Ultrasound imaging apparatus

Abstract

An ultrasonic imaging device comprises a host and an ultrasonic probe, the host comprises a transmitting and receiving circuit, an analog front-end chip, a central processing unit and a graphics processor, and the central processing unit is connected with the transmitting and receiving circuit and used for transmitting and receiving a super-resolution contrast imaging mode after receiving an instruction of entering the super-resolution contrast imaging mode. The transmitting and receiving circuit is controlled to excite the ultrasonic probe to transmit a plurality of first ultrasonic waves to the target tissue containing the contrast microbubbles, and a first simulation echo signal is obtained; the analog front-end chip is connected with the transmitting and receiving circuit and the graphics processor, and is used for carrying out preset processing on the first analog echo signal to obtain a first digital echo signal; the graphics processor is connected with the analog front-end chip and is used for carrying out beam forming on the first digital echo signal and carrying out super-resolution imaging processing based on data after beam forming so as to generate a super-resolution contrast image; and the central processing unit and / or the graphics processor are / is also used for carrying out quantitative analysis on the super-resolution contrast image to obtain a quantitative analysis result.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of ultrasonic imaging, and more specifically to an ultrasonic imaging device. Background Art

[0002] As a new technology that can perform real-time dynamic observation of lesions and their tissue blood perfusion, ultrasound contrast imaging plays an increasingly important role in the diagnosis of malignant diseases such as liver cancer, thyroid cancer and breast cancer, and has become a necessary examination method for clinical evaluation of blood circulation and perfusion.

[0003] Blockage, obstruction and pathological changes of microcirculation are precursors of many diseases. Observation of microvascular changes is helpful for early diagnosis of diseases. Capillaries are located in the epidermis and are an important part of blood microcirculation. They have the smallest diameter of about 6 to 9 μm. Arterioles and venules are located in the dermis with a diameter of about 10 to 100 μm, connected to arteries and veins in the lower skin. Microcirculation refers to the blood circulation between arterioles and venules in the vascular network. It is not only the terminal part of the circulatory system, but also an important component of organs. Under normal circumstances, the blood flow of microcirculation is adapted to the metabolic level of human tissues and organs to maintain normal life activities and metabolism of the human body. When the metabolism and function of tissues and organs are abnormal, microcirculation will change to a certain extent. Therefore, microcirculation is closely related to the occurrence and development of diseases, and has important physiological, pathological, pharmacological and clinical significance. It is of great value for the early diagnosis and treatment of various diseases.

[0004] However, due to the diffraction limit of ultrasound in the far field, the ability of conventional clinical ultrasound to display the details of microvascular structures is limited. Although the spatial resolution can be improved by increasing the transmission frequency and near-field imaging, it will inevitably lead to a decrease in imaging depth, and most organs are at a great depth from the probe, making it difficult to apply near-field super-resolution methods. Super-resolution contrast-enhanced ultrasound (SR-CEUS) is a new imaging method with ultra-high spatial resolution. It draws on the principles of fluorescence microscopy positioning technology in optical super-resolution imaging and obtains images with a spatial resolution of tens of microns by locating and tracking isolated microbubbles. Therefore, super-resolution contrast-enhanced ultrasound technology solves the problem of microvascular display and becomes a powerful tool for observing microblood flow. It is currently widely used in preclinical research in the fields of tumors, microblood perfusion of different tissues and organs, and plaque neovascularization.

[0005] However, current ultrasound imaging devices cannot simultaneously perform imaging processing and quantitative analysis of the acquired data when performing super-resolution data acquisition. Instead, the acquired data needs to be transmitted to a processing platform for offline processing and analysis, which brings inconvenience to users. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present application is proposed to solve the above-mentioned problems. According to one aspect of the present application, an ultrasonic imaging device is provided, the device comprising a host and an ultrasonic probe communicatively connected to the host, the host comprising a transmitting and receiving circuit, an analog front-end chip, a central processing unit and a graphics processing unit, wherein: the central processing unit is connected to the transmitting and receiving circuit, the central processing unit is used to control the transmitting and receiving circuit to excite the ultrasonic probe to transmit a plurality of first ultrasonic waves to the target tissue containing contrast microbubbles after receiving an instruction to enter a super-resolution contrast imaging mode, receive the echo of the first ultrasonic wave, and obtain a first analog echo signal based on the echo of the first ultrasonic wave; the analog front-end chip is connected to the transmitting and receiving circuit and the graphics processing unit, The analog front-end chip is used to receive the first analog echo signal from the transmitting and receiving circuit, perform preset processing on the first analog echo signal to obtain a first digital echo signal, and transmit the first digital echo signal to the graphics processor; the graphics processor is connected to the analog front-end chip, and is used to receive the first digital echo signal from the analog front-end chip, perform beam synthesis on the first digital echo signal to obtain beam-synthesized data, and perform super-resolution imaging processing based on the beam-synthesized data to generate a super-resolution angiography image; the central processing unit and / or the graphics processor are also used to perform quantitative analysis on the super-resolution angiography image to obtain a quantitative analysis result.

