Automatic image storage method for ultrasonic guided puncture and ultrasonic imaging system

Abstract

The invention discloses an automatic image storage method for ultrasound-guided puncture and an ultrasound imaging system, and the method comprises the steps: transmitting an ultrasonic wave to a target tissue, receiving an ultrasonic echo returned by the target tissue to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal, and generating and displaying an ultrasonic image of the target tissue in real time based on the ultrasonic echo signal, the ultrasonic image being used for puncture guidance; in the process of puncturing the target tissue based on the ultrasonic image, the occurrence time of the puncturing action is determined according to the change condition of the gray feature of the ultrasonic image along with time; and after the occurrence time of the puncture action is determined, automatically storing the ultrasonic video for a period of time before the occurrence time of the puncture action and after the occurrence time of the puncture action, or automatically storing at least one frame of ultrasonic image before the occurrence time of the puncture action and at least one frame of ultrasonic image after the occurrence time of the puncture action. According to the method, the occurrence time of the puncture action is automatically determined, and the ultrasonic image in the puncture process is automatically stored, so that the operation flow of a user in the puncture process is simplified.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of ultrasonic imaging, and more particularly to an automatic image storage method for ultrasound-guided puncture and an ultrasonic imaging system. Background Art

[0002] Ultrasound-guided biopsy refers to the use of ultrasound to guide the percutaneous puncture to obtain tissue for pathological examination to confirm the diagnosis, mainly including ultrasound-guided puncture biopsy of the thyroid, ultrasound-guided puncture biopsy of the breast, ultrasound-guided puncture biopsy of the prostate, etc. Ultrasound-guided puncture biopsy can provide important clues for the diagnosis and differentiation of tumors, and can avoid the complications of conventional puncture biopsy, such as bleeding, bile leakage, infection, tumor implantation, etc.

[0003] Usually, during ultrasound-guided puncture, doctors will keep images before and after the puncture needle enters as evidence of the puncture. In the process of routine clinical puncture, the patient usually lies on the bed to the right of the doctor, and the doctor holds the ultrasound probe in his right hand for puncture guidance. Before puncture and after the puncture needle enters the target position, the doctor needs to freeze the image and roll the trackball with his left hand to select the appropriate ultrasound image to save as evidence. Most people will have inconvenience in operating with their left hand. In special clinical puncture processes, such as ultrasound-guided puncture of the prostate, 12 systematic punctures are required, and the process of left-handed operation to keep images brings more inconvenience. And for patients undergoing transrectal puncture, the doctor holding the puncture needle is between the ultrasound display and the doctor holding the probe, which will hinder the doctor's operation of the ultrasound machine and make it inconvenient to save the ultrasound image during the puncture process. Summary of the invention

[0004] A series of simplified concepts are introduced in the Summary of the Invention, which will be further described in detail in the Detailed Description of the Invention. The Summary of the Invention does not mean to attempt to define the key features and essential technical features of the claimed technical solution, nor does it mean to attempt to determine the scope of protection of the claimed technical solution.

[0005] An embodiment of the present invention provides, on one hand, a method for automatically storing images of ultrasound-guided puncture, the method comprising:

[0006] Transmitting ultrasonic waves to the target tissue, receiving ultrasonic echoes returned by the target tissue to obtain ultrasonic echo signals, and generating and displaying an ultrasonic image of the target tissue in real time based on the ultrasonic echo signals, wherein the ultrasonic image is used for puncture guidance;

[0007] In the process of puncturing the target tissue based on the ultrasound image, detecting the change of the grayscale feature of the ultrasound image over time, and determining the time when the puncture action occurs according to the change of the grayscale feature over time;

[0008] After determining the time when the puncture action occurs, automatically store the ultrasound video of a period of time from before the puncture action occurs to after the puncture action occurs, or automatically store at least one frame of ultrasound image before the puncture action occurs and at least one frame of ultrasound image after the puncture action occurs.

[0009] In one embodiment, the grayscale feature includes a grayscale statistical value of the entire ultrasound image, a grayscale statistical value of a partial area in the ultrasound image, and / or a grayscale value of at least one pixel in the ultrasound image.

[0010] In one embodiment, determining the time of occurrence of the puncture action according to the change of the grayscale feature over time includes:

[0011] Acquire the difference of the grayscale features of adjacent frames of ultrasound images in real time, and obtain the relationship between the difference and time;

[0012] When it is detected that the increase and / or decrease of the difference within the preset time range exceeds the preset change range, it is determined that the puncture action occurs within the preset time range.

[0013] In one embodiment, determining the time of occurrence of the puncture action according to the change of the grayscale feature over time includes:

[0014] When the variation range of the grayscale feature within the preset time range is within the preset variation range, it is determined that the puncture action occurs within the preset time range.

[0015] In one embodiment, determining the time of occurrence of the puncture action according to the change of the grayscale feature over time includes:

[0016] For each time point to be measured, the grayscale features of multiple frames of ultrasound images before the time point to be measured are obtained to obtain a grayscale feature change signal;

[0017] Transforming the grayscale feature change signal into the frequency domain to obtain a frequency domain signal;

[0018] When a preset frequency domain feature is detected in the frequency domain signal, the time point to be measured is determined to be the time when the puncture action occurs.

