t) performing an ultrasonic examination to obtain a section of ultrasonic images, and obtaining a pressure curve of the ultrasonic images during the adaptive process, and then obtaining a maximum point pressure value f1 and a minimum point pressure value f2 of the pressure curve;

[0053] S252, then calculate the highest point pressure value f1 and the upper limit value F2 of the pressure curve of the ultrasound image according to the highest point pressure value f1 and the lowest point pressure value f2 of the pressure curve of the ultrasound image during the adaptive process. upper The distance between u , and calculate the lowest pressure value f2 of the pressure curve and the lower limit value F of the pressure curve of the ultrasound image lower The distance between p, and calculate the maximum pressure f of the adaptive pressure elastography u and minimum pressure f p ;

[0054] S253, finally, according to the maximum pressure value f of the pressure elastic imaging after adaptation, u and minimum pressure f p , and obtain the desired Z-axis force F' of the end effector of the adaptive robot arm dz (t), the ultrasonic robot is based on the expected force F' on the Z axis dz (t) Performing ultrasound examination;

[0055] S26, after the adaptive pressure elastography examination is completed, the ultrasound doctor ends the authorization of the ultrasound robot again through the hand controller;

[0056] S27, the ultrasound doctor moves the robotic arm to the off-machine position, ending the pressure elastography examination.

[0057] The present invention also provides an electronic device, characterized in that it includes a processor, a memory, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, and the processor implements the above-mentioned robotic ultrasonic elastography method when executing the computer program.

[0058] The present invention also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program / instruction, and the computer program / instruction implements the above-mentioned robotic ultrasonic elastography method when executed by a processor.

[0059] The advantages of the present invention are:

[0060] (1) The present invention provides a semi-autonomous desired force adjustment method for controlling the Z-axis desired force of the end effector of the ultrasonic robot arm to achieve pressure elastic imaging. The ultrasound doctor inputs the pressure range of the pressure elastic imaging in advance, and the Z-axis desired force required for the pressure elastic imaging can be obtained according to the calculation formula of the present invention. The ultrasonic robot performs ultrasonic examination according to the Z-axis desired force.

[0061] (2) The present invention also provides an autonomous expected force adjustment method, which can adaptively adjust the maximum and minimum pressure values ​​of pressure elastic imaging for patients of different body sizes and different scanning parts to achieve adaptive pressure elastic imaging. The system pre-sets the pressure range of adaptive pressure elastic imaging, and first performs an adaptive process. In the adaptive process, the Z-axis expected force of the end effector of the robot arm is calculated using the pre-set maximum and minimum pressure values. The ultrasonic robot performs ultrasonic examination according to the Z-axis expected force to obtain a section of ultrasonic image and the pressure curve of the ultrasonic image, and then obtains the highest point pressure value and the lowest point pressure value of the ultrasonic image pressure curve in the adaptive process; then calculate the distance between the highest point pressure value and the upper limit value of the pressure curve, and the distance between the lowest point pressure value and the lower limit value of the pressure curve, so as to calculate the maximum and minimum pressure values ​​of the pressure elastic imaging after adaptation; finally, according to the maximum and minimum pressure values ​​of the pressure elastic imaging after adaptation, the adaptive Z-axis expected force is calculated, and the ultrasonic robot performs ultrasonic examination according to the adaptive Z-axis expected force.

[0062] (3) The robot ultrasonic elastography system provided by the present invention is suitable for pressure elastography and shear wave elastography.

[0063] (4) The present invention utilizes the mechanical arm of an ultrasonic robot to generate periodic variable force in pressure elastography, and the frequency and amplitude of the variable force are very stable. Compared with the existing method of doctors holding an ultrasonic probe for examination, the reliability of pressure elastography examination is greatly improved.

[0064] (5) The robot ultrasound elastography method and system of the present invention can alleviate the occupational diseases of ultrasound doctors to a certain extent.

