Strain elasticity imaging method and ultrasonic imaging device

Abstract

The invention discloses a strain elasticity imaging method and an ultrasonic imaging device, and the method comprises the steps: controlling an ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves to a pressed target tissue region of a target object, and receiving ultrasonic echoes to obtain ultrasonic echo data; generating an ultrasonic image based on the ultrasonic echo data, acquiring first strain data based on the ultrasonic echo data and / or the ultrasonic image, and performing mapping for strain elasticity imaging on the first strain data to obtain a first strain elasticity image; determining an interference area in the first strain elasticity image, and determining a target area based on the interference area, the target area being an area outside the interference area in the first strain elasticity image; and obtaining second strain data corresponding to the target area in the first strain data, performing mapping for strain elasticity imaging on the second strain data, and obtaining and displaying a second strain elasticity image. According to the method, the influence of an interference area can be eliminated, and the quality and credibility of a strain elasticity result are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of ultrasonic imaging, and more specifically to a strain elastic imaging method and an ultrasonic imaging device. Background Art

[0002] Ultrasonic elastography can qualitatively / quantitatively determine the hardness of lesions and judge whether a tumor is benign or malignant. It has been widely used in the examination of breast, thyroid, liver, etc., and has unique diagnostic value and advantages in cancer diagnosis. In recent years, more and more studies have applied ultrasonic elastography technology to gynecological examinations. Among them, strain elastography technology in ultrasonic elastography has been studied and applied more in current gynecological examinations due to its existing promotion foundation.

[0003] Strain elastography uses a probe to press tissues and calculates the displacement and strain of tissues in real time to reflect the relative hardness of tissues in the imaging area and color-code the images. A commonly used method is to use red, green, and blue to represent hard, normal, and soft tissues, respectively; other colors are also possible.

[0004] Since the uterus / ovary / cervix tissue is closely connected to the bladder and intestine, when pressed, the fluidity of the liquid in the liquid dark area of ​​the bladder and some gynecological diseases such as cystic changes and the movement of the intestine itself will lead to inaccurate estimation of the hardness of the tissue based on displacement and strain, and it will be regarded as "soft" on the strain elasticity graph, and all other tissues in the region of interest (ROI) will be regarded as "relatively harder", thus reducing the hardness and softness contrast and layering of the tissue in the ROI, and even misdiagnosis caused by judging other tissues as "hard". The shape of the diseased uterus / ovary / cervix is ​​often irregular, and it is difficult to avoid the surrounding intestine or the internal cystic liquid dark area with a regular ROI, and it is also difficult to design an ROI that can cover all situations, which brings great inconvenience and limitation to the application of strain elasticity imaging in gynecology.

[0005] In strain elastic imaging of other parts, there are also cases where various interference areas reduce the soft and hard contrast and layering of tissues in the ROI, which may even cause misdiagnosis.

[0006] Therefore, a new strain elastic imaging solution needs to be provided to solve the above problems. Summary of the invention

[0007] On the one hand, the present application provides a strain elastic imaging method, which includes: controlling an ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves to a pressed target tissue area of ​​a target object, and receiving ultrasonic echoes to obtain ultrasonic echo data; generating an ultrasonic image based on the ultrasonic echo data, and acquiring first strain data based on the ultrasonic echo data and / or the ultrasonic image, mapping the first strain data for strain elastic imaging, and obtaining a first strain elastic image; determining an interference area in the first strain elastic image, and determining a target area based on the interference area, wherein the target area is an area outside the interference area in the first strain elastic image; acquiring second strain data corresponding to the target area in the first strain data, mapping the second strain data for strain elastic imaging, and obtaining and displaying a second strain elastic image.

[0008] According to another aspect of the present application, a strain elastic imaging method is provided, the method comprising: controlling an ultrasonic probe to transmit a first ultrasonic wave to a target tissue region of a target object, and receiving an ultrasonic echo to obtain first ultrasonic echo data; generating an ultrasonic image based on the first ultrasonic echo data; identifying an interference region that interferes with strain elastic imaging in the ultrasonic image or a region of interest of the ultrasonic image based on the ultrasonic image and / or the first ultrasonic echo data, and determining a target region based on the interference region, the target region being a region outside the interference region in the ultrasonic image or the region of interest of the ultrasonic image; controlling the ultrasonic probe to transmit a second ultrasonic wave to a pressed tissue region corresponding to the target region, and receiving an ultrasonic echo to obtain second ultrasonic echo data; acquiring strain data based on the second ultrasonic echo data, mapping the strain data for strain elastic imaging, and obtaining and displaying a strain elastic image of the target region.

[0009] According to another aspect of the present application, an ultrasonic imaging device is provided, which 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 ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves to a target object, receive echoes of the ultrasonic waves, and obtain ultrasonic echo data from the echoes; the processor is used to control the transmitting and receiving circuit, and to execute the above-mentioned strain elastic imaging method to generate ultrasonic images and strain elastic images; the display is used to display the ultrasonic images and the strain elastic images.

[0010] According to another aspect of the present application, a storage medium is provided, on which program instructions are stored. When the program instructions are executed by a processor, the program instructions are used to execute the above-mentioned strain elasticity imaging method.

[0011] The strain elasticity imaging method and ultrasonic imaging device provided according to the embodiments of the present application can eliminate the influence of interference areas and improve the layering of the strain elasticity image of the target area that really needs strain imaging, thereby improving the quality and credibility of its strain elasticity results. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing the embodiments of the present invention in more detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present invention and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments of the present invention, they are used to explain the present invention and do not constitute a limitation of the present invention. In the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals generally represent the same components or steps.

