Ultrasound imaging apparatus and ultrasound imaging method

Abstract

An ultrasonic imaging device and an ultrasonic imaging method, the device comprising a transmitting-receiving circuit, an ultrasonic probe, a processor and a display, wherein: the transmitting-receiving circuit is configured to control the ultrasonic probe to emit ultrasonic waves to a liver-kidney part of a target object and acquire ultrasonic echo data; the processor is configured to extract echo data of at least a part of a liver region and at least a part of a kidney region based on the ultrasonic echo data, perform compensation processing on the echo data to compensate for attenuation of the echo data caused by propagation depth, and generate a liver region image and a kidney region image based on the echo data after the compensation processing; the display is configured to display the liver region image and the kidney region image; the processor is further configured to acquire a first region of interest on the liver region image, acquire a second region of interest on the kidney region image, and determine a liver-kidney analysis result, wherein the first region of interest and the second region of interest are located at different depths; and the display is further configured to display the liver-kidney analysis result.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of ultrasound imaging technology, and more specifically to an ultrasound imaging device and an ultrasound imaging method. Background Technology

[0002] B-mode ultrasound is the preferred method for diagnosing fatty liver. However, due to its limited sensitivity, the accuracy of ultrasound diagnosis is low when the degree of liver steatosis is low. Currently, many quantitative or semi-quantitative ultrasound diagnostic methods are used for fatty liver diagnosis, and the liver-kidney ratio, as one quantitative detection method, is also used clinically. The liver-kidney ratio is the ratio of the echo intensity of the liver to that of the kidney. The intensity of the liver echo varies with the degree of hepatocyte steatosis. Increased steatosis leads to increased scattering of ultrasound signals, resulting in increased local echo intensity in the superficial to middle layers, thus increasing the liver-kidney grayscale ratio. It is generally believed that the liver-kidney ratio in patients with fatty liver is higher than in normal individuals.

[0003] Several issues can affect the final measurement results during liver-kidney ratio measurements. For example, liver and kidney sections are easily affected by rib shadows (reducing local tissue grayscale). If the Region of Interest (ROI) is poorly positioned, it can significantly impact the measurement results. Furthermore, the kidney's tissue structure is diverse; the renal cortex has slightly lower echogenicity than the liver parenchyma, the renal medulla has even lower echogenicity than the cortex, and the renal sinus, located in the center of the kidney region, is brighter and more echogenic. Typical liver-kidney ratio measurements place the ROI in the liver parenchyma and renal cortex respectively. Poor ROI placement can drastically affect the results. Additionally, ultrasound B-mode images are easily affected by system parameters such as Time Gain Control (TGC). Grayscale compensation values ​​may differ at different depths. Therefore, liver and kidney ROI measurements are typically performed only at the same depth to avoid the influence of system parameters.

[0004] Currently, most clinical studies on the liver-kidney ratio are based on ultrasound B-mode images. Medical staff need to select regions of interest (ROIs) at the same depth in the liver and kidney sections to measure the ratio. Considering the aforementioned issues, clinically measuring the liver-kidney ratio is quite difficult, especially given the complexity of the liver and kidney sections, where placing ROIs at the same depth is still necessary for accurate measurement. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application is made to address the aforementioned problems. According to one aspect of this application, an ultrasound imaging device is provided, the device comprising a transmitting and receiving circuit, an ultrasound probe, a processor, and a display, wherein: the transmitting and receiving circuit is used to control the ultrasound probe to emit ultrasound waves toward the liver and kidney regions of a target object, receive the echoes of the ultrasound waves, and acquire ultrasound echo data based on the echoes; the processor is used to extract echo data of at least a portion of the liver region and at least a portion of the kidney region based on the ultrasound echo data, perform compensation processing on the echo data of the at least a portion of the liver region and the at least a portion of the kidney region to compensate for the attenuation caused by changes in the propagation depth of the echo data, and generate liver region images and kidney region images based on the compensated echo data; the display is used to display the liver region images and the kidney region images; the processor is further used to acquire a first region of interest on the liver region image, acquire a second region of interest on the kidney region image, and determine liver and kidney analysis results based on the first region of interest and the second region of interest, wherein the first region of interest and the second region of interest are located at different depths; the display is also used to display the liver and kidney analysis results.

[0006] According to another aspect of this application, an ultrasound imaging apparatus is provided, the apparatus comprising a transmitting and receiving circuit, an ultrasound probe, a processor, and a display, wherein: the transmitting and receiving circuit is used to control the ultrasound probe to emit ultrasound waves toward the liver and kidney regions of a target object, receive the echoes of the ultrasound waves, and acquire ultrasound echo data based on the echoes; the processor is used to: generate an ultrasound image based on the ultrasound echo data; acquire a first region of interest in the liver region of the ultrasound image, and acquire a second region of interest in the kidney region of the ultrasound image, wherein the first region of interest and the second region of interest are located at different depths; acquire at least echo data corresponding to the first region of interest and the second region of interest from the ultrasound echo data, and perform compensation processing on the echo data corresponding to at least the first region of interest and the second region of interest to compensate for the attenuation of the echo data caused by changes in propagation depth; determine liver and kidney analysis results based on the compensated echo data of the first region of interest and the second region of interest respectively; the display is used to display at least the compensated first region of interest and the second region of interest and the liver and kidney analysis results.

[0007] According to another aspect of this application, an ultrasound imaging method is provided, the method comprising: acquiring an ultrasound image of a target object in a liver and kidney examination mode, wherein the echo data corresponding to at least a portion of the liver region and the kidney region in the ultrasound image are compensated to compensate for the attenuation of the echo data caused by changes in propagation depth; acquiring a first region of interest (ROI) and a second region of interest (ROI) in the liver region after the compensation processing; determining and displaying the liver and kidney analysis results of the target object based on the first ROI and the second ROI, wherein the first ROI and the second ROI are located at the same or different depths.

[0008] According to another aspect of this application, an ultrasound imaging method is provided, the method comprising: displaying multiple examination modes on a display interface; determining a liver and kidney examination mode from the multiple examination modes in response to a user's selection; displaying multiple measurement items on the display interface based on the liver and kidney examination mode; determining a target measurement item from the multiple measurement items in response to a user's selection, wherein the target measurement item includes liver and kidney analysis results; acquiring ultrasound images corresponding to the liver and kidney regions; displaying a first region of interest in the liver region of the ultrasound image and a second region of interest in the kidney region of the ultrasound image; acquiring echo data corresponding to the first region of interest and the second region of interest respectively, and performing compensation processing on the echo data corresponding to the first region of interest and the second region of interest respectively to compensate for the attenuation of the echo data caused by changes in propagation depth; determining liver and kidney analysis results based on the compensated echo data corresponding to the first region of interest and the second region of interest respectively; and displaying the liver and kidney analysis results.

[0009] The ultrasound imaging apparatus and method according to the embodiments of this application perform compensation processing on the echo data corresponding to at least a portion of the liver and kidney regions to compensate for the attenuation of the echo data caused by the change in propagation depth. The echo intensity of the compensated echo data is not affected by the depth change (or the influence of the depth is small and negligible), so the liver-kidney ratio can be calculated at any depth. This solves the problem of inconvenience caused by the existing solution that can only select the liver and kidney ROI at the same depth to perform liver-kidney ratio detection, and improves the user's operation convenience and measurement stability. Attached Figure Description

[0010] The above and other objects, features, and advantages of this application will become more apparent from the more detailed description of the embodiments of this application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of this application and form part of the specification. They are used together with the embodiments of this application to explain this application and do not constitute a limitation thereof. In the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals generally represent the same components or steps.

[0011] Figure 1 A schematic structural block diagram of an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0012] Figure 2 An exemplary schematic diagram shows raw data of liver and kidney sections acquired by an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of this application.

