Method of determining blood flow morphology, ultrasound device

Abstract

A method for determining blood flow pattern, an ultrasound device and a computer storage medium. The method comprises: transmitting an ultrasound beam to a target region including a blood vessel in at least two directions (S1101); receiving returned ultrasound echoes to obtain an ultrasound echo signal in each of the at least two directions (S1102); determining a velocity component of a velocity of blood flow in the blood vessel in each direction according to the ultrasound echo signal in each direction (S1103); determining a vector velocity of the blood flow according to the velocity component in each direction (S1104); determining a pattern of the blood flow in the blood vessel according to the vector velocity (S140); and displaying the pattern of the blood flow in the blood vessel (S103). It can be seen that the embodiment of the present application can determine the pattern of the blood flow based on the velocity of the blood flow, especially the vector velocity of the blood flow, can reflect the actual condition of the blood flow, provide more abundant parameters for reference for hemodynamic research, and provide more accurate basis for subsequent blood flow pattern analysis.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application filed on May 8, 2020, with application number 202080053442.6 and title "Method for determining blood flow morphology, ultrasound device and computer storage medium". Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates to the field of ultrasound detection, and more specifically, to a method for determining blood flow morphology, an ultrasound device, and a computer storage medium. Background Technology

[0003] Fluids exhibit various flow patterns, and blood flow in the human body also presents multiple patterns. Currently, traditional methods such as color Doppler and pulsed wave Doppler (PW) obtain blood flow velocities based on the projected component of the ultrasound wave emission direction. Since the velocity as a projected component cannot reflect the actual blood flow, the blood flow pattern determined based on this projected component is inaccurate. Summary of the Invention

[0004] On one hand, embodiments of the present invention provide a method for determining blood flow morphology, the method comprising:

[0005] Ultrasonic beams are emitted toward a target area, including blood vessels, in at least two directions;

[0006] Receive the ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic beam returning from the target area to obtain ultrasonic echo signals along each of the at least two directions;

[0007] Based on the ultrasound echo signals along each of the at least two directions, determine the velocity component of the blood flow in the blood vessel along each of the at least two directions;

[0008] The vector velocity of blood flow in the blood vessel is determined based on the velocity components in each of the at least two directions;

[0009] The morphology of blood flow in the blood vessel is determined based on the vector velocity;

[0010] This shows the morphology of blood flow in the blood vessel.

[0011] On the other hand, embodiments of the present invention also provide a method for determining blood flow morphology, the method comprising:

[0012] To obtain the speed of blood flow in blood vessels;

[0013] Based on the velocity, the morphology of blood flow in the blood vessel is determined;

[0014] This shows the morphology of blood flow in the blood vessel.

[0015] Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention also provide an ultrasonic device, comprising:

[0016] Ultrasonic probe;

[0017] A transmit / receive selection switch is used to excite the ultrasound probe to emit an ultrasound beam toward a target area, including blood vessels, in at least two directions via a transmitting circuit, and to receive the ultrasound echo of the ultrasound beam returning from the target area.

[0018] Memory for storing programs executed by the processor;

[0019] Processor, used for:

[0020] Based on the ultrasonic echo, ultrasonic echo signals are obtained along each of the at least two directions;

[0021] Based on the ultrasound echo signals along each of the at least two directions, determine the velocity component of the blood flow in the blood vessel along each of the at least two directions;

[0022] The vector velocity of blood flow in the blood vessel is determined based on the velocity components in each of the at least two directions;

[0023] The morphology of blood flow in the blood vessel is determined based on the vector velocity;

[0024] A display for showing the morphology of blood flow in the blood vessels.

[0025] Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention also provide a computer storage medium storing a computer program thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the method for determining blood flow morphology described above.

[0026] Therefore, the embodiments of the present invention can determine the morphology of blood flow based on the velocity of blood flow, especially the vector velocity of blood flow, which can reflect the actual situation of blood flow, provide richer reference parameters for hemodynamic research, and provide a more accurate basis for subsequent blood flow morphology analysis. Attached Figure Description

[0027] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0028] Figure 1 This is a structural block diagram of an ultrasonic device;

[0029] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of fluid morphology;

[0030] Figure 3 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating the determination of blood flow morphology according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 4 This is another schematic flowchart illustrating the determination of blood flow morphology according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 5 This is another schematic flowchart illustrating the determination of blood flow morphology in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the input and output of a classification neural network according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 7 This is another schematic flowchart illustrating the determination of blood flow morphology according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram showing the blood flow pattern according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 9 This is another schematic diagram showing the blood flow pattern according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 10 This is yet another schematic diagram showing the blood flow pattern according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram showing the blood flow pattern according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 12 This is another schematic diagram showing the blood flow pattern according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the cardiac cycle;

[0041] Figure 14 This is another schematic diagram showing the blood flow pattern according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram of velocity component angle synthesis according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0043] This invention provides an ultrasound device that can obtain more accurate blood flow patterns.