[0007] The ultrasonic imaging device of the present application can not only realize data acquisition for super-resolution imaging, but also can realize that there is no need to transmit the data for offline processing and analysis. Instead, the collected data is directly processed for super-resolution imaging by a graphics processor in the integrated ultrasonic imaging device to obtain a super-resolution contrast image. The processor in the ultrasonic imaging device can also realize quantitative analysis of the super-resolution contrast image, thereby realizing a super-resolution imaging device that integrates data acquisition, imaging processing, and quantitative analysis, improving the efficiency of super-resolution imaging and analysis, and allowing users to view super-resolution imaging results online in real time, bringing convenience to users. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] By describing the embodiments of the present application in more detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present application will become more apparent. The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present application and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments of the present application, they are used to explain the present application and do not constitute a limitation of the present application. In the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals generally represent the same components or steps.

[0009] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of an ultrasonic imaging device according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0010] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of a front-end analog chip of an ultrasonic imaging device according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0011] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing the structure of a front-end processing circuit in a front-end analog chip of an ultrasonic imaging device according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0012] Figure 4 A schematic structural diagram of an ultrasonic imaging device according to another embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0013] Figure 5 A schematic structural diagram of an ultrasonic imaging device according to another embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0014] Figure 6 A schematic diagram showing super-resolution imaging processing performed by an ultrasonic imaging device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0015] Figure 7 A schematic structural diagram of an ultrasonic imaging device according to yet another embodiment of the present application is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more obvious, the example embodiments according to the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments of the present application, and it should be understood that the present application is not limited to the example embodiments described herein. Based on the embodiments of the present application described in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work should fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0017] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of an ultrasonic imaging device 100 according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1As shown, the ultrasonic imaging device 100 may include a host 110 and an ultrasonic probe 120 communicatively connected to the host 110, wherein the host 110 includes a transmitting and receiving circuit 111, an analog front end chip (Analog Front End, AFE) 112, a central processing unit (CPU) 113 and a graphics processing unit (GPU) 114, wherein: the central processing unit 113 is connected to the transmitting and receiving circuit 111, and the central processing unit 113 is used to control the transmitting and receiving circuit 111 to excite the ultrasonic probe 120 to transmit a plurality of first ultrasonic waves to a target tissue containing contrast microbubbles after receiving an instruction to enter a super-resolution contrast imaging mode, receive echoes of the first ultrasonic waves, and obtain a first analog echo signal based on the echoes of the first ultrasonic waves; the analog front end chip 112 is connected to the transmitting and receiving circuit 111 and the graphics processing unit 114, and the analog front end chip 112 is used to obtain a first analog echo signal from the transmitting and receiving circuit 111. The receiving circuit 111 receives the first analog echo signal, performs preset processing on the first analog echo signal to obtain a first digital echo signal, and transmits the first digital echo signal to the graphics processor 114; the graphics processor 114 is connected to the analog front-end chip 112, and is used to receive the first digital echo signal from the analog front-end chip 112, perform beam synthesis on the first digital echo signal to obtain beam synthesized data, and perform super-resolution imaging processing based on the beam synthesized data to generate a super-resolution angiography image; the central processing unit 113 and / or the graphics processor 114 are also used to perform quantitative analysis on the super-resolution angiography image to obtain a quantitative analysis result.