[0065] (6) The present invention utilizes the mechanical arm of the ultrasonic robot to generate stable pressure in shear wave elastography. The pressure remains basically constant. This pressure ensures that the probe can contact the skin and does not generate additional pressure on the skin. Compared with the existing method of doctors holding a probe for examination, the reliability of shear wave elastography examination is greatly improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0066] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a robot ultrasonic elastography system of the present invention.

[0067] Figure 2 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a hand controller of the present invention.

[0068] Description of reference numerals:

[0069] 1-hand controller, 2-touch screen, 3-robotic arm, 4-six-dimensional torque sensor, 5-grip handle, 6-grip, 7-ultrasound probe, 8-ultrasound machine, 9-mobile trolley, 10-robot controller, 11-robotic arm emergency stop button, 12-scan preset position button, 13-pressure elastic imaging / shear wave elastic imaging selection knob, 14-off-machine preset position button, 15-robotic arm reset button, 16-authorization button, 17-fold preset position button. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0070] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0071] Example 1

[0072] A robot ultrasonic elastic imaging method uses an ultrasonic robot to perform pressure elastic imaging, and adopts a semi-autonomous expected force adjustment method to obtain the Z-axis expected force of the end effector of the robot arm as follows:

[0073] ;

[0074] Among them, f max is the maximum pressure of pressure elastography, f min is the minimum pressure value of pressure elastography; w is the pressure change frequency; F dz (t) is the expected Z-axis force of the end effector of the robot arm at the tth moment, which is equivalent to the pressing force of ultrasonic scanning.

[0075] In this embodiment, the maximum pressure f of the pressure elastography max , the minimum pressure value f of pressure elastography min is the value entered by the ultrasound physician, and the pressure change frequency w is preset by the system.

[0076] Example 2

[0077] A robot ultrasonic elastic imaging method, when using an ultrasonic robot to perform adaptive pressure elastic imaging, adopts an autonomous expected force adjustment method, and the Z-axis expected force of the end effector of the robot arm after adaptation is:

[0078] ;

[0079] Among them, f u f is the maximum pressure of pressure elastography after adaptation; pis the minimum pressure value of pressure elastography after adaptation; w is the pressure change frequency; F' dz (t) is the Z-axis expected force of the end effector of the robot arm at the tth moment after adaptation;

[0080] f u = f a + k1d u ;

[0081] f p = f i + k2d p ;

[0082] Among them, f a is the maximum pressure value preset in adaptive pressure elastography, f i is the minimum pressure value preset in the adaptive pressure elastography; k1 is the correction coefficient for the maximum pressure value, and k2 is the correction coefficient for the minimum pressure value; d u The pressure value f1 at the highest point of the pressure curve of the ultrasound image during the adaptive process and the upper limit value F of the pressure curve upper The distance between u = F upper - f1;d p is the pressure value f2 at the lowest point of the pressure curve of the ultrasound image during the adaptive process and the lower limit value F of the pressure curve lower The distance between p = F lower - f2.

[0083] In this embodiment, f a 、f i , w are both preset by the system, and in the method of Example 2, there is no need for the ultrasound physician to input the pressure range.

[0084] In this embodiment, the adaptive process refers to: the ultrasonic robot first uses the maximum pressure value f pre-set in the adaptive pressure elastic imaging a and the preset minimum pressure f i Performing pressure elastic imaging to calculate the Z-axis expected force of the end effector of the robot arm is equivalent to first using the method of the above embodiment 1 to calculate the Z-axis expected force of the end effector of the robot arm as follows:

[0085] ;

[0086] In the adaptive process, F is first used dz (t) is used as the ultrasonic scanning pressure to obtain a section of ultrasonic image, and obtain the pressure curve of the ultrasonic image during the adaptive process, and then obtain the highest point pressure value f1 and the lowest point pressure value f2 of the pressure curve.

[0087] The pressure curve of ultrasound imaging is an existing technology. It is a pressure curve automatically generated by ultrasound equipment based on real-time collected ultrasound images. The principle is: the deformation of the tissue after being stressed can be calculated based on the ultrasound image, and the deformation of the tissue after being stressed is converted into the magnitude of the force on the tissue, thereby obtaining a pressure curve. The real-time pressure value in the pressure curve is the real-time pressure exerted on the tissue, and the upper limit value F of the pressure curve is upper and the lower limit F lower The ultrasonic device used in this embodiment is the existing Canon APLI0 i900 TUS-AI900 device.

