Method for generating ultrasonic sound velocity image, ultrasonic device and storage medium

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for generating an ultrasonic sound velocity image, an ultrasonic device, and a storage medium. The above-mentioned generation method includes: emitting ultrasonic waves through the probe of the ultrasonic device, and receiving the echo of the ultrasonic waves to generate an echo signal; based on the respective receiving delays of each preset sound velocity, respectively performing beamforming processing on the echo signal to obtain the enhanced signal corresponding to each preset sound velocity; based on the pixel value of each first pixel in the sound velocity image of each preset sound velocity, determining the pixel value of the second pixel in the target image corresponding to the first pixel to obtain the target image. On the one hand, the sound velocity image obtained by the present invention is highly representative, thereby improving the representativeness of the target image, which is beneficial to improving the accuracy of the detection results for the subject; on the other hand, the target image in the present invention can be generated based on different sound velocity images, so the information breadth of the target image can be improved, and the display flexibility is also higher.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of image processing, and more specifically to a method for generating an ultrasonic sound velocity image, an ultrasonic device, a storage medium and a computer program product. Background Art

[0002] Based on ultrasonic imaging technology, ultrasonic waves can be used to scan the object under inspection, and the internal image of the object under inspection can be obtained by receiving and processing the reflected signal. Ultrasonic imaging technology is of great importance in the fields of medicine and geological exploration. A variety of images can be generated according to actual needs based on ultrasonic imaging technology, such as grayscale images obtained by B-mode scanning (also called B-ultrasound), color images obtained by color Doppler ultrasound (also called color ultrasound), sound velocity images, etc. Among them, the sound velocity image uses the difference in the propagation speed of ultrasonic waves in different media to show the distribution of the medium inside the object under inspection, which can assist users of ultrasonic equipment to distinguish normal tissues from diseased tissues of the object under inspection.

[0003] In actual application scenarios, the pixel values ​​of pixels in the sound velocity image are not directly measured, but calculated based on a specific formula. Therefore, the pixel value accuracy of the pixels in the sound velocity image is low, which in turn reduces the accuracy of the detection results of the inspected object obtained based on the sound velocity image. Therefore, how to improve the accuracy of the sound velocity image is a technical problem that technicians in this field need to solve urgently. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention is proposed in view of the above problems. The present invention provides a method for generating an ultrasound sound velocity image, an ultrasound device, a storage medium and a computer program product.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for generating an ultrasonic sound velocity image is provided, the method comprising:

[0006] The ultrasonic wave is emitted through the probe of the ultrasonic device, and the echo of the ultrasonic wave is received to generate an echo signal;

[0007] Based on the receiving delay of each preset sound speed, the echo signal is beamformed to obtain an enhanced signal corresponding to each preset sound speed;

[0008] Based on the pixel value of each first pixel in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed, the pixel value of the second pixel corresponding to the first pixel in the target image is determined to obtain the target image, wherein the sound speed image of each preset sound speed is obtained based on the enhanced signal corresponding to the preset sound speed.

[0009] Exemplarily, determining the pixel value of a second pixel corresponding to the first pixel in the target image based on the pixel value of each first pixel in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed includes:

[0010] For each first pixel P in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed i , calculate the first pixel P i The metric value of the first pixel P i The closeness between the sound velocity represented by the pixel value and the true sound velocity of the ultrasound wave is monotonic within the value range of the metric value, and i is a positive integer less than or equal to the total number of first pixels in the sound velocity image;

[0011] Based on the position correspondence relationship and the measurement value between the first pixel and the second pixel, the pixel value of each second pixel is determined in sequence.

[0012] Exemplarily, for each first pixel P in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed i , calculate the first pixel P i The measurements include:

[0013] For each first pixel P in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed i , determine the first value of the enhanced signal corresponding to the preset sound speed as the first pixel P i The peak value of the first pixel P is the peak value of the enhanced signal. i The corresponding peak value of the first sampling signal, the first pixel P i The pixel value of is determined based on the first sampling signal;

[0014] Determining the pixel value of each second pixel in sequence based on the position correspondence relationship and the measurement value between the first pixel and the second pixel includes:

[0015] For each second pixel P i ',

[0016] Based on the second pixel P i 'The first pixel P corresponding to all sound speed images i The peak value of all first pixels P i Performing screening to obtain the selected first pixel;

[0017] Based on the pixel value of the selected first pixel, determine the second pixel P i 'Pixel value.

[0018] Exemplarily, the peak value of the selected first pixel is higher than that of the second pixel P i 'The corresponding peak value of any other first pixel.

[0019] Exemplarily, for each first pixel P in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed i , calculate the first pixel P i The measurements include:

[0020] For each first pixel P in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed i , determine the maximum coherence value between the echo signals from different array elements of the probe corresponding to the preset sound velocity, as the first pixel P i The maximum coherence value is the value of the echo signal from different array elements of the probe that is related to the first pixel P. i The maximum coherence value between the corresponding second sampling signals, the first pixel P i The pixel value of is determined based on the second sampling signal;

[0021] Determining the pixel value of each second pixel in sequence based on the position correspondence relationship and the measurement value between the first pixel and the second pixel includes:

[0022] For each second pixel P i ',

[0023] Based on the second pixel P i 'The first pixel P corresponding to all sound speed images i The coherence value of all first pixels P i Performing screening to obtain the selected first pixel;

[0024] Based on the pixel value of the selected first pixel, determine the second pixel P i 'Pixel value.

[0025] Exemplarily, the coherence value of the selected first pixel is higher than that of the second pixel P i 'The corresponding coherent value of any other first pixel.

[0026] Exemplarily, transmitting ultrasonic waves through a probe and receiving echoes of the ultrasonic waves to generate echo signals include:

[0027] For each preset sound speed, based on the transmission delay of the preset sound speed, an ultrasonic wave is transmitted through the probe, and an echo of the ultrasonic wave corresponding to the preset sound speed is received to generate an echo signal corresponding to the preset sound speed;

[0028] Based on the receiving delay of each preset sound speed, the echo signal is beamformed to obtain the enhanced signal corresponding to each preset sound speed, including:

[0029] For each preset sound speed, beamforming processing is performed on the echo signal corresponding to the preset sound speed based on the reception delay of the preset sound speed to obtain an enhanced signal corresponding to the preset sound speed.

[0030] Exemplarily, transmitting ultrasonic waves through a probe of an ultrasonic device and receiving echoes of the ultrasonic waves to generate echo signals include:

[0031] Based on the transmission delay of the reference sound speed, ultrasonic waves are transmitted through the probe, and echoes of the ultrasonic waves corresponding to the reference sound speed are received to generate echo signals.

[0032] Exemplarily, before performing beamforming processing on the echo signals respectively based on the respective receiving delays of each preset sound speed, the generation method further includes: performing signal preprocessing on the echo signals.

[0033] Exemplarily, the generating method further includes: performing an image enhancement operation on the target image to obtain and display an enhanced target image.