[0013] Figure 1 A schematic flow chart of a strain elastography method according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0014] Figure 2 An exemplary schematic diagram showing an area in an ultrasound B-image corresponding to a motion interference area determined in a strain elastic imaging method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0015] Figure 3 An exemplary schematic diagram showing an area in an ultrasound B-image corresponding to a target area determined in a strain elastic imaging method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0016] Figure 4 An exemplary schematic diagram showing an area in an ultrasound B-image corresponding to a liquid dark zone interference area determined in a strain elastic imaging method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0017] Figure 5 An exemplary schematic diagram showing an area in an ultrasound B-image corresponding to a target area determined in a strain elastic imaging method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0018] Figure 6 A schematic diagram showing mapping of first strain data for strain elastic imaging in a strain elastic imaging method according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0019] Figure 7 A schematic diagram showing mapping of second strain data for strain elastic imaging in a strain elastic imaging method according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0020] Figure 8 A schematic diagram showing an example of displaying a first strain elasticity image and a second strain elasticity image in a strain elasticity imaging method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0021] Fig. 9A schematic diagram showing another example of displaying a first strain elasticity image and a second strain elasticity image in a strain elasticity imaging method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0022] Fig.10 A schematic diagram showing another example of displaying the first strain elasticity image and the second strain elasticity image in the strain elasticity imaging method according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0023] Fig.11 A schematic flowchart of a strain elastic imaging method according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0024] Fig.12 A schematic flow chart of a strain elastic imaging method according to another embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0025] Fig.13 An exemplary schematic diagram showing the entire display process in the strain elastic imaging method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0026] Fig.14 A schematic flowchart showing an example of a strain elastic imaging method according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0027] Fig.15 A schematic flowchart diagram showing another example of a strain elastic imaging method according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0028] Fig.16 A schematic block diagram of an ultrasonic imaging device according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the present invention more obvious, the exemplary embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments of the present invention, and it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein. Based on the embodiments of the present invention described in the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0030] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic flow chart of a strain elastic imaging method 100 according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the strain elasticity imaging method 100 may include the following steps:

[0031] In step S110 , the ultrasonic probe is controlled to transmit ultrasonic waves to the compressed target tissue area of ​​the target object, and ultrasonic echoes are received to obtain ultrasonic echo data.

[0032] In step S120, an ultrasound image is generated based on the ultrasound echo data, and first strain data is acquired based on the ultrasound echo data and / or the ultrasound image. The first strain data is mapped for strain elastic imaging to obtain a first strain elastic image.

[0033] In step S130 , an interference region in the first strain elasticity image is determined, and a target region is determined based on the interference region, where the target region is a region outside the interference region in the first strain elasticity image.

[0034] In step S140, second strain data corresponding to the target area in the first strain data is acquired, and mapping for strain elastic imaging is performed on the second strain data to obtain and display a second strain elastic image.

[0035] In an embodiment of the present application, strain elastic imaging can be first performed according to a conventional strain elastic imaging process. Specifically, after obtaining ultrasonic echo data from the pressed target tissue area, an ultrasonic image (such as a B-image) can be generated based on the ultrasonic echo data, so that the user can view the situation of the target tissue area. In addition, strain calculation can be performed based on the ultrasonic image or based on the aforementioned ultrasonic echo data to obtain strain data for application elastic imaging. The strain data here includes strain data corresponding to the region of interest in the ultrasonic image or strain data corresponding to the ultrasonic image in the entire complete field of view, and the interference area has not been excluded. In order to distinguish it from the strain data after excluding the interference area in the following text, the strain data here is referred to as the first strain data. After obtaining the first strain data, the first strain data is mapped for strain elastic imaging to obtain a strain elastic image of the region of interest or a strain elastic image in the entire complete field of view. The strain elastic image here is obtained based on all strain data (i.e., the first strain data), and the interference area has not been excluded. In order to distinguish it from the strain image after excluding the interference area in the following text, the strain image here is referred to as the first strain image. The aforementioned mapping can adopt a commonly used mapping scheme. For example, the mean of all strain values ​​in the first strain data can be calculated, a certain strain range less than and greater than the strain mean can be selected, the strain values ​​within the range can be linearly mapped to grayscale values ​​of 0 to 255, the strain values ​​outside the range can be mapped to 0 or 255, and finally the grayscale values ​​can be converted into corresponding colors in the strain image.

[0036] At this point, the conventional application elastic imaging process ends. However, as mentioned above, in strain elastic imaging, there are various interference areas that reduce the soft and hard contrast and layering of tissues in the ROI, and even cause misdiagnosis. Based on this, in an embodiment of the present application, after the conventional application elastic imaging process ends, additional operations can be performed to solve this problem. Specifically, the interference area in the first strain elastic image can be determined, and the interference area can be excluded, that is, the area outside the interference area in the first strain elastic image can be used as the target area, and the strain data corresponding to the target area (called the second strain data) is re-mapped for strain elastic imaging to obtain and display the second strain elastic image. Since the second mapping process only uses the strain data of the target area, it is possible to exclude the influence of the strain data corresponding to the interference area on the overall mapping process. This is equivalent to excluding abnormal maximum values ​​or abnormal minimum values ​​in the "experimental results". The strain data within the "normal range" of the target area that really needs strain imaging can be distinguished from each other (rather than being classified as "the same type" because they are far different from the abnormal values), thereby improving the layering of the strain elastic image of the target area that really needs strain imaging, thereby improving the quality and credibility of its strain elastic results.