[0013] Figure 3 An exemplary schematic diagram of the liver and kidney regions extracted by an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0014] Figure 4 An exemplary schematic diagram shows the results of attenuation compensation before and after an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of this application.

[0015] Figure 5 This diagram illustrates an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application, in which a Region of Interest (ROI) is placed at any location within the compensation area.

[0016] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the processing framework of an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0017] Figure 7 A schematic diagram illustrating an example of the processing flow of an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0018] Figure 8 A schematic diagram illustrating another example of the processing flow of an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of this application.

[0019] Figure 9 A schematic structural block diagram of an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to another embodiment of this application is shown.

[0020] Figure 10 A schematic flowchart of an ultrasound imaging method according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0021] Figure 11 A schematic flowchart of an ultrasound imaging method according to another embodiment of this application is shown.

[0022] Figure 12 An example diagram of the interface for selecting an examination mode in an ultrasound imaging method according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0023] Figure 13 An example diagram of the interface for selecting measurement items in an ultrasound imaging method according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0024] Figure 14Example diagrams are shown of ultrasound images corresponding to the liver and kidney regions and regions of interest in the liver and kidneys in an ultrasound imaging method according to embodiments of this application.

[0025] Figure 15 An example diagram is shown in which a region of interest is preset before scanning in an ultrasound imaging method according to an embodiment of this application.

[0026] Figure 16 An example diagram is shown in which two preset regions in an ultrasound image are replaced and displayed as a first and a second region of interest in an ultrasound imaging method according to an embodiment of this application.

[0027] Figure 17 An example diagram is shown illustrating that the size and position of a preset region can be adjusted in an ultrasound imaging method according to an embodiment of this application.

[0028] Figure 18 An example diagram of a user interface in an ultrasound imaging method according to an embodiment of this application is shown.

[0029] Figure 19 An example diagram is shown illustrating how two buttons control the first and second preset regions in an ultrasound imaging method according to an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0030] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application more apparent, exemplary embodiments according to this application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are merely some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments of this application. It should be understood that this application is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein. Based on the embodiments of this application described herein, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without inventive effort should fall within the protection scope of this application.

[0031] First, refer to Figure 1 This application describes an ultrasound imaging apparatus 100 according to one embodiment. Figure 1 A schematic structural block diagram of an ultrasound imaging apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of this application is shown. Figure 1As shown, the ultrasound imaging device 100 includes a transmitter-receiver circuit 110, an ultrasound probe 120, a processor 130, and a display 140. The transmission and reception circuit 110 controls the ultrasound probe 120 to transmit ultrasound waves to the liver and kidney regions of the target object, receives the echoes of the ultrasound waves, and acquires ultrasound echo data based on the echoes; the processor 130 extracts echo data of at least a portion of the liver region and at least a portion of the kidney region based on the ultrasound echo data, performs compensation processing on the echo data of at least a portion of the liver region and at least a portion of the kidney region to compensate for the attenuation caused by the change in the propagation depth of the echo data, and generates liver region images and kidney region images based on the compensated echo data; the display 140 displays the liver region images and kidney region images (wherein, the liver region images and kidney region images can be corresponding liver region images and kidney region images in the same ultrasound image, or they can be at least two independent ultrasound images); the processor 130 is also used to acquire a first ROI on the liver region image, acquire a second ROI on the kidney region image, and determine the liver and kidney analysis results based on the first ROI and the second ROI, wherein the first ROI and the second ROI are at the same or different depths; the display 140 is also used to display the liver and kidney analysis results.

[0032] In the embodiments of this application, after the processor 130 of the ultrasound imaging device 100 acquires ultrasound echo data of the liver and kidney regions of the target object from the ultrasound probe 120, it extracts echo data of at least a portion of the liver region and at least a portion of the kidney region from the ultrasound echo data. The extracted echo data undergoes compensation processing to compensate for the attenuation caused by changes in propagation depth, ensuring that the echo intensity (i.e., the signal intensity corresponding to the echo data) is not affected by depth changes. Here, depth refers to the distance between the ultrasound probe 120 and the tissues or parts within the target object's body. For example, the closer the tissues or parts are to the skin, the closer they are to the probe, and the shorter the time it takes for the reflected ultrasound signal (i.e., echo) to return to the ultrasound probe 120, i.e., the shallower the depth; conversely, the farther the tissues or parts are from the skin, the farther they are from the probe, and the longer the time it takes for the reflected ultrasound signal (i.e., echo) to return to the ultrasound probe 120, i.e., the greater the depth. Generally, echo intensity varies with depth, primarily due to the following reasons: After being emitted, ultrasound waves diffuse with depth, resulting in energy loss due to defocusing; organ surfaces and tissues reflect or scatter ultrasound waves, with energy decreasing at greater depths; tissues absorb ultrasound waves, converting the vibrations into heat before direct absorption, again with decreasing energy at greater depths; and ultrasound waves also lose energy when encountering obstacles during propagation. Therefore, as depth increases, ultrasound energy weakens, resulting in weaker echo energy and lower echo intensity. Based on this, in this application, due to the compensation processing of the echo data of the liver and kidney regions, the echo intensity returned by the target object's liver and kidney regions is not affected by depth, regardless of their depth. Thus, no matter which liver and kidney ROI the user selects for liver and kidney analysis (e.g., measuring the liver-kidney ratio) in the final displayed liver and kidney B-image (including liver and kidney region images), it will not affect the analysis results (that is, the first ROI obtained on the liver region image and the second ROI obtained on the kidney region image can be at the same depth or at different depths, which does not affect the final measurement result). This solves the problem of inconvenience caused by the existing solution that only liver and kidney ROIs can be selected at the same depth for liver-kidney ratio detection, improving user convenience and measurement stability.

[0033] The aforementioned liver and kidney B-images can be generated based on ultrasound echo data before or after compensation processing. This is because the generated B-images primarily aim to obtain the respective Regions of Interest (ROIs) for the liver and kidney regions (e.g., based on user input or automatically obtained via an algorithm). Regardless of whether the echo data used to generate the liver and kidney B-images has undergone compensation processing, the locations of the liver and kidney regions in the generated B-images are the same. Therefore, generating liver and kidney B-images based on either pre- or post-compensation ultrasound echo data is acceptable, as long as the post-compensation data is used for liver and kidney analysis after obtaining the ROIs, the accuracy of the measurement results can be ensured. The liver and kidney region images mentioned above can refer to different regions on the same image or to different images.

[0034] In embodiments of this application, the processor 130 extracts echo data of at least a portion of the liver region and at least a portion of the kidney region based on ultrasound echo data. This may include: extracting liver parenchyma region data based on ultrasound echo data (e.g., data after beamforming), removing vascular region data from the liver parenchyma region data to obtain echo data of at least a portion of the liver region; and extracting renal cortex region data based on ultrasound echo data, removing renal medullary region data and renal sinus data from the renal cortex region data to obtain echo data of at least a portion of the kidney region. Since the liver parenchyma region is generally uniform, but contains a small number of cross-sectional blood vessels (circular or elliptical), removing this vascular region data yields the liver region data used for liver-kidney ratio calculation after subsequent compensation processing. This avoids the influence of regions with large echo intensity variations, such as blood vessels, on the measured values, thus improving the accuracy of liver and kidney analysis results. The kidney region has a complex structure. By removing data from the renal medulla (lower echogenicity) and the renal sinus (higher echogenicity), and retaining only the renal cortex data, we can obtain the kidney region data for subsequent compensation processing used in liver-kidney ratio calculation. This avoids the influence of areas with large echo intensity variations, such as redundant tissue, on the measured values, thus improving the accuracy of liver and kidney analysis results. After selecting the region of interest corresponding to uniform tissue, the signal intensity of the echo data after attenuation compensation is uniform, thereby improving user operation convenience and measurement stability. Here, uniform signal intensity of the echo data can be understood as the echo intensity not changing significantly with depth; that is, the signal intensity of the echo data corresponding to different depths becomes approximately the same after compensation (e.g., completely identical, or, although not completely identical, the difference is so small as to be negligible).