[0018] In an embodiment of the present application, an integrated device capable of super-resolution contrast imaging is provided, namely, an ultrasonic imaging device 100. In the ultrasonic imaging device 100, after receiving an instruction to enter the super-resolution contrast imaging mode, the central processor 113 can control the transmitting and receiving circuit 111 using the transmitting and receiving strategy of the super-resolution contrast imaging mode, so that the transmitting and receiving circuit 111 excites the ultrasonic probe 120 to transmit ultrasonic waves (since in the embodiments described below, the ultrasonic imaging device 100 supports other imaging modes in addition to the super-resolution contrast imaging mode, in order to distinguish, the signals in the super-resolution contrast imaging mode are all referred to as the first xx, for example, the ultrasonic wave here is referred to as the first ultrasonic wave, the analog ultrasonic echo signal in the following text is referred to as the first analog ultrasonic echo signal, and the digital ultrasonic echo signal in the following text is referred to as the first digital echo signal). Each first ultrasonic wave is a pulse sequence ultrasonic wave or a single-pulse ultrasonic wave, preferably a single-pulse ultrasonic wave with an ultra-high frame rate. After obtaining the analog ultrasonic echo signal according to the echo of the first ultrasonic wave, the analog front-end chip 112 obtains the first analog echo signal from the transmitting and receiving circuit 111, and obtains the first digital echo signal after the preset processing. After the graphics processor 114 obtains the first digital echo signal from the analog front-end chip 112, it performs beam synthesis on it to obtain beam-synthesized data. At this point, data for super-resolution imaging can be obtained, and data acquisition for super-resolution imaging is completed. In existing super-resolution imaging schemes, the ultrasound equipment needs to transmit the collected data to a dedicated processing platform for super-resolution imaging and subsequent quantitative analysis. In the scheme of the present application, the graphics processor 114 of the ultrasound imaging device 100 can, after obtaining the beam-synthesized data, perform super-resolution imaging processing based on the data to generate a super-resolution imaging image; thereafter, the graphics processor 114 and / or the central processing unit 113 can perform quantitative analysis on the super-resolution imaging image to obtain a quantitative analysis result. Therefore, according to the ultrasonic imaging device 100 of the embodiment of the present application, not only can super-resolution imaging data acquisition be realized, but also offline processing and analysis can be performed on the collected data directly in the integrated ultrasonic imaging device 100 through the graphics processor 114 without transmitting the data, so as to obtain a super-resolution contrast image. Moreover, the super-resolution contrast image can be quantitatively analyzed through the processor in the integrated ultrasonic imaging device 100, thereby realizing a super-resolution imaging device integrating data acquisition, imaging processing and quantitative analysis, improving the efficiency of super-resolution imaging and analysis, and enabling users to view the super-resolution imaging results in real time, thereby bringing convenience to users.

[0019] In the embodiment of the present application, the analog front-end chip 112 further includes a front-end processing circuit 210 and a data transmission circuit 220. Figure 2As shown. Wherein: the front-end processing circuit 210 is connected to the transmitting and receiving circuit 111, specifically, the input end of the front-end processing circuit 210 is connected to the output end of the transmitting and receiving circuit 111, the output end of the front-end processing circuit 210 is connected to the input end of the data transmission circuit 220, and the output end of the data transmission circuit 220 is connected to the graphics processor 114. The front-end processing circuit 210 is used to perform a preset process on the first analog echo signal to obtain a first digital echo signal. The data transmission circuit 220 includes a first interface 221, and the data transmission circuit 220 is used to receive the first digital echo signal and transmit the first digital echo signal to the graphics processor 114 through the first interface 221. Wherein, the graphics processor 114 is also used to communicate with the analog front-end chip 112 through the first interface 221 to obtain the first digital echo signal transmitted by the data transmission circuit 220 and perform beamforming processing.

[0020] In some embodiments, see Figure 3 , the front-end processing circuit 210 includes: a low-noise amplifier circuit 201, an attenuator circuit 202, a variable gain amplifier circuit 203, a low-pass filter circuit 204, an analog-to-digital conversion circuit 205, and a demodulation down-sampling filter circuit 206, wherein the low-noise amplifier circuit 201, the attenuator circuit 202, the variable gain amplifier circuit 203, the low-pass filter circuit 204, the analog-to-digital conversion circuit 205, and the demodulation down-sampling filter circuit 206 are connected in sequence, and the low-noise amplifier circuit 201 is connected to the transmitting and receiving circuit 111, and the demodulation down-sampling filter circuit 206 is connected to the data transmission circuit 220. Of course, it is not limited to this. For example, in some embodiments, the front-end processing circuit 210 may not include one or more of the attenuator circuit 202, the low-pass filter circuit 204, and the demodulation down-sampling filter circuit 206; in other embodiments, the connection order of the low-noise amplifier circuit 201, the attenuator circuit 202, the variable gain amplifier circuit 203, the low-pass filter circuit 204, the analog-to-digital conversion circuit 205, and the demodulation down-sampling filter circuit 206 may also be the same as Figure 3 The connection order in is different.