[0019] In one embodiment, the preset frequency domain characteristics include a frequency exceeding a preset frequency and an amplitude exceeding a preset amplitude.

[0020] In one embodiment, the puncture action includes an action of inserting a puncture needle.

[0021] In one embodiment, the method further includes receiving an operation instruction to confirm the start of puncture before puncturing the target tissue, and starting automatic storage of the ultrasound image in response to the operation instruction, so that after determining the time when the puncture action occurs, the ultrasound video of a period of time from before the puncture action occurs to after the puncture action occurs can be automatically stored, or at least one frame of ultrasound image before the puncture action occurs and at least one frame of ultrasound image after the puncture action occurs can be automatically stored.

[0022] Another aspect of the present invention provides an automatic image storage method for ultrasound-guided puncture, the method comprising:

[0023] Acquiring an ultrasound video collected during ultrasound-guided puncture of a target tissue, wherein the ultrasound video includes multiple frames of ultrasound images;

[0024] Detecting the change of the grayscale features of the multiple frames of ultrasound images over time, and determining the time when the puncture action occurs according to the change of the grayscale features over time; or detecting the change of the puncture needle in the multiple frames of ultrasound images over time, and determining the time when the puncture action occurs according to the change of the puncture needle over time;

[0025] According to the time when the puncture action occurs, an ultrasound video segment of a period of time from before the puncture action occurs to after the puncture action occurs is automatically extracted and stored in the ultrasound video, or at least one frame of ultrasound image before the puncture action occurs and at least one frame of ultrasound image after the puncture action occurs are automatically extracted and stored in the ultrasound video.

[0026] In one embodiment, determining the time of occurrence of the puncture action according to the change of the puncture needle over time includes:

[0027] The puncture action occurrence time is determined according to the displacement change of the needle tip position or the movement speed change of the puncture needle.

[0028] In one embodiment, determining the time of occurrence of the puncture action according to the change of the puncture needle over time includes:

[0029] The time when the puncture action occurs is determined based on the change in the length of the puncture needle area.

[0030] In one embodiment, determining the time of occurrence of the puncture action according to the change of the puncture needle over time includes:

[0031] The target tissue in the multiple frames of ultrasound images is detected, and the time when the puncture action occurs is determined according to the relative position between the puncture needle and the target tissue.

[0032] In one embodiment, determining the time of occurrence of the puncture action according to the change of the grayscale feature over time includes:

[0033] Acquire the difference of the grayscale features of adjacent frames of ultrasound images in real time, and obtain the relationship between the difference and time;

[0034] When it is detected that the increase and / or decrease of the difference within the preset time range exceeds the preset change range, it is determined that the puncture action occurs within the preset time range.

[0035] In one embodiment, determining the time of occurrence of the puncture action according to the change of the grayscale feature over time includes:

[0036] When the variation range of the grayscale feature within the preset time range is within the preset variation range, it is determined that the puncture action occurs within the preset time range.

[0037] In one embodiment, determining the time of occurrence of the puncture action according to the change of the grayscale feature over time includes:

[0038] For each time point to be measured, the grayscale features of multiple frames of ultrasound images before the time point to be measured are obtained to obtain a grayscale feature change signal;

[0039] Transforming the grayscale feature change signal into the frequency domain to obtain a frequency domain signal;

[0040] When a preset frequency domain feature is detected in the frequency domain signal, the time point to be measured is determined to be the time when the puncture action occurs.

[0041] In one embodiment, the preset frequency domain characteristics include a frequency exceeding a preset frequency and an amplitude exceeding a preset amplitude.

[0042] Another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention provides an ultrasound imaging system, the ultrasound imaging system comprising:

[0043] Ultrasound probe;

[0044] A transmitting circuit, used for stimulating the ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves to the target tissue;

[0045] A receiving circuit, used for controlling the ultrasonic probe to receive the ultrasonic echo returned by the target tissue to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal;

[0046] A processor, configured to generate an ultrasound image according to the ultrasound echo signal, and to execute the automatic image storage method for ultrasound-guided puncture as described above;

[0047] A display is used to display the ultrasound image generated by the processor.

[0048] The automatic image storage method and ultrasound imaging system of the ultrasound-guided puncture embodiment of the present invention automatically determine the time when the puncture action occurs according to the change of the grayscale characteristics of the ultrasound image over time, and automatically store the ultrasound image during the puncture process, thereby simplifying the user's operation flow during the puncture process. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0049] 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.

[0050] Figure 1 A structural block diagram of an ultrasound imaging system according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0051] Figure 2 A schematic flow chart showing an automatic image storage method for ultrasound-guided puncture according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0052] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing an ultrasonic image before and after puncture and a change curve of grayscale features according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0053] Figure 4 A schematic flow chart showing an automatic image storage method for ultrasound-guided puncture according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0054] Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing the changes of the puncture needle in an ultrasound image over time according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0055] 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.

[0056] In the following description, a large number of specific details are provided to provide a more thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention can be implemented without one or more of these details. In other examples, in order to avoid confusion with the present invention, some technical features well known in the art are not described.