[0088] In this embodiment, an image processing algorithm based on a neural network model is used to identify the pressure curve of the ultrasound image and obtain d u and d p , the specific process is as follows:

[0089] S1, preprocessing of ultrasound images for pressure elastography;

[0090] S2, annotating the pressure curve of the ultrasound image and constructing sample data, where the sample data is the ultrasound image and the corresponding pressure curve;

[0091] S3, establishing a neural network model, using the CNN convolutional neural network algorithm and sample data to train the neural network model for automatically detecting the pressure curve of ultrasound images;

[0092] S4, subsequently using the trained neural network model to detect the ultrasound image during the adaptive process to obtain a pressure curve of the ultrasound image during the adaptive process;

[0093] S5, after detecting the pressure curve, tracking the pressure curve using an optical flow method and reconstructing its shape to obtain a motion trajectory of the pressure curve in continuous frames;

[0094] S6, obtain the pressure value f1 at the highest point of the pressure curve and the upper limit value F of the curve from the tracked pressure curve upper The distance between u , and the pressure value f2 at the lowest point of the pressure curve and the lower limit value F lower The distance between p ; When the highest pressure value f1 is lower than the upper limit value F upper When u Positive; when the highest point pressure value f1 is higher than the upper limit value F upper When u Negative; when the lowest pressure value f2 is higher than the lower limit value F lower When p Positive; when the lowest pressure value f2 is lower than the lower limit of the curve Flower When p is negative.

[0095] Example 3

[0096] Depend on Figure 1 As shown, a robot ultrasonic elastic imaging system includes: a hand controller 1, a touch screen 2, a robotic arm 3, a six-dimensional torque sensor 4, a clamp handle 5, a clamp 6, an ultrasonic probe 7, an ultrasonic machine 8, a mobile trolley 9, and a robot controller 10.

[0097] The hand controller 1 is provided with a robot arm emergency stop button 11, a scan preset position button 12, a pressure elastic imaging / shear wave elastic imaging selection knob 13, an off-machine preset position button 14, a robot arm reset button 15, an authorization button 16 and a folding preset position button 17. The hand controller 1 is used to realize the emergency stop and reset functions of the robot arm 3, and is used to realize the selection function and authorization function of the elastic imaging mode.

[0098] The robot controller 10 is installed inside the mobile trolley 9, and has reserved external interfaces including HDMI IN, HDMI OUT, USB, IO ports, etc. It can be connected to different types of ultrasound machines 8 through the HDMI IN interface, and can read ultrasound image data from most ultrasound machines 8 of different manufacturers and models.

[0099] The ultrasound machine 8 is connected to the ultrasound probe 7 via a data line, and is used to obtain the ultrasound signal collected by the ultrasound probe 7 and generate ultrasound image data.

[0100] The clamping jaws 5 can clamp ultrasonic probes 7 of different sizes and shapes, and can be suitable for most ultrasonic probes 7 of different manufacturers and models.

[0101] The robot controller 10 is connected to the touch screen 2 via the HDMI OUT interface, and the touch screen 2 can realize functions such as the self-check of the ultrasonic robot, the robot motion status prompt, the pressure range setting of the pressure elastography, and the pressure value adjustment of the shear wave elastography. That is, the ultrasound doctor can manually input the maximum pressure value f of the pressure elastography described in Example 1 through the touch screen 2. max , the minimum pressure value f of pressure elastography min .