[0021] Exemplarily, the low noise amplifier circuit 201 is used to perform a first amplification process on the first analog echo signal to obtain a signal after the first amplification process. The low noise amplifier circuit 201, for example, includes a low noise pre-amplifier LNA, and the amplification gain can be 15dB, 18dB, and 21dB. The attenuator circuit 202 is used to perform an attenuation process on the signal after the first amplification process to obtain a signal after the attenuation process. The attenuator circuit 202, for example, includes an attenuator ATTEN, and the gain of the attenuation process can be 0dB to negative 36dB. The variable gain amplifier circuit 203 is used to perform a second amplification process on the attenuated signal to obtain a signal after the second amplification process. The variable gain amplifier circuit 203, for example, includes a programmable gain amplifier PGA, and the amplification gain can be 21dB, 24dB, and 27dB. The low-pass filter circuit 204 is used to perform an anti-aliasing filter process on the signal after the second amplification process to obtain a signal after the anti-aliasing filter process. The low-pass filter circuit 204, for example, includes a low-pass filter LPC, such as an anti-aliasing filter. The analog-to-digital conversion circuit 205 (ADC) is used to perform analog-to-digital conversion on the signal after anti-aliasing filtering to obtain the analog-to-digital converted signal, thereby realizing the conversion of the analog signal to the digital signal. The demodulation downsampling filter circuit 206 is used to perform frequency shifting and downsampling processing on the analog-to-digital converted signal to obtain the first digital echo signal. The demodulation downsampling filter circuit 206, for example, includes a DSP (Digital Signal Processing, digital signal graphics processor 114230), which realizes the frequency shifting of the modulated signal from the carrier frequency to the zero frequency, and reduces the data rate to obtain the digital signal after frequency shifting and downsampling. Among them, the attenuator circuit 202 and the variable gain amplifier circuit 203 can be used to compensate for the exponential attenuation of the amplitude of the ultrasonic signal caused by the change of the detection depth.

[0022] In some embodiments, the analog front-end chip 112 may transmit data of greater than or equal to 192 (for example, up to 256) physical channels in parallel, that is, the analog front-end chip 112 may transmit the first digital echo signal to the graphics processor 114 in parallel based on greater than or equal to 192 physical channels.

[0023] See also Figure 2 The data transmission circuit 220 in the analog front-end chip 112 is connected to the front-end processing circuit 210. The data transmission circuit 220 includes a first interface 221 that supports a preset protocol. The data transmission circuit 220 is used to receive a first digital echo signal, encapsulate the first digital echo signal into a data packet of a preset protocol, and transmit the data packet of the preset protocol (which can be called original channel data) directly to the graphics processor 114 through the first interface 221, wherein the preset protocol is a protocol that can communicate directly with the graphics processor 114.

[0024] Among them, the first interface 221 may include a bus interface supporting the PCIE protocol or a bus interface supporting the MIPI protocol, and of course it is not limited thereto. It is understandable that the first interface 221 may include any interface that can directly connect and communicate with the graphics processor 114, and the interface has sufficient data transmission capacity, and the graphics processor 114 can directly access the analog front-end chip 112 through the first interface 221 to obtain data packets of the preset protocol without using expensive devices such as FPGA as adapter devices. Exemplarily, the first interface 221 is a Serdes interface, a thunderbolt interface, or a Type-C interface for transmitting ultrasonic echo digital signals to the graphics processor 114.