[0037] In the embodiment of the present application, the aforementioned interference area may include a motion interference area. The motion interference area refers to an area that will move by itself, that is, even if there is no pressure during strain elastic imaging, displacement and strain will be generated. Therefore, if such an area is included in the target tissue area for strain elastic imaging, it will interfere with the strain elasticity result of the target area that actually generates strain due to pressure, and thus judges the softness and hardness of the tissue based on the strain. Such interference needs to be eliminated. For example, in gynecological examinations of the uterus, ovaries, etc., the target tissue area includes the tissue area of ​​the target organ within the pelvic cavity. In addition to cervical tissues such as the uterus and ovaries, the intestinal tract that is closely connected to them also includes areas such as the intestine. The intestinal tract itself will move, which will lead to inaccurate estimation of the softness and hardness of the tissue, such as displacement and strain, and will be regarded as "soft" on the strain elasticity map. Then all other tissues in the ROI corresponding to the target tissue area will be regarded as "relatively harder", thereby reducing the softness and hardness contrast and layering of the tissue in the ROI, and even misdiagnosis caused by judging other tissues as "hard". However, the shapes of diseased uterus / ovaries / cervix are often irregular, and it is difficult to avoid the surrounding intestines with a regular ROI, and it is also difficult to design an ROI that can cover all situations, which brings great inconvenience and limitation to the application of strain elastography in gynecology. Therefore, this application proposes to determine the above-mentioned interference area and eliminate its influence on the strain imaging of the target area.

[0038] Figure 2That is, an exemplary schematic diagram showing a region (which may be referred to as a first region) corresponding to the motion interference region determined in the strain elastic imaging method according to an embodiment of the present application in the ultrasound B-image, Figure 3 That is, an exemplary schematic diagram showing the region corresponding to the target region determined in the strain elastic imaging method according to an embodiment of the present application in the ultrasound B-image. Figure 2 As shown in FIG. 1 , in the ROI frame of the ultrasound image, region 210 is the region that will generate motion interference, and the strain elastic image obtained after strain elastic imaging will correspond to a motion interference region. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the strain data corresponding to the region and re-map it for strain elastic imaging. Here, as shown in FIG. B, the region outside the region in the ROI frame is the target region that needs to be re-mapped for strain elastic imaging, such as Figure 3 Area 310 is shown.

[0039] In another embodiment of the present application, the aforementioned interference area may include a liquid dark area interference area. The liquid dark area interference area refers to an area in which the liquid itself will flow in the liquid dark area, that is, even if there is no pressure during strain elastic imaging, displacement and strain will be generated. Therefore, if such an area is included in the target tissue area for strain elastic imaging, it will interfere with the strain elasticity result of the target area that actually generates strain due to pressure, and thus judges the softness and hardness of the tissue based on the strain, and such interference needs to be eliminated. For example, in gynecological examinations of the uterus, ovaries, etc., the target tissue area includes the tissue area of ​​the target organ within the pelvic cavity. In addition to cervical tissues such as the uterus and ovaries, the bladder area closely connected to them is also included. The fluidity of the liquid itself in the liquid dark area of ​​the bladder and some gynecological diseases such as cystic changes will lead to inaccurate estimation of the softness and hardness of the tissue, such as displacement and strain, and will be regarded as "soft" on the strain elasticity diagram. Then all other tissues in the ROI corresponding to the target tissue area will be regarded as "relatively harder", thereby reducing the softness and hardness contrast and layering of the tissue in the ROI, and even misdiagnosis caused by judging other tissues as "hard". However, the shapes of diseased uterus / ovaries / cervix are often irregular. It is difficult to avoid the bladder or the internal cystic liquid dark area with a regular ROI, and it is also difficult to design an ROI that can cover all situations, which brings great inconvenience and limitation to the application of strain elastic imaging in gynecology. In strain elastic imaging of other parts outside gynecology, liquid dark area interference areas such as cysts or vascular areas may also appear. Therefore, the present application proposes to determine the above-mentioned interference area and eliminate its influence on the strain imaging of the target area.

[0040] Figure 4 That is, an exemplary schematic diagram showing a region (which may be referred to as a first region) corresponding to a liquid dark zone interference region in an ultrasound B-image determined in a strain elastic imaging method according to an embodiment of the present application, Figure 5That is, an exemplary schematic diagram showing the region corresponding to the target region determined in the strain elastic imaging method according to an embodiment of the present application in the ultrasound B-image. Figure 4 As shown in FIG. 1 , in the ROI frame of the ultrasound image, region 410 is the region that will produce liquid dark area interference, and the strain elastic image obtained after strain elastic imaging will correspond to a liquid dark area interference region. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the strain data corresponding to this region and re-map it for strain elastic imaging. Here, as shown in FIG. B, the region outside this region in the ROI frame is the target region that needs to be re-mapped for strain elastic imaging, such as Figure 5 Area 510 is shown.

[0041] In one embodiment of the present application, the determination of the interference region in the first strain elasticity image in step S130 may include: identifying a first region that interferes with the strain elasticity imaging in the ultrasound image, and determining a region in the first strain elasticity image that corresponds to the first region as the interference region. In this embodiment, the interference region in the first strain elasticity image may be identified based on the ultrasound image. Specifically, the first region in the ultrasound image (as described above) is identified. Figure 2 The area 210 shown and the Figure 4 The tissue region corresponding to the first region will generate "abnormal" strain data during strain elastic imaging (abnormal means that its displacement and strain may not be caused by pressing, but by its own characteristics), which will interfere with the strain of the tissue region that is actually deformed by pressing and is used to judge the degree of softness and hardness. Therefore, such a first region can be identified and its corresponding region in the first strain elastic image can be determined, that is, the interference region in the first strain elastic image is determined, so that the target region outside the interference region can be determined to eliminate its interference with strain elastic imaging.

