Bone age detection device and bone age measurement method

Abstract

The invention provides bone age detection equipment and a bone age measurement method. The bone age detection equipment comprises a host, a detection base, an ultrasonic image transducer and a deformable water bag, the deformable water bag is arranged at an acoustic window opening of the ultrasonic image transducer, degassing water is arranged in the deformable water bag, and the ultrasonic image transducer is immersed in the degassing water; the host receives an operation instruction of an operator, controls the ultrasonic image transducer to acquire an ultrasonic image of a to-be-detected part according to the operation instruction, sequentially performs coarse positioning and fine positioning on the acquired ultrasonic image of the to-be-detected part, screens out a standard section ultrasonic image of the to-be-detected part, and transmits the standard section ultrasonic image to the ultrasonic image transducer; the bone maturity degree is calculated according to the standard section ultrasonic image of the to-be-measured part, the standard section ultrasonic image of the to-be-measured part can be rapidly and accurately positioned, dependence of manual operation is reduced, errors of the manual operation are avoided, and the speed and precision of ultrasonic bone age evaluation are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of bone age measurement and assessment, and in particular to a bone age detection device and a bone age measurement method. Background Art

[0002] Bone age plays an important role in the assessment of children's growth and development, and is an indicator that reflects the maturity of children's bones. The most commonly used clinical assessment method is based on X-ray measurement, but its assessment is qualitative or semi-quantitative, and it is impossible to achieve a quantitative assessment of bone age. The X-ray image is analyzed based on computer vision technology to achieve quantitative assessment of bone age measurement, but this method has certain ionizing radiation and is not convenient for multiple assessments in a short period of time. In the related art, ultrasound technology is used to determine bone age, mainly using ultrasound to measure the thickness of femoral head cartilage to determine the bone age of children. However, when ultrasound is used for bone age testing and evaluation in clinical practice, it is mainly the doctor who scans and images the bones of the above-mentioned test site by manually moving the B ultrasound probe. However, the recognition and determination of standard section ultrasound images have high requirements for the operator's experience and imaging scanning operation techniques. The operating doctor needs to have rich experience to accurately obtain the corresponding standard section ultrasound image, which is highly dependent on the operator; and since the object of the ultrasound bone age assessment system is mainly children, it is impossible to cooperate with the doctor for long-term scanning and imaging, which will also increase the entire measurement cycle of ultrasound bone age assessment, bringing burden to the doctor. Summary of the invention

[0003] The present invention provides a bone age detection device and a bone age measurement method, which are used to solve the defects of the existing bone age detection device, that is, the high dependence on the operator, the long bone age measurement cycle, and the burden on the doctor.

[0004] The present invention provides a bone age detection device, comprising: Host, detection base, ultrasonic imaging transducer and deformable water bag; The ultrasonic imaging transducer is arranged on the detection base; The deformable water bag is arranged at the acoustic window opening of the ultrasonic imaging transducer, degassed water is arranged in the deformable water bag, and the ultrasonic imaging transducer is immersed in the degassed water; The host is electrically connected to the ultrasonic imaging transducer, receives an operation instruction from an operator, and controls the ultrasonic imaging transducer to collect an ultrasonic image of the part to be measured according to the operation instruction, and sequentially performs coarse positioning and fine positioning on the ultrasonic image of the part to be measured, selects a standard cross-section ultrasonic image of the part to be measured, and calculates the bone maturity according to the standard cross-section ultrasonic image of the part to be measured.

[0005] According to a bone age detection device provided by the present invention, the deformable water bag is U-shaped and fits the part to be detected through deformation.

[0006] According to a bone age detection device provided by the present invention, the parts to be detected include: left radius, left ulna, and left medial epicondyle of femur.

[0007] A bone age detection device according to the present invention further includes: a leveling base,

[0008] The leveling base is used to adjust the detection base to a horizontal position.

[0009] A bone age detection device provided by the present invention also includes: Drive motor and arch guide; The driving motor is electrically connected to the host, and is used to receive control instructions from the host, and drive the ultrasonic imaging transducer to move back and forth along the arched guide rail according to the control instructions, so as to perform continuous scanning and imaging of the part to be measured.