[0044] like Figure 1The diagram shows a structural block diagram of an ultrasonic device. The ultrasonic device 10 includes an ultrasonic probe 110, a transmit / receive selection switch 120, a transmitting circuit 160, a receiving circuit 170, a memory 130, a processor 140, and a display 150. The transmit / receive selection switch 120 can activate the ultrasonic probe 110 to transmit an ultrasonic beam towards a target area via the transmitting circuit 160, and the ultrasonic probe 110 can receive the ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic beam returning from the target area via the receiving circuit 170. The processor 140 can obtain the ultrasonic echo signal based on the ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic beam and process the ultrasonic echo signal.

[0045] For example, the transmit / receive selection switch 120 can excite the ultrasound probe 110 to emit an ultrasound beam toward a target area, including a blood vessel, via the transmitting circuit 160, and receive the ultrasound echo of the ultrasound beam returning from the target area via the receiving circuit 170. The processor 140 can obtain an ultrasound echo signal based on the ultrasound echo; and determine the blood flow velocity in the blood vessel based on the ultrasound echo signal; subsequently, the morphology of the blood flow can be obtained based on the blood flow velocity.

[0046] The blood flow velocity can be the vector velocity of the blood flow, and the vector velocity can be calculated by any method such as the spot tracking method, the transverse wave oscillation method, or the multi-angle deflection transmission / reception method.

[0047] Taking the vector velocity obtained through a multi-angle deflection transmit / receive method as an example, the transmit / receive selection switch 120 can excite the ultrasound probe 110 to emit an ultrasound beam toward a target area, including a blood vessel, via the transmit circuit 160 along at least two directions, and receive the ultrasound echo of the ultrasound beam returning from the target area via the receive circuit 170 through the ultrasound probe 110. The processor 140 can obtain ultrasound echo signals along each of the at least two directions based on the ultrasound echo signals; determine the velocity component of the blood flow in the blood vessel along each of the at least two directions based on the ultrasound echo signals along each of the at least two directions; and determine the vector velocity of the blood flow in the blood vessel based on the velocity component of each of the at least two directions.

[0048] For example, the processor 140 can also obtain an ultrasound echo signal based on the ultrasound echo; and obtain an ultrasound image of the target area based on the ultrasound echo signal. For example, the ultrasound echo signal can be processed by beamforming, orthogonal demodulation, wall filtering, etc. The ultrasound image obtained by the processor 140 can be stored in the memory 130. Furthermore, the ultrasound image can be displayed on the display 150. Optionally, the display 150 can also display the morphology of blood vessels, etc.

[0049] Optionally, the display 150 in the ultrasound device 10 can be a touch screen, an LCD screen, or the like; or the display 150 can be an independent display device such as an LCD screen or a television, separate from the ultrasound device 10; or the display 150 can be the screen of an electronic device such as a smartphone or tablet, etc. The number of displays 150 can be one or more.

[0050] Optionally, the memory 130 in the ultrasonic device 10 can be a flash memory card, solid-state memory, hard disk, etc. It can be volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory, removable memory and / or non-removable memory, etc.

[0051] Optionally, the processor 140 in the ultrasonic device 10 can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. It can be implemented by circuits, one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more general-purpose integrated circuits, one or more microprocessors, one or more programmable logic devices, or any combination of the foregoing circuits and / or devices, or other suitable circuits or devices, so that the processor 140 can perform the corresponding steps of the methods in the various embodiments of this specification.

[0052] It should be understood that Figure 1 The components included in the illustrated ultrasonic device 10 are merely illustrative and may include more or fewer components. For example, the ultrasonic device 10 may also include input devices such as a keyboard, mouse, scroll wheel, trackball, etc., and / or may include output devices such as a printer. The corresponding external input / output ports may be wireless communication modules, wired communication modules, or a combination of both. External input / output ports may also be implemented based on USB, bus protocols such as CAN, and / or wired network protocols. This invention is not limited in this respect.

[0053] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of some common fluid flow patterns, including: plug flow, laminar flow, vortex, turbulent flow, counterflow, and secondary flow.

[0054] The most common blood flow pattern in human blood vessels is laminar flow. Generally, when blood flows at a low speed within a blood vessel, it exhibits laminar flow, with its particles moving in a smooth, straight line parallel to the vessel wall. The flow velocity is greatest at the center of the vessel and least near the vessel wall.

[0055] Blood flow patterns within blood vessels can also include eddies, turbulence, countercurrents, and secondary flows. The formation of eddies, turbulence, countercurrents, and secondary flows can be due to physiological structural factors or acquired vascular lesions (such as stenosis or plaque). Figure 2 The secondary flow shown includes schematic diagrams along section A (longitudinal section) and section B (transverse section). This secondary flow may be due to the physiological structure of vascular bifurcation or to the presence of lesions such as plaques.