[0025] In some embodiments, Figure 3 As shown, the data transmission circuit 220 includes a PCIE controller 222, and the PCIE controller 222 is used to encapsulate the ultrasonic echo digital signal into a data packet of the PCIE protocol or the Thunderbolt protocol. At present, the most common high-speed peripheral bus of the general X86 system is a bus supporting the PCIE protocol or a bus supporting the Thunderbolt protocol. By integrating a bus interface supporting the PCIE protocol or a bus interface supporting the Thunderbolt protocol in the analog front-end chip 112, the analog front-end chip 112 can communicate directly with the graphics processor 114 and transmit the first digital echo signal to the graphics processor 114.

[0026] like Figure 3 As shown, the PCIE controller 222 is connected to the demodulation and downsampling filtering circuit 206 in the front-end processing circuit 210, receives the first digital echo signal output by the demodulation and downsampling filtering circuit 206 after frequency shifting and downsampling processing, encapsulates the received first digital echo into a data packet of the PCIE protocol or the Thunderbolt protocol, and transmits the data packet of the PCIE protocol or the Thunderbolt protocol to the graphics processor 114 through a bus interface supporting the PCIE protocol or a bus interface supporting the Thunderbolt protocol, and the graphics processor 114 parses the data packet and processes the first digital echo signal obtained by parsing the data packet.

[0027] In some embodiments, the front-end processing circuit 210 and the data transmission circuit 220 integrated in the analog front-end chip 112 can perform data transmission (i.e., receive the ultrasonic echo digital signal) based on the internal protocol of the analog front-end chip 112. Exemplarily, the PCIE controller 222 receives the first digital echo signal from the front-end processing circuit 210 based on the internal protocol, encapsulates the received first digital echo signal into a data packet of a preset protocol, and transmits the data packet of the preset protocol to the graphics processor 114 through the first interface 221.

[0028] After acquiring the first digital echo signal, the graphics processor 114 performs beamforming multi-channel parallel processing based on its own high-speed computing capability. The beamforming based on the graphics processor 114 belongs to the development of high-level language imaging, which is convenient for realizing various high-level adaptive beamforming algorithms, and with the upgrading of the graphics processor 114, it can be easily upgraded quickly, and the computing speed of the beamforming can be improved at a relatively low cost, which increases flexibility compared to the traditional beamforming implementation based on field programmable gate array (FPGA).

[0029] In some embodiments, the ultrasound imaging device 100 may further include a first memory 115, such as Figure 4 As shown, the first memory 115 is connected to the analog front-end chip 112 and is used to cache the first digital echo signal. The cached first digital echo signal is transmitted to the graphics processor 114 through the transmission bus, which can further improve the reading efficiency of the first digital echo signal by the graphics processor 114, thereby improving the efficiency of beamforming and the efficiency of subsequent super-resolution imaging processing.

[0030] In some embodiments, the ultrasound imaging device 100 may further include a second memory 116, such as Figure 5 As shown, the second memory 116 is connected to the graphics processor 114 and is used to store the beamformed data for the super-resolution imaging process, wherein the first memory 115 and the second memory 116 are the same memory or different memories. For example, when the first memory 115 and the second memory 116 are the same memory, they can be partitioned, wherein the first partition is used to cache the first digital echo signal, and the second partition is used to store the beamformed data.

[0031] In some embodiments, the graphics processor 114 performs super-resolution imaging processing based on the beamformed data to generate a super-resolution angiography image, which may include: performing super-resolution imaging processing on the beamformed data to generate a super-resolution angiography image; or further processing the beamformed data to obtain processed data, and performing super-resolution imaging processing on the processed data to generate a super-resolution angiography image. For example, the graphics processor 114 may perform noise reduction processing on the beamformed data to obtain noise-reduced data, and perform super-resolution imaging processing on the noise-reduced data to generate a super-resolution angiography image. For another example, the graphics processor 114 may perform at least one image post-processing (such as black hole filling, image compounding, gain, dynamic range, frame correlation, speckle noise suppression technology iClear, digital scan conversion, grayscale mapping, etc.) on the beamformed data, and may perform super-resolution imaging processing on the data obtained after any image post-processing to generate a super-resolution angiography image. The super-resolution imaging results obtained may be different depending on the data used.