[0057] It should be understood that the present invention can be implemented in different forms and should not be interpreted as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided to make the disclosure thorough and complete and to fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art.

[0058] The purpose of the terms used herein is only to describe specific embodiments and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. When used herein, the singular forms "one", "an" and "said / the" are also intended to include plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the terms "consisting of" and / or "comprising", when used in this specification, determine the presence of the features, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or parts, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, parts and / or groups. When used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of the relevant listed items.

[0059] In order to fully understand the present invention, a detailed structure will be proposed in the following description to illustrate the technical solution proposed by the present invention. The optional embodiments of the present invention are described in detail as follows, but in addition to these detailed descriptions, the present invention may also have other implementations.

[0060] Next, first refer to Figure 1 An ultrasound imaging system according to an embodiment of the present invention is described. Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic structural block diagram of an ultrasound imaging system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0061] like Figure 1 As shown, the ultrasound imaging system 100 includes an ultrasound probe 110, a transmitting circuit 112, a receiving circuit 114, a processor 116, and a display 118. Further, the ultrasound imaging system may also include a transmit / receive selection switch 120 and a beamforming module 122, and the transmitting circuit 112 and the receiving circuit 114 may be connected to the ultrasound probe 110 through the transmit / receive selection switch 120.

[0062] The ultrasonic probe 110 includes a transducer array element, which is used to transmit ultrasonic waves according to an excitation electrical signal, or to convert received ultrasonic waves into electrical signals. Therefore, each array element can be used to realize the mutual conversion between electrical pulse signals and ultrasonic waves, thereby transmitting ultrasonic waves to the target tissue of the object under test, and can also be used to receive ultrasonic echoes reflected by the tissue. When performing ultrasonic testing, the transmission sequence and the reception sequence can be used to control which array elements are used to transmit ultrasonic waves and which array elements are used to receive ultrasonic waves, or to control the array elements to transmit ultrasonic waves or receive ultrasonic echoes in time slots. The array elements participating in ultrasonic wave transmission can be excited by electrical signals at the same time, thereby transmitting ultrasonic waves at the same time; or, the array elements participating in ultrasonic wave beam transmission can also be excited by several electrical signals with a certain time interval, thereby continuously transmitting ultrasonic waves with a certain time interval.

[0063] During the ultrasonic imaging process, the processor 116 controls the transmitting circuit 112 to send the delayed focused transmitting pulse to the ultrasonic probe 110 through the transmitting / receiving selection switch 120. The ultrasonic probe 110 is stimulated by the transmitting pulse to transmit an ultrasonic beam to the tissue of the target area of ​​the object to be measured, and receives the ultrasonic echo with tissue information reflected from the tissue of the target area after a certain delay, and reconverts the ultrasonic echo into an electrical signal. The receiving circuit 114 receives the electrical signal converted and generated by the ultrasonic probe 110, obtains the ultrasonic echo signal, and sends these ultrasonic echo signals to the beamforming module 122, which performs focusing delay, weighting and channel summing on the ultrasonic echo data, and then sends them to the processor 116. The processor 116 performs signal detection, signal enhancement, data conversion, logarithmic compression and other processing on the ultrasonic echo signal to form an ultrasonic image. The ultrasonic image obtained by the processor 116 can be displayed on the display 118 or stored in the memory 124.

[0064] Optionally, the processor 116 may be implemented as software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof, and may use a single or multiple application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), a single or multiple general purpose integrated circuits, a single or multiple microprocessors, a single or multiple programmable logic devices, or any combination of the aforementioned circuits and / or devices, or other suitable circuits or devices. Furthermore, the processor 116 may control other components in the ultrasound imaging system 100 to perform the corresponding steps of the methods in various embodiments of the present specification.

[0065] The display 118 is connected to the processor 116, and the display 118 may be a touch screen, a liquid crystal display, etc.; or, the display 118 may be an independent display such as a liquid crystal display, a television, etc., which is independent of the ultrasound imaging system 100; or, the display 118 may be a display screen of an electronic device such as a smart phone or a tablet computer, etc. The number of the display 118 may be one or more.

[0066] The display 118 can display the ultrasound image obtained by the processor 116. In addition, while displaying the ultrasound image, the display 118 can also provide the user with a graphical interface for human-computer interaction. One or more controlled objects are set on the graphical interface, and the user is provided with a human-computer interaction device to input operation instructions to control these controlled objects, thereby performing corresponding control operations. For example, an icon is displayed on the graphical interface, and the icon can be operated by the human-computer interaction device to perform a specific function, such as drawing a region of interest box on the ultrasound image.

[0067] Optionally, the ultrasound imaging system 100 may further include other human-machine interaction devices in addition to the display 118, which are connected to the processor 116. For example, the processor 116 may be connected to the human-machine interaction device via an external input / output port, and the external input / output port may be a wireless communication module, or a wired communication module, or a combination of the two. The external input / output port may also be implemented based on USB, bus protocols such as CAN, and / or wired network protocols.

