Ultrasonic equipment and ultrasonic transmitting method

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of ultrasonic imaging, in particular to ultrasonic equipment and an ultrasonic transmitting method, which are used for improving harmonic distortion of the ultrasonic equipment and ensuring the transmitting efficiency of ultrasonic signals at the same time. The ultrasonic equipment in the embodiment of the invention comprises a controller, an ultrasonic transmitter and an ultrasonic probe, the controller is used for generating a control signal for driving the ultrasonic transmitter to transmit the excitation signal; the ultrasonic transmitter is used for determining a correction coefficient corresponding to the received control signal and correcting the control signal according to the correction coefficient to obtain a target control signal; emitting an excitation signal based on the target control signal; wherein the correction coefficient is used for controlling the difference between the ultrasonic signal emitted by the ultrasonic probe and the standard ultrasonic signal to be reduced; and the ultrasonic probe is used for transmitting an ultrasonic signal under the driving of the received excitation signal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of ultrasonic imaging, and in particular to an ultrasonic device and an ultrasonic transmitting method. Background Art

[0002] During ultrasonic imaging, in order to ensure the harmonic imaging effect of the detected target, the transmitting signal of the ultrasonic device is required to have low harmonic distortion.

[0003] The ultrasonic device is composed of devices such as an ultrasonic probe and an ultrasonic linear transmitter, and the ultrasonic linear transmitter is usually composed of a waveform generating unit and an amplifying circuit. The amplifying circuits in the ultrasonic probe and the ultrasonic linear transmitter will cause harmonic distortion of the transmitted signal.

[0004] In the related art, the transmission signal is usually controlled to be in an operating range where the amplifier linearity is relatively good to improve the harmonic distortion of the transmission signal. However, since this method limits the value of the ultrasonic signal to a preset range, the transmitted ultrasonic signal cannot meet the working requirements under different circumstances, which greatly reduces the transmission efficiency of the ultrasonic signal. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the present application is to provide an ultrasonic device and an ultrasonic transmission method, so as to improve the harmonic distortion of the ultrasonic device while ensuring the transmission efficiency of the ultrasonic signal.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides an ultrasound device, which includes a controller, an ultrasound transmitter, and an ultrasound probe; wherein:

[0007] A controller, used to generate a control signal for driving the ultrasonic transmitter to transmit an excitation signal, and send the control signal to the ultrasonic transmitter;

[0008] The ultrasonic transmitter is used to determine a correction coefficient corresponding to the received control signal, and correct the control signal according to the correction coefficient to obtain a target control signal; and transmit an excitation signal based on the target control signal; the correction coefficient is used to control the difference between the ultrasonic signal emitted by the ultrasonic probe and the standard ultrasonic signal to be reduced;

[0009] The ultrasonic probe is used to receive the excitation signal emitted by the ultrasonic transmitter and emit an ultrasonic signal under the drive of the excitation signal.

[0010] As an optional implementation, the ultrasonic transmitter includes a correction unit, a waveform generating unit and an amplifying circuit;

[0011] The correction unit is used to determine a correction coefficient corresponding to the control signal, and correct the control signal according to the correction coefficient to obtain a target control signal;

[0012] The waveform generating unit is used to receive the target control signal sent by the correction unit, perform digital-to-analog conversion on the target control signal to obtain a driving signal, and send the driving signal to the amplifying circuit;

[0013] The amplifying circuit is used to amplify the driving signal to obtain an excitation signal.

[0014] As an optional implementation manner, the correction unit is specifically used for:

[0015] Based on a stored first correspondence between the control signal and the correction coefficient, a correction coefficient corresponding to the received control signal is determined.

[0016] As an optional implementation manner, the correction unit is specifically used for:

[0017] Acquire a feedback signal corresponding to the ultrasonic signal last emitted by the ultrasonic probe, compare the feedback signal with the control signal received last, and determine a corresponding target harmonic distortion parameter;

[0018] Determining a target correction strategy for the correction coefficient corresponding to the target harmonic distortion parameter based on a second correspondence between the stored harmonic distortion parameters and the correction strategies for the correction coefficients;

[0019] Based on the above target correction strategy, the correction coefficient of the control signal received last time is corrected to determine the correction coefficient corresponding to the current control signal.

[0020] As an optional implementation, the ultrasonic transmitter further includes a receiving unit, the ultrasonic probe includes a transducer and a feedback unit; the transducer includes a load end and a transmitting end, the first end of the feedback unit is connected to the load end of the transducer, the second end of the feedback unit is connected to the first end of the receiving unit, and the second end of the receiving unit is connected to the correction unit;

[0021] The transducer is used to emit an ultrasonic signal under the drive of the excitation signal;

[0022] The feedback unit is used to collect the energy of the excitation signal according to a preset ratio, obtain a feedback signal, and send the feedback signal to the receiving unit;

[0023] The receiving unit is used to send the feedback signal to the correction unit.