[0032] In some embodiments, the super-resolution imaging processing performed by the graphics processor 114 may include: microbubble detection, microbubble separation, microbubble localization, microbubble tracking, and image reconstruction, such as Figure 6 As shown. Among them, for microbubble detection a, it should be noted that different microbubble detection methods correspond to different collected data. For example, for the collected tissue echo data containing microbubble signals, the characteristics of linearity and high spatiotemporal correlation of tissue echo signals can be used to filter out the main linear signals in the image and retain the nonlinear components, thereby realizing tissue filtering and extracting microbubble signals. Microbubble separation b specifically uses bandpass filters of different frequencies to process microbubble signals, so that spatially overlapping microbubbles can be distinguished in the frequency domain; or the microbubble data is divided into multiple subsets based on the microbubble velocity to achieve the purpose of reducing the microbubble concentration. Microbubble positioning c can use the centroid method to obtain the precise positioning of each microbubble through point spread function deconvolution. Microbubble tracking d means that after obtaining the precise positioning of each microbubble, the moving trajectory of the microbubble signal in the multi-frame data can be further tracked, and the moving speed and direction of the microbubble can be further determined based on the inter-frame displacement and image frame rate. Image reconstruction e means that based on the microbubble positioning and tracking results, microvascular structure images and microhemodynamic images, i.e., super-resolution angiography images, can be constructed. After the data processing is completed, the corresponding super-resolution image results can be output and displayed.

[0033] In some embodiments, the ultrasound imaging device 100 further includes a display 117, such as Figure 7As shown, the display 117 is connected to the graphics processor 114 for displaying the super-resolution contrast image. In other embodiments, the ultrasound imaging device 100 may not include the display 117, and the graphics processor 114 may transmit the generated super-resolution contrast image to a display device outside the ultrasound imaging device 100 for display. For example, the ultrasound imaging device 100 may be made into a portable device, which transmits the generated super-resolution contrast image to an external mobile phone, tablet computer or other device with a display function, so as to be used for super-resolution contrast imaging of different patients in a mobile scene.

[0034] In some embodiments, the quantitative analysis of the super-resolution angiography image may be performed by the graphics processor 114 and / or the central processor 113. When the quantitative analysis is performed by the graphics processor 114, the graphics processor 114 may directly perform the quantitative analysis after generating the super-resolution angiography image. When the quantitative analysis is performed by the central processor 113, or by the graphics processor 114 in combination with the central processor 113, the graphics processor 114 transmits the generated super-resolution angiography image to the central processor 113, so that the central processor 113 performs at least part of the quantitative analysis operation.

[0035] In some embodiments, the graphics processor 114 and / or the central processing unit 113 support multiple quantification methods. For example, based on the microvascular structure image, the user selects a region of interest on the image through human-computer interaction control, and the graphics processor 114 and / or the central processing unit 113 quantifies the vascular distribution ratio in the target area; or based on the super-resolution blood flow velocity map, the user selects a region of interest on the image through human-computer interaction control, and the graphics processor 114 and / or the central processing unit 113 quantifies the velocity distribution in the target area. After the quantitative analysis calculation is completed, the graphics processor 114 and / or the central processing unit 113 can output the quantification results and support the export of multiple data formats (such as tables and images).

[0036] In some embodiments, the ultrasound imaging device 100 further includes a display 117, such as Figure 7 As shown, the display 117 is connected to the graphics processor 114 and / or the central processor 113 to display the quantitative analysis results of the super-resolution angiography image. In other embodiments, the ultrasound imaging device 100 may not include the display 117, and the graphics processor 114 and / or the central processor 113 may transmit the generated quantitative analysis results to a display device outside the ultrasound imaging device 100 for display.

[0037] In some embodiments, the graphics processor 114 is further used to generate a first tissue image by performing grayscale imaging processing based on the first digital echo signal; the aforementioned display 117 is also used to display the first tissue image, wherein the super-resolution angiography image is superimposed on the first tissue image for display.

[0038] In some embodiments, the ultrasound imaging device 100 also supports a second contrast imaging mode other than the super-resolution contrast imaging mode, wherein: after receiving an instruction to enter the second contrast imaging mode, the central processor 113 controls the transmitting and receiving circuit 111 to excite the ultrasound probe 120 to transmit multiple pulse sequences of ultrasound to the target tissue containing contrast microbubbles, and obtains a second analog echo signal based on the echo of the ultrasound of the pulse sequence; the analog front-end chip 112 is used to perform preset processing on the second analog echo signal to obtain a second digital echo signal; the graphics processor 114 and / or the central processor 113 are used to generate a second tissue image and a second contrast image based on the second digital echo signal, wherein the echo signal of each pulse sequence of ultrasound is used to generate a frame of the second contrast image; the display 117 is used to display the second tissue image and the second contrast image, wherein the second contrast image is displayed superimposed on the second tissue image.