[0056] In addition, it should be noted that blood flow morphology can also be referred to as blood flow type, category, or other terms, and this application does not limit it to these terms.

[0057] Therefore, blood flow morphology contains information related to human physiology and diseases, and relevant analysis and research on blood flow morphology can provide potential evidence for disease diagnosis.

[0058] This invention provides a method for determining blood flow morphology, a flowchart of which is shown below. Figure 3 As shown, the method includes:

[0059] S101, obtains the velocity of blood flow in the blood vessels;

[0060] S102, Based on this velocity, the morphology of blood flow in the blood vessel is determined;

[0061] S103 shows the morphology of blood flow in the vessel.

[0062] For example, the blood flow velocity in S101 refers to the vector velocity of the blood flow, which can be obtained through an ultrasound device, such as... Figure 4 The diagram shown is a schematic flowchart of a method for determining blood flow patterns, including:

[0063] S110, emits an ultrasound beam toward a target area, which includes blood vessels;

[0064] S120, receive the ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic beam returning from the target area to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal;

[0065] S130, Based on the ultrasound echo signal, determine the vector velocity of blood flow in the blood vessel;

[0066] S140, based on this vector velocity, determine the morphology of blood flow in the blood vessel;

[0067] S103 shows the morphology of blood flow in the vessel.

[0068] In this embodiment of the invention, the vector velocity of blood flow can characterize the actual flow state of blood flow. Vector velocity includes not only magnitude but also direction. The direction of the vector velocity of blood flow at different locations within a blood vessel is generally different; furthermore, the direction of the vector velocity of blood flow at the same location within a blood vessel may also be different at different times. Combined with... Figure 3 It is understood that S101 may include S110 to S130.

[0069] As an example, vector velocity can be obtained using a vector blood flow imaging method based on speckle tracking. This speckle tracking can be achieved using ultrasound B-image data and by summing the absolute differences. Furthermore, the calculation can be performed using plane wave emission and speckle tracking methods.

[0070] As an example, vector velocity can be obtained using vector blood flow imaging based on the transverse wave oscillation method. Specifically, longitudinal velocity is obtained using a traditional Doppler-based calculation method, while transverse velocity is calculated using an autocorrelation method based on a transversely oscillating ultrasound field. Finally, the vector velocity is obtained by combining the longitudinal and transverse velocities.

[0071] As an example, vector velocity can be obtained using a multi-angle deflection transmission / reception method. Each angle is calculated using the traditional Doppler principle to obtain the velocity component at that angle. The velocity measurements from multiple different angles are then combined to obtain the magnitude and direction of the actual velocity, i.e., the vector velocity. It should be noted that each velocity component is equivalent to the projection of the vector velocity onto the direction of that component. Velocity components are also called component velocities. When two or more component velocities are known, they can be obtained by drawing perpendicular lines to each component velocity (e.g., perpendicular lines to the perpendicular lines to the perpendicular velocities at different angles). Figure 15 As shown in the figure, the target position or the vector velocity of the target point can be determined by the intersection of the two perpendicular lines.

[0072] Traditional pulse wave (PW) velocity is based on the angle-corrected velocity. The method described above for determining the vector velocity of blood flow does not require angle correction and can obtain a more realistic velocity magnitude and direction of blood flow. It can more accurately represent the actual flow state of blood flow than the traditional angle-corrected velocity.

[0073] The vector velocity mentioned in this application refers to the magnitude of the blood flow (such as the red blood cells in the blood flow), or more precisely, the magnitude of the blood flow (such as the red blood cells in the blood flow); its direction is the actual flow direction of the blood flow (such as the red blood cells in the blood flow), or more precisely, the direction of the blood flow (such as the red blood cells in the blood flow); such as Figure 2 As shown, the direction of the vector velocity can be in the range of 0° to 360° within the imaging plane, and its direction can characterize the actual flow direction of blood flow.

[0074] Taking the method of obtaining vector velocity by multi-angle deflection transmission / reception as an example, Figure 5 This is another schematic flowchart illustrating the determination of blood flow morphology according to an embodiment of the present invention, including:

[0075] S1101, emitting ultrasonic beams toward a target area, including blood vessels, in at least two directions;

[0076] S1102, receiving the ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic beam returning from the target area to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal along each of the at least two directions;

[0077] S1103, Based on the ultrasound echo signals along each of the at least two directions, determine the velocity component of the blood flow velocity in the blood vessel along each of the at least two directions;

[0078] S1104, determine the vector velocity of blood flow in the blood vessel based on the velocity component in each of the at least two directions;

[0079] S140, Determine the morphology of blood flow in the blood vessel based on the vector velocity;

[0080] S103, showing the morphology of blood flow in the blood vessel.

[0081] Combination Figure 3 It can be considered Figure 3 S101 in the text includes S1101 to S1104. Figure 3 S102 in the text includes S140.