[0010] A bone age detection device provided according to the present invention further includes: an arched hard plastic shell, wherein the arched hard plastic shell is used to encapsulate the drive motor and the arched guide rail.

[0011] A bone age detection device according to the present invention further includes: a silicone gasket,

[0012] The silicone gasket is arranged on the deformable water bag to support the part to be tested and to closely fit the part to be tested with the deformable water bag.

[0013] The present invention also provides a bone age measurement method, comprising: Obtaining an ultrasonic image of the part to be tested by any of the above-mentioned bone age detection devices; The ultrasonic image of the part to be tested is coarsely positioned and finely positioned in sequence, the standard section ultrasonic image of the part to be tested is screened out, and the bone maturity is calculated according to the standard section ultrasonic image of the part to be tested.

[0014] According to a bone age measurement method provided by the present invention, the ultrasound image of the part to be measured is coarsely positioned and finely positioned in sequence, a standard section ultrasound image of the part to be measured is screened out, and the bone maturity is calculated according to the standard section ultrasound image of the part to be measured, including: Acquire ultrasound image sequences of multiple parts to be tested; Input the real-time ultrasound image of each part to be tested into the coarse positioning model, and output the score of each section ultrasound image in real time; A section ultrasound image subsequence is selected according to each section ultrasound image and its corresponding score, and the section ultrasound image subsequence is input into a fine positioning model, wherein the fine positioning model identifies a standard section ultrasound image based on changes between different frames in the section ultrasound image subsequence; Inputting the standard section ultrasound image into the segmentation model to obtain the epiphyseal region and the ossification center region; The skeletal maturity is calculated based on the maximum diameter of the epiphyseal region and the maximum diameter of the ossification center region.

[0015] According to a bone age measurement method provided by the present invention, the detection parts include the left radius, the left ulna, and the left femur, and the bone maturity is calculated according to the maximum diameter of the cartilage area and the maximum diameter of the ossification center area, including: The radius ossification rate is calculated based on the maximum diameter of the cartilage area and the maximum diameter of the ossification center area. , ulna ossification rate , femoral ossification rate ; According to the skeletal maturity formula , output the bone age assessment results.

[0016] The present invention provides a bone age detection device and a bone age measurement method. The bone age detection device includes a host, a detection base, an ultrasonic imaging transducer and a deformable water bag; the ultrasonic imaging transducer is arranged on the detection base; the deformable water bag is arranged at the acoustic window opening of the ultrasonic imaging transducer, degassed water is arranged in the deformable water bag, and the ultrasonic imaging transducer is immersed in the degassed water; the host is electrically connected to the ultrasonic imaging transducer, receives an operation instruction of an operator, and controls the ultrasonic imaging transducer to collect ultrasonic images of a part to be tested according to the operation instruction, and sequentially performs coarse positioning and fine positioning on the collected ultrasonic images of the part to be tested, selects standard section ultrasonic images of the part to be tested, calculates bone maturity according to the standard section ultrasonic images of the part to be tested, can quickly and accurately locate the standard section ultrasonic images of the part to be tested, reduces the dependence on manual operation, avoids errors in manual operation, and improves the speed and accuracy of ultrasonic bone age assessment. Furthermore, the transducer is driven by a motor to move back and forth along the guide rail, continuously scanning, and realizing automatic ultrasonic imaging of the part to be tested. The tester only needs to place the part to be tested and keep it still. The ultrasonic bone age assessment can be realized without the need for the operator to manually operate, identify the standard section of the selected part to be tested, or rotate the part to be tested according to the doctor's needs, which simplifies the process and complexity of ultrasonic bone age assessment and improves the accuracy and speed of ultrasonic bone age assessment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the present invention or the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0018] Figure 1 This is one of the functional structure diagrams of the bone age detection device provided by the present invention; Figure 2 This is the second functional structure diagram of the bone age detection device provided by the present invention; Figure 3 It is a flow chart of the bone age measurement method provided by the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present invention clearer, the technical solution of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 1 A functional structural diagram of a bone age detection device provided in an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. Figure 1 As shown, the bone age detection device provided by the embodiment of the present invention includes: A host 10, a detection base 20, an ultrasonic imaging transducer 30 and a deformable water bag 40; The ultrasonic imaging transducer 30 is disposed on the detection base 20; The deformable water bag 40 is arranged at the acoustic window opening of the ultrasonic imaging transducer 30 , and degassed water is arranged in the deformable water bag 40 , and the ultrasonic imaging transducer 30 is immersed in the degassed water; The host 10 is electrically connected to the ultrasonic imaging transducer 30, receives the operator's operating instructions, and controls the ultrasonic imaging transducer 30 to collect the ultrasonic image of the part to be measured according to the operating instructions, and performs coarse positioning and fine positioning on the ultrasonic image of the part to be measured in turn, screens out the standard cross-section ultrasonic image of the part to be measured, and calculates the bone maturity according to the standard cross-section ultrasonic image of the part to be measured.