[0039] In some embodiments, the ultrasonic imaging device 100 also supports a grayscale imaging mode, wherein: after receiving an instruction to enter the grayscale imaging mode, the central processing unit 113 controls the transmitting and receiving circuit 111 to excite the ultrasonic probe 120 to transmit a third ultrasonic wave to the target tissue, and obtains a third analog echo signal based on the echo of the third ultrasonic wave; the analog front-end chip 112 is used to perform preset processing on the third analog echo signal to obtain a third digital echo signal; the graphics processor 114 and / or the central processing unit 113 are used to generate a third tissue image based on the third digital echo signal; and the display 117 is used to display the third tissue image.

[0040] In some embodiments, the ultrasound imaging device 100 also supports a color Doppler imaging mode, wherein: after receiving an instruction to enter the color Doppler imaging mode, the central processor 113 controls the transmitting and receiving circuit 111 to excite the ultrasound probe 120 to transmit a fourth ultrasound wave to the target tissue, and obtains a fourth analog echo signal based on the echo of the fourth ultrasound wave; the analog front-end chip 112 is used to perform preset processing on the fourth analog echo signal to obtain a fourth digital echo signal; the graphics processor 114 and / or the central processor 113 are used to generate a fourth tissue image and a color blood flow image based on the fourth digital echo signal; the display 117 is used to display the fourth tissue image and the color blood flow image, wherein the color blood flow image is superimposed on the fourth tissue image.

[0041] The above exemplifies an ultrasonic imaging device according to an embodiment of the present application. Based on the above description, the ultrasonic imaging device according to the embodiment of the present application can not only realize data acquisition for super-resolution imaging, but also realize that there is no need to transmit the data for offline processing and analysis, but directly perform super-resolution imaging processing on the collected data through a graphics processor in the integrated ultrasonic imaging device to obtain a super-resolution contrast image, and can also realize quantitative analysis of the super-resolution contrast image through a processor in the integrated ultrasonic imaging device, realizing a super-resolution imaging device that integrates data acquisition, imaging processing, and quantitative analysis, improving the efficiency of super-resolution imaging and analysis, allowing users to view super-resolution imaging results in real time, and bringing convenience to users.

[0042] 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 application to this. Those of ordinary skill in the art may make various changes and modifications therein without departing from the scope and spirit of the present application. All these changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present application as required by the appended claims.

[0043] Those of ordinary skill 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 this application.

[0044] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic, for example, the division of 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.

[0045] In the description provided herein, a large number of specific details are described. However, it is understood that the embodiments of the present application 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.

[0046] Similarly, it should be understood that in order to streamline the present application and help understand one or more of the various inventive aspects, in the description of the exemplary embodiments of the present application, the various features of the present application are sometimes grouped together into a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof. However, the method of the present application should not be interpreted as reflecting the following intention: the claimed application requires more features than the features clearly 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 features less than all the features of a single disclosed embodiment. Therefore, the claims following the specific embodiment are hereby explicitly incorporated into the specific embodiment, wherein each claim itself serves as a separate embodiment of the present application.

[0047] 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.

[0048] In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that, although some embodiments 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 application and form different embodiments. For example, in the claims, any one of the claimed embodiments may be used in any combination.

[0049] The various component embodiments of the present application 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 in the article analysis device according to the embodiment of the present application. The present application can also be implemented as a device program (e.g., computer program and computer program product) for executing part or all of the methods described herein. Such a program implementing the present application 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.

[0050] It should be noted that the above embodiments illustrate the present application rather than limit the present application, and that those skilled in the art may design alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference symbol between brackets should not be constructed as a limitation to the claims. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps not listed in the claims. The word "one" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of multiple such elements. The present application may be implemented by means of hardware including several different elements and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In a unit claim that lists several devices, several of these devices may be embodied by the same hardware item. The use of the words first, second, and third, etc. does not indicate any order. These words may be interpreted as names.