[0082] For example, in S140, the morphology of blood flow in the blood vessel can be determined based on the vector velocity and combined with patient data as auxiliary information.

[0083] Patient data can refer to medical record information related to the patient. For example, patient data as supplementary information may include at least one of the following: age, medical history, examination site, etc.

[0084] For example, the morphology in S140 can be any of the following: laminar flow, turbulent flow, eddy flow, countercurrent, or secondary flow. Optionally, a pre-trained classification neural network can be used in S140 to determine the morphology of the blood flow.

[0085] Combination Figure 6 The vector velocity can be input into a classification neural network to obtain the output of that network, which represents the morphology of blood flow. This classification neural network can be a convolutional neural network (CNN) based on deep learning.

[0086] Before determining the morphology of blood flow in the embodiments of the present invention, a classification neural network can be obtained through training.

[0087] A training sample set can be constructed, consisting of multiple training samples, each with a vector velocity of blood flow and an labeled blood flow morphology. The classification neural network is then trained using this training sample set until convergence.

[0088] Data can be obtained from various channels or sources as training samples. For example, it can be obtained from doctors, who use ultrasound equipment to obtain the vector velocity of blood flow and, based on experience, annotate the shape of the blood flow. Alternatively, vector velocities can be obtained from the internet or other sources, and their shapes can be manually annotated before being used as training samples.

[0089] This process involves constructing an initial classification neural network, which may include convolutional layers, pooling layers, and fully connected layers. The network is then trained through numerous iterations until convergence. During training, at least one of various artificial intelligence algorithms, such as backpropagation (BP), stochastic gradient descent, or learning rate decay, can be used to optimize and converge the network, identify blood flow types, categories, and distributions, and perform instance segmentation.

[0090] For example, a test sample set can also be constructed to validate the trained classification neural network, thus ensuring stable neural network parameters and enabling reliable determination of fluid morphology.

[0091] Furthermore, the training sample set can be updated, for example, by adding new training samples. This allows for further updates to the classification neural network. For instance, an update can be performed after adding a certain number of new training samples. In this way, updating the classification neural network makes its output more accurate.

[0092] For example, the morphology of blood flow in a blood vessel can be determined based on the magnitude and direction of vector velocity. As an example, the magnitude and direction of the vector velocity can be represented by directional markers (such as arrows, lines, or bubbles), where the direction of the marker indicates the direction of the vector velocity of the blood flow at the target location, and the length or size of the marker indicates the magnitude of the vector velocity at the target location. Based on the aforementioned neural network and other artificial intelligence algorithms, feature matching can be performed on the markers contained in the target region to determine the morphology of blood flow in the blood vessel. Continuing to combine... Figure 2 The following explanation is provided. Figure 2In this system, arrows are used to represent the magnitude and direction of the vector velocities of blood flow within blood vessels. For example, the length of the arrow represents the magnitude of the vector velocity, and the direction of the arrow represents the direction of the vector velocity. For instance, regarding the piston flow pattern, when the magnitude and direction of each vector velocity within the target area (as shown by the arrows in the diagram) are basically consistent, the blood flow pattern in that target area can be identified as piston flow. Regarding the laminar flow pattern, when the directions of each vector velocity (represented by the arrows in the diagram) within the target area are basically consistent, and the vector velocity magnitude is greatest in the central region of the target area, the blood flow pattern in that target area can be identified as laminar flow. Regarding the countercurrent flow pattern, when the directions of each vector velocity (represented by the arrows in the diagram) within the target area exhibit significant deflection (e.g., 180 degrees or nearly 180 degrees in both directions), the blood flow pattern in that target area can be identified as countercurrent flow. Regarding the secondary flow pattern, when the directions of each vector velocity in the longitudinal section of the target area exhibit a certain number of positive and negative directions (as shown by the ingress and egress directions in the diagram), and the directions of each vector velocity in the transverse section of the target area are vortex-like, the blood flow pattern in that target area can be identified as secondary flow. For the determination of other blood flow patterns such as eddies and turbulence, the above-mentioned methods can be used for understanding, and will not be explained in detail here.

[0093] The above provides a description of determining blood flow morphology based on vector velocity. It should be understood that this application is not limited to... Figure 2 The two-dimensional blood flow pattern shown can also be a three-dimensional blood flow pattern. For two-dimensional blood flow patterns, the pattern can be determined based on two-dimensional vector velocities; for three-dimensional blood flow patterns, the pattern can be determined based on three-dimensional vector velocities. There are no restrictions here. The three-dimensional vector velocity can also be understood by referring to the relevant explanations regarding vector velocity obtained through the aforementioned vector blood flow imaging method. The difference between obtaining vector velocity through multi-angle deflection transmission / reception and obtaining two-dimensional vector velocity is that three-dimensional vector velocity requires angular synthesis of velocity components in at least three directions that are not in the same plane.