[0042] In one example, identifying a first region in an ultrasound image that interferes with strain elastic imaging may include: based on the aforementioned ultrasound echo data and / or ultrasound image, identifying a region in the ultrasound image where the motion parameter is greater than a preset threshold as the first region. This example can be used to identify a region of motion interference, and can also be used to identify a region of liquid dark area. For example, for motion interference, by calculating motion parameter information such as displacement, velocity, acceleration, strain, etc., a region where the motion parameter is greater than a certain system preset threshold is identified as the first region corresponding to the motion interference region. For liquid dark areas, motion parameter information such as displacement, velocity, acceleration, strain, etc. can also be calculated to identify a region where the motion parameter is greater than a certain system preset threshold as the first region corresponding to the liquid dark area interference region. In addition, for the strain elastic imaging in the gynecological examination described above, since the motion interference is mainly local transverse intestinal peristalsis, and the movement caused by the pressing required for strain elastic imaging is an overall longitudinal movement, the region with a larger transverse movement can be identified as the intestinal peristalsis region as the first region corresponding to the motion interference region.

[0043] In another example, identifying a first area in an ultrasound image that interferes with strain elastic imaging may include: based on the aforementioned ultrasound echo data and / or ultrasound image, identifying an area in the ultrasound image where the motion frequency does not match the compression frequency as the first area. This example is mainly used to identify areas of motion interference. Still taking the aforementioned intestinal area as an example, the frequency of compression is generally different from the frequency of intestinal peristalsis, so the area where the peristalsis frequency does not match the compression frequency can be identified as an intestinal peristalsis area as the first area corresponding to the motion interference area.

[0044] In another example, identifying a first area in an ultrasound image that interferes with strain elastic imaging may include: identifying a target interference area in the ultrasound image based on at least one of the signal strength of the aforementioned ultrasound echo data, the image grayscale of the aforementioned ultrasound image, an edge recognition algorithm, and an artificial intelligence algorithm, and determining the identified target interference area as the first area. This example can be used to identify areas of motion interference, and can also be used to identify areas of liquid dark areas. For inspections of different parts, the areas that cause interference are predictable, so they can be identified based on the characteristics of such areas through the above-mentioned signal or image processing algorithms. For example, if a gynecological examination is known, the intestinal area can be used as the target interference area to be detected (corresponding to the motion interference area), and liquid dark areas such as bladders and cysts can be used as target interference areas to be detected (corresponding to liquid dark area interference areas).

[0045] The above embodiments all identify a first area in the ultrasound image, which corresponds to the interference area in the first strain elasticity image. In another embodiment of the present application, the interference area can also be directly identified in the first strain elasticity image. Specifically, a second area with a strain value within a preset range can be identified in the first strain elasticity image as an interference area. In this embodiment, the interference area is determined directly by the size of the strain value. For example, some relatively "abnormal" maximum and minimum values ​​may correspond to areas where motion interference and liquid dark areas are located, and they can be identified as interference areas.

[0046] After the interference area is identified, the target area in the first strain elasticity image (i.e., the area outside the interference area in the first strain elasticity image) can be determined. At this time, as long as the strain data (second strain data) corresponding to the target area is obtained, the strain elasticity imaging mapping can be re-performed to obtain the strain elasticity image (second strain elasticity image) from which the interference has been eliminated, as described in step S140.

[0047] Now combine Figure 6 and Figure 7 Describe the mapping effect before and after eliminating interference.

[0048] Taking gynecological examination as an example, before eliminating interference, the target tissue area includes both the intestinal tract / fluid dark area and the normal endometrium, normal muscle layer, fibroids, malignant tumors, etc. The average strain of the target tissue area is E1 (e.g. Figure 6 According to the average strain mapping, normal muscle layer, fibroids, malignant tumors, etc., because these tissues are hard and the strain is much smaller than the average strain, they are easily mapped to equivalent grayscale values, and the image color distinction is very low (such as Figure 6 The left image is mapped to red because Figure 6 Because the patent application requires it to be a grayscale image, it cannot be seen, but in fact, the lower part of the vertical axis is red, representing hard, and the upper part is blue, representing soft).

[0049] After eliminating the interference, the strain data corresponding to the intestinal / fluid area in the target tissue area is eliminated, and the strain data of the new target area has a new average strain E2 (such as Figure 7 Since the areas with excessive strain are removed, E2 will be much lower than E1, and the difference between the normal muscle layer, fibroids, and malignant tumors and the average strain will be reduced. The effect of remapping these areas is shown in the figure below. Figure 7 As shown, the muscular layer can be mapped as a middle green, the fibroids as light red, the malignant tumors as dark red, and the endometrium as dark blue (due to Figure 7Because the patent application requires it to be a grayscale image, it cannot be seen, but in fact, the lower part of the vertical axis is red, representing hard, and the upper part is blue, representing soft).

[0050] From the above comparison, it can be seen that by remapping the strain data corresponding to the area outside the interference area to obtain the strain elasticity image, normal and abnormal tissues will be clearly distinguished, greatly improving the reliability of the strain elasticity imaging results. It should be noted that Figure 6 and Figure 7 The mapping of colors and strain values ​​shown in is only an example, and there will be individual differences in actual use, so it should not be limited. In addition, Figure 6 and Figure 7 The example shown in is a linear mapping. In fact, nonlinear mapping is also possible, which is not described in detail here.

[0051] In an embodiment of the present application, in addition to displaying the second strain elastic image obtained after remapping, method 100 can also display at least one of the following: the ultrasound image mentioned above, the first strain elastic image, the interference area, the target area, and the corresponding areas of the interference area and the target area in the ultrasound image.