[0068] The human-computer interaction device may include an input device for detecting user input information, which may be, for example, a control instruction for ultrasonic transmission / reception timing, an operation input instruction for drawing points, lines or frames on an ultrasonic image, or other instruction types. The input device may include a keyboard, a mouse, a scroll wheel, a trackball, a mobile input device (such as a mobile device with a touch screen, a mobile phone, etc.), a multi-function knob, etc., or a combination of multiple thereof. The human-computer interaction device may also include an output device such as a printer.

[0069] The ultrasound imaging system 100 may further include a memory 124 for storing instructions executed by the processor, storing received ultrasound echoes, storing ultrasound images, etc. The memory may be a flash memory card, a solid-state memory, a hard disk, etc. It may be a volatile memory and / or a non-volatile memory, a removable memory and / or a non-removable memory, etc.

[0070] It should be understood that Figure 1 The components included in the ultrasonic imaging system 100 are only exemplary, and the ultrasonic imaging system 100 may include more or fewer components, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0071] Next, we will refer to Figure 2 The automatic image storage method for ultrasound-guided puncture according to an embodiment of the present invention is described. The method can be implemented in the ultrasound imaging system 100 described above. Figure 2 It is a schematic flow chart of the automatic image storage method 200 of ultrasound-guided puncture according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0072] like Figure 2 As shown, an automatic image storage method 200 for ultrasound-guided puncture according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the following steps:

[0073] In step S210, ultrasonic waves are transmitted to the target tissue, ultrasonic echoes returned by the target tissue are received to obtain ultrasonic echo signals, and an ultrasonic image of the target tissue is generated and displayed in real time based on the ultrasonic echo signals, wherein the ultrasonic image is used for puncture guidance;

[0074] In step S220, in the process of puncturing the target tissue based on the ultrasound image, the change of the grayscale feature of the ultrasound image over time is detected, and the time when the puncture action occurs is determined according to the change of the grayscale feature over time;

[0075] In step S230, after determining the time when the puncture action occurs, automatically store the ultrasound video of a period of time from before the puncture action occurs to after the puncture action occurs, or automatically store at least one frame of ultrasound image before the puncture action occurs and at least one frame of ultrasound image after the puncture action occurs.

[0076] The automatic image storage method 200 for ultrasound-guided puncture of an embodiment of the present invention automatically determines the time when the puncture action occurs according to the change of the grayscale characteristics of the ultrasound image over time, and automatically stores the ultrasound image during the puncture process. The user does not need to manually store the ultrasound image while performing the puncture operation, thereby simplifying the user's operation flow during the puncture process.

[0077] The embodiment of the present invention is used for ultrasound-guided puncture, that is, percutaneous puncture is performed under the guidance of real-time ultrasound imaging to achieve the purpose of cytological biopsy, histological biopsy, cyst aspiration and treatment. When the target tissue needs to be punctured, the target tissue is imaged in real time by ultrasound. For example, the transmitting circuit sends an electrical signal with an appropriate delay to each transducer array element in the ultrasound probe, and the transducer converts the electrical signal into an ultrasound wave and transmits it to the target tissue; the transducer in the ultrasound probe receives the ultrasound echo of the ultrasound wave returned by the target tissue and converts it into an electrical signal to obtain an ultrasound echo signal, which is transmitted to the beam synthesis module for beam synthesis processing after signal amplification, analog-to-digital conversion, etc., and then the beam synthesized ultrasound echo signal is sent to the processor. The processor performs logarithmic compression, dynamic range adjustment, digital scan conversion and other processing on the ultrasound echo signal to generate an ultrasound image of the target tissue in real time, and outputs the real-time ultrasound image to the display for display. The user can determine the insertion position, direction, depth, etc. of the puncture needle according to the ultrasound image displayed on the display. Exemplarily, the ultrasound probe is equipped with a puncture stand. When the user moves the ultrasound probe to find the target tissue to be punctured, the puncture action is performed through the puncture stand on the ultrasound probe to puncture the target tissue. For example, when puncturing the prostate, an intracavitary ultrasound probe can be used to perform ultrasound imaging of the prostate through the rectum to find the target puncture section, and the prostate is punctured through the perineum through the puncture stand set on the ultrasound probe to ensure that the puncture needle punctures along the target puncture section. Optionally, the user can also perform puncture without using the puncture stand.

[0078] During the process of puncturing the target tissue based on the ultrasound image, the target tissue is continuously imaged by ultrasound in real time, the change of the grayscale feature of the real-time ultrasound image over time is detected, and the time of the puncture action is determined according to the change of the grayscale feature over time. The puncture action may specifically refer to the action of inserting the puncture needle, that is, the action of operating the puncture needle to enter the target tissue.

[0079] Specifically, the grayscale features of each frame of ultrasound image can be extracted, and combined with the time information of each frame of ultrasound image, the change of the grayscale features of the ultrasound image over time can be obtained. After the puncture gun is fired, the puncture needle will pass through the target tissue at a very fast speed, and the echo of the puncture needle is usually higher than the echo of ordinary tissue. Therefore, a high-brightness straight line will suddenly appear in the ultrasound image, causing the overall grayscale features of the ultrasound image to mutate. Figure 3 As shown in FIG. 1 , an ultrasound image before and after puncture is shown, in which the brightness of the puncture needle is significantly higher than that of ordinary tissue. Therefore, detecting a sudden change in the grayscale feature of the ultrasound image can determine the time when the puncture action occurs.