[0035] Furthermore, the processor 130 may extract echo data from at least a portion of the liver region and at least a portion of the kidney region based on the ultrasound echo data. This may further include: removing rib shadow region data from the liver parenchyma region data to obtain echo data from at least a portion of the liver region; and / or, removing rib shadow region data from the renal cortex region data to obtain echo data from at least a portion of the kidney region. The rib shadow region is also an area with significant echo variations. Therefore, removing rib shadow region data from the liver parenchyma region data and / or renal cortex region data can avoid the influence of such areas with large echo intensity variations on the measured values, improving the accuracy of liver and kidney analysis results. If the shadow region is too large, quality control judgment can be performed to determine whether it is necessary to re-acquire ultrasound echo data.

[0036] Region extraction or removal can be performed using traditional image processing steps. For example, for small blood vessel regions, the data is first initially binarized and then dilated. The result is then subtracted from the initial binarization result to obtain the small blood vessel region. Based on the actual effect, operations such as erosion, dilation, and smoothing are applied to the blood vessel location to make the final result closer to reality. The binarization threshold and morphological template can be preset or dynamically adjusted according to the algorithm. Furthermore, artificial intelligence (AI) methods can also be used for liver and kidney region segmentation and extraction. Figure 2 and Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the extraction of liver and kidney regions, in which... Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the raw data from liver and kidney sections. Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the liver and kidney region extraction results. For clarity, the liver and kidney regions are represented by different colors (they can also be distinguished by other image attributes, such as different levels of transparency). Figure 3 The images shown are of the liver region and the kidney region, respectively.

[0037] After obtaining the extracted echo data of the liver and kidney regions, compensation processing is performed on them. Specifically, in the embodiments of this application, the processor 130 performs compensation processing on the echo data of at least a portion of the liver region and at least a portion of the kidney region, which may include: calculating the sound attenuation of the echo data of at least a portion of the liver region and at least a portion of the kidney region to obtain the sound attenuation coefficient of the liver region and the sound attenuation coefficient of the kidney region; obtaining the liver region compensation reference value and the kidney region compensation reference value according to the liver and kidney positions corresponding to the echo data of at least a portion of the liver region and at least a portion of the kidney region; performing compensation processing on the echo data of at least a portion of the liver region based on the sound attenuation coefficient of the liver region and the liver region compensation reference value; and performing compensation processing on the echo data of at least a portion of the kidney region based on the sound attenuation coefficient of the kidney region and the kidney region compensation reference value. The liver region compensation reference value may, for example, be the average echo intensity at the depth corresponding to the depth center of the liver region, or the average echo intensity within a preset depth range extending from the depth center; the kidney region compensation reference value may, for example, be the average echo intensity at the depth corresponding to the depth center of the kidney region, or the average echo intensity within a preset depth range extending from the depth center.

[0038] For example, assume that the acoustic attenuation coefficients a1 for the liver region and a2 for the kidney region are obtained. Then, compensation reference values ​​are obtained based on the extracted liver and kidney region locations. Specifically, the depth center of each liver and kidney compensation region is determined, and the average echo intensity at that depth is selected as the respective compensation reference value. This can be the average echo intensity at the determined depth center location, or the average echo intensity within a certain depth range (a preset extension range or the extracted region range) extended from the depth center. Based on the compensation reference values ​​and the depth center location, acoustic attenuation compensation is performed on the echo intensity values ​​in the depth direction using the acoustic attenuation a1 for the liver region and a2 for the kidney region. Specifically, the echo intensity at shallower depth locations is higher than the reference value. Based on the distance from the depth center location and the corresponding attenuation value, the echo intensity is compensated to approximate the reference value. After compensation, the signal in each region does not change with increasing propagation depth, and the signal amplitude within the compensation region remains uniform and stable (approaching the compensation reference value). A compensation diagram is shown below. Figure 4 As shown, the left image shows the attenuation of echo intensity in the liver and kidney regions with depth before compensation, while the right image shows the uniform and stable echo intensity in the liver and kidney regions after compensation, which basically does not change with depth.

[0039] After the aforementioned compensation processing, liver and kidney analysis can be performed, such as liver-kidney ratio measurement. For example, based on the extracted liver and kidney images—liver region images and kidney region images—a first Region of Interest (ROI) and a second ROI can be obtained respectively. Then, based on the compensated echo data corresponding to each of the two ROIs (the echo data corresponding to all regions of the liver and kidney region images are compensated, and naturally, the echo data corresponding to the selected ROI is also compensated), the liver-kidney ratio can be measured. Since the echo intensity of the two ROI regions does not change significantly with depth after compensation processing, the positions of the two ROIs can be arbitrarily placed within the compensation area. Their depths can be the same or different, and the measurement results of ROIs placed at any position within the compensation area will remain uniform and stable, greatly improving the stability of the measurement values. Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of placing the first ROI (1) and the second ROI (2) arbitrarily within the liver region image and the kidney region image.

[0040] In a further embodiment, the first and second ROIs can even be placed outside the compensation region. In this case, data removal and quality control can be performed based on the overlapping area between the ROI and the compensation region. For example, the portion of the ROI outside the compensation region can be removed so that the liver-kidney ratio measurement is still based on the compensated echo data. Alternatively, the overlapping area between the ROI and the compensation region can be calculated, and the reliability index of the liver-kidney analysis results can be determined based on it. For example, when the overlapping area is large, most of the compensated data is used for the liver-kidney ratio measurement, and the reliability index of the liver-kidney analysis results is high; when the overlapping area is small, a small portion of the compensated data is used for the liver-kidney ratio measurement, and if the two ROIs have different depths, the reliability index of the liver-kidney analysis results is low.

[0041] Finally, after obtaining the liver and kidney analysis results (which may also include their reliability index), these results can be displayed, such as the liver-to-kidney ratio or an evaluation analysis based on that ratio. These results can be displayed on the liver and kidney region images mentioned above, or in other display areas. The liver and kidney region images mentioned above can be displayed as two separate images or as a single image. Furthermore, they can be displayed independently or overlaid on a background image. The background image refers to the ultrasound image generated based on the echo data before extracting the liver and kidney region echo data, such as... Figure 2 The image shown; the superimposed image is as follows Figure 3 , Figure 5The image shown is illustrated. The liver and kidney region images can be highlighted by overlaying the B image with color blocks of different colors and transparency, indicating areas where Regions of Interest (ROIs) can be placed. The display of these color blocks can also be controlled via a control (i.e., whether the liver and kidney region images are displayed with certain image attributes based on user input). When setting the first and second ROIs on the overlaid image, it's possible that an ROI is placed outside the compensation area. In this case, the confidence index of the liver and kidney analysis results can be determined based on the overlap area between the first ROI and the liver region image, and the overlap area between the second ROI and the aforementioned region image, as described earlier.

[0042] Regarding the aforementioned ROI settings, the processor 130 may acquire a first ROI on a liver region image by: acquiring the first ROI based on a first user input, or by recognizing the liver region image and acquiring the first ROI based on the recognition result; the processor 130 may acquire a second ROI on a kidney region image by: acquiring the second ROI based on a second user input, or by recognizing the kidney region image and acquiring the second ROI based on the recognition result. Further, the processor 130 may also be used to: after acquiring the first and second ROIs based on the recognition result, adjust the positions of the first and / or second ROIs based on a third user input, determine the liver and kidney analysis results based on the adjusted results, and display them on the display 140; or after acquiring the first and second ROIs based on the recognition result, and determining and displaying the liver and kidney analysis results, adjust the positions of the first and / or second ROIs based on a fourth user input, re-determine the liver and kidney analysis results based on the adjusted results, and refresh the display 140 to show the liver and kidney analysis results. Therefore, ROI can be obtained based on user input, automatically, or a combination of both.