[0102] Example 4

[0103] Using a robot ultrasound elastic imaging system of Example 3, the pressure elastic imaging described in Example 1 is performed, and the specific process is as follows:

[0104] S11, the ultrasound doctor clicks the robot self-check function on the touch screen 2 to complete the robot self-check;

[0105] S12, the ultrasound doctor clamps the ultrasound probe 7 suitable for the examination site onto the clamping claw 6;

[0106] S13, the ultrasound doctor inputs the pressure range of the pressure elastography on the touch screen 2, that is, inputs the maximum pressure f of the pressure elastography. max and the minimum pressure value f of pressure elastography min ;

[0107] S14, the ultrasound doctor applies ultrasound coupling agent to the patient's area to be scanned, first presses the scan preset position button 12 on the hand controller 1 to move the end of the mechanical arm 3 to the top of the area to be scanned, then holds the gripper handle 5 and drags the mechanical arm 3 in a free dragging manner, so that the ultrasound probe 7 clamped on the gripper 6 moves to the standard surface to be detected, i.e., the scanning surface, to ensure that the two-dimensional ultrasound image on the ultrasound machine is clear and accurate;

[0108] S15, the ultrasound doctor rotates the pressure elastography / shear wave elastography selection knob 13 on the hand controller 1 to the pressure elastography side;

[0109] S16, the ultrasound doctor presses the authorization button 16 on the hand controller 1 to authorize the ultrasound robot to perform elastic imaging examination, and then the ultrasound robot performs pressure elastic imaging examination:

[0110] According to the input pressure elastography pressure maximum value f max and the minimum pressure value f of pressure elastography min , the desired Z-axis force F of the end effector of the robot at the tth moment is obtained dz (t), the ultrasonic robot is based on the expected force F on the Z axis dz (t) Performing ultrasound examination;

[0111] S17, after the pressure elastic imaging examination is completed, the ultrasound doctor presses the authorization button 16 again to end the authorization of the ultrasonic robot elastic imaging test;

[0112] S18, the ultrasound doctor presses the off-machine preset position button 4 on the hand controller 1 to move the robotic arm to the off-machine position, thereby ending the pressure elastography examination.

[0113] In step S16, the ultrasonic robot calculates the Z-axis desired force F dz (t) After the ultrasound examination, an ultrasound image is obtained. The ultrasound doctor observes the pressure value f1 at the highest point of the pressure curve and the upper limit value F upper The positional relationship between the pressure value f2 at the lowest point of the pressure curve and the lower limit value F lower The positional relationship between them;

[0114] If f1 is higher than F upper, the ultrasound doctor reduces the maximum pressure f of the pressure elastography on the touch screen 2 max ; If f1 is lower than F upper , the ultrasound doctor increases the maximum pressure f of the pressure elastography on the touch screen 2 max ; If f1 and F upper If the pressure is the same as the maximum value f of the pressure elastography, the ultrasound doctor does not adjust the pressure max ;

[0115] If f2 is higher than F lower , the ultrasound doctor increases the minimum pressure value f of the pressure elastography on the touch screen 2 min ; If f2 is lower than F lower , the ultrasound doctor reduces the minimum pressure value f of the pressure elastography on the touch screen 2 min ; If f2 and F lower At the same position, the ultrasound doctor does not adjust the minimum pressure value f of pressure elastography min .

[0116] Example 5

[0117] Using a robot ultrasound elastic imaging system of Example 3, the adaptive pressure elastic imaging described in Example 2 is performed, and the specific process is as follows:

[0118] S21, the ultrasound doctor clicks the robot self-check function on the touch screen 2 to complete the robot self-check;

[0119] S22, the ultrasound doctor clamps the ultrasound probe 7 suitable for the examination site onto the clamping claw 6;

[0120] S23, the ultrasound doctor applies ultrasound coupling agent to the patient's area to be scanned, first presses the scan preset position button 12 on the hand controller 1 to move the end of the mechanical arm 3 to the top of the area to be scanned, then holds the gripper handle 5 to drag the mechanical arm 3 in a free dragging manner, so that the ultrasound probe 7 clamped on the gripper 6 moves to the standard surface to be detected, ensuring that the two-dimensional ultrasound image on the ultrasound machine is clear and accurate;

[0121] S24, the ultrasound doctor rotates the pressure elastography / shear wave elastography selection knob 13 on the hand controller 1 to the pressure elastography side;