[0080] The grayscale features of an ultrasound image may include a series of quantitative indicators of the grayscale value of the ultrasound image, including the grayscale statistics of the entire ultrasound image, the grayscale statistics of a portion of the ultrasound image, the grayscale value of at least one pixel in the ultrasound image, etc. The grayscale statistics may include the sum of the grayscale values ​​of multiple pixels, the standard deviation of the grayscale values ​​of multiple pixels, etc. Taking the sum of the grayscale values ​​of all pixels in an ultrasound image as an example, the sum of the grayscale values ​​will change dramatically before and after the puncture needle is fired, and by monitoring whether the sum of the grayscale values ​​has such a similar change, it can be determined whether a puncture action has occurred, and then the time of occurrence of the puncture action can be determined.

[0081] In one embodiment, the change of the grayscale feature of the real-time ultrasound image over time is detected, and the time when the puncture action occurs is determined according to the change of the grayscale feature over time, specifically including: acquiring the difference of the grayscale features of adjacent frames of ultrasound images in real time, and obtaining the change relationship of the difference over time; when it is detected that the increase and / or decrease of the difference within a preset time range exceeds a preset change range, determining that the time when the puncture action occurs is within the preset time range.

[0082] Continue to refer to Figure 3 , which shows the relationship between the difference of the grayscale features before and after the puncture and the time. When the puncture action occurs, the difference of the grayscale features produces an obvious bulge and fall. Therefore, if the difference of the grayscale features increases first and then decreases within the preset time range, and the increase and / or decrease exceeds the preset change range, it can be determined that the puncture action has occurred within the preset time range. The preset time range can be defined as the time range corresponding to the first frame or Nth frame of the ultrasound image before the difference of the grayscale features increases to the first frame or Nth frame of the ultrasound image after the difference of the grayscale features decreases.

[0083] In one embodiment, determining the time of occurrence of the puncture action according to the change of the grayscale feature over time includes: when the change amplitude of the grayscale feature within a preset time range is within a preset change amplitude range, determining that the time of occurrence of the puncture action is within the preset time range. Exemplarily, the change amplitude of the grayscale feature of the ultrasound image caused by the insertion of the puncture needle can be obtained in advance through experiments or calculations, and when the grayscale feature is detected to have a corresponding change amplitude, it is determined that the puncture action has occurred.

[0084] Furthermore, in order to avoid misidentifying the grayscale feature changes caused by the movement of the ultrasound probe as puncture action, if the change amplitude of the grayscale features of the entire ultrasound image within the preset time range exceeds the first preset change amplitude, and the change amplitude of the grayscale features of at least one area within the preset time range does not exceed the second preset change amplitude, it is determined that the puncture action has occurred within the preset time range, wherein the second preset change amplitude is smaller than the first preset change amplitude. That is, when the puncture action occurs, the overall grayscale features of the ultrasound image change due to the high-brightness puncture needle area, while the grayscale features of the tissue area around the puncture needle insertion route hardly change, and the puncture action can be identified based on the above changes. On the contrary, if the grayscale features of each area of ​​the ultrasound image change, it is likely that the change is caused by the movement of the ultrasound probe, and it is not considered that the puncture action has occurred.

[0085] Similarly, since the puncture needle causes local grayscale changes in the ultrasound image, it can also be determined that a puncture action has occurred within the preset time range when it is detected that the grayscale feature of at least one area in the ultrasound image changes by more than the third preset change range within the preset time range, and the grayscale feature of at least one other area changes by no more than the fourth preset change range within the preset time range, thereby avoiding misidentification caused by shaking of the ultrasound probe.

[0086] In some embodiments, the time when the puncture action occurs can also be determined by converting from the time domain to the frequency domain. Specifically, for each time point to be measured, the grayscale features of multiple frames of ultrasound images before the time point to be measured are obtained to obtain a grayscale feature change signal; the grayscale feature change signal is transformed into the frequency domain to obtain a frequency domain signal; when a preset frequency domain feature is detected in the frequency domain signal, the current time point to be measured is determined to be the time when the puncture action occurs.

[0087] Among them, the grayscale feature change signal can be transformed into the frequency domain by Fourier transform, Laplace transform, etc. Since the high frequency of the frequency domain signal represents a rapid change, and the high amplitude represents a drastic change, therefore, when a preset frequency domain feature with a frequency exceeding the preset frequency and an amplitude exceeding the preset amplitude is detected in the frequency domain signal, it means that the puncture action has occurred at the current time point to be tested. At this time, the current time point to be tested can be used as the time when the puncture action occurs, or the current time point to be tested can be used as the time point after the puncture, and the time point corresponding to the ultrasound image of the previous frame or N frames before the current time point to be tested can be used as the time point before the puncture, so as to obtain the range of the time when the puncture action occurs.