[0094] Return now Figure 3 For example, the velocity of the blood flow in S101 can be a velocity component along the direction of ultrasound emission, calculated from the ultrasound echo signal obtained by emitting ultrasound waves into the vascular region. This velocity component can be obtained by an ultrasound device, such as... Figure 7 The diagram shown is a schematic flowchart of a method for determining blood flow patterns, including:

[0095] S110, emits an ultrasound beam toward a target area, which includes blood vessels;

[0096] S120, receive the ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic beam returning from the target area to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal;

[0097] S1301, Based on the ultrasound echo signal, determine the velocity component of the blood flow in the blood vessel along the direction of ultrasound emission;

[0098] S1401, Based on this velocity component, determine the morphology of blood flow in the blood vessel;

[0099] S103 shows the morphology of blood flow in the vessel.

[0100] Combination Figure 3 It can be considered Figure 3 S101 in the text includes S110 to S1301. Figure 3 S102 in the text includes S1401.

[0101] For example, in S1401, the morphology of blood flow in the blood vessel can be determined based on the velocity component and combined with patient data as auxiliary information.

[0102] Patient data can refer to medical record information related to the patient. For example, patient data as supplementary information may include at least one of the following: age, medical history, examination site, etc.

[0103] For example, the morphology in S1401 can be any of the following: disordered or ordered. Compared with S140, it can be seen that determining the blood flow morphology by vector velocity is more accurate, better reflects the actual state of blood flow, and provides a strong basis for subsequent blood flow morphology analysis.

[0104] Optionally, in S1401, a pre-trained alternative classification neural network can be used to determine the morphology of the blood flow. The input of this alternative classification neural network is a velocity component, and the output blood flow morphology is either chaotic or ordered.

[0105] It is understandable that the other classification neural network used in S1401 can be similar to the classification neural network in S140 above, and may include convolutional layers, pooling layers, fully connected layers, etc. Further details about this other classification neural network will not be provided here.

[0106] The following will combine Figures 8 to 14 S103 in the above embodiments is described.

[0107] As one implementation method, S103 can display the morphology of blood flow in a specific region of a blood vessel, wherein the specific region can be a target region or a sub-region of a target region. The target region is all or part of the area covered by the ultrasound beam.

[0108] As an example, it can display the morphology of blood flow at various locations within a specific area. For instance, different morphologies can be represented using different display methods, such as color, background texture, etc.

[0109] like Figure 8 As shown, the morphology of various locations within a specific area (the area framed in the figure) is displayed, with different background colors representing different morphologies. The morphologies shown include laminar flow, eddy flow, and turbulent flow.

[0110] As another example, it can display the morphology of blood flow at various locations within a specific area, and show the proportion of different morphologies. For example... Figure 9 As shown, the three flow patterns in a specific region are laminar, eddy, and turbulent, and the proportion of each pattern is shown: 64.4% of the region is laminar, 26.1% is eddy, and 9.5% is turbulent.

[0111] As another implementation, S103 can display the proportion of various different morphologies within a specific region of the blood vessel. For example, the proportion of different blood flow morphologies can be displayed using any of the following methods: pie chart, bar chart, different colors, background variations, data reports, etc. As an example, such as... Figure 10 The chart shows the proportions of various flow patterns represented by bar graphs. In a specific region, 64.4% of the flow is laminar, 26.1% is eddy, and 9.5% is turbulent. It should be understood that these proportions can also be displayed in other ways, which are not listed here.

[0112] As another implementation, in S103, the proportion of different forms of a specific region at multiple times can be displayed. Table 1 below shows the proportion of each form at three different times. T1, T2, and T3 represent the three different times.

[0113] Table 1

[0114] Laminar flow 64.4％ 64％ 26％ vortex 26.1％ 28％ 42％ Turbulence 9.5％ 8％ 32％

[0115] As shown in Table 1, the proportion of each form at different times can be observed. It can be understood that if the sampling interval for multiple times is reduced and the number of samples is increased, this display can represent the change in the proportion of each form over time.

[0116] As another implementation method, in S103, the proportion of different blood flow morphologies at various locations within a specific region can be displayed over time.

[0117] For example, the changes in proportions over time can be represented by curves. For multiple different forms, the changes in the proportions of each form over time can be represented by multiple curves. As one example, these curves can be displayed separately in multiple different coordinate systems. As another example, they can be displayed simultaneously in the same coordinate system.

[0118] As an example, time can be represented on the horizontal axis and proportion on the vertical axis, showing how the proportion of different blood flow patterns at various locations within a specific region changes with the cardiac cycle.