[0043] Based on the foregoing, the system framework of the ultrasound imaging device 100 of this application mainly includes a transducer (i.e., the ultrasound probe 120 mentioned above), a front-end control and processing module, a scanning control module (both of which are the transmit / receive circuit 110 mentioned above, and a beamforming processing module not shown), a liver and kidney compensation processing module, a basic image processing module (both of which are the processor 130 mentioned above), and a measurement and display module (i.e., the display 140 mentioned above). The transducer is typically a multi-element array transducer, in which all or some elements participate in ultrasound transmission / reception during transmission / reception. The front-end control and processing module participates in the excitation of the transducer, transmitting pulse excitation to all or some elements to cause the transducer to transmit ultrasound, and performing beamforming processing on the echo data from all or some elements to obtain the raw data. Based on the front-end processing results, the liver and kidney compensation processing module performs compensation processing on the raw data to make the echo intensity in the liver / kidney region uniform and essentially unchanging with depth. The basic image processing module performs image optimization processing on the raw data to obtain the basic ultrasound image. Finally, the measurement and display module provides a liver-kidney ratio measurement tool. Users select the corresponding ROI on the liver-kidney compensation data to measure the liver-kidney ratio and view the results. The overall system framework described above is as follows: Figure 6 As shown.

[0044] In general, the ultrasound imaging device 100 of this application processes raw data, first compensating for the liver and kidney regions, and then measuring the liver-kidney ratio based on the compensated results. This allows for measurement of any location of the region of interest (ROI) within the compensated area. The following section combines... Figure 7 and Figure 8 Examples of two workflows for the ultrasound imaging apparatus 100 of this application are described below.

[0045] like Figure 7 As shown, in one embodiment, the workflow of the ultrasound imaging device 100 of this application can be as follows: 1) The operator prepares for the examination and selects the section; 2) Starts a measurement; 3) Compensates for liver and kidney and displays the compensation area; 4) Places the liver / kidney ROI at any position in the liver / kidney compensation area (ROI selection is based on the display area in step 3); 5) Calculates the measurement value and displays the measurement result; 6) Steps 2)-5) can be repeated for multiple measurements.

[0046] like Figure 8 As shown, in another embodiment, the workflow of the ultrasound imaging device 100 of this application can be as follows: 1) The operator prepares for the examination and selects the section; 2) A measurement is started; 3) Liver and kidney compensation is performed and the compensation area is displayed; 4) The system automatically calculates the optimal ROI position and completes the measurement, while displaying the measurement results (simplifying user operation); 5) The user can adjust the ROI to any position and refresh the measurement results (this step is optional); 6) Steps 2)-5) can be repeated for multiple measurements.

[0047] The above exemplarily illustrates an ultrasound imaging apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of this application. Based on the above description, after acquiring ultrasound echo data of the liver and kidney regions of a target object from an ultrasound probe, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 100 according to this application extracts echo data of at least a portion of the liver region and at least a portion of the kidney region from the ultrasound echo data. The extracted echo data undergoes compensation processing to compensate for the attenuation caused by changes in echo data with propagation depth, ensuring that the echo intensity is not affected by depth. This allows for the calculation of the liver-kidney ratio at any depth. This solves the problem of operational inconvenience caused by the requirement in existing solutions to select the liver and kidney ROI at the same depth for liver-kidney ratio detection, improving user convenience and measurement stability.

[0048] The following is combined Figure 9 Describes an ultrasound imaging apparatus according to another embodiment of this application. Figure 9 A schematic structural block diagram of an ultrasound imaging apparatus 900 according to another embodiment of this application is shown. Figure 9 As shown, the ultrasound imaging device 900 may include a transmitting and receiving circuit 910, an ultrasound probe 920, a processor 930, and a display 940. Specifically: the transmitting and receiving circuit 910 controls the ultrasound probe 920 to emit ultrasound waves towards the liver and kidney regions of the target object, receives the echoes of the ultrasound waves, and acquires ultrasound echo data based on the echoes; the processor 930 is used to: generate an ultrasound image based on the ultrasound echo data; acquire a first region of interest (ROI) in the liver region of the ultrasound image and a second region of interest (ROI) in the kidney region of the ultrasound image, wherein the first ROI and the second ROI are at the same or different depths; acquire at least the echo data corresponding to the first ROI and the second ROI from the ultrasound echo data, and perform compensation processing on the echo data corresponding to the first ROI and the second ROI to compensate for the attenuation caused by changes in propagation depth; determine the liver and kidney analysis results based on the compensated echo data of the first ROI and the second ROI respectively; the display 940 is used to display at least the compensated first ROI and the second ROI and the liver and kidney analysis results.

[0049] The operation of the ultrasound imaging device 900 according to the embodiments of this application is generally similar to that of the ultrasound imaging device 100 described above. The difference lies in that the ultrasound imaging device 100 first compensates the echo data corresponding to the liver and kidney regions before selecting the ROI for liver-kidney ratio measurement, while the ultrasound imaging device 900 first acquires the ROI and then compensates the echo data corresponding to at least the ROI region for liver-kidney ratio measurement. Therefore, the ultrasound imaging device 100 can place ROIs arbitrarily within the compensation area, while the ultrasound imaging device 900 performs targeted compensation processing on the echo data, resulting in less computation. The ultrasound imaging device 900 can also achieve liver-kidney ratio measurement by placing ROIs at different depths for the liver and kidney regions, solving the problem of inconvenience caused by the existing solution that can only select liver and kidney ROIs at the same depth for liver-kidney ratio detection, thus improving user convenience and measurement stability. The following mainly describes the differences between the two, and the similarities between the two will not be repeated.

[0050] In embodiments of this application, the processor 930 performs compensation processing on the echo data corresponding to the first ROI and the second ROI. This may include: compensating the echo data corresponding to the first ROI and a first preset extended area around the first ROI to obtain a first compensation area; and compensating the echo data corresponding to the second ROI and a second preset extended area around the second ROI to obtain a second compensation area. In this embodiment, the processor 930 not only compensates the echo data corresponding to the first ROI and the second ROI themselves, but also expands the range of each of the first and second ROIs and compensates the echo data in the expanded areas. The resulting first compensation area is larger than the first ROI, and the second compensation area is larger than the second ROI. This is beneficial for users to obtain other ROI locations in the two compensation areas when performing multiple measurements, so that users do not need to perform compensation processing after obtaining each ROI, thus improving processing efficiency.

[0051] For example, in one example, processor 930 can also be used to: acquire a third ROI within a first compensation region, and determine updated liver and kidney analysis results based on the echo data corresponding to the third ROI and the second ROI. In this embodiment, a third ROI with a different location from the first ROI can be acquired within the first compensation region, and the second ROI location can remain unchanged, i.e., only the ROI in the liver region is changed, to recalculate the liver-kidney ratio. Multiple calculation results can be fused (e.g., averaged) to obtain more accurate liver and kidney analysis results.

[0052] In another example, processor 930 can also be used to: acquire a fourth ROI within a second compensation region, and determine updated liver and kidney analysis results based on the echo data corresponding to the first ROI and the fourth ROI. In this embodiment, a fourth ROI with a different location than the second ROI can be acquired within the second compensation region, while the first ROI location remains unchanged, i.e., only the ROI in the organ examination region is changed, to recalculate the liver-kidney ratio. Multiple calculation results can be fused to obtain more accurate liver and kidney analysis results.