[0088] After determining the time when the puncture action occurs, the ultrasonic video of a period of time from before the puncture action occurs to after the puncture action occurs is automatically stored, or at least one frame of ultrasonic image before the puncture action occurs and at least one frame of ultrasonic image after the puncture action occurs are automatically stored. For example, if the puncture action is determined to occur at T1, the ultrasonic video of a period of time starting from T0 before T1 and ending at T2 after T1 can be stored, or the ultrasonic images at T0 and T2 can be stored. If the puncture action is determined to occur from T1 to T2, the ultrasonic video of a period of time starting from T0 before T1 and ending at T3 after T2 can be stored, or the ultrasonic images at T0 and T3 can be stored.

[0089] In one embodiment, an operation instruction to confirm the start of puncture can be received before puncturing the target tissue, and the automatic storage of the ultrasound image can be started in response to the operation instruction, so that after determining the time when the puncture action occurs, the ultrasound video or ultrasound image before and after the puncture can be automatically stored. After receiving the above operation instruction, the ultrasound imaging system immediately starts to automatically determine the time when the puncture action occurs based on the change of the grayscale characteristics of the ultrasound image over time. As a result, the user only needs to input the operation instruction before the puncture, and there is no need to manually save the ultrasound image during the puncture process, which can avoid affecting the puncture operation.

[0090] In summary, the automatic image storage method 200 for ultrasound-guided puncture according to the embodiment of the present invention automatically determines the time when the puncture action occurs according to the change of the grayscale characteristics of the ultrasound image over time, and automatically stores the ultrasound image during the puncture process, thereby simplifying the user's operation flow during the puncture process.

[0091] Another aspect of the present invention provides an automatic image storage method for ultrasound-guided puncture, such as Figure 4 As shown, the automatic image storage method 400 for ultrasound-guided puncture includes the following steps:

[0092] In step S410, an ultrasound video collected during ultrasound-guided puncture of a target tissue is acquired, wherein the ultrasound video includes multiple frames of ultrasound images;

[0093] In step S420, the grayscale features of the multiple frames of ultrasound images are detected over time, and the puncture time is determined according to the grayscale features over time; or the puncture needle in the multiple frames of ultrasound images is detected over time, and the puncture time is determined according to the puncture needle over time.

[0094] In step S430, based on the time when the puncture action occurs, an ultrasound video segment of a period of time from before the puncture action occurs to after the puncture action occurs is automatically extracted and stored in the ultrasound video, or at least one frame of ultrasound image before the puncture action occurs and at least one frame of ultrasound image after the puncture action occurs are automatically extracted and stored in the ultrasound video.

[0095] Among them, the user can choose to store the ultrasound video during the puncture process before the puncture. Specifically, the user can receive an operation instruction to confirm the start of the puncture before puncturing the target tissue, and store the ultrasound video within a preset time range in response to the operation instruction. Alternatively, the user can also choose to start storing the ultrasound video before the puncture, and choose to end the storage after the puncture. Since the time span of this ultrasound video is relatively long, the time when the puncture action occurs can be identified from the ultrasound video and the ultrasound video or ultrasound image required by the user can be extracted, so that the user does not need to manually store the image during the puncture process, avoiding affecting the smooth progress of the puncture operation. After the puncture is completed, there is no need to manually select the ultrasound image corresponding to the time when the puncture action occurs in the ultrasound video.

[0096] The method for identifying the time when a puncture action occurs in an ultrasound video may include determining the time when a puncture action occurs according to the change of the grayscale feature of the ultrasound image over time. For example, the difference of the grayscale features of adjacent frames of ultrasound images can be obtained in real time to obtain the change relationship of the difference over time; when it is detected that the increase and / or decrease of the difference within a preset time range exceeds the preset change amplitude, it is determined that the time when the puncture action occurs is within the preset time range. Or, when the change amplitude of the grayscale feature within the preset time range is within the preset change amplitude range, it is determined that the time when the puncture action occurs is within the preset time range. Alternatively, for each time point to be measured, the grayscale features of multiple frames of ultrasound images before the time point to be measured are obtained to obtain a grayscale feature change signal; the grayscale feature change signal is transformed into the frequency domain to obtain a frequency domain signal; when a preset frequency domain feature is detected in the frequency domain signal, the time point to be measured is determined to be the time when the puncture action occurs. For example, the preset frequency domain feature includes a frequency exceeding a preset frequency and an amplitude exceeding a preset amplitude. The specific method of determining the time when a puncture action occurs according to the change of the grayscale feature of the ultrasound image over time can be referred to above, and will not be repeated here.

[0097] In addition, since the echo of the puncture needle is usually higher than that of ordinary tissue, the change of the puncture needle over time in multiple frames of ultrasound images can also be detected, and the time when the puncture action occurs can be determined based on the change of the puncture needle over time.

[0098] When determining the time of puncture action based on the change of puncture needle over time in multiple frames of ultrasound images, it is first necessary to identify the puncture needle in the multiple frames of ultrasound images. The puncture needle identification methods include artificial intelligence identification, feature extraction, and ordinary threshold judgment. The puncture needle identified in the ultrasound image may include the entire puncture needle area or the needle tip position of the puncture needle.

[0099] like Figure 5 As shown, after the puncture needle in the ultrasound image is identified, it can be determined whether a puncture action has occurred based on changes in the puncture needle in the two previous and next ultrasound image frames, changes in the puncture needle in multiple consecutive ultrasound image frames, or changes in the puncture needle in two ultrasound image frames separated by several frames.