[0052] The display of the interference area and the target area may include: displaying the interference area and the target area with different display marks (such as different colors, different shadow lines, etc.) to distinguish the interference area from the target area; and / or displaying the corresponding areas of the interference area and the target area in the ultrasound image with different display marks to distinguish the corresponding areas of the interference area and the target area in the ultrasound image. Figures 2 to 5 In the example shown in FIG. 1 , the corresponding areas of the interference area and the target area in the ultrasound image are distinguished by different colors, wherein the corresponding area of ​​the interference area in the ultrasound image is shown as a red area, and the corresponding area of ​​the target area in the ultrasound image is shown as a green area (due to the need for a patent application, it is not visible in grayscale images, but the actual image is color-differentiated). Such a differentiated display enables the user to intuitively understand the specific locations of the interference area and the target area (and / or their respective corresponding areas in Figure B), which is convenient for the user to check and even confirm whether there is a problem, and is also convenient for user interaction.

[0053] For example, in one example, before determining the interference region in the first strain elastic image, a first user input may be received, the first user input indicating the removal of interference; in response to receiving the first user input, the interference region in the first strain elastic image is determined. In this example, the interference removal is performed based on the user instruction, so that the strain elastic image with the interference removed is remapped. Of course, that is, step S130 can be performed based on the user input. Of course, it can also be performed automatically.

[0054] In another example, before determining the interference region in the first strain elastic image, a second user input is received, the second user input indicates the region division; in response to receiving the second user input, the interference region in the first strain elastic image is determined; after dividing the interference region and the target region, the interference region and the target region are distinguished and displayed (the corresponding regions of each of them in the ultrasound B-image can also be distinguished and displayed), and a third user input is received, the third user input selects the interference region (the corresponding region of the interference region in the ultrasound B-image can also be selected), and indicates to remove interference; in response to receiving the third user input, the second strain data corresponding to the target region in the first strain data is obtained. In this example, the above steps S130 and S140 are performed based on multiple user inputs, different user inputs have different specific instructions, and the user's participation is greater. For example, when dividing the region, the interference region can be automatically determined or manually drawn by the user; after the region is divided, the interference region selected by the user can be the result obtained in the previous division step, or it can be the result obtained after a certain modification of the result obtained in the previous division step.

[0055] Combine the following Figures 8 to 11 An example of displaying the first and second strain elasticity images is described.

[0056] like Figure 8 As shown, an ultrasound image and a first strain elastic image 810 superimposed on the ultrasound image are displayed. On this basis, a "remove liquid dark area" button can be set. After the user presses the button, the liquid dark area interference area is automatically identified, and the target area outside the area is remapped to obtain a second strain elastic image 820 superimposed on the ultrasound image.

[0057] like Fig. 9 As shown, an ultrasound image and a first strain elastic image 910 superimposed on the ultrasound image are displayed. On this basis, a "remove motion interference" button can be set. After the user presses the button, the motion interference area is automatically identified, and the target area outside the area is remapped to obtain a second strain elastic image 920 superimposed on the ultrasound image.

[0058] like Fig.10 As shown, an ultrasound image and a first strain elastic image 1010 superimposed on the ultrasound image are displayed. On this basis, a "remove" button can be set. After the user presses the button, different tissue areas in the ROI are automatically identified and marked (such as Fig.10 Then, select the area and choose to delete or keep (the system can automatically remove the area corresponding to the motion interference and liquid dark area, or the user can manually operate through the touch screen, scroll wheel, keyboard, etc. Fig.10The lower right corner indicates that the user has selected an area and chosen to delete); the system then remaps and displays the strains in the area retained by the user.

[0059] In the examples of ultrasound images shown in the above drawings, ROI is set, but it should be understood that ROI may not be set, but the entire image may be directly recognized, which is also the case with the examples described below.

[0060] The above describes in detail the detailed process of the strain elastic imaging method 100 according to the embodiment of the present application. Fig.11 Summarize the above process. Fig.11 As shown, under scanning control, the probe transmits, receives, and synthesizes beams, and then performs two-dimensional image synthesis and strain calculation to fully display the strain elastic image (the image at this time is the first strain elastic image described above). After that, the area to be removed (i.e., the interference area) can be identified, and the remaining area (target area) is re-mapped (secondary mapping) and displayed.

[0061] Based on the above description, after obtaining the first strain elasticity image of the target tissue area, the strain elasticity imaging method 100 according to the embodiment of the present application can determine the interference area in the first strain elasticity image, re-map the strain data corresponding to the target area outside the interference area for strain elasticity imaging, and obtain and display the second strain elasticity image, which can eliminate the influence of the strain data corresponding to the interference area on the overall mapping process, improve the layering of the strain elasticity image of the target area that really needs strain imaging, thereby improving the quality and credibility of its strain elasticity results.

[0062] Combine the following Fig.12 A strain elastic imaging method 1200 according to another embodiment of the present application is described. Fig.12 As shown, the strain elasticity imaging method 1200 may include the following steps:

[0063] In step S1210, the ultrasonic probe is controlled to transmit a first ultrasonic wave to a target tissue region of a target object, and an ultrasonic echo is received to obtain first ultrasonic echo data.

[0064] In step S1220 , an ultrasound image is generated based on the first ultrasound echo data.

[0065] In step S1230, an interference area that interferes with strain elastic imaging in the ultrasound image or the region of interest of the ultrasound image is identified based on the ultrasound image and / or the first ultrasound echo data, and a target area is determined based on the interference area, where the target area is an area outside the interference area in the ultrasound image or the region of interest of the ultrasound image.