[0034] According to yet another aspect of the present invention, an ultrasound device is provided. The ultrasound device includes: a probe, a beam forming module and an image processing module.

[0035] A probe, used for transmitting ultrasonic waves and receiving echoes of the ultrasonic waves to generate echo signals;

[0036] A beamforming module, configured to perform beamforming processing on the echo signals based on the respective receiving delays of each preset sound speed, so as to obtain enhanced signals corresponding to each preset sound speed;

[0037] An image processing module is used to determine the pixel value of a second pixel in a target image corresponding to the first pixel based on the pixel value of each first pixel in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed, so as to obtain the target image, wherein the sound speed image of each preset sound speed is obtained based on the enhanced signal corresponding to the preset sound speed.

[0038] According to another aspect of the present invention, a storage medium is provided, on which program instructions are stored, and the program instructions are used to execute the above-mentioned method for generating an ultrasonic sound velocity image when running.

[0039] According to another aspect of the present invention, a computer program product is also provided. The computer program product includes computer program instructions, and the computer program instructions are used to execute the above-mentioned method for generating an ultrasonic sound velocity image when running.

[0040] According to the above scheme of the embodiment of the present invention, the pixel value of the second pixel in the target image corresponding to the first pixel can be determined based on the pixel value of each first pixel in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed, so as to obtain the target image. On the one hand, the above sound speed image is generated based on the enhanced signal obtained by the beamforming process, so the representativeness of the sound speed image is strong, which can improve the representativeness of the target image and help improve the accuracy of the detection results for the object under inspection; on the other hand, the target image in the above scheme can be generated based on different sound speed images, so the information breadth of the target image can be improved, and the display flexibility is also higher. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] The above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing the embodiments of the present invention in more detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present invention and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments of the present invention, they are used to explain the present invention and do not constitute a limitation of the present invention. In the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals generally represent the same components or steps.

[0042] Figure 1 A schematic flow chart of a method for generating an ultrasonic sound velocity image according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0043] Figure 2 A reference schematic diagram of a sound velocity image and a target image according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0044] Figure 3 A schematic block diagram of an ultrasound device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown; and

[0045] Figure 4 A schematic block diagram of an ultrasound device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the present invention more obvious, the exemplary embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments of the present invention, and it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein. Based on the embodiments of the present invention described in the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0047] The internal structure of the object under inspection has some inherent properties, such as density, elasticity, and the speed of sound propagating through it. From the perspective of the propagation of ultrasound through it, the internal structure of the object under inspection can also be called the propagation medium of ultrasound. In the medical field, lesions of the medium, rusting of metal in the body of the object under inspection (such as metal medical devices in the body), etc. will cause the above-mentioned inherent properties of the medium to change. Therefore, by detecting the above-mentioned inherent properties, the internal conditions of the object under inspection can be known. Due to the diversity and complexity of the medium in the body of the object under inspection, it is impossible to accurately determine the speed of sound propagating through the medium, so the accuracy of existing sound velocity images is not high.

[0048] In order to at least partially solve the above problem, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for generating an ultrasonic sound velocity image. Figure 1 FIG. 2 shows a schematic flow chart of a method for generating an ultrasonic sound velocity image according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 As shown, the method may include the following steps S110 to S130.

[0049] In step S110 , ultrasonic waves are transmitted through a probe of an ultrasonic device, and echoes of the ultrasonic waves are received to generate echo signals.

[0050] The generation method in the embodiment of the present invention can be performed based on an ultrasonic device. The ultrasonic device at least includes a probe. The user (ie, the operator) of the ultrasonic device can place the probe on the body surface of the object to be inspected. The probe can then emit ultrasonic waves to detect the object to be inspected. The probe can include a plurality of ultrasonic array elements, which can include a transducer. The transducer can emit ultrasonic waves and receive echoes of ultrasonic waves to generate echo signals. It should be understood that the ultrasonic array element can also include a corresponding set of transmitters and receivers. The transmitter can emit ultrasonic waves, and the receiver can receive echoes of ultrasonic waves. In some embodiments, the probe of the ultrasonic device can include a plurality of ultrasonic array elements, and each ultrasonic array element can be set with a different transmission delay. Transmission delay refers to the time difference between different ultrasonic array elements transmitting ultrasonic waves during ultrasonic imaging. By changing the transmission delay, the spatial fields in which ultrasonic waves emitted by different ultrasonic array elements are focused after superposition can be different, so as to achieve focusing on the area of ​​interest of the object to be inspected. In one example, the ultrasonic device can be various types of ultrasonic elastic imaging devices, such as ultrasonic diagnostic instruments or ultrasonic imaging workstations. Specifically, the ultrasonic diagnostic instrument can have different transducer types and examine different parts accordingly, such as blood vessels, abdomen, gynecology, breast, etc. The ultrasonic imaging workstation can be a device that integrates functional modules such as patient registration, image acquisition, diagnosis editing, report printing, image post-processing, medical record query, and statistical analysis. The ultrasonic imaging workstation can be communicatively connected to the ultrasonic diagnostic instrument, for example, through any wired or wireless communication method. The ultrasonic diagnostic instrument can transmit the collected ultrasonic echo signal to the ultrasonic imaging workstation for processing, analysis, and storage.

[0051] The echo signal can represent the echo intensity distributed in a time series. Combined with the actual scenario, when the object under inspection is subjected to ultrasonic testing, when the ultrasonic wave contacts different media, reflection, scattering, and refraction will occur. Since the acoustic impedance of each medium is different, when the ultrasonic wave encounters the junction of two media with different acoustic impedances, part of the energy of the ultrasonic wave will be reflected back. The above reflected part of the energy is the echo of the ultrasonic wave, which stimulates the piezoelectric crystal of the ultrasonic array element to obtain an echo signal. In an example, the greater the difference in the acoustic impedance of the two media, the stronger the echo can be. Correspondingly, the amplitude of the echo signal will also increase. The ultrasonic wave echo will continue to be received by the ultrasonic array element for a period of time, that is, an echo signal is formed.

[0052] In step S120, beamforming processing is performed on the echo signals based on the respective receiving delays of each preset sound speed, so as to obtain enhanced signals corresponding to each preset sound speed.

[0053] The receiving delay refers to the time difference between different ultrasonic array elements receiving the echo signal during the ultrasonic imaging process. The receiving delay is used to delay the echo signal to maintain the consistency of the time series. The receiving delay for each preset sound speed can be a preset value. For example, the receiving delay can be determined for each preset sound speed through multiple experiments. For the receiving delay of the same preset sound speed, the receiving delay of each ultrasonic array element can be determined according to the different positions of the ultrasonic array element.