[0021] In the embodiment of the present invention, the parts to be measured include: the left radius, the left ulna, and the left medial epicondyle of the femur. By testing the left radius, the left ulna, and the left medial epicondyle of the femur, the bone age can be measured and verified from multiple bones in the body, thereby improving the accuracy of assessing the bone age.

[0022] In the embodiment of the present invention, the deformable water bag 40 is U-shaped and fits the part to be tested by deformation, so as to better fit the part to be tested, such as wrist, knee, etc. The deformable water bag 40 is bonded to the detection base 20 by waterproof glue.

[0023] In an embodiment of the present invention, the bone age detection device further includes: a leveling base 50, and the leveling base 50 is used to adjust the detection base 20 to a horizontal position.

[0024] In the embodiment of the present invention, when the bone age detection device is used, the whole detection device is first adjusted to a horizontal level using the leveling base 50, and then a medical ultrasonic coupling agent is applied to the part to be tested to facilitate the acoustic coupling between the human tissue and the deformable water bag 40, reduce the reflection of ultrasonic waves at the interface between the deformable water bag 40 and the human skin, and allow more ultrasonic waves to enter the human body. Then, the part to be tested is placed on the deformable water bag 40, and the part to be tested is placed between the ultrasonic imaging transducer 30. The deformable water bag 40 can be conformed to the actual part to be tested and the shape of the test subject, so as to better achieve the sound conduction effect between the deformable water bag 40.

[0025] The operator operates the host 10 to collect ultrasonic images of the part to be tested, and according to the needs, the tester is asked to rotate the part to be tested, so as to realize continuous ultrasonic imaging of the three parts of the left radius, the left ulna, and the left medial epicondyle of the femur. Then the obtained ultrasonic image sequence is transmitted to the host 10, and the ultrasonic image is processed by artificial intelligence-assisted automatic section recognition, measurement and calculation methods, and the standard section ultrasonic images of the three parts of the left radius, the left ulna, and the left medial epicondyle of the femur are quickly and accurately positioned. Without manual identification and selection, the bone maturity can be quickly and accurately obtained, which reduces the dependence on manual operation, avoids the error of manual operation, and improves the speed and accuracy of ultrasonic bone age assessment.

[0026] In an embodiment of the present invention, the artificial intelligence-assisted automated section recognition, measurement and calculation method can instantly display the credibility of the imaged section and the theoretical standard section image during the continuous imaging process of the patient rotating the measured part, which can further help the operator to obtain accurate ultrasound section images more accurately, while reducing the operational complexity of ultrasound assessment of bone age.