[0053] In another example, processor 930 can also be used to: acquire a third ROI within a first compensation region, acquire a fourth ROI within a second compensation region, and determine updated liver and kidney analysis results based on the echo data corresponding to the third and fourth ROIs. In this embodiment, a third ROI with a different location from the first ROI can be acquired in the first compensation region, and a fourth ROI with a different location from the second ROI can be acquired in the second compensation region; that is, both the ROIs in the liver region and the ROIs in the kidney region are changed to recalculate the liver-kidney ratio. Multiple calculation results can be fused to obtain more accurate liver and kidney analysis results.

[0054] In a further embodiment, the ROI can be acquired again in the uncompensated region. However, it is not necessary to perform echo data compensation based on the acquired ROI again. Instead, the confidence index of the final liver and kidney analysis result can be determined based on the overlap area between the reacquired ROI and the compensated region, similar to what was described above. This reduces the computational load and allows for the fusion of multiple calculation results to obtain more accurate liver and kidney analysis results.

[0055] For example, in one example, processor 930 can also be used to: acquire a third ROI in the liver region of an ultrasound image; determine updated liver and kidney analysis results based on the echo data corresponding to the third ROI and the second ROI; determine a confidence index of the updated liver and kidney analysis results based on the overlap area between the third ROI and the first compensation region; and display 940 is further used to display the confidence index. In this embodiment, a third ROI with a different location from the first ROI can be acquired in the liver region of the ultrasound image. This third ROI may be located within the aforementioned first compensation region, or outside the first compensation region, or partially within the first compensation region. The second ROI location may remain unchanged, i.e., only the ROI in the liver region is changed, to recalculate the liver-kidney ratio. At this time, the confidence index of the recalculated result can be determined based on the overlap area between the third ROI and the first compensation region. Multiple calculation results can be fused (e.g., weighted average, where the weights can be determined based on the confidence index) to obtain more accurate liver and kidney analysis results.

[0056] In another example, processor 930 can also be used to: acquire a fourth ROI in the kidney region of an ultrasound image; determine updated liver and kidney analysis results based on echo data corresponding to the first ROI and the fourth ROI; determine a confidence index for the updated liver and kidney analysis results based on the overlapping area of ​​the fourth ROI and the second compensation region; and display 940 is further used to display the confidence index. In this embodiment, a fourth ROI with a different location from the second ROI can be acquired in the kidney region of an ultrasound image. This fourth ROI may be located within the aforementioned second compensation region, outside the second compensation region, or partially within the second compensation region. The first ROI location may remain unchanged, i.e., only the ROI in the kidney region is changed, to recalculate the liver-kidney ratio. In this case, the confidence index of the recalculated result can be determined based on the overlapping area of ​​the fourth ROI and the second compensation region. Multiple calculation results can be fused (e.g., weighted average, where the weights can be determined based on the confidence index) to obtain more accurate liver and kidney analysis results.

[0057] In another example, processor 930 can also be used to: acquire a third ROI in the liver region of the ultrasound image, acquire a fourth ROI in the kidney region of the ultrasound image, determine updated liver and kidney analysis results based on the echo data corresponding to the third and fourth ROIs; determine a confidence index of the updated liver and kidney analysis results based on the overlap area between the third ROI and the first compensation region and the overlap area between the fourth ROI and the second compensation region; and display 940 is further used to display the confidence index. In this embodiment, a third ROI with a different location from the first ROI can be acquired in the liver region of the ultrasound image. This third ROI may be located within the aforementioned first compensation region, outside the first compensation region, or partially within the first compensation region; and a fourth ROI with a different location from the second ROI can be acquired in the kidney region of the ultrasound image. This fourth ROI may be located within the aforementioned second compensation region, outside the second compensation region, or partially within the second compensation region; that is, both the ROIs in the liver region and the ROIs in the kidney region are changed to recalculate the liver-kidney ratio. At this time, the confidence index of the recalculated results can be determined based on the overlap area between the third ROI and the first compensation region, and the overlap area between the fourth ROI and the second compensation region. Multiple calculations can be fused (e.g., by weighted averaging, with weights determined based on a confidence index) to obtain more accurate liver and kidney analysis results.

[0058] The above exemplarily illustrates an ultrasound imaging apparatus 900 according to another embodiment of this application. Based on the above description, after acquiring ultrasound echo data of the liver and kidney regions of a target object from an ultrasound probe, the ultrasound imaging apparatus 900 according to an embodiment of this application generates an ultrasound image based on the ultrasound echo data. After acquiring Regions of Interest (ROIs) in the liver and kidney regions of the ultrasound image, it performs compensation processing on the echo data corresponding to the ROIs to compensate for the attenuation caused by the change in echo data with the propagation depth, so that the echo intensity is not affected by the depth. This allows for the selection of any depth to calculate the liver-kidney ratio, solving the problem of inconvenience caused by the requirement in existing solutions to select liver and kidney ROIs at the same depth for liver-kidney ratio detection, thus improving user convenience and measurement stability.

[0059] The following is combined Figure 10 Describes an ultrasound imaging method provided according to another aspect of this application. Figure 10 A schematic flowchart of an ultrasound imaging method 1000 according to an embodiment of this application is shown. Figure 10 As shown, the ultrasound imaging method 1000 may include the following steps:

[0060] In step S1010, in the liver and kidney examination mode, an ultrasound image of the target object is acquired, wherein the echo data corresponding to at least a portion of the liver region and the kidney region in the ultrasound image are compensated to compensate for the attenuation of the echo data caused by the change in propagation depth.

[0061] In step S1020, a first ROI and a second ROI in the liver region that have undergone compensation processing are obtained.

[0062] In step S1030, the liver and kidney analysis results of the target object are determined and displayed based on the first ROI and the second ROI, wherein the first ROI and the second ROI are at the same or different depths.

[0063] The ultrasound imaging method 1000 according to the embodiments of this application is the method performed by the ultrasound imaging devices 100 or 900 described above. Both methods involve compensating the echo data corresponding to at least a portion of the liver and kidney regions. The Regions of Interest (ROIs) in the liver and kidney regions can be obtained from the compensated regions, or the ROIs can be obtained and then compensated to compensate for the attenuation of echo data caused by changes in propagation depth. The echo intensity of the compensated echo data is not affected by depth, and it is used to calculate the liver-kidney ratio. This solves the problem of operational inconvenience caused by the requirement in existing solutions to select liver and kidney ROIs at the same depth for liver-kidney ratio detection, improving user convenience and measurement stability. The operation process of the ultrasound imaging devices 100 and 900 has been described above; for brevity, specific details will not be repeated here, only some main operations will be described.

[0064] In embodiments of this application, the compensation processing described in steps S1010 and S1020 may include compensating for all echo data of both the liver region and the kidney region; wherein the first ROI and the second ROI are obtained from the liver region and the kidney region after the compensation processing; or, the compensation processing described in steps S1010 and S1020 may include compensating for echo data corresponding to a portion of the liver region and the kidney region; wherein the first ROI and the second ROI are obtained before the compensation processing, and a portion of the liver region includes the first ROI, and a portion of the kidney region includes the second ROI.

[0065] In the embodiments of this application, the first ROI and the second ROI are obtained based on user input or automatically. When they are obtained automatically, method 1000 further includes: adjusting the position of the first ROI and / or the second ROI based on user input, and redetermining and refreshing the display of liver and kidney analysis results based on the adjusted results.

[0066] The following is combined Figure 11 A schematic flowchart illustrating an ultrasound imaging method 1100 according to another embodiment of this application is provided. Figure 11 As shown, the ultrasound imaging method 1100 may include the following steps:

[0067] In step S1110, multiple inspection modes are displayed on the display interface.

[0068] In step S1120, a liver and kidney examination mode is determined from multiple examination modes in response to the user's selection.

[0069] In step S1130, multiple measurement items are displayed on the display interface based on the liver and kidney examination mode.