[0119] like Figure 11 The proportions of laminar, eddy, and turbulent flow are shown as a function of time. Furthermore, it can be further shown at specific moments (e.g., ...). Figure 11 The proportion of each form in t), such as Figure 11 At time t, the proportions of laminar flow, eddy current, and turbulent flow are 26%, 42%, and 32%, respectively. Specifically, the proportion of laminar flow can be determined based on the ratio between the horizontal axis and the solid line, the proportion of eddy current based on the ratio between the solid line and the dashed line, and the proportion of turbulent flow based on the ratio between the dashed line and 100%. Optionally, a specific time (t) can represent the current display frame.

[0120] Optionally, velocity curves, heart rate curves, or other curves obtained statistically over time can also be displayed in the same coordinate system. That is, time can be represented on the horizontal axis and the proportion can be represented on the vertical axis, showing the proportion of each shape, and velocity curves, heart rate curves, or other curves obtained statistically over time can also be displayed at the same time to determine the relationship between blood flow morphology and velocity, heart rate, or other parameters.

[0121] like Figure 12 As shown, it is Figure 11 In addition to this, it also displays speed curves, heart rate curves, or other curves obtained statistically over time. Combining these speed curves, heart rate curves, or other curves obtained statistically over time... Figure 12 The changes in the proportion of laminar flow are generally consistent with the velocity curve, heart rate curve, or other curves obtained by statistical analysis over time (though they may not always be consistent, for example, the velocity curve of blood vessels far from the heart lags behind the heart rate). Since blood flow in the human body fluctuates according to the heart rate cycle, this more clearly reflects the correspondence between the proportion of morphology and blood flow velocity, heart rate phase, or other parameters.

[0122] It should be noted that, although in Figure 11 and Figure 12 Different background patterns are used to represent different forms, but this invention is not limited to this. For example, different colors with the same background pattern or the same color with different background patterns can be used.

[0123] As another implementation method, in S103, the corresponding proportions of various blood flow patterns in blood vessels within a specific region within a preset time period can also be statistically analyzed; and the corresponding proportions of various blood flow patterns in blood vessels within a specific region within a preset time period can be displayed.

[0124] For example, the preset duration can be assumed to be the time length between the first moment and the second moment. Optionally, the preset duration is one cardiac cycle, or the preset duration is a user-specified time length. Here, one cardiac cycle can refer to the time interval between two adjacent diastolic troughs (ED), such as... Figure 13 As shown. It is also understood that other methods can be used to define the cardiac cycle, such as between two adjacent systolic peaks (PS), etc., and this invention is not limited to this.

[0125] As an example, combined with Figure 11 Assume the first time step is t0 and the second time step is t1. Then, according to... Figure 11 The proportion of each form within a preset time period from the first time point (t0) to the second time point (t1) is determined as shown. Figure 11 In this model, the proportion of the laminar flow region (represented by the diagonal line, i.e., the area between the solid line representing laminar flow and the horizontal and vertical coordinates) to the total area of ​​the rectangle can be determined as the corresponding proportion of laminar flow within a preset time period. The rectangle is the area enclosed by the horizontal coordinate t0 to t1 and the vertical coordinate 0 to 100%. Similarly, the corresponding proportions of eddies and turbulence within a preset time period can be obtained.

[0126] For example, the proportions of various blood flow patterns within a specific region over a preset time period can be displayed using any of the following methods: pie chart, bar chart, different colors, background variations, data reports, etc. As an example, such as... Figure 14 The pie chart shows the corresponding proportions of laminar, eddy, and turbulent flow within a preset time period.

[0127] Furthermore, it is understandable that the above combination... Figures 8 to 14 Several embodiments for displaying blood flow patterns within a specific region have been described; however, these are merely illustrative, and other methods can also be used to display the patterns. Furthermore, blood flow patterns within multiple specific regions can be displayed simultaneously. This improves efficiency by allowing simultaneous display of blood flow patterns from multiple specific regions, and also enables comparative analysis of the simultaneously displayed blood flow patterns from multiple specific regions to more quickly determine the presence of abnormalities.

[0128] It is also understood that ultrasound images, such as ultrasound images of the target area or a sub-region of the target area, can be obtained through ultrasound echo signals; therefore, in S103, ultrasound images and blood flow morphology of a specific area can be displayed simultaneously.

[0129] Now return to Figure 1 The ultrasonic device 10 shown.

[0130] In one implementation, a transmit / receive selection switch 120 can excite an ultrasound probe 110 to transmit an ultrasound beam toward a target area, including a blood vessel, via a transmitting circuit, and receive the ultrasound echo of the ultrasound beam returning from the target area. A processor 140 can obtain an ultrasound echo signal based on the ultrasound echo signal; determine the vector velocity of blood flow in the blood vessel based on the ultrasound echo signal; and determine the morphology of blood flow in the blood vessel based on the vector velocity. A display 150 can display the morphology of blood flow in the blood vessel.