[0027] Traditionally, ultrasound technology is used to determine bone age, mainly using ultrasound to measure the thickness of the femoral head cartilage to determine the bone age of children. However, when ultrasound is used for clinical bone age testing and evaluation, it is mainly for doctors to manually move the B ultrasound probe to scan and image the bones of the above-mentioned test site. However, the recognition and determination of standard section ultrasound images have very high requirements on the operator's experience and imaging scanning operation techniques. The operating doctor needs to have rich experience to accurately obtain the corresponding standard section ultrasound image, and it is highly dependent on the operator; and because the target of the ultrasound bone age assessment system is mainly children, it is impossible to cooperate with doctors for long-term scanning and imaging, which will also increase the entire measurement cycle of ultrasound bone age assessment, bringing burden to doctors.

[0028] The bone age detection device provided by the present invention includes a host, a detection base, an ultrasonic image transducer and a deformable water bag; the ultrasonic image transducer is arranged on the detection base; the deformable water bag is arranged at the opening of the acoustic window of the ultrasonic image transducer, and degassed water is arranged in the deformable water bag, and the ultrasonic image transducer is immersed in the degassed water; the host is electrically connected to the ultrasonic image transducer, receives the operation instruction of the operator, and controls the ultrasonic image transducer to collect the ultrasonic image of the part to be tested according to the operation instruction, and calculates the bone maturity according to the ultrasonic image of the part to be tested, which can quickly and accurately locate the standard section ultrasonic image of the part to be tested, reduces the dependence on manual operation, avoids the error of manual operation, and improves the speed and accuracy of ultrasonic bone age assessment. Furthermore, the transducer is driven by a motor to move back and forth along the guide rail, and continuously scans to realize automatic ultrasonic imaging of the part to be tested. The tester only needs to place the part to be tested therein and keep it still. Ultrasonic bone age assessment can be achieved without the need for the operator to perform manual operations, identify the standard section of the selected part to be tested, or rotate the part to be tested according to the doctor's needs. This simplifies the process and complexity of ultrasonic bone age assessment and improves the accuracy and speed of ultrasonic bone age assessment.

[0029] Based on any of the above embodiments, Figure 2 As shown, the bone age detection device provided by the embodiment of the present invention includes: A host 10, a detection base 10, an ultrasonic imaging transducer 30, a driving motor 40, a leveling base 50, an arched hard plastic shell 60, a silicone gasket 70, a deformable water bag 80 and an arched guide rail 90; wherein the driving motor 40 is electrically connected to the host 10, for receiving control instructions from the host 10, and driving the ultrasonic imaging transducer 30 to reciprocate along the arched guide rail 90 according to the control instructions, so as to continuously scan and image the part to be tested.

[0030] The arched hard plastic housing 60 is used to encapsulate the driving motor 40 and the arched guide rail 90 .

[0031] The silicone gasket 70 is disposed on the deformable water bag 80 to support the part to be tested and to closely fit the part to be tested and the deformable water bag 80 .

[0032] In the embodiment of the present invention, when the bone age detection device is used, the whole detection device is first adjusted to a horizontal level using the leveling base 50, and then a medical ultrasonic coupling agent is applied to the part to be tested for acoustic coupling between human tissue and the deformable water bag 80. Then, the part to be tested is placed on the silicone gasket 70 and fits tightly with the deformable water bag 80. The deformable water bag 80 can be conformed to the actual part to be tested and the shape of the test subject, so as to better achieve the sound conduction effect between the deformable water bag 80.

[0033] The deformable water bag 80 is bonded to the lower surface of the arched hard plastic shell 60 by waterproof glue. The deformable water bag 80 is filled with degassed water, and the ultrasonic imaging transducer 30 is immersed therein. The deformable water bag 80 ensures that the ultrasonic imaging transducer 30 can better conform to the part to be measured, such as the wrist, knee, etc. The operator realizes ultrasonic imaging of the tested part by operating the host 10, and can adjust the driving motor 40 to move back and forth along the arched guide rail 90 as needed, so as to realize continuous scanning and imaging of different bones in the tested part, thereby obtaining continuous ultrasonic images of the left radius, left ulna, and left medial epicondyle of femur, and then transmits the obtained ultrasonic image sequence to the host 10, and uses artificial intelligence to assist in automatic section recognition, measurement and calculation methods to process the B-ultrasound image, and quickly and accurately obtain standard section ultrasonic images of the three parts of the left radius, left ulna, and left medial epicondyle of femur, without manual identification and selection, and can quickly and accurately obtain bone maturity, reduce the dependence on manual operation, avoid manual operation errors, and improve the speed and accuracy of ultrasonic assessment of bone age. When using the bone age detection device, the tester does not need to rotate the tested part according to the doctor's needs, does not need to rely on the operator's experience, does not need the operator to manually scan the image, and does not need the operator to identify the standard section of the selected tested part. It can realize automatic, accurate and rapid evaluation of ultrasonic bone age, improve the accuracy and speed of ultrasonic assessment of bone age, reduce the error of manual operation, and reduce the operational complexity of ultrasonic assessment of bone age.