[0024] As an optional implementation manner, the receiving unit is specifically used for:

[0025] Sampling and performing analog-to-digital conversion processing on the feedback signal sent by the feedback unit to obtain a feedback signal of a digital signal type;

[0026] A feedback signal of the digital signal type is sent to the correction unit.

[0027] As an optional implementation, the above-mentioned amplifier circuit is a single-ended linear amplifier circuit, or a differential linear amplifier circuit.

[0028] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an ultrasonic emission method, the method comprising:

[0029] generating a control signal for driving the ultrasonic transmitter to transmit an excitation signal, and determining a correction coefficient corresponding to the control signal;

[0030] The control signal is corrected according to the correction coefficient to obtain a target control signal; the correction coefficient is used to control the difference between the ultrasonic signal emitted by the ultrasonic probe and the standard ultrasonic signal to be reduced;

[0031] generating an excitation signal based on the target control signal;

[0032] Driven by the above excitation signal, an ultrasonic signal is emitted through the ultrasonic probe.

[0033] As an optional implementation manner, the determining of the correction coefficient corresponding to the control signal includes:

[0034] Based on the stored first correspondence between the control signal and the correction coefficient, a correction coefficient corresponding to the control signal is determined.

[0035] As an optional implementation manner, the determining of the correction coefficient corresponding to the control signal includes:

[0036] Acquire a feedback signal corresponding to the ultrasonic signal last emitted by the ultrasonic probe, compare the feedback signal with the control signal received last, and determine a corresponding target harmonic distortion parameter;

[0037] Determining a target correction strategy for the correction coefficient corresponding to the target harmonic distortion parameter based on a second correspondence between the stored harmonic distortion parameters and the correction strategies for the correction coefficients;

[0038] Based on the above target correction strategy, the correction coefficient of the control signal received last time is corrected to determine the correction coefficient corresponding to the current control signal.

[0039] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium. When instructions in the above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium are executed by an electronic device, the above-mentioned electronic device can execute the ultrasonic transmission method in the above-mentioned second aspect.

[0040] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, including a computer program:

[0041] When the computer program is executed by a processor, the ultrasound transmission method described in the second aspect is implemented.

[0042] The technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application brings at least the following beneficial effects:

[0043] The above-mentioned ultrasonic device in the embodiment of the present application corrects the control signal sent by the controller according to the correction coefficient each time the ultrasonic signal is emitted. Since the correction coefficient is used to control the difference between the ultrasonic signal emitted by the above-mentioned ultrasonic probe and the standard ultrasonic signal to be reduced, an excitation signal is generated based on the corrected control signal, which can make the ultrasonic signal emitted under its drive closer to the standard ultrasonic signal, that is, achieve the effect of improving harmonic distortion. At the same time, the method of improving harmonic distortion by correcting the control signal in the embodiment of the present application does not limit the value range of the emitted ultrasonic signal, and allows the emitted signal to be in different working ranges of the amplifier, thereby not affecting the emission efficiency of the ultrasonic signal. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present application will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings introduced below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0045] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of an ultrasonic linear transmitter in a related technology;

[0046] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of a possible ultrasonic device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a possible ultrasonic transmitter provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a possible control signal correction process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of another possible control signal correction process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a possible correction coefficient determination process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure of a possible ultrasonic transmitter provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the structure of a possible ultrasound probe provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] Fig. 9 A flowchart of a possible feedback signal processing process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of the structure of a possible ultrasonic device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Fig.11 A schematic diagram of the structure of another possible ultrasonic device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] Fig.12 A schematic diagram of the structure of another possible ultrasonic device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] Fig.13 A schematic diagram of the structure of another possible ultrasonic device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Fig.14 A schematic diagram of the structure of a possible ultrasonic imaging device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] Fig.15 A schematic diagram of the structure of a possible power supply unit provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] Fig.16 A schematic flow chart of a possible ultrasonic emission method provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0061] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical scheme in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Among them, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0062] Furthermore, in the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, “ / ” means or. For example, A / B can mean A or B. The “and / or” in the text is merely a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, in the description of the embodiments of the present application, “multiple” refers to two or more than two.

[0063] In the following, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as suggesting or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means two or more.

[0064] In the technical solution of this application, the collection, dissemination, and use of data are in compliance with the requirements of relevant national laws and regulations.

[0065] Before introducing the ultrasonic device and ultrasonic transmitting method provided in the embodiments of the present application, in order to facilitate understanding, the technical background of the embodiments of the present application is first introduced in detail below.