[0100] The time when the puncture action occurs can be determined based on the displacement change of the needle tip position or the change in the moving speed of the puncture needle. If the needle tip position of the puncture needle moves from position C to position D within a preset time, and the displacement change is greater than the preset displacement threshold, it is considered that the puncture action has occurred within the preset time. Alternatively, the time when the puncture action occurs can be determined based on the length change of the puncture needle area. If the length of the puncture needle in the ultrasound image changes from length E to length F within a preset time, and the length change is greater than the preset length threshold, it is considered that the puncture action has occurred within the preset time. The preset time can be a preset shorter time threshold parameter, for example, the preset time can be less than 0.2 seconds.

[0101] In some embodiments, the target tissue in multiple frames of ultrasound images can also be detected, and the time of the puncture action can be determined according to the relative position between the puncture needle and the target tissue. The target tissue is the tissue to be punctured, such as the thyroid, breast, prostate, lesion tissue, etc. If the needle tip of the puncture needle enters the boundary range of the target tissue, or the puncture needle area overlaps with the target tissue area, it indicates that the puncture needle has entered the target tissue, that is, the puncture action has occurred.

[0102] After determining the time when the puncture action occurs, the ultrasonic video clip of a period of time from before the puncture action occurs to after the puncture action occurs is automatically stored from the ultrasonic video, or at least one frame of ultrasonic image before the puncture action occurs and at least one frame of ultrasonic image after the puncture action occurs are automatically stored. For example, if the puncture action is determined to occur at T1, a period of ultrasonic video clip starting from T0 before T1 and ending at T2 after T1 can be extracted for storage, or ultrasonic images at T0 and T2 can be taken for storage. If the puncture action is determined to occur from T1 to T2, a period of ultrasonic video clip starting from T0 before T1 and ending at T3 after T2 can be extracted for storage, or ultrasonic images at T0 and T3 can be taken for storage.

[0103] In summary, the automatic image storage method 400 for ultrasound-guided puncture according to an embodiment of the present invention automatically determines the time when the puncture action occurs based on the ultrasound video, and automatically extracts and stores the ultrasound image during the puncture process, thereby simplifying the user's operation flow during the puncture process.

[0104] The embodiment of the present invention further provides an ultrasound imaging system, which is used to implement the above-mentioned automatic image storage method 200 or automatic image storage method 400 for ultrasound-guided puncture. Figure 1 The ultrasound imaging system 100 includes an ultrasound probe 110, a transmitting circuit 112, a receiving circuit 114, a processor 116 and a display 118. Optionally, the ultrasound imaging system 100 may also include a transmit / receive selection switch 120, a beamforming module 122 and a memory 124. The transmitting circuit 112 and the receiving circuit 114 may be connected to the ultrasound probe 110 via the transmit / receive selection switch 120.

[0105] Among them, the ultrasound probe 110 can be a volume probe or a matrix probe; the transmitting circuit 112 is used to excite the array element columns in the ultrasound probe 110 to transmit ultrasound to the target tissue; the receiving circuit 114 is used to control the array element columns to receive the echo of the ultrasound and obtain the ultrasound echo signal; the processor 116 is used to execute the steps of the automatic image storage method 200 or the automatic image storage method 400 for ultrasound-guided puncture; the display 118 is used to display the ultrasound image obtained by the processor 116.

[0106] The above only describes the main functions of the components of the ultrasound imaging system 100. For more specific details of the ultrasound imaging system 100, please refer to the above and will not be described in detail here.

[0107] 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.

[0108] 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.

[0109] 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.

[0110] 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.

[0111] 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.

[0112] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that, except for mutually exclusive features, all features disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstracts and drawings) and all processes or units of any method or device disclosed in this specification may be combined in any combination. Unless otherwise expressly stated, each feature disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstracts and drawings) may be replaced by an alternative feature that provides the same, equivalent or similar purpose.

[0113] 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.

[0114] The various component embodiments of the present invention can be implemented in hardware, or in software modules running on one or more processors, or in a combination thereof. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP) can be used in practice to implement some or all of the functions of some modules according to embodiments of the present invention. The present invention can also be implemented as a device program (e.g., a computer program and a computer program product) for executing part or all of the methods described herein. Such a program implementing the present invention can be stored on a computer-readable medium, or can have the form of one or more signals. Such a signal can be downloaded from an Internet website, or provided on a carrier signal, or provided in any other form.

[0115] It should be noted that the above embodiments illustrate rather than limit the invention, 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 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 means, several of these means 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.