[0034] The bone age detection device provided by the embodiment of the present invention is based on a fixed-position ultrasonic imaging transducer or an ultrasonic imaging transducer that automatically scans and images along a specific trajectory. The bones of the three parts can be scanned and imaged without manual operation by the doctor, and the ultrasonic image is processed by artificial intelligence-assisted automatic section recognition, measurement and calculation methods, so as to quickly and accurately obtain the ultrasonic bone age assessment results. There is no need for the tester to rotate the part to be tested according to the doctor's needs, no need to rely on the operator's experience, no need for the operator to manually scan and image, and no need for the operator to identify the standard section of the selected part to be tested. The automatic, accurate and rapid evaluation of ultrasonic bone age can be achieved, which improves the accuracy and speed of ultrasonic bone age assessment, reduces the error of manual operation, and reduces the operational complexity of ultrasonic bone age assessment. The errors caused by the subjective identification and selection of the operator, as well as the high dependence on the operator's experience, simplify the process and complexity of ultrasonic bone age assessment, and improve the accuracy and speed of ultrasonic bone age assessment.

[0035] Based on any of the above embodiments, the bone age measurement method provided by the embodiment of the present invention is as follows: Figure 3 As shown, the bone age measurement method includes: Step 301: Obtain an ultrasonic image of the part to be tested by using the bone age detection device described in any of the above embodiments; Step 302: perform coarse positioning and fine positioning on the ultrasound image of the part to be measured in sequence, select the standard section ultrasound image of the part to be measured, and calculate the bone maturity according to the standard section ultrasound image of the part to be measured.

[0036] In an embodiment of the present invention, the ultrasonic image of the part to be tested is coarsely positioned and finely positioned in sequence, a standard section ultrasonic image of the part to be tested is screened out, and the bone maturity is calculated according to the standard section ultrasonic image of the part to be tested, including: Acquire ultrasound image sequences of multiple parts to be tested; Input the real-time ultrasound image of each part to be tested into the coarse positioning model, and output the score of each section ultrasound image in real time; A section ultrasound image subsequence is selected according to each section ultrasound image and its corresponding score, and the section ultrasound image subsequence is input into a fine positioning model, wherein the fine positioning model identifies a standard section ultrasound image based on changes between different frames in the section ultrasound image subsequence; Inputting the standard section ultrasound image into the segmentation model to obtain the epiphyseal region and the ossification center region; The skeletal maturity is calculated based on the maximum diameter of the epiphyseal region and the maximum diameter of the ossification center region.

[0037] In the embodiment of the present invention, the detection parts include the left radius, the left ulna, and the left femur, and the bone maturity is calculated according to the maximum diameter of the cartilage area and the maximum diameter of the ossification center area, including: The radius ossification rate is calculated based on the maximum diameter of the cartilage area and the maximum diameter of the ossification center area. , ulna ossification rate , femoral ossification rate ; According to the skeletal maturity formula , output the bone age assessment results.

[0038] Based on any of the above embodiments, the coarse positioning model training method includes: Step 401: perform standard section annotation on the ultrasound image to obtain the annotation score of the section ultrasound image; Step 402: input the slice ultrasound image training data into the coarse positioning model to obtain a prediction score for each slice ultrasound image; Step 403: Calculate the loss value between the predicted score of the cross-sectional ultrasound image and the labeled score of the cross-sectional ultrasound image using the second loss function; Step 404: Update the coarse positioning model weights according to the loss value until the training end condition is met.