[0070] In step S1140, in response to the user's selection, a target measurement item is determined from a plurality of measurement items, wherein the target measurement item includes liver and kidney analysis results.

[0071] In step S1150, ultrasound images of the liver and kidney regions are acquired.

[0072] In step S1160, a first region of interest is displayed in the liver region of the ultrasound image and a second region of interest is displayed in the kidney region of the ultrasound image.

[0073] In step S1170, the echo data corresponding to the first region of interest and the second region of interest are acquired, and the echo data corresponding to the first region of interest and the second region of interest are compensated to compensate for the attenuation of the echo data caused by the change of propagation depth.

[0074] In step S1180, the liver and kidney analysis results are determined based on the echo data corresponding to the first and second regions of interest after compensation.

[0075] In step S1190, the liver and kidney analysis results are displayed.

[0076] Figure 11 The flowchart shown describes the ultrasound imaging method according to the embodiments of this application from the perspective of operation flow. The following is in conjunction with... Figures 12 to 19 Example diagrams of the interfaces involved in this operation flow are described to better understand the ultrasound imaging method according to embodiments of this application.

[0077] Figure 12 An example diagram of the interface for selecting an inspection mode is shown, as described in step S1110, which can display features such as... Figure 12 The interface shown displays multiple examination modes, and then, in response to the user's selection, a liver and kidney examination mode is determined as described in step S1120, for example, (ABD generic, abdominal generic mode).

[0078] Figure 13 An example diagram of the interface for selecting measurement items is shown, as described in step S1130, which can display items such as... Figure 13 The interface shown displays multiple measurement items (including sound attenuation, liver texture value, liver-kidney ratio, etc.), and then, in response to the user's selection as described in step S1140, the target measurement item—the liver-kidney ratio (HRI) measurement item—is determined from the multiple measurement items to obtain the liver and kidney analysis results.

[0079] Figure 14 The accompanying diagram shows ultrasound images corresponding to the liver and kidney regions and example images of regions of interest for the liver and kidneys. As described in steps S1150 and S1160, ultrasound images corresponding to the liver and kidney regions are acquired, and a first region of interest for the liver region and a second region of interest for the kidney region are displayed. For example, [example image would be inserted here]. Figure 14 As shown, the ultrasound image contains two regions of interest (ROIs), denoted as H and R, which are the first region of interest in the liver region and the second region of interest in the kidney region, respectively.

[0080] In one embodiment of this application, before displaying a first region of interest in the liver region of the ultrasound image and a second region of interest in the kidney region of the ultrasound image, the method further includes automatically determining the first and second regions of interest from the ultrasound image. In this embodiment, the first and second regions of interest can be automatically determined, for example, through image recognition algorithms, deep learning, etc., making the operation more convenient.

[0081] In another embodiment of this application, before displaying a first region of interest in the liver region and a second region of interest in the kidney region of the ultrasound image, the method further includes: determining the first and second regions of interest from the ultrasound image based on user actions. In this embodiment, the user can manually determine the first and second regions of interest, providing greater flexibility.

[0082] In another embodiment of this application, before displaying a first region of interest in the liver region of the ultrasound image and a second region of interest in the kidney region of the ultrasound image, the method further includes: displaying a first preset region and a second preset region in the ultrasound image; automatically determining the first region of interest and the second region of interest from the ultrasound image; replacing the first preset region with the first region of interest, and replacing the second preset region with the second region of interest. In this embodiment, two preset regions are provided in advance in the ultrasound image, which can be edited to be displayed as regions of interest. In this embodiment, the preset regions are replaced with regions of interest by automatically determining the regions of interest.

[0083] In another embodiment of this application, before displaying a first region of interest in the liver region of the ultrasound image and a second region of interest in the kidney region of the ultrasound image, the method further includes: displaying a first preset region and a second preset region in the ultrasound image; replacing the first preset region with the first region of interest based on user operation; and replacing the second preset region with the second region of interest. In this embodiment, two preset regions are provided in advance in the ultrasound image, which can be edited to be displayed as regions of interest. In this embodiment, the preset regions are replaced with regions of interest through manual user operation. Figure 15 This example shows a region of interest that is preset before scanning, with the two regions shown being the first and second preset regions. Figure 16 This illustrates an example of replacing two preset regions in an ultrasound image with a first and a second region of interest.

[0084] In one example, replacing a first preset area with a first region of interest (ROI) and replacing a second preset area with a second ROI based on user actions includes: displaying the icon corresponding to the first preset area in the position corresponding to the first ROI based on user actions, and simultaneously displaying the icon corresponding to the second preset area in the position corresponding to the second ROI. In this example, user actions on the first preset area can simultaneously display the icons corresponding to the first and second preset areas in the positions corresponding to the first and second ROIs, respectively.

[0085] In another example, replacing the first preset area with a first region of interest (ROI) and replacing the second preset area with a second ROI based on user actions includes: displaying the icon corresponding to the first preset area in the position corresponding to the first ROI based on user actions, and displaying the icon corresponding to the second preset area in the position corresponding to the second ROI based on user actions. In this example, displaying the icons corresponding to the first and second preset areas in the positions corresponding to the first and second ROIs respectively requires separate user actions.

[0086] In another example, replacing the first preset area with a first region of interest (ROI) and replacing the second preset area with a second ROI based on user actions includes: displaying the icon corresponding to the second preset area in the second ROI based on user actions, and simultaneously displaying the icon corresponding to the first preset area in the position corresponding to the first ROI. In this example, user actions on the second preset area can simultaneously display the icons corresponding to the second and first preset areas in the positions corresponding to the second and first ROIs, respectively.

[0087] In yet another example, replacing a first preset region with a first region of interest (ROI) and replacing a second preset region with a second ROI based on user actions includes: displaying the icon corresponding to the second preset region in the position corresponding to the first ROI based on user actions, and displaying the icon corresponding to the first preset region in the position corresponding to the first ROI based on user actions. In this example, user actions on the first preset region can simultaneously display the icons corresponding to the first and second preset regions in the positions corresponding to the first and second ROIs, respectively.

[0088] In embodiments of this application, displaying an icon corresponding to a first preset region at a position corresponding to a first region of interest includes: the icon corresponding to the first preset region being processed by at least one of selection, scaling, shrinking, and moving before being displayed at the position corresponding to the first region of interest. Displaying an icon corresponding to a second preset region at a position corresponding to a second region of interest includes: the icon corresponding to the second preset region being processed by at least one of selection, scaling, shrinking, and moving before being displayed at the position corresponding to the second region of interest. Figure 17 This example shows an area where the size and position of the preset regions can be adjusted. The icons corresponding to the first preset region and the second preset region can include at least one shape selected from the categories of fan, rectangle, square, and circle. Figures 15 to 17 The example shown is a rectangle.

[0089] In the embodiments of this application, the user's operation includes at least one operation method selected from buttons, trackballs, touch keys, and knobs; wherein, if the user's operation is a button operation, the icon corresponding to the first preset area and the icon corresponding to the second preset area can be switched by one button, or the icon corresponding to the first preset area can be controlled by one of the two buttons, and the icon corresponding to the second preset area can be controlled by the other button. Figure 18 This shows an example diagram of the user interface. Figure 19 This illustrates an example diagram where two buttons control the first and second preset areas respectively, as shown in the image. Figure 19 The two buttons circled in the lower right corner are shown.

[0090] After displaying the first region of interest and the second region of interest, echo data corresponding to each region of interest can be acquired, and compensation processing can be performed on the echo data corresponding to each region of interest to compensate for the attenuation caused by the change in propagation depth. Then, the liver and kidney analysis results are determined and displayed based on the compensated echo data corresponding to each region of interest, as described in steps S1170 to S1190.