[0066] In step S1240, the ultrasonic probe is controlled to transmit a second ultrasonic wave to the compressed tissue region corresponding to the target region, and an ultrasonic echo is received to obtain second ultrasonic echo data.

[0067] In step S1250, strain data is acquired based on the second ultrasonic echo data, and the strain data is mapped for strain elastic imaging to obtain and display a strain elastic image of the target area.

[0068] The strain elastic imaging method 1200 according to the embodiment of the present application is partially similar to the strain elastic imaging method 100 according to the embodiment of the present application described above, and both can eliminate the influence of the interference area on the accuracy of the strain elastic imaging result. The difference is that the strain elastic imaging method 100 is to obtain the ultrasonic echo data of the target tissue area, and then determine the interference area in the first strain elastic image based on the strain data corresponding to the region of interest in the ultrasonic image or the strain data corresponding to the ultrasonic image in the entire complete field of view, and then determine the interference area in the first strain elastic image to obtain the target area outside the interference area, and then map the strain data of the target area twice to obtain the second strain elastic image; after obtaining the ultrasonic echo data of the target tissue area, the strain elastic imaging method 1200 first determines the interference area (corresponding to the first area in the method 100) in the region of interest of the ultrasonic image or the ultrasonic image generated by the ultrasonic echo data, obtains the target area outside the interference area, and then starts strain imaging of the target area to obtain the final strain elastic image. In short, the strain elastic imaging method 100 performs additional operations after the complete strain elastic imaging process to obtain a de-interferenced strain elastic image (requiring secondary mapping), while the strain elastic imaging method 1200 starts the strain elastic imaging process after obtaining the target area (requiring only one mapping).

[0069] For the strain elastic imaging method 1200, the pre-collection frame can be set in the acquisition preparation state, the user selects the acquisition section and stabilizes a few or dozens of frames, the system automatically identifies and removes the motion interference and liquid dark area, removes the above area and marks the remaining area as the new target area, and the user can start strain imaging through key operations and other operations, and display the elastic image in the new target area. Of course, it is also possible not to set the acquisition preparation state, but after entering the strain elastic imaging function, the system uses the first few or dozens of frames to identify and remove the area, and then the system automatically starts strain elastic imaging. Overall, although slightly different from the strain elastic imaging method 100, the strain elastic imaging method 1200 can also eliminate the influence of the interference area, improve the layering of the strain elastic image of the target area that really needs strain imaging, thereby improving the quality and credibility of its strain elastic results. For the strain elastic imaging method 1200, the type of interference area, identification method, display method, etc. are similar to the strain elastic imaging method 100, which has been described in detail in the previous text. For the sake of brevity, only a brief description is given here.

[0070] In an embodiment of the present application, the interference region includes a motion interference region and / or a liquid dark area interference region.

[0071] In an embodiment of the present application, identifying an interference area that interferes with strain elastic imaging in an ultrasound image or a region of interest in an ultrasound image based on an ultrasound image and / or first ultrasound echo data includes at least one of the following: identifying an area in an ultrasound image or a region of interest in an ultrasound image where a motion parameter is greater than a preset threshold based on the first ultrasound echo data and / or ultrasound image as an interference area; identifying an area in an ultrasound image or a region of interest in an ultrasound image where a motion frequency does not conform to a compression frequency based on the first ultrasound echo data and / or ultrasound image as an interference area; identifying a target interference area in an ultrasound image or a region of interest in an ultrasound image based on at least one of the echo signal strength of the first ultrasound echo data, the image grayscale of the ultrasound image, an edge recognition algorithm, and an artificial intelligence algorithm, and determining the identified target interference area as an interference area.

[0072] In an embodiment of the present application, when the interference area includes a motion interference area, the target tissue area includes the tissue area of ​​the target organ within the pelvic cavity, and the target interference area includes the intestinal area; when the interference area includes a liquid dark area interference area, the target interference area includes a cyst or a blood vessel area.

[0073] In an embodiment of the present application, the motion parameter includes at least one of the following: displacement, velocity, acceleration, and strain.

[0074] In an embodiment of the present application, the method further includes displaying at least one of the following: an ultrasound image, an interference area, and a target area.

[0075] In an embodiment of the present application, displaying the interference area and the target area includes: displaying the interference area and the target area with different display marks to distinguish and display the interference area and the target area.

[0076] Combine the following Fig.13 An exemplary schematic diagram is provided to describe the entire display process in the strain elastic imaging method 1200 according to an embodiment of the present application. Fig.13 As shown in FIG. 1 , after obtaining the ultrasound B-image, the motion interference area (intestinal tract) and the liquid dark area interference area are identified and removed, and the remaining new target area in the ROI is obtained and marked. Then the user can press the key to start the formal acquisition, press the target tissue and perform strain elastic imaging on the new target area, as shown in FIG. Fig.13 As shown in the lower right corner. Alternatively, the system may automatically start strain elastic imaging of the new target area after the pre-acquisition meets the preset frame or preset time, or after the system determines that the pre-acquisition quality meets the standard, or after the system has generated a stable and accurate new target area.

[0077] Now combine Fig.14 and Fig.15 Summarize the process of strain elastography method 1200. In one example, Fig.14 As shown, under scanning control, the probe transmits, receives, and synthesizes beams, and then synthesizes two-dimensional images. After that, the interference area is identified and removed based on the synthesized two-dimensional ultrasound image, and strain imaging (calculation) is performed on the remaining area after removal, and finally the obtained strain elastic image is displayed. In another example, as Fig.15 As shown, under scanning control, the probe transmits, receives, and performs beam synthesis, and then performs two-dimensional image synthesis based on the ultrasonic echo data. At the same time, the interference area is identified and eliminated based on the ultrasonic echo data, and strain imaging (calculation) is performed on the remaining area after elimination, and finally the obtained strain elastic image is displayed.