[0039] In an embodiment of the present invention, a double verification method is used for standard section annotation of ultrasound images. The annotation results are scored by two senior and experienced physicians according to the information displayed by the ultrasound images. When there are differences in the measurement results, the standard section annotation is verified by another one or more authoritative experts. In an embodiment of the present invention, the score reflects the confidence value of the section as a standard section. A real-time scoring model for ultrasound images based on deep learning is built, and a comprehensive loss function, such as a cross-entropy loss function, is set. The training process of the model uses the ultrasound image and the corresponding score as input to train the real-time scoring model to obtain a real-time scoring model training weight file. Through the back propagation of the training process, the weight of each layer of the real-time scoring model is continuously updated in a way that minimizes the loss function so that the score output by the model approaches the true value, until the loss value between the predicted value of the forward propagation of the real-time scoring model and the actual score reference value converges, thereby obtaining an optimized real-time scoring model weight file, and the optimized real-time scoring model weight file is used as the optimized parameter of the real-time scoring model.

[0040] Based on any of the above embodiments, the fine positioning model includes an image feature extraction part and a sequence feature extraction part, and the fine positioning model training method includes: Step 501: inputting the slice ultrasound image training data into the image feature extraction part, and extracting the image features of each frame of the slice ultrasound image in the slice ultrasound image training data; Step 502: input the image features of each frame of the ultrasonic slice image and its corresponding score into the sequence feature extraction part to obtain the degree of proximity between each frame of the ultrasonic slice image in the ultrasonic slice image training data and the standard slice; Step 503: outputting a predicted standard section ultrasound image according to the proximity between each frame of the section ultrasound image and the standard section; Step 504: Calculate the loss value of the predicted standard section ultrasound image and the labeled standard section ultrasound image using the first loss function; Step 505: Update the fine positioning model weights according to the loss value until the training end condition is met.

[0041] In an embodiment of the present invention, each frame of the slice ultrasound image in the slice ultrasound image sequence has a score, and these scores reflect the closeness of each slice to the standard slice; a neural network for processing and analyzing the image sequence is built, and the network includes two parts: an image feature extraction part and a sequence feature extraction part. Among them, the neural network of the image feature extraction part is responsible for extracting features from each frame of the image; the sequence feature extraction part adopts a sequence neural network (including but not limited to LSTM, GRU, integrated attention mechanism network, etc.). The model uses a comprehensive loss function (such as a cross entropy loss function) to optimize the training process. The network uses the ultrasound image sequence and its corresponding frame-by-frame score as input to obtain the corresponding training weight file; during the training process, the back propagation mechanism is used to continuously update the model weights, with the aim of minimizing the value of the loss function. This optimization process continues until the model shows convergence in the loss value between the prediction of different slices and the standard slice in the forward propagation, and obtains the optimized model weight file, which will be used as the key evidence for the model to judge and evaluate whether the slice in the image sequence is a standard slice.

[0042] Based on any of the above embodiments, the parts to be measured include a left radius, a left ulna, and a left femur, and the segmentation model training method includes: Step 601, segmenting and labeling on a standard section, wherein the labeling data includes the radial epiphysis region, the ulna epiphysis region, the femoral epiphysis region and the respective ossification center regions; Step 602: Input the section ultrasound image training data into the segmentation model to obtain the predicted radial epiphysis region, ulna epiphysis region, femoral epiphysis region and their respective ossification center regions; Step 603, using a third loss function to calculate the loss value between the radial epiphysis region, the ulna epiphysis region, the femoral epiphysis region and their respective ossification center regions in the labeled data and the corresponding predicted radial epiphysis region, the ulna epiphysis region, the femoral epiphysis region and their respective ossification center regions; Step 604: Update the segmentation model weights according to the loss value until the training end condition is met.