[0054] Beamforming processing can synthesize the echo signals obtained by multiple ultrasonic array elements to generate a more representative enhanced signal. For example, based on the echo signal, the enhanced signal can be obtained through the delay and sum algorithm (DAS), the filtered delay multiplication and summation (F-DMAS), the adaptive beamforming algorithm (AdaptiveBeamforming), etc. For example, if the probe includes 128 ultrasonic array elements, after transmitting ultrasonic waves, each ultrasonic array element can receive its own echo, and a total of 128 echo signals can be obtained. The echo signal is used to represent the echo intensity in the time series, so the time delay can be applied to the time series to readjust the distribution position of the echo intensity in the time series, that is, the delay processing of the echo signal is realized. The time series of the echo signal after the delay processing is consistent, so the synthesis of multiple echo signals can be realized. For example, if the receiving delay of an ultrasonic array element is 10 nanoseconds, all echo intensities of the echo signal corresponding to the ultrasonic array element can be delayed by 10 nanoseconds to obtain the echo signal after delay processing. After delay processing of each echo signal, the echo intensities of the 128 echo signals after delay processing are synthesized in time series to obtain an enhanced signal. The above-mentioned enhanced signal can suppress the sidelobe effect to a certain extent, thereby improving the representativeness of the sound velocity image generated based on the enhanced signal, which is conducive to improving the accuracy of the detection results for the object under examination.

[0055] In step S130, based on the pixel value of each first pixel in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed, the pixel value of the second pixel corresponding to the first pixel in the target image is determined to obtain the target image.

[0056] The sound speed image of each preset sound speed is obtained based on the enhanced signal corresponding to the preset sound speed. In other words, in the embodiment of the present application, each preset sound speed corresponds to a sound speed image. As described in step S120, the sound speed image of the preset sound speed can be obtained based on the enhanced signal corresponding to the preset sound speed.

[0057] Exemplarily, the echo received by the ultrasonic wave emitted by the probe once can be used to determine the pixel value of one or more columns of first pixels (or scan lines) in the sound velocity image. The probe can adjust the emission angle of the ultrasonic wave by electronic scanning technology (or electronic steering technology), and then determine the pixel values ​​of all first pixels in the sound velocity image. It can be understood that when one echo is used to determine the pixel values ​​of multiple columns of first pixels, multiple columns of first pixels corresponding to the echoes received at different emission angles may overlap. For example, echo 1 of the ultrasonic wave emitted by the probe can determine the pixel values ​​of the first pixels of columns 1 to 5. After the probe adjusts the emission angle of the ultrasonic wave, echo 2 of the ultrasonic wave emitted again can determine the pixel values ​​of the first pixels of columns 3 to 7. Among them, the first pixel A in columns 3 to 5 can determine the pixel value 1 by echo 1, and can also determine the pixel value 2 by echo 2. In the above example, the pixel value 1 and the pixel value 2 can be fused to obtain the pixel value of the first pixel A. The pixel value of the first pixel in the sound velocity image is related to the sound velocity of the ultrasound wave corresponding to the first pixel, and can be determined according to the pre-established correspondence between the sound velocity and the RGB value. For example, if the sound velocity corresponding to the first pixel is greater, the first pixel may be closer to red; if the sound velocity corresponding to the first pixel is smaller, the first pixel may be closer to blue.

[0058] Combined with the actual scene, the echo generated by the ultrasonic wave when it contacts the deeper medium in the object under inspection, the corresponding position in the time series of the enhanced signal is also further back. The vertical axis in the sound velocity image is related to the medium depth of the object under inspection, so the enhanced signal can establish a corresponding relationship with the pixel in the sound velocity image. For example, the time series in the enhanced signal can be used to determine the vertical coordinate of the pixel, and the angle of the ultrasonic wave corresponding to the enhanced signal can be used to determine the horizontal coordinate of the pixel. The corresponding moment of the pixel in the time series can be determined by the above correspondence. Based on the moment corresponding to the pixel, the time required for the ultrasonic wave to reach the corresponding position of the pixel in the actual space can be determined. Combined with the preset depth of the pixel and the above time length, the sound speed of the ultrasonic wave when passing through the corresponding position of the pixel in the actual space can be obtained as the sound speed of the pixel. In one example, it is also possible to determine only the sound speed of the pixel corresponding to the peak in the enhanced signal, and then determine the sound speed of other pixels by interpolation.

[0059] See also Figure 2 , Figure 2 FIG. 2 shows a reference schematic diagram of a sound velocity image and a target image according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 , the first pixel in each sound speed image may have a positional correspondence with the second pixel in the target image. For example, the image size of the sound speed image may be equal to the image size of the target image, and then a positional correspondence between the first pixel and the second pixel may be established. Figure 2As shown, for the second pixel in the upper left corner of the target image, the first pixel in the upper left corner corresponds to each sound speed image. Through this correspondence, the pixel value of the second pixel in the target image can be determined based on the pixel value of the first pixel in the sound speed image.

[0060] In some embodiments, for each second pixel in the target image, a preset sound speed can be selected from the preset sound speeds, and the pixel value of the first pixel corresponding to the second pixel position in the sound speed image corresponding to the selected preset sound speed is determined as the pixel value of the second pixel.

[0061] In some alternative embodiments, the user of the ultrasound device can select different areas of interest in the target image according to their own needs, and then select a preset sound speed for each area of ​​interest, and fill the area positions corresponding to the different areas of interest in the sound speed image of the selected preset sound speed into the target image accordingly. For example, the target image may include the area where the gastric tissue is located and the area where other tissues are located. Then, by selecting sound speed images with different preset sound speeds, the display effect of the area where the gastric tissue is located in the target image can be changed until it meets the user's expectations. Combined with actual scenarios, the sound speed image can also be displayed on the display screen of the host computer of the ultrasound device together with B-ultrasound images, color ultrasound images, etc., to show the user more information about the subject.

[0062] According to the above scheme provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the pixel value of the second pixel in the target image corresponding to the first pixel can be determined based on the pixel value of each first pixel in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed, so as to obtain the target image. On the one hand, the above sound speed image is generated based on the enhanced signal obtained by the beamforming process, so the representativeness of the sound speed image is strong, which can improve the representativeness of the target image and help improve the accuracy of the detection results for the inspected object; on the other hand, the target image in the above scheme can be generated based on different sound speed images, so the information breadth of the target image can be improved, and the display flexibility is also higher.

[0063] Exemplarily, step S110, transmitting ultrasonic waves through the probe and receiving echoes of the ultrasonic waves to generate an echo signal, may include: for each preset sound speed, based on the transmission delay of the preset sound speed, transmitting ultrasonic waves through the probe, and receiving echoes of the ultrasonic waves corresponding to the preset sound speed to generate an echo signal corresponding to the preset sound speed.

[0064] By transmitting ultrasound waves based on the transmission delays of different preset sound speeds, different focused sound fields can be generated to improve the resolution of the area of ​​interest, thereby affecting the pixel values ​​of the pixels in the sound speed image. If the probe is a phased array probe, each ultrasonic array element can transmit ultrasound waves in a certain time sequence, which can be specifically expressed as the transmission delay mentioned above. The transmission delay of the ultrasonic array element may also be different due to the relative position between the ultrasonic array elements. By adjusting the transmission delay of the ultrasonic array element, the propagation direction and focusing position of the ultrasound wave can be controlled. Combined with the actual scene, here is an example of ultrasonic array elements 1 to 128 and preset sound speeds 1 to 3. Ultrasonic array elements 1 to 128 transmit ultrasound waves in sequence according to the transmission delay of preset sound speed 1 (each ultrasonic array element can correspond to a different transmission delay), and obtain echo signals 1 to 128. Then, ultrasonic array elements 1 to 128 transmit ultrasound waves in sequence according to the transmission delay of preset sound speed 2, and obtain echo signals 129 to 256, until each preset sound speed corresponds to an echo signal.