[0066] During the ultrasonic imaging process, the transmitting signal of the ultrasonic device is required to have low harmonic distortion. In this way, when harmonic imaging is performed on the target area, the harmonics generated by the target will not be affected by the harmonic distortion of the transmitting signal, which can improve the image quality of the harmonic imaging.

[0067] Ultrasonic equipment is composed of controller, ultrasonic probe and ultrasonic transmitter. Ultrasonic linear transmitter has been widely used in recent years due to its good pulse shaping ability. Therefore, the ultrasonic transmitter in ultrasonic equipment is usually ultrasonic linear transmitter. Ultrasonic linear transmitter is usually composed of waveform generating unit and amplifier circuit, such as Figure 1 As shown, the amplification circuits in the ultrasonic probe and the ultrasonic linear transmitter will cause harmonic distortion of the transmission signal. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the ultrasonic linear transmitter and the ultrasonic transmission method thereof to reduce the harmonic distortion of the ultrasonic device.

[0068] Since the output of the amplifier circuit is the excitation signal of the transducer load end in the ultrasonic probe, its harmonic distortion inevitably affects the final transmission signal. In order to improve the harmonic distortion of the transmission signal, the transmission signal is usually controlled to be in a working range where the amplifier linearity is relatively good. However, since this method limits the value of the ultrasonic signal to a preset range, the transmitted ultrasonic signal cannot meet the working requirements in different situations, which greatly reduces the transmission efficiency of the ultrasonic signal.

[0069] Based on the above problems, the present application proposes an ultrasonic device and an ultrasonic transmission method. The ultrasonic device includes a controller, an ultrasonic transmitter and an ultrasonic probe. The main idea is: when the ultrasonic transmitter receives a control signal sent by the controller, it determines a correction coefficient corresponding to the control signal, corrects the control signal according to the correction coefficient, and then transmits an excitation signal based on the corrected control signal, so that the excitation signal it transmits can drive the ultrasonic signal emitted by the ultrasonic probe to adjust in the direction of the standard ultrasonic signal.

[0070] The ultrasonic device provided in the embodiment of the present application is introduced below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 2 A possible schematic diagram of the structure of an ultrasonic device provided in an embodiment of the present application is as follows: Figure 2 As shown, the ultrasound device in the present application includes a controller 201, an ultrasound transmitter 202 and an ultrasound probe 203. In some possible embodiments, the ultrasound transmitter 202 in the embodiments of the present application may be an ultrasound linear transmitter.

[0071] The controller 201 is used to generate a control signal for driving the ultrasonic transmitter 202 to transmit an excitation signal, and send the control signal to the ultrasonic transmitter 202; in some embodiments, the control signal is a digital signal type signal;

[0072] The ultrasonic transmitter 202 is used to determine the correction coefficient corresponding to the received control signal, and correct the control signal according to the correction coefficient to obtain the target control signal; the excitation signal is transmitted based on the target control signal; the correction coefficient is used to control the difference between the ultrasonic signal transmitted by the ultrasonic probe and the standard ultrasonic signal to reduce. Specifically, the control signal is corrected by the correction coefficient so that the excitation signal transmitted based on the corrected control signal can drive the ultrasonic signal transmitted by the ultrasonic probe 203 to be closer to the standard ultrasonic signal. The standard ultrasonic signal is the desired ultrasonic signal corresponding to the control signal sent by the controller this time. In some possible embodiments, the correction coefficient can be a coefficient matrix, which can include the values ​​of parameters such as amplitude and phase.

[0073] The ultrasonic probe 203 is used to receive the excitation signal emitted by the ultrasonic transmitter 202, and emit an ultrasonic signal driven by the excitation signal.

[0074] The above-mentioned ultrasonic device in the embodiment of the present application corrects the control signal sent by the controller according to the correction coefficient each time the ultrasonic signal is emitted. Since the correction coefficient is used to control the difference between the ultrasonic signal emitted by the ultrasonic probe and the standard ultrasonic signal to be reduced, an excitation signal is generated based on the corrected control signal, which can make the ultrasonic signal emitted under its drive closer to the standard ultrasonic signal, that is, achieve the effect of improving harmonic distortion. At the same time, the method of improving harmonic distortion by correcting the control signal in the embodiment of the present application does not limit the value range of the emitted ultrasonic signal, and allows the emitted signal to be in different working ranges of the amplifier, thereby not affecting the emission efficiency of the ultrasonic signal.