[0131] For example, a transmit / receive selection switch 120 can excite an ultrasound probe 110 to emit ultrasound beams toward a target region, including a blood vessel, via a transmitting circuit in at least two directions, and receive ultrasound echoes of the ultrasound beams returning from the target region. A processor 140 can obtain ultrasound echo signals along each of the at least two directions based on the ultrasound echoes; determine the velocity components of the blood flow in the blood vessel along each of the at least two directions based on the ultrasound echo signals along each of the at least two directions; determine the vector velocity of the blood flow in the blood vessel based on the velocity components along each of the at least two directions; and determine the morphology of the blood flow in the blood vessel based on the vector velocity. A display 150 can display the morphology of the blood flow in the blood vessel.

[0132] In addition, embodiments of the present invention also provide a computer storage medium on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a computer or processor, the aforementioned functions can be implemented. Figures 3 to 5 any one or Figure 7 The steps of the method for determining blood flow morphology are shown. For example, the computer storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium.

[0133] In one embodiment, the computer program instructions, when executed by a computer or processor, cause the computer or processor to perform the following steps: emitting an ultrasonic beam toward a target area, the target area including a blood vessel; receiving ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic beam returning from the target area to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal; determining the vector velocity of blood flow in the blood vessel based on the ultrasonic echo signal; determining the morphology of blood flow in the blood vessel based on the vector velocity; and displaying the morphology of blood flow in the blood vessel.

[0134] In one embodiment, the computer program instructions, when executed by a computer or processor, cause the computer or processor to perform the following steps: emitting an ultrasonic beam toward a target region, including a blood vessel, along at least two directions, and receiving ultrasonic echoes of the ultrasonic beam returning from the target region; obtaining ultrasonic echo signals along each of the at least two directions based on the ultrasonic echoes; determining the velocity component of the blood flow in the blood vessel along each of the at least two directions based on the ultrasonic echo signals along each of the at least two directions; determining the vector velocity of the blood flow in the blood vessel based on the velocity component of each of the at least two directions; determining the morphology of the blood flow in the blood vessel based on the vector velocity; and displaying the morphology of the blood flow in the blood vessel.

[0135] Computer storage media may include, for example, a memory card for a smartphone, a storage component for a tablet computer, a hard disk for a personal computer, a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a USB storage device, or any combination of the above storage media. A computer-readable storage medium may be any combination of one or more computer-readable storage media.

[0136] In addition, embodiments of the present invention also provide a computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the aforementioned... Figures 3 to 5 any one or Figure 7 The steps of the method for determining blood flow morphology are shown.

[0137] Therefore, the embodiments of the present invention can determine the morphology of blood flow based on the velocity of blood flow, especially the vector velocity of blood flow, which can reflect the actual situation of blood flow, provide richer reference parameters for hemodynamic research, and provide a more accurate basis for subsequent blood flow morphology analysis.

[0138] Although exemplary embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the above exemplary embodiments are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Various changes and modifications can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as claimed in the appended claims.

[0139] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this invention.

[0140] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another device, or some features may be ignored or not executed.

[0141] Numerous specific details are set forth in the specification provided herein. However, it will be understood that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known methods, structures, and techniques have not been shown in detail so as not to obscure the understanding of this specification.

[0142] Similarly, it should be understood that, in order to streamline the invention and aid in understanding one or more of the various aspects of the invention, features of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof in the description of exemplary embodiments of the invention. However, this approach should not be construed as reflecting an intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as reflected in the corresponding claims, its inventive point lies in solving the corresponding technical problem with fewer features than all of those in a single disclosed embodiment. Therefore, the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into that detailed description, wherein each claim itself is a separate embodiment of the invention.

[0143] Those skilled in the art will understand that, apart from the mutual exclusion of features, all features disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings) and all processes or units of any method or apparatus so disclosed can be combined in any combination. Unless otherwise expressly stated, each feature disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings) may be replaced by an alternative feature that serves the same, equivalent, or similar purpose.

[0144] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that although some embodiments described herein include certain features but not others included in other embodiments, combinations of features from different embodiments are intended to be within the scope of the invention and form different embodiments. For example, in the claims, any of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.

[0145] The various component embodiments of the present invention can be implemented in hardware, or as software modules running on one or more processors, or a combination thereof. Those skilled in the art will understand that microprocessors or digital signal processors (DSPs) can be used in practice to implement some or all of the functions of some modules in the article analysis device according to embodiments of the present invention. The present invention can also be implemented as an apparatus program (e.g., a computer program and computer program product) for performing part or all of the methods described herein. Such programs implementing the present invention can be stored on a computer-readable medium or can be in the form of one or more signals. Such signals can be downloaded from an Internet website, provided on a carrier signal, or provided in any other form.

[0146] It should be noted that the above embodiments are illustrative of the invention and not restrictive, and that those skilled in the art can devise alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses should not be construed as limiting the claims. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps not listed in the claims. The word "a" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. The invention can be implemented by means of hardware comprising several different elements and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In the unit claims enumerating several means, several of these means may be embodied by the same item of hardware. The use of the words first, second, and third, etc., does not indicate any order. These words can be interpreted as names.