[0122] S25, the ultrasound doctor presses the authorization button 16 on the hand controller 1 to authorize the ultrasound robot to perform the adaptive pressure elastography examination, and then the ultrasound robot performs the adaptive pressure elastography examination:

[0123] S251, first perform an adaptive process, the ultrasonic robot first uses the maximum pressure value f pre-set in the adaptive pressure elastic imaginga and the preset minimum pressure f i Perform pressure elastic imaging and calculate the Z-axis expected force of the end effector of the robot arm as F dz (t), according to the expected force F on the Z axis dz (t) performing an ultrasonic examination to obtain a section of ultrasonic images, and obtaining a pressure curve of the ultrasonic images during the adaptive process, and then obtaining a maximum point pressure value f1 and a minimum point pressure value f2 of the pressure curve;

[0124] S252, then calculate the highest point pressure value f1 and the upper limit value F2 of the pressure curve of the ultrasound image according to the highest point pressure value f1 and the lowest point pressure value f2 of the pressure curve of the ultrasound image during the adaptive process. upper The distance between u , and calculate the lowest pressure value f2 of the pressure curve and the lower limit value F of the pressure curve of the ultrasound image lower The distance between p , and calculate the maximum pressure f of the adaptive pressure elastography u and minimum pressure f p ;

[0125] S253, finally, according to the maximum pressure value f of the pressure elastic imaging after adaptation, u and minimum pressure f p , and obtain the desired Z-axis force F' of the end effector of the adaptive robot arm dz (t), the ultrasonic robot is based on the expected force F' on the Z axis dz (t) Performing ultrasound examination;

[0126] S26, after the pressure elastic imaging examination is completed, the ultrasound doctor presses the authorization button 16 again to end the authorization of the ultrasound robot elastic imaging test;

[0127] S27, the ultrasound doctor presses the off-machine preset position button 4 on the hand controller 1 to move the robotic arm to the off-machine position, thereby ending the pressure elastography examination.

[0128] Example 6

[0129] Using a robot ultrasound elastic imaging system of Example 3, shear wave elastic imaging is performed, and the specific process is as follows:

[0130] S31, the ultrasound doctor clicks the robot self-check function on the touch screen 2 to complete the robot self-check;

[0131] S32, the ultrasound doctor clamps the ultrasound probe 7 suitable for the examination site onto the clamping claw 6;

[0132] S33, the ultrasound doctor pre-sets the pressure of shear wave elastography through the touch screen 2;

[0133] S34, the ultrasound doctor applies ultrasound coupling agent to the patient's area to be scanned, first presses the scan preset position button 12 on the hand controller 1 to move the end of the mechanical arm 3 to the top of the area to be scanned, then holds the gripper handle 5 to drag the mechanical arm 3 in a free dragging manner, so that the ultrasound probe 7 clamped on the gripper 6 moves to the standard surface to be detected, ensuring that the two-dimensional ultrasound image on the ultrasound machine is clear and accurate;

[0134] S35, the ultrasound doctor rotates the pressure elastography / shear wave elastography selection knob 13 on the hand controller 1 to the shear wave elastography side;

[0135] S36, the ultrasound doctor presses the authorization button 16 on the hand controller 1 to authorize the ultrasound robot to perform elastic imaging examination, and the ultrasound robot autonomously performs shear wave elastic imaging:

[0136] The ultrasound robot performs ultrasound examination according to the set shear wave elastography pressure;

[0137] S37, after the shear wave elastic imaging examination is completed, the ultrasound doctor presses the authorization button 16 again to end the authorization of the ultrasonic robot elastic imaging test;

[0138] S38, the ultrasound doctor presses the off-machine preset position button 4 on the hand controller 1 to move the robotic arm to the off-machine position, thereby ending the shear wave elastography examination.

[0139] Example 7

[0140] An electronic device comprises a processor, a memory and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor implements the robot ultrasonic elastic imaging method described in the above-mentioned embodiment 1 or 2 when executing the computer program.

[0141] The electronic device can be the movable device itself, or a stand-alone device independent of the movable device, which can communicate with the movable device and the ultrasonic medical device (other communication devices) to receive the collected input signals from them and send the selected target decision behavior to them.