[0091] According to another aspect of this application, a storage medium is also provided, on which program instructions are stored, which, when executed by a computer or processor, are used to perform corresponding steps of the ultrasound imaging method of the embodiments of this application. The storage medium may, for example, include a memory card of a smartphone, a storage component of a tablet computer, a hard disk of a personal computer, a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a USB memory, or any combination of the above storage media. The computer-readable storage medium may be any combination of one or more computer-readable storage media.

[0092] Based on the above description, the ultrasound imaging apparatus and method according to the embodiments of this application perform compensation processing on the echo data corresponding to at least a portion of the liver and kidney regions to compensate for the attenuation caused by the change in propagation depth of the echo data. The echo intensity of the compensated echo data is not affected by depth, and it is used to calculate the liver-kidney ratio. This solves the problem of inconvenience caused by the existing solution that the liver-kidney ratio can only be detected by selecting the liver and kidney ROI at the same depth, thus improving the user's operational convenience and measurement stability.

[0093] Although exemplary embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the above exemplary embodiments are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of this application. Various changes and modifications can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of this application. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this application as claimed in the appended claims.

[0094] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0095] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another device, or some features may be ignored or not executed.

[0096] Numerous specific details are set forth in the specification provided herein. However, it will be understood that embodiments of this application may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known methods, structures, and techniques have not been shown in detail so as not to obscure the understanding of this specification.

[0097] Similarly, it should be understood that, in order to streamline this application and aid in understanding one or more of the various inventive aspects, features of this application may sometimes be grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof in the description of exemplary embodiments of this application. However, this approach should not be construed as reflecting an intention that the claimed application requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as reflected in the corresponding claims, its inventive point lies in solving the corresponding technical problem with features fewer than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Therefore, the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into that detailed description, wherein each claim itself is a separate embodiment of this application.

[0098] Those skilled in the art will understand that, apart from the mutual exclusion of features, all features disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings) and all processes or units of any method or apparatus so disclosed can be combined in any combination. Unless otherwise expressly stated, each feature disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings) may be replaced by an alternative feature that serves the same, equivalent, or similar purpose.

[0099] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that although some embodiments described herein include certain features but not others included in other embodiments, combinations of features from different embodiments are intended to be within the scope of this application and form different embodiments. For example, in the claims, any one of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.

[0100] The various component embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware, or as software modules running on one or more processors, or a combination thereof. Those skilled in the art will understand that microprocessors or digital signal processors (DSPs) can be used in practice to implement some or all of the functions of some modules in the article analysis device according to embodiments of this application. This application can also be implemented as an ultrasound blood flow imaging device program (e.g., a computer program and computer program product) for performing part or all of the methods described herein. Such an implementation of this application can be stored on a computer-readable medium or can be in the form of one or more signals. Such signals can be downloaded from an Internet website, provided on a carrier signal, or provided in any other form.

[0101] It should be noted that the above embodiments are illustrative of this application and not limiting of it, and that those skilled in the art can devise alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses should not be construed as limiting the claims. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps not listed in the claims. The word "a" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. This application can be implemented by means of hardware comprising several different elements and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In the unit claims enumerating several ultrasound blood flow imaging devices, several of these ultrasound blood flow imaging devices may be embodied by the same item of hardware. The use of the words first, second, and third, etc., does not indicate any order. These words can be interpreted as names.

[0102] The above description is merely a specific embodiment or illustration of the embodiments of this application. The scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. The scope of protection of this application shall be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic imaging device, characterized in that, The device includes a transmitting and receiving circuit, an ultrasonic probe, a processor, and a display, wherein: The transmitting and receiving circuit is used to control the ultrasound probe to emit ultrasound waves toward the liver and kidneys of the target object, receive the echo of the ultrasound waves, and acquire ultrasound echo data based on the echo. The processor is used to extract echo data of at least a portion of the liver region and at least a portion of the kidney region based on the ultrasound echo data, perform compensation processing on the echo data of the at least a portion of the liver region and the at least a portion of the kidney region to compensate for the attenuation caused by the change in the propagation depth of the echo data, so that the echo intensity of the echo data does not change with the depth, and generate liver region images and kidney region images based on the compensated echo data. The display is used to show the images of the liver region and the kidney region; The processor is further configured to acquire a first region of interest on the liver region image, acquire a second region of interest on the kidney region image, and determine liver and kidney analysis results based on the first region of interest and the second region of interest, wherein the first region of interest and the second region of interest are located at different depths; The display is also used to show the liver and kidney analysis results.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The processor acquires a first region of interest on the liver region image, including: acquiring the first region of interest on the liver region image based on a first user input, or: recognizing the liver region image and acquiring the first region of interest on the liver region image based on the recognition result; The processor acquires a second region of interest on the kidney region image, including: acquiring the second region of interest on the kidney region image based on a second user input, or: recognizing the kidney region image and acquiring the second region of interest on the kidney region image based on the recognition result.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that, The processor is also used for: After obtaining the first region of interest and the second region of interest based on the recognition results, the positions of the first region of interest and / or the second region of interest are adjusted based on third user input, and the liver and kidney analysis results are determined based on the adjusted results and displayed on the display. or After obtaining the first region of interest and the second region of interest based on the recognition results, and determining and displaying the liver and kidney analysis results, the positions of the first region of interest and / or the second region of interest are adjusted based on the fourth user input. The liver and kidney analysis results are then re-determined based on the adjusted results and refreshed and displayed by the display.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The processor extracts echo data from at least a portion of the liver region and at least a portion of the kidney region based on the ultrasound echo data, including: Based on the ultrasound echo data, liver parenchyma region data is extracted, and vascular region data in the liver parenchyma region data is removed to obtain echo data of at least a portion of the liver region. Based on the ultrasound echo data, data of the renal cortex region is extracted, and data of the renal medulla region and renal sinus region are removed from the renal cortex region data to obtain echo data of at least a portion of the renal region.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that, The processor extracts echo data from at least a portion of the liver region and at least a portion of the kidney region based on the ultrasound echo data, and further includes: After removing the rib acoustic shadowing data from the liver parenchyma region data, echo data of at least a portion of the liver region is obtained; and / or By removing the rib acoustic shadowing data from the renal cortex region data, echo data of at least a portion of the kidney region is obtained.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The processor performs compensation processing on the echo data of the at least partial liver region and the at least partial kidney region, including: Sound attenuation calculations are performed on the echo data of at least a portion of the liver region and at least a portion of the kidney region to obtain the sound attenuation coefficient of the liver region and the sound attenuation coefficient of the kidney region. The liver region compensation reference value and the kidney region compensation reference value are obtained based on the liver and kidney locations corresponding to the echo data of the at least part of the liver region and the at least part of the kidney region. The echo data of at least a portion of the liver region are compensated based on the liver region acoustic attenuation coefficient and the liver region compensation reference value. The echo data of at least a portion of the kidney region are compensated based on the sound attenuation coefficient of the kidney region and the compensation reference value of the kidney region.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that, The liver region compensation reference value is the average echo intensity at the depth corresponding to the depth center of the liver region, or the average echo intensity within a preset depth range extended from the depth center of the liver region. The kidney region compensation reference value is the average echo intensity at the depth corresponding to the depth center of the kidney region, or the average echo intensity within a preset depth range extending from the depth center of the kidney region.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The processor is also used for: An ultrasound image is generated based on the ultrasound echo data, and the liver region image and the kidney region image are superimposed on the ultrasound image for display.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that, The processor is further configured to: acquire the first region of interest and the second region of interest on the superimposed image; and after determining the liver and kidney analysis results based on the first region of interest and the second region of interest, determine the confidence index of the liver and kidney analysis results based on the overlap area between the first region of interest and the liver region image and the overlap area between the second region of interest and the kidney region image. The display is also used to show the credibility index.