[0147] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention or an explanation of that embodiment. The scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for determining blood flow morphology, characterized in that, The method includes: Ultrasonic beams are emitted toward a target area, including blood vessels, in at least two directions; Receive the ultrasonic echo of the ultrasonic beam returning from the target area to obtain ultrasonic echo signals along each of the at least two directions; Based on the ultrasound echo signals along each of the at least two directions, determine the velocity component of the blood flow in the blood vessel along each of the at least two directions; The vector velocity of blood flow in the blood vessel is determined based on the velocity components in each of the at least two directions; Based on the vector velocity, the different morphologies of blood flow in a specific region within the blood vessel at different locations or at different times are determined, wherein the specific region is the target region or a sub-region of the target region, and the different morphologies include at least two of the following: laminar flow, turbulent flow, eddy flow, countercurrent flow, and secondary flow; Displaying the proportion of different blood flow morphologies within a specific region of the blood vessel includes: establishing a coordinate system with time represented on the horizontal axis and proportion represented on the vertical axis; displaying the change in the proportion of different blood flow morphologies at various locations within the specific region as a function of the cardiac cycle within the coordinate system; and simultaneously displaying curves of heart rate and / or blood flow velocity changing over time within the same coordinate system to determine the relationship between blood flow morphology and heart rate and / or blood flow velocity.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Determining the different morphologies of blood flow in a specific region of the blood vessel at different locations or at different times includes: The vector velocity is input into a pre-trained classification neural network to obtain different morphologies of blood flow in a specific region of the blood vessel at different locations or at different times.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Based on the vector velocity, the different morphologies of blood flow within a specific region of the blood vessel are determined, including: Based on the vector velocity and combined with patient data as auxiliary information, the different morphologies of blood flow in a specific region of the blood vessel are determined, wherein the patient data includes at least one of the following: age, medical history, and examination site.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: This displays a morphological distribution map of blood flow at various locations within a specific region, along with the percentage of each morphology relative to the total area of ​​the specific region.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Display the proportion of different blood flow patterns using any of the following methods: pie chart, bar chart, different colors, background differences, data report.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: The proportions of various blood flow patterns within the specified area within a preset time period are statistically analyzed. The preset duration is either one heartbeat cycle or a user-specified time length.

7. A method for determining blood flow morphology, characterized in that, The method includes: The velocity of blood flow in a target region, including blood vessels, is obtained; Based on the blood flow velocity in the target region, the different morphologies of blood flow in a specific region within the blood vessel at different locations or at different times are determined, wherein the specific region is the target region or a sub-region of the target region, and the different morphologies include at least two of the following: laminar flow, turbulent flow, eddy flow, countercurrent flow, and secondary flow; Displaying the proportion of different blood flow morphologies within a specific region of the blood vessel includes: establishing a coordinate system with time represented on the horizontal axis and proportion represented on the vertical axis; displaying the change in the proportion of different blood flow morphologies at various locations within the specific region as a function of the cardiac cycle within the coordinate system; and simultaneously displaying curves of heart rate and / or blood flow velocity changing over time within the same coordinate system to determine the relationship between blood flow morphology and heart rate and / or blood flow velocity.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, When the velocity is a vector velocity, the vector velocity is obtained through any of the following methods: spot tracking method, transverse wave oscillation method, multi-angle deflection transmission / reception method; When the velocity is the velocity component along the direction of ultrasound emission obtained by emitting ultrasound waves into the target area, the morphology of the blood flow includes any of the following: chaotic or orderly.

9. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, Determining the different morphologies of blood flow in a specific region of the blood vessel at different locations or at different times includes: The velocity of the blood flow is input into a pre-trained classification neural network to obtain different morphologies of blood flow in a specific region of the blood vessel at different locations or at different times.

10. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The method further includes: displaying a morphological distribution map of various blood flow patterns at different locations within a specific region, as well as the percentage of each pattern to the total area of ​​the specific region.

11. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, Display the proportion of different blood flow patterns using any of the following methods: pie chart, bar chart, different colors, background differences, data report.

12. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, Also includes: The proportions of various blood flow patterns within the specified area within a preset time period are statistically analyzed. The preset duration is one heartbeat cycle or the preset duration is a user-specified time length.

13. An ultrasonic device, characterized in that, include: Ultrasonic probe; A transmit / receive selection switch is used to excite the ultrasound probe to emit an ultrasound beam toward a target area, including blood vessels, via a transmit circuit, and to excite the ultrasound probe to receive the ultrasound echo of the ultrasound beam returning from the target area via a receive circuit. Memory is used to store programs executed by the processor; The processor is configured to execute or control the transmit / receive selection switch or display to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 12.

Images