[0065] In step S120, based on the receiving delay of each preset sound speed, the echo signals are respectively subjected to beamforming processing to obtain the enhanced signals corresponding to each preset sound speed, which may include: for each preset sound speed, based on the receiving delay of the preset sound speed, the echo signals corresponding to the preset sound speed are subjected to beamforming processing to obtain the enhanced signals corresponding to the preset sound speed.

[0066] By performing beamforming processing on the echo signal based on the receiving delay of the preset sound speed, the echo signal can be unified in the time series, so that the echo signal after delay processing can be superimposed at the same (or relatively close) depth (the later the moment in the time series, the deeper the depth), which is beneficial to remove noise in the echo signal. The simultaneous use of transmission delay and receiving delay can improve the imaging quality of the sound speed image and is also beneficial to realize the dynamic focusing function. Combined with the examples in the above text, here taking the preset sound speed 1 as an example, the receiving delay of the preset sound speed 1 (each ultrasonic array element can correspond to a different receiving delay) can be applied to echo signals 1 to 128, that is, the echo signals 1 to 128 after delay processing are obtained. The echo signals 1 to 128 after delay processing are synthesized to obtain the enhanced signal of the preset sound speed 1.

[0067] According to the above scheme provided by the embodiment of the present invention, for each preset sound speed, an ultrasonic wave can be emitted through the probe based on the emission delay of the preset sound speed, and the echo of the ultrasonic wave corresponding to the preset sound speed can be received to generate an echo signal corresponding to the preset sound speed. Then, based on the reception delay of the preset sound speed, the echo signal corresponding to the preset sound speed is subjected to beamforming processing to obtain an enhanced signal corresponding to the preset sound speed. The above scheme can set different emission delays according to the preset sound speed to obtain an echo signal of each preset sound speed. In other words, in this technical scheme, the number of ultrasonic emission times is equal to the total number of preset sound speeds, and the number of super beamforming processing is also equal to the total number of preset sound speeds. On the one hand, the emission delays of different preset sound speeds can make the position of the focused sound field of the ultrasonic wave different, thereby improving the information breadth of multiple sound speed images; on the other hand, emitting ultrasonic waves based on the emission delay of the preset sound speed can form a sound field adapted to the target medium in the subject (the sound speed of the ultrasonic wave when passing through the target medium is close to the preset sound speed), thereby improving the representativeness of the sound speed image, which is conducive to improving the accuracy of the detection results for the subject.

[0068] Exemplarily, step S110, transmitting ultrasound through the probe and receiving the echo of the ultrasound to generate an echo signal, may include: transmitting ultrasound through the probe based on a transmission delay of a reference sound speed, and receiving the echo of the ultrasound corresponding to the reference sound speed to generate an echo signal.

[0069] The above-mentioned reference sound speed can be any one of a plurality of preset sound speeds, or it can be the average sound speed of a plurality of preset sound speeds. The above-mentioned reference sound speed can also be the average sound speed of ultrasound passing through the internal medium of the subject, for example, 1540 m / s. Emitting ultrasound waves based on the transmission delay of the reference sound speed (each ultrasound array element can correspond to a different transmission delay) can generate a sound field that is relatively adapted to the internal medium of the subject. Then, in step S120, each preset sound speed can perform beamforming processing on the echo signal corresponding to the reference sound speed based on its respective receiving delay to obtain an enhanced signal for each preset sound speed.

[0070] Combined with the actual scenario, here we still take the ultrasonic array elements 1 to 128 and the preset sound speeds 1 to 3 mentioned above as an example. Ultrasonic array elements 1 to 128 transmit ultrasonic waves in sequence according to the transmission delay of the reference sound speed, and obtain echo signals 1 to 128. For the preset sound speed 1, the receiving delay of the preset sound speed 1 (each ultrasonic array element can correspond to a different receiving delay) can be applied to the echo signals 1 to 128 to obtain the echo signals 1 to 128 after delay processing. The echo signals 1 to 128 after delay processing are synthesized to obtain the enhanced signal of the preset sound speed 1; for the preset sound speed 2, the receiving delay of the preset sound speed 2 can be applied to the echo signals 1 to 128 to obtain the echo signals 1 to 128 after delay processing. The echo signals 1 to 128 after delay processing are synthesized to obtain the enhanced signal of the preset sound speed 2...

[0071] The above scheme of the embodiment of the present invention can transmit ultrasound waves through the probe based on the transmission delay of the reference sound speed, and receive the echo of the ultrasound waves corresponding to the reference sound speed to generate an echo signal. In other words, in this technical scheme, ultrasound waves can be transmitted once, but the echo signals are beamformed based on the respective reception delays of different preset sound speeds, that is, the number of beamforming processes is equal to the total number of preset sound speeds, so as to obtain an enhanced signal corresponding to each preset sound speed. Compared with the above method of transmitting ultrasound waves for each preset sound speed, the above scheme can, on the one hand, reduce the amount of calculation, thereby increasing the speed of generating the sound speed image, which is conducive to real-time display of the target image; on the other hand, it can reduce the number of times the ultrasonic array element transmits ultrasound waves, which is conducive to extending the service life of the ultrasonic array element.

[0072] Exemplarily, before performing beamforming processing on the echo signals respectively based on the respective receiving delays of each preset sound speed in step S120, the generation method of the embodiment of the present invention may further include: performing signal preprocessing on the echo signals.

[0073] The signal preprocessing is used to improve the representativeness of the echo signal. For example, the signal preprocessing may include demodulation, downsampling, noise reduction, etc.

[0074] The above-mentioned scheme of the embodiment of the present invention can perform signal preprocessing on the echo signal to improve the representativeness of the echo signal, thereby improving the representativeness of the target image, which is beneficial to improving the accuracy of the detection result for the object under inspection.

[0075] Exemplarily, determining the pixel value of the second pixel corresponding to the first pixel in the target image based on the pixel value of each first pixel in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed in step S130 may include: step S131 and step S132.

[0076] In step S131, for each first pixel P in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed, i, calculate the first pixel P i The measurement value of .

[0077] i is a positive integer less than or equal to the total number of first pixels in the sound velocity image. i The closeness between the sound velocity represented by the pixel value of and the true sound velocity of the ultrasound wave is monotonic within the range of the metric value. For example, the higher the above metric value, the closer the first pixel P is to the true sound velocity of the ultrasound wave. i The closer the sound speed represented by the pixel value is to the true sound speed of the ultrasound wave. For another example, the lower the above metric value is, the closer the sound speed represented by the pixel value is to the true sound speed of the ultrasound wave. i The closer the sound speed represented by the pixel value is to the true sound speed of ultrasound, the specific value may depend on different measurement values.