[0142] The processor may be a central processing unit (CPU) or other forms of processing units having data processing capabilities and / or instruction execution capabilities, and may control other components in the electronic device to perform desired functions.

[0143] The memory may include one or more computer program products, and the computer program product may include various forms of computer-readable storage media, such as volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. The volatile memory may include, for example, a random access memory (RAM) and / or a cache memory (cache), etc. The non-volatile memory may include, for example, a read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, a flash memory, etc. One or more computer program instructions may be stored on the computer-readable storage medium, and the processor may run the program instructions to implement the decision-making method of the above-mentioned embodiment 1 or 2.

[0144] Example 8

[0145] A computer program product, characterized in that it includes a computer program / instruction, which, when executed by a processor, implements the robotic ultrasonic elastography method described in the above-mentioned embodiment 1 or 2.

[0146] The computer program product may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages ​​to write program codes for performing the operations of the embodiments of the present application, including object-oriented programming languages, such as Java, C++, etc., and conventional procedural programming languages, such as C or similar programming languages. The program code may be executed entirely on the user computing device, partially on the user computing device, as an independent software package, partially on the user computing device and partially on a remote computing device, or entirely on a remote computing device or server.

[0147] The above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A robotic ultrasound elastography method, characterized in that: When using an ultrasonic robot for pressure elastography, the expected Z-axis force of the end effector of the robot arm is: ； Among them, f max is the maximum pressure of pressure elastography, f min is the minimum pressure value of pressure elastography; w is the frequency of pressure change; t represents time; F dz (t) is the Z-axis expected force of the end effector of the robot arm at the tth moment, which is equivalent to the pressing force of ultrasonic scanning; When using an ultrasonic robot for adaptive pressure elastic imaging, the Z-axis expected force of the end effector of the adaptive robot arm is: ； Among them, f u f is the maximum pressure of pressure elastography after adaptation; p F' is the minimum pressure value of pressure elastography after adaptation; dz (t) is the Z-axis expected force of the end effector of the robot arm at the tth moment after adaptation; in u = f a + k1d u ; f p = f i + k2d p ; Among them, f a is the maximum pressure value preset in adaptive pressure elastography, f i is the minimum pressure value preset in the adaptive pressure elastography; k1 is the correction coefficient for the maximum pressure value, and k2 is the correction coefficient for the minimum pressure value; d u The pressure value f1 at the highest point of the pressure curve of the ultrasound image during the adaptive process and the upper limit value F of the pressure curve upper The distance between u =F upper - f1;d p is the pressure value f2 at the lowest point of the pressure curve of the ultrasound image during the adaptive process and the lower limit value F of the pressure curve lower The distance between p = F lower - f2; The adaptive process refers to: the ultrasonic robot first uses the maximum pressure value f pre-set in the adaptive pressure elastic imaging a and minimum pressure f i Perform pressure elastic imaging and calculate the Z-axis expected force of the end effector of the robot arm as follows: , using F dz (t) is used as the ultrasonic scanning pressure to obtain a section of ultrasonic image, and obtain the pressure curve of the ultrasonic image during the adaptive process, and then obtain the highest point pressure value f1 and the lowest point pressure value f of the pressure curve. 2。 2. The robot ultrasonic elastography method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The image processing algorithm based on the neural network model is used to identify the pressure curve of the ultrasound image and obtain d u and d p , the specific process is as follows: S1, preprocessing of ultrasound images for pressure elastography; S2, annotating the pressure curve of the ultrasound image and constructing sample data, where the sample data is the ultrasound image and the corresponding pressure curve; S3, establishing a neural network model, using deep learning algorithms and sample data to train the neural network model for automatically identifying the pressure curve of ultrasound images; S4, subsequently using the trained neural network model to detect the ultrasound image during the adaptive process to obtain a pressure curve of the ultrasound image during the adaptive process; S5, after detecting the pressure curve, tracking the pressure curve using an optical flow method and reconstructing its shape to obtain a motion trajectory of the pressure curve in continuous frames; S6, obtaining the pressure value f1 at the highest point of the pressure curve and the upper limit value F of the pressure curve of the ultrasound image from the tracked pressure curve upper The distance between u , and the pressure value f2 at the lowest point of the pressure curve and the lower limit value F of the pressure curve of the ultrasound image lower The distance between p .