[0051] The above is only a specific implementation method or description of a specific implementation method of the present application, and the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application. The protection scope of the present application shall be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic imaging device, characterized in that: The ultrasonic imaging device comprises a host and an ultrasonic probe connected to the host for communication, wherein the host comprises a transmitting and receiving circuit, an analog front-end chip, a central processing unit and a graphics processing unit, wherein: The central processor is connected to the transmitting and receiving circuit, and the central processor is used to control the transmitting and receiving circuit to excite the ultrasound probe to transmit a plurality of first ultrasound waves to the target tissue containing contrast microbubbles, receive the echo of the first ultrasound waves, and obtain a first analog echo signal based on the echo of the first ultrasound waves after receiving an instruction to enter the super-resolution contrast imaging mode; The analog front-end chip is connected to the transmitting and receiving circuit and the graphics processor, and is used to receive the first analog echo signal from the transmitting and receiving circuit, perform preset processing on the first analog echo signal to obtain a first digital echo signal, and transmit the first digital echo signal to the graphics processor; The graphics processor is connected to the analog front-end chip, and is used to receive the first digital echo signal from the analog front-end chip, perform beam synthesis on the first digital echo signal to obtain beam synthesized data, and perform super-resolution imaging processing based on the beam synthesized data to generate a super-resolution angiography image; The central processing unit and / or the graphics processing unit are also used to perform quantitative analysis on the super-resolution angiography image to obtain quantitative analysis results.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The graphics processor is also used for: After obtaining the beamformed data, performing noise reduction processing on the beamformed data to obtain noise-reduced data; The denoised data is used to perform the super-resolution imaging process to generate the super-resolution angiography image.

3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The analog front-end chip includes a front-end processing circuit and a data transmission circuit, wherein: The front-end processing circuit is connected to the transmitting and receiving circuit, and is used to perform preset processing on the first analog echo signal to obtain a first digital echo signal; The data transmission circuit comprises a first interface, and the data transmission circuit is used to receive the first digital echo signal and transmit the first digital echo signal to the image processor through the first interface; The image processor is further configured to communicate with the analog front-end chip via the first interface to obtain the first digital echo signal transmitted by the data transmission circuit and perform beamforming processing.

4. The device according to claim 3, characterized in that The front-end processing circuit includes a low-noise amplifier circuit, an attenuator circuit, a variable gain amplifier circuit, a low-pass filter circuit, an analog-to-digital conversion circuit, and a demodulation downsampling filter circuit connected in sequence, wherein the low-noise amplifier circuit is connected to the transmitting and receiving circuit, the demodulation downsampling filter circuit is connected to the data transmission circuit, and wherein: The low-noise amplifier circuit is used to perform a first amplification process on the first analog echo signal to obtain a first amplified signal; The attenuator circuit is used to perform attenuation processing on the first amplified signal to obtain an attenuated signal; The variable gain amplifier circuit is used to perform a second amplification process on the attenuated signal to obtain a second amplified signal; The low-pass filter circuit is used to perform anti-aliasing filtering on the signal after the second amplification processing to obtain a signal after the anti-aliasing filtering processing; The analog-to-digital conversion circuit is used to perform analog-to-digital conversion on the signal after the anti-aliasing filtering process to obtain an analog-to-digital converted signal; The demodulation downsampling filter circuit is used to perform frequency shift and downsampling processing on the analog-to-digital converted signal to obtain the first digital echo signal.

5. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The analog front-end chip transmits the first digital echo signal to the graphics processor in parallel based on greater than or equal to 192 physical channels.

6. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The device further includes a first memory, which is connected to the analog front-end chip and is used to cache the first digital echo signal. The cached first digital echo signal is transmitted to the graphics processor via a transmission bus.

7. The device according to claim 6, characterized in that The device also includes a second memory, which is connected to the graphics processor and is used to store the beamformed data for performing the super-resolution imaging process, wherein the first memory and the second memory are the same memory or different memories.

8. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The super-resolution imaging processing performed by the graphics processor includes: microbubble detection, microbubble separation, microbubble localization, microbubble tracking and image reconstruction.

9. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The device further comprises a display, which is connected to the graphics processor and / or the central processor and is used to display the super-resolution angiography image and / or the quantitative analysis result.

10. The device according to claim 3, characterized in that The first interface includes a bus interface supporting the PCIE protocol or a bus interface supporting the MIPI protocol.

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