[0078] Based on the above description, after obtaining the ultrasonic echo data of the target tissue area, the strain elastic imaging method 1200 according to the embodiment of the present application determines the interference area in the ultrasonic image that interferes with the strain elastic imaging based on the ultrasonic echo data or based on the ultrasonic image generated thereby, obtains the target area outside the interference area, and then starts strain imaging of the target area to obtain the final strain elastic image, which can eliminate the influence of the interference area and improve the layering of the strain elastic image of the target area that really needs strain imaging, thereby improving the quality and credibility of its strain elasticity results.

[0079] The above exemplary shows the strain elastic imaging method according to the embodiment of the present application. Fig.16 An ultrasonic imaging device according to another aspect of the application is described. Fig.16FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of an ultrasonic imaging device 1600 according to an embodiment of the present application. Fig.16 As shown, the ultrasonic imaging device 1600 may include a transmitting and receiving circuit 1610, an ultrasonic probe 1620, a processor 1630 and a display 1640, wherein: the transmitting and receiving circuit 1610 is used to control the ultrasonic probe 1620 to transmit ultrasonic waves to the target tissue area, receive the echo of the ultrasonic waves, and obtain ultrasonic echo data; the processor 1630 is used to control the transmitting and receiving circuit 1610, and is used to execute the strain elastic imaging method 100 or 1200 according to the embodiment of the present application to obtain a two-dimensional ultrasonic image and a strain elastic image, and the display 1640 is used to display the ultrasonic image and the strain elastic image. Those skilled in the art can understand the structure and operation of the ultrasonic imaging device 1600 in combination with the above description, and for the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0080] In addition, according to an embodiment of the present application, a storage medium is also provided, on which program instructions are stored, and when the program instructions are run by a computer or a processor, the corresponding steps of the strain elastic imaging method of the embodiment of the present application are used to execute. The storage medium may include, for example, a memory card of a smart phone, 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 disk 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.

[0081] In addition, according to an embodiment of the present application, a computer program is also provided, which can be stored in a cloud or local storage medium. When the computer program is run by a computer or a processor, it is used to execute the corresponding steps of the strain elastic imaging method of the embodiment of the present application.

[0082] Based on the above description, the strain elastic imaging method and ultrasonic imaging device according to the embodiments of the present application can eliminate the influence of interference areas and improve the layering of the strain elastic image of the target area that really needs strain imaging, thereby improving the quality and credibility of its strain elastic results.

[0083] Although example embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the above example embodiments are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention thereto. Various changes and modifications may be made therein by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention as required by the appended claims.

[0084] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of the present invention.

[0085] In the several embodiments provided by the present invention, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic, for example, the division of units is only a logical function division, and there may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another device, or some features can be ignored or not executed.

[0086] In the description provided herein, a large number of specific details are described. However, it is understood that embodiments of the present invention can be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques are not shown in detail so as not to obscure the understanding of this description.

[0087] Similarly, it should be understood that in order to streamline the present invention and help understand one or more of the various inventive aspects, in the description of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the various features of the present invention are sometimes grouped together into a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof. However, the method of the present invention should not be interpreted as reflecting the following intention: the claimed invention requires more features than the features explicitly stated in each claim. More specifically, as reflected in the corresponding claims, the inventive point is that the corresponding technical problem can be solved with less than all the features of a single disclosed embodiment. Therefore, the claims following the specific embodiment are hereby expressly incorporated into the specific embodiment, wherein each claim itself serves as a separate embodiment of the present invention.

[0088] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that, except for mutually exclusive features, all features disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstracts and drawings) and all processes or units of any method or device disclosed in this specification may be combined in any combination. Unless otherwise expressly stated, each feature disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstracts and drawings) may be replaced by an alternative feature that provides the same, equivalent or similar purpose.

[0089] In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that, although some embodiments herein include certain features included in other embodiments but not other features, the combination of features of different embodiments is meant to be within the scope of the present invention and form different embodiments. For example, in the claims, any one of the claimed embodiments may be used in any combination.

[0090] The various component embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in hardware, or in software modules running on one or more processors, or in a combination thereof. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP) may be used in practice to implement some or all of the functions of some modules in the article analysis device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The present invention may also be implemented as a device program (e.g., a computer program and a computer program product) for executing part or all of the methods described herein. Such a program implementing the present invention may be stored on a computer-readable medium, or may be in the form of one or more signals. Such a signal may be downloaded from an Internet website, or provided on a carrier signal, or provided in any other form.

[0091] It should be noted that the above embodiments illustrate the present invention rather than limit it, and that those skilled in the art may devise alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference symbol between brackets shall not be construed as a limitation on the claims. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps not listed in the claims. The word "one" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. The present invention may be implemented by means of hardware comprising a number of different elements and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In a unit claim enumerating a number of devices, several of these devices may be embodied by the same hardware item. The use of the words first, second, and third, etc., does not indicate any order. These words may be interpreted as names.