[0043] In an embodiment of the present invention, after fine positioning to the standard section, based on medical experience, for example, the ossification center reference area and epiphysis reference area marked by senior and experienced physicians can be used as standard values ​​affecting the automatic segmentation model, and segmentation and annotation are performed on the standard section, including the epiphysis and ossification center of the left radius, left ulna, and left medial epicondyle of the femur. A convolutional neural network for image segmentation tasks is built, and a comprehensive loss function such as a cross entropy loss function is set. The training process of the model uses the standard section and the corresponding segmentation and annotation results as input to train the automatic cutting area model and obtain the corresponding training weight file; during the model training process, the model weights are continuously updated through the back propagation mechanism, and the goal is to minimize the loss function value. This optimization process is iteratively performed until the model shows obvious convergence in the loss value between the prediction of the epiphysis and ossification center cutting results and the actual segmentation annotation in the forward propagation, and an optimized model weight file is obtained. The automatic segmentation model weight file of the optimized model is used as the parameter of the automatic segmentation model in practical applications.

[0044] Based on any of the above embodiments, the bone age assessment method provided by the embodiment of the present invention includes: Step 701, obtaining ultrasound image sequences of multiple parts to be measured; Step 702: preprocessing ultrasound image sequences of multiple parts to be measured; In the embodiment of the present invention, the preprocessing includes but is not limited to image standardization, resampling, cropping, rotation, scaling and noise reduction to ensure the accuracy of subsequent input data.

[0045] Step 703: Input the pre-processed ultrasound image sequence of each part to be measured into the coarse positioning model frame by frame, and output the score of each section ultrasound image in real time; Step 704: acquiring the highest-scoring section ultrasound image according to each section ultrasound image and its corresponding score; Step 705: Select the highest-scoring section ultrasound image and its adjacent continuous section ultrasound image sequence within a preset time range as a section ultrasound image subsequence according to the output time of the highest-scoring section ultrasound image.

[0046] Step 706: input the section ultrasound image subsequence into a fine positioning model, and the fine positioning model identifies a standard section ultrasound image based on changes between different frames in the section ultrasound image subsequence; Step 707, input the standard section ultrasound image into the segmentation model to obtain the epiphyseal region and the ossification center region; Step 708: Calculate the bone maturity according to the maximum diameter of the epiphyseal region and the maximum diameter of the ossification center region.

[0047] The bone age assessment results output by the embodiment of the present invention are compared with the gold standard X-ray bone age TW-3 method currently used in clinical practice. The two have similar evaluation results, small result deviation mean, high linear fit, and extremely high sensitivity and specificity (greater than 90-95%), indicating that the present invention has the potential to be used as a better new clinical examination method to replace traditional evaluation methods. In addition, the present invention is non-invasive and radiation-free, which reduces the errors caused by the examiner's subjective identification and improves the accuracy of the result evaluation. It is helpful for grassroots and those who lack assessment experience to carry out examinations, and is conducive to improving the speed and accuracy of clinical evaluation.

[0048] The bone age assessment method provided by the embodiment of the present invention collects ultrasonic sequence images of the three parts of the left radius, the left ulna, and the left medial epicondyle of the femur, and uses the trained rough positioning measurement model to respectively obtain the standard section ultrasonic images of the three parts of the left radius, the left ulna, and the left medial epicondyle of the femur; uses the trained fine measurement model to respectively obtain the standard section ultrasonic images of the three parts of the left radius, the left ulna, and the left medial epicondyle of the femur; uses the trained segmentation model to automatically segment the standard section images of the left radius, the left ulna, and the left medial epicondyle of the femur, and obtains the segmentation results of the cartilage and the ossification center. The maximum diameter of the cartilage area and the maximum diameter of the ossification center are automatically measured, and the ossification rates of the three parts of the left radius, the left ulna, and the left medial epicondyle of the femur are respectively calculated; the sum of the ossification rates of the three parts is calculated, and the final result of the ultrasonic bone age assessment is given, which can reduce the dependence of the bone age assessment on manual operation and improve the accuracy of the bone age assessment.