[0075] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a possible ultrasonic transmitter provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. Figure 3 As shown, in some embodiments, the ultrasonic transmitter 202 of the present application includes a correction unit 301, a waveform generation unit 302 and an amplifier circuit 303, wherein:

[0076] The correction unit 301 is used to determine a correction coefficient corresponding to the control signal, and correct the control signal according to the correction coefficient to obtain a target control signal;

[0077] The waveform generating unit 302 is used to receive the target control signal sent by the correction unit 301, perform digital-to-analog conversion on the target control signal to obtain a driving signal, and send the driving signal to the amplifier circuit 303; in some embodiments, the above-mentioned waveform generating unit can be an arbitrary waveform generator, and the arbitrary waveform generator includes a random access memory (Random Access Memory, referred to as RAM) and a digital-to-analog converter (also known as a D / A converter, referred to as DAC), the RAM is used to store the control signal, and the DAC generates a driving signal (analog signal type) for driving the amplifier circuit according to the control signal (digital signal type).

[0078] The amplifier circuit 303 is used to amplify the received driving signal to obtain an excitation signal; the amplifier circuit is a single-ended linear amplifier circuit or a differential linear amplifier circuit. The single-ended linear amplifier circuit is composed of a linear amplifier, which is used to amplify the driving signal received by the linear amplifier; the differential linear amplifier circuit is composed of a positive and negative linear amplifier and a differential synthesizer, and its working principle is to determine the difference between the signals received by the positive and negative amplifiers and amplify the difference, which can suppress the even harmonic distortion generated by the circuit.

[0079] It should be noted that when the amplifier circuit is a differential linear amplifier circuit, the above-mentioned waveform generator is composed of RAM and two D / A converters. The outputs of the two D / A converters correspond to the inputs of the positive and negative amplifiers respectively, and the difference between the output signals of the two D / A converters is the driving signal sent by the waveform generator.

[0080] In one possible implementation, a comprehensive calibration is performed on the ultrasonic device during the manufacturing process so that the ultrasonic device can determine the calibration coefficients corresponding to different control signals under different operating modes (different operating modes correspond to different transmission parameters, i.e., the above-mentioned control signals), and the first corresponding relationship between the control signal and the correction coefficient is stored in the above-mentioned correction unit 301.

[0081] At this time, when the correction unit 301 receives the control signal sent by the controller 201, the following specific execution is performed: Figure 4 Steps shown:

[0082] Step S401, determining a correction coefficient corresponding to a received control signal based on a stored first correspondence relationship between the control signal and the correction coefficient;

[0083] Step S402: Correct the control signal based on the correction coefficient corresponding to the received control signal to obtain a target control signal.

[0084] Through the above method, when the ultrasound device needs to transmit an ultrasound signal (such as for imaging), the correction unit calls the corresponding correction coefficient to correct the current control signal based on the currently received control signal. Since only a correction unit needs to be added to the ultrasound transmitter, there is no need to configure related devices for obtaining ultrasound signals from the ultrasound probe. Therefore, the ultrasound device with this configuration has a lower cost and can be adapted to traditional ultrasound probes.

[0085] In a possible implementation, during the manufacturing process, the correction strategies of the correction coefficients corresponding to the different harmonic distortion parameters are determined, and the second correspondence between the harmonic distortion parameters and the correction strategies of the correction coefficients is stored in the correction unit 301. In some possible implementations, the harmonic distortion parameters are used to characterize the difference between the received feedback signal and the control signal corresponding thereto. The harmonic distortion parameters may be a parameter matrix, which may include the difference in value and frequency between the feedback signal and the control signal; the correction strategy is used to characterize the adjustment direction and adjustment amplitude of the correction parameter corresponding to the harmonic distortion parameter, such as adjustment in the direction of increasing or decreasing the value, the value changed each time the adjustment is made, etc. The specific second correspondence between the harmonic distortion parameters and the correction strategies of the correction coefficients is carried out based on the needs of the device, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited.

[0086] At this time, when the correction unit 301 receives the control signal sent by the controller 201, the following specific execution is performed: Figure 5 Steps shown:

[0087] Step S501, determining whether a control signal sent by a controller is received for the first time; if yes, executing step 502, if no, executing step 503;

[0088] It should be noted that the controller 201 may have different signal values ​​in the process of transmitting signals to the correction unit 301 at different times (for the sake of convenience, the first signal is used below to refer to the signal sent by the controller to the correction unit). The control signal in the embodiment of the present application refers to the signal with the same value received by the correction unit 301 each time. The control signal received for the first time from the controller means that before the control signal is received for the current time, the first signal with the same value as the current control signal has not been received from the controller. The control signal received last time below refers to the first signal (signal transmitted by the controller) with the same value as the current control signal received last time.