[0092] The above is only a specific embodiment or description of a specific embodiment of the present invention, and the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art who is familiar with the technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention, which should be included in the protection scope of the present invention. The protection scope of the present invention shall be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A strain elastic imaging method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Controlling the ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves to the compressed target tissue area of ​​the target object, and receiving ultrasonic echoes to obtain ultrasonic echo data; generating an ultrasonic image based on the ultrasonic echo data, acquiring first strain data based on the ultrasonic echo data and / or the ultrasonic image, and performing mapping for strain elastic imaging on the first strain data to obtain a first strain elastic image; determining an interference region in the first strain elasticity image, and determining a target region based on the interference region, wherein the target region is a region outside the interference region in the first strain elasticity image; Second strain data corresponding to the target area in the first strain data is acquired, and mapping for strain elastic imaging is performed on the second strain data to obtain and display a second strain elastic image.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The determining of the interference region in the first strain elasticity image comprises: identifying a first region interfering with strain elastic imaging in the ultrasound image, and determining a region in the first strain elastic image corresponding to the first region as the interfering region; Alternatively, a second region having a strain value within a preset range is identified in the first strain elasticity image as the interference region.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The interference region includes a motion interference region and / or a liquid dark area interference region.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: Identifying in the ultrasound image a first region that interferes with strain elastography includes at least one of the following: Based on the ultrasound echo data and / or the ultrasound image, identifying a region in the ultrasound image whose motion parameter is greater than a preset threshold as the first region; Based on the ultrasound echo data and / or the ultrasound image, identifying a region in the ultrasound image where the motion frequency does not match the compression frequency as the first region; A target interference area is identified in the ultrasound image based on the signal strength of the ultrasound echo data, the image grayscale of the ultrasound image, an edge recognition algorithm, and at least one of an artificial intelligence algorithm, and the identified target interference area is determined as the first area.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that When the interference area includes a motion interference area, the target tissue area includes a tissue area of ​​a target organ within the pelvic cavity, and the target interference area includes an intestinal area; When the interference region includes a liquid dark area interference region, the target interference region includes a cyst or a blood vessel region.

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The motion parameter includes at least one of the following: displacement, velocity, acceleration, and strain.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The method further comprises displaying at least one of: The ultrasonic image, the first strain elasticity image, the interference region, the target region, and corresponding regions of the interference region and the target region in the ultrasonic image.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The display of the interference area and the target area includes: Displaying the interference area and the target area with different display marks to distinguish the interference area from the target area; and / or, The corresponding areas of the interference area and the target area in the ultrasound image are displayed with different display marks, so as to distinguish and display the corresponding areas of the interference area and the target area in the ultrasound image.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Before determining the interference region in the first strain elasticity image, receiving a first user input, the first user input indicating to remove interference; in response to receiving the first user input, determining the interference region in the first strain elasticity image; or, Before determining the interference area in the first strain elasticity image, receiving a second user input, the second user input indicating the division of the area; in response to receiving the second user input, determining the interference area in the first strain elasticity image; after dividing the interference area and the target area, distinguishing and displaying the interference area and the target area, and receiving a third user input, the third user input selecting the interference area and indicating interference removal; in response to receiving the third user input, acquiring second strain data corresponding to the target area in the first strain data.

10. A strain elastic imaging method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Controlling the ultrasonic probe to transmit a first ultrasonic wave to a target tissue region of a target object, and receiving an ultrasonic echo to obtain first ultrasonic echo data; generating an ultrasound image based on the first ultrasound echo data; Identify an interference region that interferes with strain elastic imaging in the ultrasound image or the region of interest of the ultrasound image based on the ultrasound image and / or the first ultrasound echo data, and determine a target region based on the interference region, wherein the target region is a region outside the interference region in the ultrasound image or the region of interest of the ultrasound image; Controlling the ultrasonic probe to transmit a second ultrasonic wave to the pressed tissue area corresponding to the target area, and receiving an ultrasonic echo to obtain second ultrasonic echo data; Strain data is acquired based on the second ultrasonic echo data, and the strain data is mapped for strain elastic imaging to obtain and display a strain elastic image of the target area.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The interference region includes a motion interference region and / or a liquid dark area interference region.

12. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that Identifying an interference region that interferes with strain elastic imaging in the ultrasound image or in a region of interest of the ultrasound image based on the ultrasound image and / or the first ultrasound echo data includes at least one of the following: Based on the first ultrasonic echo data and / or the ultrasonic image, identifying a region in the ultrasonic image or a region of interest of the ultrasonic image whose motion parameter is greater than a preset threshold as the interference region; identifying, based on the first ultrasonic echo data and / or the ultrasonic image, an area in the ultrasonic image or an area of ​​interest of the ultrasonic image where the motion frequency does not conform to the compression frequency as the interference area; Based on the echo signal strength of the first ultrasonic echo data, the image grayscale of the ultrasonic image, an edge recognition algorithm, and at least one of an artificial intelligence algorithm, a target interference area is identified in the ultrasonic image or a region of interest of the ultrasonic image, and the identified target interference area is determined as the interference area.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that When the interference area includes a motion interference area, the target tissue area includes a tissue area of ​​a target organ within the pelvic cavity, and the target interference area includes an intestinal area; When the interference region includes a liquid dark area interference region, the target interference region includes a cyst or a blood vessel region.

14. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The motion parameter includes at least one of the following: displacement, velocity, acceleration, and strain.

15. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 14, characterized in that: The method further comprises displaying at least one of: The ultrasonic image, the interference area, and the target area.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The display of the interference area and the target area includes: The interference area and the target area are displayed with different display marks to distinguish and display the interference area and the target area.

17. An ultrasonic imaging device, characterized in that: The ultrasonic imaging device comprises a transmitting and receiving circuit, an ultrasonic probe, a processor and a display, wherein: The transmitting and receiving circuit is used to control the ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves to the target object, receive echoes of the ultrasonic waves, and obtain ultrasonic echo data from the echoes; The processor is used to control the transmitting and receiving circuit, and is used to execute the strain elasticity imaging method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 to generate an ultrasonic image and a strain elasticity image; The display is used to display the ultrasound image and the strain elasticity image.

Images