10. The apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that, The processor is also used for: The liver region image and the kidney region image are overlaid on the ultrasound image with different image attributes, including color and / or transparency.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that, The processor is also configured to control, based on user input, whether to display the liver region image and the kidney region image according to the image attributes.

12. An ultrasonic imaging device, characterized in that, The device includes a transmitting and receiving circuit, an ultrasonic probe, a processor, and a display, wherein: The transmitting and receiving circuit is used to control the ultrasound probe to emit ultrasound waves toward the liver and kidneys of the target object, receive the echo of the ultrasound waves, and acquire ultrasound echo data based on the echo. The processor is configured to: generate an ultrasound image based on the ultrasound echo data; obtain a first region of interest (ROI) in the liver region of the ultrasound image and a second region of interest (ROI) in the kidney region of the ultrasound image, wherein the first ROI and the second ROI are located at different depths; obtain echo data corresponding to at least the first ROI and the second ROI from the ultrasound echo data; perform compensation processing on the echo data corresponding to at least the first ROI and the second ROI to compensate for the attenuation of the echo data caused by the change in propagation depth, so that the echo intensity of the echo data does not change with depth; and determine the liver and kidney analysis results based on the compensated echo data of the first ROI and the second ROI, respectively. The display is used to show at least the compensated first region of interest and second region of interest, as well as the liver and kidney analysis results.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, characterized in that, The processor performs compensation processing on the echo data corresponding to the first region of interest and the second region of interest at least, including: Compensation processing is performed on the first preset extended region surrounding the first region of interest and the echo data corresponding to the first region of interest to obtain the first compensated region; The second preset extended region surrounding the second region of interest and the echo data corresponding to the second region of interest are compensated to obtain the second compensated region.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that, The processor is also used for: A third region of interest is obtained within the first compensation region, and updated liver and kidney analysis results are determined based on the echo data corresponding to the third region of interest and the second region of interest. or A fourth region of interest is obtained within the second compensation region, and the updated liver and kidney analysis results are determined based on the echo data corresponding to the first region of interest and the fourth region of interest. or A third region of interest is obtained within the first compensation region, and a fourth region of interest is obtained within the second compensation region. The updated liver and kidney analysis results are determined based on the echo data corresponding to the third and fourth regions of interest.

15. The apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that, The processor is also used for: A third region of interest is obtained in the liver region of the ultrasound image, and updated liver and kidney analysis results are determined based on the echo data corresponding to the third region of interest and the second region of interest. or A fourth region of interest is obtained in the kidney region of the ultrasound image, and the updated liver and kidney analysis results are determined based on the echo data corresponding to the first region of interest and the fourth region of interest. or A third region of interest is obtained in the liver region of the ultrasound image, and a fourth region of interest is obtained in the kidney region of the ultrasound image. The updated liver and kidney analysis results are determined based on the echo data corresponding to the third and fourth regions of interest. The confidence index of the updated liver and kidney analysis results is determined based on the overlapping area between the third region of interest and the first compensation region, and / or the overlapping area between the fourth region of interest and the second compensation region. The display is also used to show the credibility index.

16. An ultrasound imaging method, characterized in that, The method includes: In the liver and kidney examination mode, an ultrasound image of the target object is acquired. The echo data corresponding to at least a portion of the liver region and the kidney region in the ultrasound image are compensated to compensate for the attenuation caused by the change in the propagation depth of the echo data, so that the echo intensity of the echo data does not change with the depth. Obtain the first region of interest in the liver region after the compensation process and the second region of interest in the kidney region after the compensation process; The liver and kidney analysis results of the target object are determined and displayed based on the first region of interest and the second region of interest, wherein the first region of interest and the second region of interest are located at different depths.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The first region of interest and the second region of interest are obtained based on user input or automatically. When they are obtained automatically, the method further includes: adjusting the position of the first region of interest and / or the second region of interest based on user input, and redetermining and refreshing the display of the liver and kidney analysis results based on the adjusted results.

18. An ultrasound imaging method, characterized in that, The method includes: Multiple inspection modes are displayed on the screen; The liver and kidney examination mode is determined from the plurality of examination modes in response to the user's selection; Based on the aforementioned liver and kidney examination mode, multiple measurement items are displayed on the display interface; In response to the user's selection, a target measurement item is determined from the plurality of measurement items, wherein the target measurement item includes liver and kidney analysis results; Acquire ultrasound images corresponding to the liver and kidney regions; A first region of interest is displayed in the liver region of the ultrasound image, and a second region of interest is displayed in the kidney region of the ultrasound image. The echo data corresponding to the first region of interest and the second region of interest are acquired, and the echo data corresponding to the first region of interest and the second region of interest are compensated to compensate for the attenuation of the echo data caused by the change of propagation depth, so that the echo intensity of the echo data does not change with depth. The liver and kidney analysis results are determined based on the echo data corresponding to the first region of interest and the second region of interest after compensation. The liver and kidney analysis results are displayed.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, Before displaying a first region of interest in the liver region of the ultrasound image and a second region of interest in the kidney region of the ultrasound image, the method further includes: Automatically determine the first region of interest and the second region of interest from the ultrasound image; or The ultrasound image displays a first preset region and a second preset region; the ultrasound image automatically determines the first region of interest and the second region of interest; and the first preset region is replaced with the first region of interest, and the second preset region is replaced with the second region of interest.

20. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, Before displaying a first region of interest in the liver region of the ultrasound image and a second region of interest in the kidney region of the ultrasound image, the method further includes: The ultrasound image displays a first preset region and a second preset region; based on user operation, the first preset region is replaced with the first region of interest, and the second preset region is replaced with the second region of interest.

21. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, Before displaying a first region of interest in the liver region of the ultrasound image and a second region of interest in the kidney region of the ultrasound image, the method further includes: The first region of interest and the second region of interest are determined from the ultrasound image based on the user's actions.

22. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The step of replacing the first preset region with the first region of interest based on user operation, and replacing the second preset region with the second region of interest, includes: Based on user actions, the icon corresponding to the first preset area is displayed in the position corresponding to the first region of interest, and the icon corresponding to the second preset area is simultaneously displayed in the position corresponding to the second region of interest; or Based on user actions, the icon corresponding to the first preset area is displayed at the position corresponding to the first region of interest, and based on user actions, the icon corresponding to the second preset area is displayed at the position corresponding to the second region of interest; or Based on user actions, the icon corresponding to the second preset area is displayed in the second area of ​​interest, and in conjunction with this, the icon corresponding to the first preset area is displayed in the position corresponding to the first area of ​​interest; or Based on the user's operation, the icon corresponding to the second preset area is displayed in the position corresponding to the first area of ​​interest, and the icon corresponding to the first preset area is displayed in the position corresponding to the first area of ​​interest.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that, The step of displaying the icon corresponding to the first preset area at the position corresponding to the first area of ​​interest includes: The icon corresponding to the first preset area is displayed at the position corresponding to the first area of ​​interest after being processed by at least one of the following methods: selection, enlargement, reduction and movement. The step of displaying the icon corresponding to the second preset area at the position corresponding to the second area of ​​interest includes: The icon corresponding to the second preset area is displayed at the position corresponding to the second area of ​​interest after being processed by at least one of the following methods: selection, enlargement, reduction, and movement.

24. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 23, characterized in that, The user's operation includes at least one of the following methods: button, trackball, touch key, and knob.

25. The method according to claim 22 or 23, characterized in that, If the user's operation is a button operation, the icon corresponding to the first preset area and the icon corresponding to the second preset area can be switched by one button, or the icon corresponding to the first preset area can be controlled by one of the two buttons, and the icon corresponding to the second preset area can be controlled by the other of the two buttons.

26. The method according to claim 22 or 23, characterized in that, The icons corresponding to the first preset area and the second preset area include at least one shape among the following: fan-shaped, rectangular, square, and circular.

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