[0116] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present invention or an explanation of a specific embodiment. 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. An automatic image storage method for ultrasound-guided puncture, characterized in that: The method comprises: Transmitting ultrasonic waves to the target tissue, receiving ultrasonic echoes returned by the target tissue to obtain ultrasonic echo signals, and generating and displaying an ultrasonic image of the target tissue in real time based on the ultrasonic echo signals, wherein the ultrasonic image is used for puncture guidance; In the process of puncturing the target tissue based on the ultrasound image, detecting the change of the grayscale feature of the ultrasound image over time, and determining the time when the puncture action occurs according to the change of the grayscale feature over time; After determining the time when the puncture action occurs, automatically store the ultrasound video of a period of time from before the puncture action occurs to after the puncture action occurs, or automatically store at least one frame of ultrasound image before the puncture action occurs and at least one frame of ultrasound image after the puncture action occurs.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The grayscale feature includes a grayscale statistic value of the entire ultrasound image, a grayscale statistic value of a partial area in the ultrasound image, and / or a grayscale value of at least one pixel in the ultrasound image.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The determining the time of occurrence of the puncture action according to the change of the grayscale feature over time includes: Acquire the difference of the grayscale features of adjacent frames of ultrasound images in real time, and obtain the relationship between the difference and time; When it is detected that the increase and / or decrease of the difference within the preset time range exceeds the preset change range, it is determined that the puncture action occurs within the preset time range.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The determining the time of occurrence of the puncture action according to the change of the grayscale feature over time includes: When the variation range of the grayscale feature within the preset time range is within the preset variation range, it is determined that the puncture action occurs within the preset time range.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Determining the time when the puncture action occurs according to the change of the grayscale feature over time includes: For each time point to be measured, the grayscale features of multiple frames of ultrasound images before the time point to be measured are obtained to obtain a grayscale feature change signal; Transforming the grayscale feature change signal into the frequency domain to obtain a frequency domain signal; When a preset frequency domain feature is detected in the frequency domain signal, the time point to be measured is determined to be the time when the puncture action occurs.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The preset frequency domain characteristics include a frequency exceeding a preset frequency and an amplitude exceeding a preset amplitude.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The puncture action includes the action of inserting the puncture needle.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that It also includes receiving an operation instruction to confirm the start of puncture before puncturing the target tissue, and starting automatic storage of the ultrasound image in response to the operation instruction, so that after determining the time when the puncture action occurs, the ultrasound video of a period of time from before the puncture action occurs to after the puncture action occurs can be automatically stored, or at least one frame of ultrasound image before the puncture action occurs and at least one frame of ultrasound image after the puncture action occurs can be automatically stored.

9. An automatic image storage method for ultrasound-guided puncture, characterized in that: The method comprises: Acquiring an ultrasound video collected during ultrasound-guided puncture of a target tissue, wherein the ultrasound video includes multiple frames of ultrasound images; Detecting the change of the grayscale features of the multiple frames of ultrasound images over time, and determining the time when the puncture action occurs according to the change of the grayscale features over time; or detecting the change of the puncture needle in the multiple frames of ultrasound images over time, and determining the time when the puncture action occurs according to the change of the puncture needle over time; According to the time when the puncture action occurs, an ultrasound video segment of a period of time from before the puncture action occurs to after the puncture action occurs is automatically extracted and stored in the ultrasound video, or at least one frame of ultrasound image before the puncture action occurs and at least one frame of ultrasound image after the puncture action occurs are automatically extracted and stored in the ultrasound video.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that Determining the time when the puncture action occurs according to the change of the puncture needle over time includes: The puncture action occurrence time is determined according to the displacement change of the needle tip position or the movement speed change of the puncture needle.

11. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that Determining the time when the puncture action occurs according to the change of the puncture needle over time includes: The time when the puncture action occurs is determined based on the change in the length of the puncture needle area.

12. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that Determining the time when the puncture action occurs according to the change of the puncture needle over time includes: The target tissue in the multiple frames of ultrasound images is detected, and the time when the puncture action occurs is determined according to the relative position between the puncture needle and the target tissue.

13. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The determining the time of occurrence of the puncture action according to the change of the grayscale feature over time includes: Acquire the difference of the grayscale features of adjacent frames of ultrasound images in real time, and obtain the relationship between the difference and time; When it is detected that the increase and / or decrease of the difference within the preset time range exceeds the preset change range, it is determined that the puncture action occurs within the preset time range.

14. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The determining the time of occurrence of the puncture action according to the change of the grayscale feature over time includes: When the variation range of the grayscale feature within the preset time range is within the preset variation range, it is determined that the puncture action occurs within the preset time range.

15. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that Determining the time when the puncture action occurs according to the change of the grayscale feature over time includes: For each time point to be measured, the grayscale features of multiple frames of ultrasound images before the time point to be measured are obtained to obtain a grayscale feature change signal; Transforming the grayscale feature change signal into the frequency domain to obtain a frequency domain signal; When a preset frequency domain feature is detected in the frequency domain signal, the time point to be measured is determined to be the time when the puncture action occurs.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The preset frequency domain characteristics include a frequency exceeding a preset frequency and an amplitude exceeding a preset amplitude.

17. An ultrasonic imaging system, characterized in that: The ultrasonic imaging system comprises: Ultrasound probe; A transmitting circuit, used for stimulating the ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves to the target tissue; A receiving circuit, used for controlling the ultrasonic probe to receive the ultrasonic echo returned by the target tissue to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal; A processor, configured to generate an ultrasound image according to the ultrasound echo signal, and to execute the automatic image storage method for ultrasound-guided puncture according to any one of claims 1 to 16; A display is used to display the ultrasound image generated by the processor.

Images