[0089] Step S502, correcting the control signal based on the initial correction coefficient to obtain a target control signal;

[0090] The above initial correction coefficient can be set based on demand and is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0091] Step S503, correcting the control signal based on the correction coefficient corresponding to the current control signal to obtain a target control signal;

[0092] The correction coefficient corresponding to the above-mentioned current control signal (for the sake of convenience of explanation, the reference correction coefficient is used below to refer to the correction coefficient corresponding to the current control signal) refers to the correction coefficient determined based on the control signal received last time.

[0093] It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, each time a control signal is received, the current correction coefficient is updated based on the received control signal and the feedback signal corresponding to the ultrasonic signal currently emitted by the ultrasonic probe, and the updated correction coefficient is stored for use the next time the control signal is received, that is, the above-mentioned reference correction coefficient is determined during the last ultrasonic signal emission and stored in the correction unit 301, and is not determined after the control signal is received this time.

[0094] Figure 6 A flow chart of a possible correction coefficient determination process provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown as follows: Figure 6 As shown, the process of determining the reference correction coefficient includes the following steps:

[0095] Step S601, obtaining a feedback signal corresponding to the ultrasonic signal last emitted by the ultrasonic probe, comparing the feedback signal with the control signal received last time, and determining a corresponding target harmonic distortion parameter;

[0096] Step S602, determining a target correction strategy of the correction coefficient corresponding to the target harmonic distortion parameter based on a second correspondence between the stored harmonic distortion parameter and the correction strategy of the correction coefficient;

[0097] Step S603: Correct the correction coefficient of the control signal received last time based on the target correction strategy to determine a reference correction coefficient.

[0098] Through the above method, when the ultrasonic device needs to transmit an ultrasonic signal (such as performing imaging work), the correction unit corrects the control signal based on the stored correction coefficient to drive the ultrasonic probe to transmit the ultrasonic signal outward, receives the feedback signal corresponding to the transmitted ultrasonic signal from the ultrasonic probe, and corrects the stored correction coefficient based on the feedback signal and the current control signal. When the ultrasonic signal is transmitted in the same working mode and parameters next time (that is, the same control signal is received), the correction coefficient after this correction is used for correction. Since the correction coefficient is corrected based on the transmitted ultrasonic signal each time the control signal is received, this method can not reduce the harmonic suppression performance of the transmitter when the state of devices such as the amplifier circuit changes due to external factors such as the working temperature.

[0099] In order to realize the above functions of the ultrasonic device, the present application embodiment provides a possible schematic diagram of the structure of an ultrasonic transmitter, such as Figure 7 As shown, the ultrasonic transmitter 202 further includes a receiving unit 304, and the ultrasonic probe 203 includes a transducer 701 and a feedback unit 702;

[0100] The transducer 701 includes a load end and a transmitting end, the load end is an end connected to the ultrasonic transmitter 202, and the transmitting end is an end that transmits ultrasonic signals outward; the first end of the feedback unit 702 is connected to the load end of the transducer, the second end of the feedback unit 702 is connected to the first end of the receiving unit, and the second end of the receiving unit 304 is connected to the correction unit; wherein:

[0101] The transducer 701 is used to transmit an ultrasonic signal under the drive of an excitation signal; a transducer refers to a device that converts electrical energy and acoustic energy. In the present application, the transducer 701 refers to a transmitting transducer used to convert electrical energy into acoustic energy (i.e., ultrasonic waves). Since harmonic distortion can cause the emission of the transducer 701, the structure of the ultrasonic device in the present application can improve the harmonic distortion, thereby improving the heating of the transducer.

[0102] In a specific implementation, in order to ensure that the excitation signal output by the amplifier circuit 303 in the ultrasonic transmitter 202 matches the input signal of the transducer 701, the ultrasonic probe 203 further includes a matching circuit 703, such as Figure 8 As shown, the excitation signal output by the amplifier circuit 303 is processed by the matching circuit 703, and the excitation signal output by the amplifier circuit 303 is processed into an excitation signal matching the input of the transducer 701. Since the matching circuit is a structure of an ultrasonic probe in the related art, the structure of the matching circuit is not described in detail here.

[0103] The feedback unit 702 is used to collect the energy of the excitation signal according to a preset ratio, obtain a feedback signal, and send the feedback signal to the receiving unit 304;

[0104] In some embodiments, the feedback unit 702 may be configured as a directional coupler to collect the energy of the excitation signal according to a preset ratio without affecting the transmission link;

[0105] The main components of the directional coupler are a pair of coupling lines and a load with a reflective surface. When the input signal (i.e., the above-mentioned excitation signal) reaches the coupler through the coupling line, a part of the energy is directly transmitted to the output port 1 (i.e., the first end of the above-mentioned feedback unit 702) along the main transmission path, and the other part of the energy is transmitted to the load with a reflective surface along the coupling line. The feedback signal returns to the coupling line and is transmitted to the output port 2 (i.e., the second end of the above-mentioned feedback unit 702). Therefore, the directional coupler can distribute the energy of the excitation signal to the two output ports according to a preset ratio, that is, send the energy of the excitation signal (the above-mentioned feedback signal) of the preset ratio to the receiving unit 304. Among them, the above-mentioned preset ratio can be set based on demand, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited.