3. A robotic ultrasound elastic imaging system, characterized in that: A robot ultrasonic elastic imaging method applicable to claim 1 or 2, the system comprising: a hand controller (1), a touch screen (2), a robotic arm (3), a six-dimensional torque sensor (4), a gripper handle (5), a gripper (6), an ultrasonic probe (7), an ultrasonic machine (8), and a robot controller (10); The hand controller (1) is used to control the emergency stop and reset of the robot arm (3), and to control the selection and authorization of an elastic imaging method; the hand controller (1) is connected to the robot controller (10) and is used to send the selected elastic imaging method to the robot controller (10); The touch screen (2) is used to realize the functions of ultrasonic robot self-checking, robot motion status prompting, pressure range setting for pressure elastography, and pressure value adjustment for shear wave elastography; the touch screen (2) is connected to the robot controller (10) and is used to send the input pressure value to the robot controller (10); The mechanical arm (3), the gripper handle (5) and the gripper (6) are connected in sequence; a six-dimensional torque sensor (4) is provided at the end of the mechanical arm (3); The ultrasonic probe (7) is clamped on the clamping claw (6) and connected to the ultrasonic machine (8) to send the collected ultrasonic signal to the ultrasonic machine (8); The ultrasound machine (8) is used to obtain the ultrasound signal collected by the ultrasound probe (7) and generate ultrasound image data; the ultrasound machine (8) is connected to the robot controller (10) and is used to send the generated ultrasound image data to the robot controller (10); The robot controller (10) is used to control the movement of the robot arm (3).

4. The robotic ultrasound elastography system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The robot controller (10) is installed inside the mobile trolley, and has external reserved interfaces including HDMI IN, HDMI OUT, USB, and IO interfaces, and is connected to different types of ultrasound machines via the HDMI IN interface; the clamp (6) clamps ultrasound probes of different sizes and shapes; the hand controller (1) is provided with: a robot arm emergency stop button (11), a scan preset position button (12), a pressure elastic imaging / shear wave elastic imaging selection knob (13), an off-machine preset position button (14), a robot arm reset button (15), an authorization button (16), and a folding preset position button (17).

5. The robot ultrasound elastography system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The specific process of using the system to perform pressure elastography is as follows: S11, the ultrasound doctor uses the robot self-inspection function on the touch screen (2) to complete the robot self-inspection; S12, the ultrasound doctor clamps the ultrasound probe (7) onto the clamping claw (6); S13, the ultrasound doctor inputs the pressure range of the pressure elastography on the touch screen (2), that is, inputs the maximum pressure value f of the pressure elastography. max and the minimum pressure value f of pressure elastography min ; S14, the ultrasound doctor moves the end of the mechanical arm (3) to the top of the part to be scanned, and moves the ultrasound probe (7) clamped on the clamp (6) to the standard surface to be detected, ensuring that the ultrasound image on the ultrasound machine (8) is clear and accurate; S15, the ultrasound doctor selects pressure elastography through the hand controller (1); S16, the ultrasound doctor authorizes the ultrasound robot to perform pressure elastography examination through the hand controller (1), and then the ultrasound robot performs the pressure elastography examination: According to the input pressure elastography pressure maximum value f max and the minimum pressure value f of pressure elastography min , the desired Z-axis force F of the end effector of the robot at the tth moment is obtained dz (t), the ultrasonic robot is based on the Z-axis expected force F dz (t) Performing ultrasound examination; S17, after the pressure elastography examination is completed, the ultrasound doctor again terminates the authorization of the ultrasound robot through the hand controller (1); S18, the ultrasound doctor moves the robotic arm (3) to an off-machine position, thus ending the pressure elastography examination.