[0078] In some embodiments, the above metric value may be expressed as the first pixel P i For example, the local contrast of the local area where the first pixel P i The area formed by several nearby pixels is regarded as the local area, and then the local contrast can be obtained by calculating the local standard deviation or mean absolute deviation of the local area. The higher the local contrast, the clearer the local area is, which can be regarded as the first pixel P i The higher the pixel value, the closer the sound speed represented by the image is to the true sound speed of the ultrasound.

[0079] In step S132, based on the position correspondence relationship and the measurement value between the first pixel and the second pixel, the pixel value of each second pixel is determined in turn.

[0080] Combined with the example above that there is a one-to-one position correspondence between the first pixel in any sound speed image and the second pixel in the target image, if the coordinates of the first pixel in the sound speed image are (112, 140) (that is, the first pixel is located in the 112th column and the 140th row in the sound speed image), then the first pixel can correspond to the second pixel with the coordinates of (112, 140) in the target image. i Corresponding to the second pixel P i 'For example, if the metric value is higher, the first pixel P i The closer the sound speed represented by the pixel value is to the true sound speed of ultrasound, the better the first pixel P at the same position in all sound speed images is determined. i The first pixel with the highest metric value is taken as the pixel value of the second pixel P i In one example, the first pixel P at the same position in all sound speed images can also be determined. iThe pixel values ​​of the first pixels with the highest metric values ​​are fused to obtain the second pixel P i '. For example, if the total number of preset sound speeds is 5, then for the second pixel P with coordinates (10, 15) in the target image i ', and obtain the first pixel P with coordinates (10, 15) in the five sound velocity images respectively. i If the 5 first pixels P i The metric values ​​are 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 0.7, and 0.8 respectively. Then the first pixel P with a metric value of 0.8 can be i The pixel value of the second pixel P i '. You can also use the first three pixels with the largest metric values, such as the first pixel P with metric values ​​of 0.8, 0.7, and 0.5 respectively. i The pixel values ​​of the second pixel P are merged to obtain i '. If the metric value is lower, the first pixel P i The closer the sound speed represented by the pixel value of the first pixel is to the true sound speed of the ultrasound, the pixel value of the first pixel with the lowest metric value can be used as the second pixel P i In one example, the pixel values ​​of the first pixels with the lowest metric values ​​may be fused to obtain the second pixel P i ', the relevant contents of the present invention are not described in detail in this embodiment. The above method can improve the representativeness of the target image, which is conducive to improving the accuracy of the detection result for the object under inspection.

[0081] According to the above scheme of the embodiment of the present invention, the measurement value of each first pixel in each sound speed image can be calculated. Then, based on the position correspondence relationship and the measurement value between the first pixel and the second pixel, the pixel value of each second pixel is determined in turn. The above scheme can quantify the representativeness of the sound speed value of the first pixel by calculating the measurement value of each first pixel, which is conducive to obtaining a more representative target image based on the measurement value.

[0082] Exemplarily, in step S131, for each first pixel P in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed, i , calculate the first pixel P i The measurement value may include: for each first pixel P in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed i , determine the first value of the enhanced signal corresponding to the preset sound speed as the first pixel P i peak value.

[0083] The first value is the peak value of the first sampling signal corresponding to the first pixel of the enhanced signal. iThe pixel value is determined based on the first sampling signal. In combination with actual scenarios, due to the different acoustic impedances of different media, when the ultrasonic wave encounters the junction of two media with different acoustic impedances, part of the ultrasonic wave's energy will be reflected back to form an ultrasonic wave echo signal. Based on the receiving delays of the preset sound speeds, the echo signals are beamformed respectively to obtain enhanced signals corresponding to each preset sound speed. The enhanced signal reflects the change in echo intensity of the various media through which the ultrasonic wave propagates in a time series. In other words, the enhanced signal is a time series signal. Different time series data, i.e., different sampling signals, can be obtained by sampling the enhanced signal. These different sampling signals correspond to the positions of the media at different depths through which the ultrasonic wave passes, and thus, also correspond to pixels at different positions in a column of pixels in the ultrasonic image. In an embodiment of the present application, the first sampling signal corresponds to the first pixel P i , that is, the first pixel P i The pixel value of is determined based on the first sampling signal. For simplicity of description, the peak value of the first sampling signal can be called the first pixel P i peak value.

[0084] Step S132, determining the pixel value of each second pixel in turn based on the position correspondence and measurement value between the first pixel and the second pixel, may include: step S1321a and step S1322a.

[0085] In step S1321a, for each second pixel P i ', based on the second pixel P i 'The first pixel P corresponding to all sound speed images i The peak value of all first pixels P i Filtering is performed to obtain the first pixel selected.

[0086] In one example, one or more first pixels P with the highest peak value may be i In another example, a first threshold value may be set to select the first pixel P whose peak value is higher than the first threshold value. i As the selected first pixel. Combined with the actual scene, if the peak value is lower than the first threshold, the echo intensity corresponding to the first pixel is low, which may have been affected by noise (such as noise generated by scattering and refraction of ultrasound), so it can be regarded as the first pixel is less representative. The specific value of the above first threshold can be determined by the developer or the user of the ultrasound device according to the actual situation.

[0087] In step S1322a, for each second pixel P i ', based on the pixel value of the selected first pixel, determine the second pixel P i 'Pixel value.

[0088] In step S1321a, only one first pixel P is selected. i In the example of i The pixel value of the second pixel P i In another example, the pixel values ​​of the first pixels selected based on the peak value may be fused to obtain the second pixel P i In another example, the pixel value of the first pixel selected based on the pixel value and the pixel value of the first pixel obtained by screening based on other metric values ​​may be fused to obtain the second pixel P i 'The pixel value of '. The other metric values ​​mentioned above are for example the local contrast mentioned above.

[0089] According to the above scheme provided by the embodiment of the present invention, for the first pixel in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed, the first value of the enhanced signal can be used as the peak value of the first pixel. Then, the first pixel can be screened based on the peak value of the first pixel corresponding to the second pixel in all sound speed images. Finally, the pixel value of the second pixel can be determined based on the pixel value of the selected first pixel. The above peak value can be used to indicate the representativeness of the first pixel. Specifically, the higher the peak value, the higher the echo intensity of the first pixel, so it is less affected by noise and the representativeness of the first pixel is stronger. The above scheme can screen the first pixel based on the peak value, so the representativeness of the second pixel can be improved, which is beneficial to improving the imaging effect of the target image.

[0090] Exemplarily, the peak value of the selected first pixel is higher than that of the second pixel P i 'The corresponding peak value of any other first pixel.

[0091] The higher the peak value of the first pixel, the more representative the first pixel is. In other words, the speed represented by the first pixel is closer to the true speed of the ultrasound. i 'From all the first pixels corresponding to the first pixel, select the first pixel with the highest peak value, and determine the second pixel P based on the selected first pixel i 'Pixel value.