[0106] It should be noted that, since the feedback unit 702 feeds back a portion of the energy of the excitation signal to the receiving unit 304, in order to offset its influence on the ultrasonic signal emitted by the transducer 701, the energy of the excitation signal will be appropriately enhanced during the use of the ultrasonic device.

[0107] The receiving unit 304 is used to send a feedback signal to the correction unit 301. In some embodiments, the receiving module can be configured as an analog-to-digital converter (also called A / D converter, ADC for short) for acquiring digital samples of the feedback signal by RF sampling.

[0108] In a specific implementation, after receiving the feedback signal sent by the feedback unit 702, the receiving unit 304 specifically performs the following steps: Fig. 9 Steps shown:

[0109] Step S901, sampling and analog-to-digital conversion of the feedback signal to obtain a feedback signal of a digital signal type;

[0110] Step S902: Send a feedback signal of a digital signal type to a correction unit.

[0111] Figures 10 to 13 The following is a schematic diagram of the structure of several possible ultrasonic devices provided in the embodiments of the present application. Figures 10 to 13 , a detailed introduction to the possible structures of ultrasonic equipment is given.

[0112] In such Fig.10 In the ultrasonic device shown, the waveform generating unit is configured to be composed of RAM and a D / A converter (i.e., D / A in the figure), the amplifying circuit is configured as a single-ended linear amplifying circuit, the receiving unit is configured as an A / D converter (i.e., A / D in the figure), and the feedback unit is configured as a directional coupler. Since the working principles of each device have been described in detail above, they will not be repeated here.

[0113] In such Fig.11 In the ultrasonic device shown, the waveform generating unit is configured to be composed of RAM and D / A converter (i.e., D / A in the figure), the amplifying circuit is configured as a differential linear amplifying circuit, the receiving unit is configured as an A / D converter (i.e., A / D in the figure), and the feedback unit is configured as a directional coupler. Since the working principle of each device has been described in detail above, it will not be repeated here. It should be noted that since the amplifying circuit is configured as a differential linear amplifying circuit, which includes two amplifiers, the waveform generating unit includes two D / A converters.

[0114] In such Fig.12 In the ultrasonic device shown, the waveform generating unit is configured to be composed of a RAM and a D / A converter (i.e., D / A in the figure), and the amplifying circuit is configured as a single-ended linear amplifying circuit. A receiving unit and a feedback unit are not provided in this structure. The correction unit determines the correction coefficient corresponding to the received control signal based on a first corresponding relationship between a pre-stored control signal and the correction coefficient. The working principles of each device have been described in detail above.

[0115] In such Fig.13In the ultrasonic device shown, the waveform generating unit is configured to be composed of RAM and D / A converter (i.e., D / A in the figure), the amplifying circuit is configured as a differential linear amplifying circuit, and the receiving unit and the feedback unit are not provided in the structure. The correction unit determines the correction coefficient corresponding to the received control signal based on the first corresponding relationship between the pre-stored control signal and the correction coefficient. Since the working principle of each device has been described in detail above, it will not be repeated here. It should be noted that since the amplifying circuit is configured as a differential linear amplifying circuit, which includes two amplifiers, the waveform generating unit includes two D / A converters.

[0116] In a possible implementation, the ultrasound device is an ultrasound imaging device, such as Fig.14 As shown, in addition to the above-mentioned controller, ultrasonic transmitter and ultrasonic probe, the ultrasonic imaging device also includes: a receiver, a processor, a display and a memory, wherein: after the controller sends a control signal, the ultrasonic transmitter corrects the control signal, and transmits an excitation signal to the ultrasonic probe based on the corrected control signal. Under the action of the excitation signal, the ultrasonic probe generates a focused sound beam (ultrasonic signal) along the scanning direction, receives the harmonic signal fed back from the scanned target area, and sends the harmonic signal to the processor through the receiver. The processor performs harmonic imaging based on the harmonic signal and displays it in the display. The memory is used to exchange information with the processor and the display and store related signals.