6. The robotic ultrasound elastography system according to claim 5, characterized in that: When the system is used for pressure elastic imaging, in step S16, the ultrasonic robot is operated according to the Z-axis desired force F dz (t) After the ultrasound examination, an ultrasound image is obtained, and a pressure curve of the ultrasound image is obtained. The ultrasound doctor observes the pressure value f1 at the highest point of the pressure curve and the upper limit value F upper The positional relationship between the pressure value f2 at the lowest point of the pressure curve and the lower limit value F lower The positional relationship between them; If f1 is higher than F upper , the ultrasound doctor reduces the maximum pressure f of the pressure elastography on the touch screen (2) max ; If f1 is lower than F upper , the ultrasound doctor increases the maximum pressure f of the pressure elastography on the touch screen (2). max ; If f1 and F upper If the pressure is the same as the maximum value f of the pressure elastography, the ultrasound doctor does not adjust the pressure max ; If f2 is higher than F lower , the ultrasound doctor increases the minimum pressure value f of the pressure elastography on the touch screen (2). min ; If f2 is lower than F lower , then the ultrasound doctor reduces the minimum pressure value f of the pressure elastography on the touch screen (2) min ; If f2 and F lower At the same position, the ultrasound doctor does not adjust the minimum pressure value f of pressure elastography min。 7. The robotic ultrasound elastography system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The specific process of using the system to perform adaptive pressure elastography is as follows: S21, the ultrasound doctor uses the robot self-inspection function on the touch screen (2) to complete the robot self-inspection; S22, the ultrasound doctor clamps the ultrasound probe (7) onto the clamping claw (6); S23, the ultrasound doctor moves the end of the mechanical arm (3) to the top of the part to be scanned, and moves the ultrasound probe (7) clamped on the clamping claw (6) to the standard surface to be detected, ensuring that the ultrasound image on the ultrasound machine (8) is clear and accurate; S24, the ultrasound physician selects adaptive pressure elastography through the hand controller (1); S25, the ultrasound doctor authorizes the ultrasound robot to perform the adaptive pressure elastography examination through the hand controller (1), and then the ultrasound robot performs the adaptive pressure elastography examination, as shown below: S251, first perform an adaptive process, the ultrasonic robot first uses the maximum pressure value f pre-set in the adaptive pressure elastic imaging a and the preset minimum pressure f i Perform pressure elastic imaging and calculate the Z-axis expected force of the end effector of the robot arm as F dz (t), according to the expected force F on the Z axis dz (t) performing an ultrasonic examination to obtain a section of ultrasonic images, and obtaining a pressure curve of the ultrasonic images during the adaptive process, and then obtaining a maximum point pressure value f1 and a minimum point pressure value f2 of the pressure curve; S252, then calculate the highest point pressure value f1 and the upper limit value F2 of the pressure curve of the ultrasound image according to the highest point pressure value f1 and the lowest point pressure value f2 of the pressure curve of the ultrasound image during the adaptive process. upper The distance between u , and calculate the lowest pressure value f2 of the pressure curve and the lower limit value F of the pressure curve of the ultrasound image lower The distance between p , and calculate the maximum pressure f of the adaptive pressure elastography u and minimum pressure f p ; S253, finally, according to the maximum pressure value f of the pressure elastic imaging after adaptation, u and minimum pressure f p , and obtain the desired Z-axis force F' of the end effector of the adaptive robot arm dz (t), the ultrasonic robot is based on the expected force F' on the Z axis dz (t) Performing ultrasound examination; S26, after the adaptive pressure elastography examination is completed, the ultrasound doctor again terminates the authorization of the ultrasound robot through the hand controller (1); S27, the ultrasound doctor moves the robotic arm to the off-machine position, ending the pressure elastography examination.

8. An electronic device, characterized in that: It includes a processor, a memory, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor. When the processor executes the computer program, the robot ultrasonic elastic imaging method according to any one of claims 1 to 2 is implemented.

9. A computer program product, characterized in that It includes a computer program / instruction, which, when executed by a processor, implements the robotic ultrasonic elastic imaging method described in any one of claims 1-2.

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