[0092] According to the above scheme provided by an embodiment of the present invention, the selected first pixel is the first pixel with the highest peak value. On the one hand, the amount of calculation is smaller, which is conducive to the real-time display of the target image; on the other hand, when the pixel values ​​of the first pixels obtained by screening based on the same measurement value are fused, the individual differences of the first pixels may be reduced. Therefore, the target image obtained by the above scheme is more representative, which is conducive to improving the accuracy of the detection results for the inspected object.

[0093] Exemplarily, in step S131, for each first pixel P in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed,i , calculate the first pixel P i The measurement value may include: for each first pixel P in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed i , determine the maximum coherence value between the echo signals from different array elements of the probe corresponding to the preset sound velocity, as the first pixel P i The relevant value of .

[0094] The maximum coherence value is the echo signal from different array elements of the probe, which is related to the first pixel P i The maximum coherence value between the corresponding second sampling signals. i The pixel value of the first pixel P is determined based on the second sampling signal. The echo signals received by all array elements of the probe can be sampled separately to obtain the echo signal received by each array element that is related to the first pixel P. i For the first pixel P i For all the corresponding second sampling signals, the coherence values ​​are calculated two by two, and the largest one is selected from the calculated coherence values ​​as the above-mentioned maximum coherence value. The coherence value is used to indicate the proportion of non-noise signals in the enhanced signal. The above-mentioned coherence value can be obtained by means of multi-channel coherence function (Multiple-Channel Coherence Function), calculation of generalized coherence factor (Generalized Coherence Factor, GCF), etc. Here, taking the calculation of generalized coherence coefficient as an example, the second sampling signal of each delayed echo signal can be Fourier transformed respectively to obtain the frequency domain signal of each delayed second sampling signal. The autospectral density of the frequency domain signal of the second sampling signal corresponding to different array elements of the probe and the cross-spectral density between the two second sampling signals can be substituted into the relevant formula of the generalized coherence coefficient to obtain the generalized coherence coefficient of the enhanced signal.

[0095] Step S132, determining the pixel value of each second pixel in turn based on the position correspondence and measurement value between the first pixel and the second pixel, may include: step S1321b and step S1322b.

[0096] In step S1321b, for each second pixel P i ', based on the second pixel P i 'The first pixel P corresponding to all sound speed images i The coherence value of all first pixels P i Filtering is performed to obtain the first pixel selected.

[0097] In one example, one or more first pixels P with the highest coherence value may be iIn another example, a first threshold value may be set to select the first pixel P whose coherence value is higher than the second threshold value. i As the selected first pixel. Combined with the actual scene, if the coherence value is lower than the second threshold, the first signal corresponding to the first pixel may be affected by a large amount of noise (such as noise generated by scattering and refraction of ultrasonic waves), so it can be regarded that the first pixel is less representative. The specific value of the second threshold can be determined by the developer or the user of the ultrasonic device according to the actual situation.

[0098] In step S1322b, for each second pixel P i ', based on the pixel value of the selected first pixel, determine the second pixel P i 'Pixel value.

[0099] In one example, the pixel values ​​of the first pixel selected based on the coherence value may be fused to obtain the second pixel P i In the case where only one first pixel is selected based on the coherence value, the pixel value of the first pixel can be used as the pixel value of the second pixel P i In another example, the pixel value of the first pixel selected based on the coherence value and the pixel value of the first pixel obtained by screening based on other metric values ​​may be fused to obtain the second pixel P i '. For example, the first pixel may be screened based on the local contrast described above, or the first pixel may be screened based on the peak value described above. Finally, based on all the screening results, the first pixel finally selected is obtained. Then, the pixel values ​​of the first pixel finally selected are fused to obtain the second pixel P i 'Pixel value.

[0100] According to the above scheme provided by the embodiment of the present invention, for the first pixel in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed, the maximum coherence value of the echo signal can be used as the coherence value of the first pixel. Then, the first pixel can be screened based on the coherence value of the first pixel corresponding to the second pixel in all sound speed images. Finally, the pixel value of the second pixel can be determined based on the pixel value of the selected first pixel. The above coherence value can be used to represent the representativeness of the first pixel. Specifically, the higher the coherence value, the higher the proportion of non-noise signal in the enhanced signal, the less affected by noise, and the stronger the representativeness of the first pixel obtained based on the enhanced signal. The above scheme can screen the first pixel based on the coherence value, so the representativeness of the second pixel can be improved, which is beneficial to improve the accuracy of the detection results for the object under inspection.

[0101] Exemplarily, the coherence value of the selected first pixel is higher than that of the second pixel P i 'The corresponding coherent value of any other first pixel.

[0102] The higher the coherence value of the first pixel, the more representative the first pixel is. In other words, the speed represented by the first pixel is closer to the true speed of the ultrasound. i 'From all the first pixels corresponding to the first pixel, select the first pixel with the highest coherence value, and determine the second pixel P based on the selected first pixel i 'Pixel value.

[0103] According to the above scheme provided by an embodiment of the present invention, the selected first pixel is the first pixel with the highest coherence value. On the one hand, the amount of calculation is smaller, which is conducive to the real-time display of the target image; on the other hand, when the pixel values ​​of the first pixels obtained by screening based on the same measurement value are fused, the individual differences of the first pixels may be reduced. Therefore, the target image obtained by the above scheme is more representative, which is conducive to improving the accuracy of the detection results for the inspected object.

[0104] Exemplarily, the generating method of the embodiment of the present invention may further include: performing an image enhancement operation on the target image to obtain and display the enhanced target image.

[0105] The above-mentioned image enhancement operation is used to enhance the representativeness of the target image, for example, contrast stretching operation, horizontal smoothing, vertical smoothing, frame smoothing, feature enhancement, etc. The above-mentioned enhanced target image can be displayed on the display screen of the ultrasound device.

[0106] According to the above solution of the embodiment of the present invention, the representativeness of the target image can be increased through the image enhancement operation, which is beneficial to improving the accuracy of the detection result for the object under inspection.

[0107] See also Figure 3 , Figure 3 FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an ultrasound device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 The embodiment of the present invention further provides an ultrasound device 200 , which includes: a probe 210 , a beamforming module 220 and an image processing module 230 .

[0108] The probe 210 is used to transmit ultrasonic waves through the probe of the ultrasonic device and receive the echo of the ultrasonic waves to generate an echo signal. The beamforming module 220 is used to perform beamforming processing on the echo signals based on the receiving delay of each preset sound speed to obtain the enhanced signal corresponding to each preset sound speed. The image processing module 230 is used to determine the pixel value of the second pixel corresponding to the first pixel in the target image based on the pixel value of each first pixel in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed to obtain the target image, wherein the sound speed image of each preset sound speed is obtained based on the enhanced signal corresponding to the preset sound speed.

[0109] Exemplarily, the image processing module 230 may include: a metric value calculation module and a second pixel determination module.