[0117] In a possible implementation, the correction unit of the present application may be configured as a computer program, and may be implemented by reusing the storage and computing resources of the ultrasound device host. Fig.15 A schematic diagram of a possible correction unit provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. Fig.15 As shown, the structure may include:

[0118] At least one processor 1501, and a memory 1502 connected to the at least one processor 1501. The specific connection medium between the processor 1501 and the memory 1502 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. Fig.15 In the example, the processor 1501 and the memory 1502 are connected via the bus 1500. The bus 1500 is Fig.15 The connections between other components are shown in bold lines, and are not intended to be limiting. The bus 1500 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, Fig.15 Only one thick line is used in the figure, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus. Alternatively, the processor 1501 can also be called a controller, and there is no limitation on the name.

[0119] In an embodiment of the present application, the memory 1502 stores instructions that can be executed by at least one processor 1501. By executing the instructions stored in the memory 1502, at least one processor 1501 can execute the above-mentioned method of determining the correction coefficient corresponding to the control signal, and correcting the control signal according to the correction coefficient to obtain the target control signal.

[0120] Among them, processor 1501 is the control center of the device, which can use various interfaces and lines to connect various parts of the entire control device, and monitor the device as a whole by running or executing instructions stored in memory 1502 and calling data stored in memory 1502, various functions of the device and processing data.

[0121] In one possible design, the processor 1501 may include one or more processing units, and the processor 1501 may integrate an application processor and a modem processor, wherein the application processor mainly processes an operating system, a user interface, and application programs, and the modem processor mainly processes wireless communications. It is understandable that the modem processor may not be integrated into the processor 1501. In some embodiments, the processor 1501 and the memory 1502 may be implemented on the same chip, and in some embodiments, they may also be implemented separately on separate chips.

[0122] Processor 1501 can be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, and can implement or execute the various methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method performed by the above-mentioned correction unit disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as a hardware processor to be executed, or a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor can be executed.

[0123] Memory 1502, as a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, can be used to store non-volatile software programs, non-volatile computer executable programs and modules. Memory 1502 may include at least one type of storage medium, such as flash memory, hard disk, multimedia card, card-type memory, random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), static random access memory (Static Random Access Memory, SRAM), programmable read-only memory (Programmable Read Only Memory, PROM), read-only memory (Read Only Memory, ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory, EEPROM), magnetic memory, disk, optical disk, etc. Memory 1502 is any other medium that can be used to carry or store a desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory 1502 in the embodiment of the present application can also be a circuit or any other device that can realize a storage function, for storing program instructions and / or data.

[0124] By designing and programming the processor 1501, the code corresponding to the method executed by the correction unit described in the above embodiment can be fixed into the chip, so that the chip can determine the correction coefficient corresponding to the control signal during operation, and correct the control signal according to the correction coefficient. How to design and program the processor 1501 is a technology well known to those skilled in the art and will not be described in detail here.

[0125] Fig.16 A flow chart of a possible ultrasonic emission method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown as follows: Fig.16 As shown, the embodiment of the present application also provides an ultrasonic emission method applied to the above ultrasonic device, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0126] Step S1601, generating a control signal for driving the ultrasonic transmitter to transmit an excitation signal, and determining a correction coefficient corresponding to the control signal;

[0127] Step S1602, correcting the control signal according to the correction coefficient to obtain a target control signal; the correction coefficient is used to control the difference between the ultrasonic signal emitted by the ultrasonic probe and the standard ultrasonic signal to be reduced;

[0128] Step S1603, generating an excitation signal based on the target control signal;

[0129] Step S1604: under the drive of the excitation signal, an ultrasonic signal is emitted through the ultrasonic probe.

[0130] As a possible implementation manner, the above-mentioned determining the correction coefficient corresponding to the control signal includes:

[0131] Based on the stored first correspondence between the control signal and the correction coefficient, a correction coefficient corresponding to the control signal is determined.

[0132] As a possible implementation manner, the above-mentioned determining the correction coefficient corresponding to the control signal includes:

[0133] Acquire a feedback signal corresponding to the ultrasonic signal last emitted by the ultrasonic probe, compare the feedback signal with the control signal received last, and determine the corresponding target harmonic distortion parameter;

[0134] Determining a target correction strategy for the correction coefficient corresponding to the target harmonic distortion parameter based on a second correspondence between the stored harmonic distortion parameters and the correction strategies for the correction coefficients;

[0135] The correction coefficient of the control signal received last time is corrected based on the target correction strategy to determine the correction coefficient corresponding to the current control signal.

[0136] Since the specific implementation process of the above-mentioned ultrasonic emission method has been explained in detail in the introduction of the above-mentioned ultrasonic equipment, it will not be repeated here.

[0137] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application may be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application may adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment in combination with software and hardware. Moreover, the present application may adopt the form of a computer program product implemented in one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) that include computer-usable program code.

[0138] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that each process and / or box in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the processes and / or boxes in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device generate instructions for implementing the processes in the flowchart and / or block diagram. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in a block or multiple blocks.