[0049] The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative, wherein the units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, i.e., they may be located in one place, or they may be distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the scheme of this embodiment. Those of ordinary skill in the art may understand and implement it without creative effort.

[0050] Through the description of the above implementation modes, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that each implementation mode can be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, or of course by hardware. Based on such an understanding, the above technical solution can essentially or in other words be embodied in the form of a software product that contributes to the prior art. The computer software product can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as ROM / RAM, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, etc., and includes a number of instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute the methods of each embodiment or some parts of the embodiment.

[0051] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A bone age detection device, characterized in that: include: Host, detection base, ultrasonic imaging transducer and deformable water bag; The ultrasonic imaging transducer is arranged on the detection base; The deformable water bag is arranged at the acoustic window opening of the ultrasonic imaging transducer, degassed water is arranged in the deformable water bag, and the ultrasonic imaging transducer is immersed in the degassed water; The host is electrically connected to the ultrasonic imaging transducer, receives an operation instruction from an operator, and controls the ultrasonic imaging transducer to collect ultrasonic images of the part to be measured according to the operation instruction, and performs coarse positioning and fine positioning on the collected ultrasonic images of the part to be measured in turn, screens out standard cross-sectional ultrasonic images of the part to be measured, and calculates bone maturity according to the standard cross-sectional ultrasonic images of the part to be measured.

2. A bone age detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The deformable water bag is U-shaped and fits the part to be tested through deformation.

3. A bone age detection device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The parts to be measured include: the left radius, the left ulna, and the left medial epicondyle of the femur.

4. The bone age detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: Level the base, The leveling base is used to adjust the detection base to a horizontal position.

5. The bone age detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: Drive motor and arch guide; The driving motor is electrically connected to the host, and is used to receive control instructions from the host, and drive the ultrasonic imaging transducer to move back and forth along the arched guide rail according to the control instructions, so as to perform continuous scanning and imaging of the part to be measured.

6. A bone age detection device according to claim 5, characterized in that: Also includes: An arched hard plastic shell is used to encapsulate the drive motor and the arched guide rail.

7. The bone age detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: Silicone gasket, The silicone gasket is arranged on the deformable water bag to support the part to be tested and to closely fit the part to be tested with the deformable water bag.

8. A method for measuring bone age, characterized in that: include: Acquire an ultrasonic image of the part to be tested by using the bone age detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7; The ultrasonic image of the part to be tested is coarsely positioned and finely positioned in sequence, the standard section ultrasonic image of the part to be tested is screened out, and the bone maturity is calculated according to the standard section ultrasonic image of the part to be tested.

9. A bone age measurement method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The method of sequentially performing coarse positioning and fine positioning on the ultrasonic image of the part to be tested, screening out the standard section ultrasonic image of the part to be tested, and calculating the bone maturity according to the standard section ultrasonic image of the part to be tested includes: Acquire ultrasound image sequences of multiple parts to be tested; Input the real-time ultrasound image of each part to be tested into the coarse positioning model, and output the score of each section ultrasound image in real time; A section ultrasound image subsequence is selected according to each section ultrasound image and its corresponding score, and the section ultrasound image subsequence is input into a fine positioning model, wherein the fine positioning model identifies a standard section ultrasound image based on changes between different frames in the section ultrasound image subsequence; Inputting the standard section ultrasound image into the segmentation model to obtain the epiphyseal region and the ossification center region; The skeletal maturity is calculated based on the maximum diameter of the epiphyseal region and the maximum diameter of the ossification center region.

10. A bone age measurement method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The detection parts include the left radius, the left ulna, and the left femur. The bone maturity is calculated according to the maximum diameter of the cartilage area and the maximum diameter of the ossification center area, including: The radius ossification rate is calculated based on the maximum diameter of the cartilage area and the maximum diameter of the ossification center area. , ulna ossification rate , femoral ossification rate ; According to the skeletal maturity formula , output the bone age assessment results.

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