[0110] The metric value calculation module is used to calculate the value of each first pixel P in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed. i , calculate the first pixel P i The metric value of the first pixel P i The proximity between the sound velocity represented by the pixel value of and the true sound velocity of the ultrasound wave is monotonic within the range of the measurement value, and i is a positive integer less than or equal to the total number of first pixels in the sound velocity image. The second pixel determination module is used to determine the pixel value of each second pixel in turn based on the position correspondence relationship between the first pixel and the second pixel and the measurement value.

[0111] Exemplarily, the metric value calculation module may include a first calculation module.

[0112] The first calculation module is used to calculate each first pixel P in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed. i , determine the first value of the enhanced signal corresponding to the preset sound speed as the first pixel P i The peak value of the first pixel P is the peak value of the enhanced signal. i The corresponding peak value of the first sampling signal, the first pixel P i The pixel value of is determined based on the first sampling signal.

[0113] The second pixel determination module may include: a peak value determination module and a second pixel first determination module.

[0114] The peak value determination module is used for each second pixel P i ', based on the second pixel P i 'The first pixel P corresponding to all sound speed images i The peak value of all first pixels P i The second pixel first determination module is used for each second pixel P i ', based on the pixel value of the selected first pixel, determine the second pixel P i 'Pixel value.

[0115] Exemplarily, the peak value of the selected first pixel is higher than that of the second pixel P i 'The corresponding peak value of any other first pixel.

[0116] Exemplarily, the metric value calculation module may include a second calculation module.

[0117] The second calculation module is used to calculate each first pixel P in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed. i, determine the maximum coherence value between the echo signals from different array elements of the probe corresponding to the preset sound velocity, as the first pixel P i The maximum coherence value is the value of the echo signal from different array elements of the probe that is related to the first pixel P. i The maximum coherence value between the corresponding second sampling signals, the first pixel P i The pixel value of is determined based on the second sampling signal.

[0118] The second pixel determination module may include: a coherence value determination module and a second pixel second determination module.

[0119] The coherence value determination module is used for each second pixel P i ', based on the second pixel P i 'The first pixel P corresponding to all sound speed images i The coherence value of all first pixels P i The second pixel second determination module is used for each second pixel P i ', based on the pixel value of the selected first pixel, determine the second pixel P i 'Pixel value.

[0120] Exemplarily, the coherence value of the selected first pixel is higher than that of the second pixel P i 'The corresponding coherent value of any other first pixel.

[0121] Exemplarily, the probe 210 may also be used to transmit ultrasound waves through the probe for each preset sound speed based on the transmission delay of the preset sound speed, and receive the echo of the ultrasound waves corresponding to the preset sound speed to generate an echo signal corresponding to the preset sound speed. The beamforming module 220 may also be used to perform beamforming processing on the echo signal corresponding to the preset sound speed based on the reception delay of the preset sound speed for each preset sound speed to obtain an enhanced signal corresponding to the preset sound speed.

[0122] Exemplarily, the probe 210 may also be used to transmit ultrasonic waves through the probe based on a transmission delay of a reference sound speed, and receive echoes of the ultrasonic waves corresponding to the reference sound speed to generate echo signals.

[0123] Exemplarily, the ultrasound device 200 may further include a signal preprocessing module.

[0124] The signal preprocessing module is used to perform signal preprocessing on the echo signal.

[0125] Exemplarily, the ultrasound device 200 may further include an image enhancement module.

[0126] The image enhancement module is used to perform image enhancement operations on the target image to obtain and display the enhanced target image.

[0127] Figure 4 FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an ultrasound device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 The embodiment of the present invention further provides an ultrasound device 300, which may also include: a parameter and scanning control center 310, a transmitting module 320, a probe 210, a receiving module 330, a signal processing module 340, a beamforming module 220, an optimal value module 350, an image processing module 230 and a display module 360.

[0128] The parameter and scanning control center 310 is responsible for regulating various parameters of the ultrasound device. In one example, it can also determine the scanning timing of the ultrasound array element of the probe. The transmitting module 320 can be used to receive instructions from the parameter and scanning control center 310, and transmit ultrasound waves through the ultrasound array elements of the probe 210 in sequence according to the scanning timing. The receiving module 330 is used to perform low-noise amplification, analog-to-digital conversion, etc. on the signal received by the probe. The signal processing module 340 is used to demodulate, downsample, and reduce noise on the signal sent by the receiving module 330. The optimal value module 350 may include the metric value calculation module and the second pixel determination module mentioned above. The display module 360 ​​can be used to display the target image on the display screen of the ultrasound device. In one example, the image processing module 230 can also be used to perform operations such as horizontal smoothing, vertical smoothing, frame smoothing, feature enhancement, etc. on the target image, and then the display module 360 ​​displays it.

[0129] In addition, according to another aspect of the present invention, a storage medium is also provided, on which program instructions are stored, and when the program instructions are executed by a computer or a processor, the computer or the processor executes the corresponding steps of the above-mentioned method for generating the ultrasonic sound velocity image according to the embodiment of the present invention, and is used to implement the corresponding modules in the above-mentioned ultrasonic device according to the embodiment of the present invention. The storage medium may include, for example, a memory card of a smart phone, a storage component of a tablet computer, a hard disk of a personal computer, a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), a USB memory, or any combination of the above-mentioned storage media. The computer-readable storage medium may be any combination of one or more computer-readable storage media. According to another aspect of the present invention, a computer program product is also provided, including computer program instructions, and when the above-mentioned computer program instructions are executed by a computer or a processor, the computer or the processor executes the corresponding steps of the above-mentioned method for generating the ultrasonic sound velocity image.

[0130] A person skilled in the art may understand the specific implementation scheme of the above storage medium by reading the above description of the method for generating an ultrasonic sound velocity image, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be described in detail here.

[0131] Although example embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the above example embodiments are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention thereto. Various changes and modifications may be made therein by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention as required by the appended claims.

[0132] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of the present invention.

[0133] In the several embodiments provided by the present invention, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic, for example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and there may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another device, or some features can be ignored or not executed.

[0134] In the description provided herein, a large number of specific details are described. However, it is understood that embodiments of the present invention can be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques are not shown in detail so as not to obscure the understanding of this description.

[0135] Similarly, it should be understood that in order to streamline the present invention and help understand one or more of the various inventive aspects, in the description of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the various features of the present invention are sometimes grouped together into a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof. However, the method of the present invention should not be interpreted as reflecting the following intention: the claimed invention requires more features than the features explicitly stated in each claim. More specifically, as reflected in the corresponding claims, the inventive point is that the corresponding technical problem can be solved with less than all the features of a single disclosed embodiment. Therefore, the claims following the specific embodiment are hereby expressly incorporated into the specific embodiment, wherein each claim itself serves as a separate embodiment of the present invention.

[0136] Those skilled in the art will understand that, except for mutually exclusive features, all features disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) and all processes or units of any method or device disclosed in this specification may be combined in any combination. Unless otherwise explicitly stated, each feature disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by an alternative feature that provides the same, equivalent or similar purpose.