[0139] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory capable of directing a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture comprising an instruction device, which implements the process Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A function specified in one or more boxes.

[0140] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions for implementing the process. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps for the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0141] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic device, characterized in that: The ultrasonic device comprises a controller, an ultrasonic transmitter and an ultrasonic probe; The controller is used to generate a control signal for driving the ultrasonic transmitter to transmit an excitation signal, and send the control signal to the ultrasonic transmitter; The ultrasonic transmitter is used to determine a correction coefficient corresponding to the received control signal, and correct the control signal according to the correction coefficient to obtain a target control signal; an excitation signal is emitted based on the target control signal; the correction coefficient is used to control the difference between the ultrasonic signal emitted by the ultrasonic probe and the standard ultrasonic signal to be reduced; The ultrasonic probe is used to receive the excitation signal emitted by the ultrasonic transmitter; and emit an ultrasonic signal driven by the excitation signal.

2. The ultrasonic device according to claim 1, characterized in that The ultrasonic transmitter includes a correction unit, a waveform generating unit and an amplifying circuit; The correction unit is used to determine a correction coefficient corresponding to the control signal, and correct the control signal according to the correction coefficient to obtain a target control signal; The waveform generating unit is used to receive the target control signal sent by the correction unit, perform digital-to-analog conversion on the target control signal to obtain a driving signal, and send the driving signal to the amplifying circuit; The amplifier circuit is used to amplify the driving signal to obtain the excitation signal.

3. The ultrasonic device according to claim 2, characterized in that The correction unit is specifically used for: Based on a stored first correspondence between the control signal and the correction coefficient, a correction coefficient corresponding to the received control signal is determined.

4. The ultrasonic device according to claim 2, characterized in that The correction unit is specifically used for: Acquire a feedback signal corresponding to the ultrasonic signal last emitted by the ultrasonic probe, compare the feedback signal with the control signal received last, and determine a corresponding target harmonic distortion parameter; Determining a target correction strategy for the correction coefficient corresponding to the target harmonic distortion parameter based on a second correspondence between the stored harmonic distortion parameters and the correction strategies for the correction coefficients; The correction coefficient of the control signal received last time is corrected based on the target correction strategy to determine the correction coefficient corresponding to the current control signal.

5. The ultrasonic device according to claim 4, characterized in that The ultrasonic transmitter further includes a receiving unit, and the ultrasonic probe includes a transducer and a feedback unit; the transducer includes a load end and a transmitting end, a first end of the feedback unit is connected to the load end of the transducer, a second end of the feedback unit is connected to the first end of the receiving unit, and a second end of the receiving unit is connected to the correction unit; The transducer is used to emit an ultrasonic signal under the drive of the excitation signal; The feedback unit is used to collect the energy of the excitation signal according to a preset ratio, obtain a feedback signal, and send the feedback signal to the receiving unit; The receiving unit is used to send the feedback signal to the correction unit.

6. The ultrasonic device according to claim 5, characterized in that The receiving unit is specifically used for: Sampling and performing analog-to-digital conversion processing on the feedback signal sent by the feedback unit to obtain a feedback signal of a digital signal type; A feedback signal of the digital signal type is sent to the correction unit.

7. The ultrasonic device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The amplifier circuit is a single-ended linear amplifier circuit or a differential linear amplifier circuit.

8. An ultrasonic emission method, characterized in that: The method comprises: generating a control signal for driving the ultrasonic transmitter to transmit an excitation signal, and determining a correction coefficient corresponding to the control signal; The control signal is corrected according to the correction coefficient to obtain a target control signal; the correction coefficient is used to control the difference between the ultrasonic signal emitted by the ultrasonic probe and the standard ultrasonic signal to be reduced; generating an excitation signal based on the target control signal; Driven by the excitation signal, an ultrasonic signal is emitted through the ultrasonic probe.

9. The ultrasonic transmitting method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The determining of a correction coefficient corresponding to the control signal comprises: Based on a stored first correspondence between the control signal and the correction coefficient, a correction coefficient corresponding to the control signal is determined.

10. The ultrasonic transmitting method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The determining of a correction coefficient corresponding to the control signal comprises: Acquire a feedback signal corresponding to the ultrasonic signal last emitted by the ultrasonic probe, compare the feedback signal with the control signal received last, and determine a corresponding target harmonic distortion parameter; Determining a target correction strategy for the correction coefficient corresponding to the target harmonic distortion parameter based on a second correspondence between the stored harmonic distortion parameters and the correction strategies for the correction coefficients; The correction coefficient of the control signal received last time is corrected based on the target correction strategy to determine the correction coefficient corresponding to the current control signal.

Images