[0137] In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that, although some embodiments described herein include certain features included in other embodiments but not other features, the combination of features of different embodiments is meant to be within the scope of the present invention and form different embodiments. For example, in the claims, any one of the claimed embodiments may be used in any combination.

[0138] The various component embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in hardware, or in software modules running on one or more processors, or in a combination thereof. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that a microprocessor or a digital signal processor (DSP) may be used in practice to implement some or all of the functions of some modules in an ultrasonic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The present invention may also be implemented as a device program (e.g., a computer program and a computer program product) for executing part or all of the methods described herein. Such a program for implementing the present invention may be stored on a computer-readable medium, or may be in the form of one or more signals. Such a signal may be downloaded from an Internet website, or provided on a carrier signal, or provided in any other form.

[0139] It should be noted that the above embodiments illustrate the present invention rather than limit it, and that those skilled in the art may devise alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference symbol between brackets shall not be construed as a limitation on the claims. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps not listed in the claims. The word "one" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. The present invention may be implemented by means of hardware comprising a number of different elements and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In a unit claim enumerating a number of devices, several of these devices may be embodied by the same hardware item. The use of the words first, second, and third, etc., does not indicate any order. These words may be interpreted as names.

[0140] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present invention or an explanation of a specific embodiment, and the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention, which should be included in the protection scope of the present invention. The protection scope of the present invention shall be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for generating an ultrasonic sound velocity image, characterized in that: The method comprises: Transmitting ultrasonic waves through a probe of an ultrasonic device and receiving echoes of the ultrasonic waves to generate echo signals; Based on the respective receiving delays of each preset sound speed, the echo signals are respectively subjected to beamforming processing to obtain respective enhanced signals corresponding to each preset sound speed; Based on the pixel value of each first pixel in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed, determining the pixel value of a second pixel in the target image corresponding to the first pixel to obtain the target image, wherein the sound speed image of each preset sound speed is obtained based on the enhanced signal corresponding to the preset sound speed; The step of determining the pixel value of a second pixel in the target image corresponding to the first pixel based on the pixel value of each first pixel in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed comprises: For each first pixel P in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed i , calculate the first pixel P i The metric value of the first pixel P i The closeness between the sound velocity represented by the pixel value of and the true sound velocity of the ultrasound wave is monotonic within the value range of the metric value, and i is a positive integer less than or equal to the total number of first pixels in the sound velocity image; Based on the position correspondence between the first pixel and the second pixel and the measurement value, the pixel value of each second pixel is determined in sequence.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that For each preset sound speed, each first pixel P in the sound speed image i , calculate the first pixel P i The measurements include: For each first pixel P in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed i , determine the first value of the enhanced signal corresponding to the preset sound speed as the first pixel P i The peak value of the first pixel P i Corresponding to the peak value of the first sampling signal, the first pixel P i The pixel value of is determined based on the first sampling signal; The determining the pixel value of each second pixel in sequence based on the position correspondence relationship between the first pixel and the second pixel and the metric value comprises: For each second pixel P i ', Based on the second pixel P i 'The first pixel P corresponding to all sound speed images i The peak value of all first pixels P i Performing screening to obtain the selected first pixel; Based on the pixel value of the selected first pixel, determine the second pixel P i 'Pixel value.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The peak value of the selected first pixel is higher than that of the second pixel P i 'The corresponding peak value of any other first pixel.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that For each preset sound speed, each first pixel P in the sound speed image i , calculate the first pixel P i The measurements include: For each first pixel P in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed i , determine the maximum coherence value between the echo signals from different array elements of the probe corresponding to the preset sound velocity, as the first pixel P i wherein the maximum coherence value is the maximum coherence value of the echo signals from different array elements of the probe and the first pixel P i The maximum coherence value between the corresponding second sampling signals, the first pixel P i The pixel value of is determined based on the second sampling signal; The determining the pixel value of each second pixel in sequence based on the position correspondence relationship between the first pixel and the second pixel and the metric value comprises: For each second pixel P i ', Based on the second pixel P i 'The first pixel P corresponding to all sound speed images i The coherence value of all first pixels P i Performing screening to obtain the selected first pixel; Based on the pixel value of the selected first pixel, determine the second pixel P i 'Pixel value.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The coherence value of the selected first pixel is higher than that of the second pixel P i 'The corresponding coherent value of any other first pixel.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The method of transmitting ultrasonic waves through a probe of an ultrasonic device and receiving echoes of the ultrasonic waves to generate echo signals includes: For each preset sound speed, based on the transmission delay of the preset sound speed, an ultrasonic wave is transmitted through the probe, and an echo of the ultrasonic wave corresponding to the preset sound speed is received to generate an echo signal corresponding to the preset sound speed; The beamforming processing is performed on the echo signals based on the receiving delay of each preset sound speed to obtain the enhanced signals corresponding to each preset sound speed, including: For each preset sound speed, beamforming processing is performed on the echo signal corresponding to the preset sound speed based on the reception delay of the preset sound speed to obtain an enhanced signal corresponding to the preset sound speed.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The method of transmitting ultrasonic waves through a probe of an ultrasonic device and receiving echoes of the ultrasonic waves to generate echo signals includes: Based on the transmission delay of the reference sound speed, ultrasonic waves are transmitted through the probe, and echoes of the ultrasonic waves corresponding to the reference sound speed are received to generate the echo signals.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that Before performing beamforming processing on the echo signals based on the respective receiving delays of each preset sound speed, the method further includes: performing signal preprocessing on the echo signals.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The method further includes: performing an image enhancement operation on the target image to obtain and display an enhanced target image.

10. An ultrasonic device, characterized in that: The ultrasonic device comprises: A probe, used for transmitting ultrasonic waves and receiving echoes of the ultrasonic waves to generate echo signals; A beamforming module, configured to perform beamforming processing on the echo signals based on the respective receiving delays of each preset sound speed, so as to obtain enhanced signals corresponding to each preset sound speed; an image processing module, configured to determine, based on the pixel value of each first pixel in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed, the pixel value of a second pixel corresponding to the first pixel in the target image, so as to obtain the target image, wherein the sound speed image of each preset sound speed is obtained based on the enhanced signal corresponding to the preset sound speed; The image processing module includes: a metric value calculation module and a second pixel determination module; The metric value calculation module is used to calculate each first pixel P in the sound speed image of each preset sound speed. i , calculate the first pixel P i The metric value of the first pixel P i The closeness between the sound velocity represented by the pixel value and the true sound velocity of the ultrasound wave is monotonic within the value range of the metric value, and i is a positive integer less than or equal to the total number of first pixels in the sound velocity image; The second pixel determination module is used to determine the pixel value of each second pixel in turn based on the position correspondence relationship and the measurement value between the first pixel and the second pixel.

11. A storage medium storing a computer program / instruction, characterized in that: The computer program / instruction is used to execute the method for generating an ultrasonic sound velocity image as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 when running.

12. A computer program product comprising computer program instructions, characterized in that The computer program instructions are used to execute the method for generating an ultrasonic sound velocity image as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 when being run.

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