Ultrasonic signal transmission equipment and system

Abstract

The invention is suitable for the technical field of medical imaging, and provides an ultrasonic signal transmission device and system.The device comprises a first port, a second port and a controller; the first port is used for being coupled with an upper computer and / or a cloud server; the second port is used for being coupled with ultrasonic signal acquisition equipment through the optical splitter, and the second port is used for being coupled with the output end of the optical splitter; and the controller is coupled with the first port and the second port, and is used for receiving an ultrasonic echo signal from the ultrasonic signal acquisition equipment through the second port, segmenting the ultrasonic echo signal into a plurality of parts according to a segmentation mode, reserving a target part belonging to the controller and sending the target part to the first port.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of medical imaging, and in particular to an ultrasonic signal transmission device and system. Background Art

[0002] The ultrasonic imaging system uses ultrasound as the information carrier of the tissue structure of the detection object (such as the human body). Since different tissue structures have impedance specificity, ultrasound is sent to the detection object. When the ultrasound passes through different parts, different echo signals are generated. By establishing an image based on the echo signals, the structural information of the corresponding parts can be observed.

[0003] In the process of ultrasonic imaging, in order to balance image quality and imaging speed, multiple array elements often work simultaneously, which results in a huge amount of echo data collected in real time, especially in scenarios where sensitivity and resolution are improved in order to detect and image weak ultrasonic signals reflected / scattered by tiny objects, as well as in complex ultrasonic imaging application scenarios. The huge amount of echo data means that the real-time bandwidth required for complete echo data transmission often exceeds the maximum bandwidth supported by a single port of the host computer / cloud server, resulting in limited transmission. In related technologies, the data to be transmitted is generally reduced by discarding part of the echo data, limiting the accuracy of the echo data, and then transmitting it. This limits the sensitivity and resolution of ultrasonic imaging, making it difficult to detect and image weak ultrasonic signals. Summary of the invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide an ultrasonic signal transmission device and system, which can solve the problem in the related art that it is difficult to detect and image weak ultrasonic signals.

[0005] In the first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an ultrasonic signal transmission device, which includes a first port, a second port and a controller; the first port is used to couple to a host computer and / or a cloud server; the second port is used to couple to an ultrasonic signal acquisition device through an optical splitter, wherein the second port is used to couple to the output end of the optical splitter; the controller couples the first port and the second port, and is used to receive an ultrasonic echo signal from the ultrasonic signal acquisition device through the second port, divide the ultrasonic echo signal into multiple parts according to a segmentation mode, retain the target part belonging to itself and send it to the first port.

[0006] In the second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an ultrasonic signal transmission system, which includes an ultrasonic signal acquisition device, an optical splitter and the ultrasonic signal transmission device as described in the first aspect above; the input end of the optical splitter is coupled to the ultrasonic signal acquisition device, and the output end of the optical splitter is respectively coupled to the second port of the ultrasonic signal transmission device; the ultrasonic signal acquisition device is used to collect ultrasonic echo signals and send them to each ultrasonic signal transmission device through the optical splitter.

[0007] Compared with the prior art, the embodiments of the present application have the following beneficial effects: an ultrasonic signal transmission device is provided, including a first port, a second port and a controller; the first port is used to couple to a host computer and / or a cloud server; the second port is used to couple to an ultrasonic signal acquisition device through an optical splitter, wherein the second port is used to couple to an output end of the optical splitter; the controller couples the first port and the second port, and is used to receive an ultrasonic echo signal from the ultrasonic signal acquisition device through the second port, divide the ultrasonic echo signal into multiple parts according to a segmentation mode, retain the target part belonging to itself and send it to the first port, and the complete ultrasonic echo data is sent to multiple ultrasonic signal transmission devices after passing through the optical splitter. After each ultrasonic signal transmission device divides the ultrasonic echo data, it retains the target part belonging to itself and sends it to multiple first ports for transmission to the host computer and / or the cloud server. The bandwidth of the target part after division is less than the maximum bandwidth supported by the first port. With the support of the optical splitter and the ultrasonic signal transmission device, each ultrasonic signal transmission device respectively transmits part of the ultrasonic signal that does not exceed its own bandwidth limit. The complete ultrasonic echo data is transmitted by multiple ultrasonic signal transmission devices to the host computer and / or the cloud server for imaging. Data transmission is no longer a bottleneck for ultrasonic imaging, thereby providing support for the detection and imaging of weak ultrasonic signals and complex ultrasonic imaging applications. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described 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 paying any creative work.

[0009] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an ultrasonic imaging device provided in one embodiment of the present application;

[0010] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an ultrasound imaging system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0011] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of a part of an ultrasonic signal transmission system when the ultrasonic signal transmission device is 2 provided in a specific example of the present application;

[0012] Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of a part of an ultrasonic signal transmission system when the ultrasonic signal transmission device provided in a specific example of the present application is 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] In the following description, specific details such as specific system structures, technologies, etc. are provided for the purpose of illustration rather than limitation, so as to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the present application. However, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that the present application may also be implemented in other embodiments without these specific details. In other cases, detailed descriptions of well-known systems, devices, circuits, and methods are omitted to prevent unnecessary details from obstructing the description of the present application.

[0014] It should be understood that when used in the present specification and the appended claims, the term "comprising" indicates the presence of described features, wholes, steps, operations, elements and / or components, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, steps, operations, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0015] It should also be understood that the term “and / or” used in the specification and appended claims refers to any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items, and includes these combinations.

[0016] As used in the specification and appended claims of this application, the term "if" can be interpreted as "when" or "uponce" or "in response to determining" or "in response to detecting", depending on the context. Similarly, the phrase "if it is determined" or "if [described condition or event] is detected" can be interpreted as meaning "uponce it is determined" or "in response to determining" or "uponce [described condition or event] is detected" or "in response to detecting [described condition or event]", depending on the context.

[0017] In addition, in the description of the present application specification and the appended claims, the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. are only used to distinguish the descriptions and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0018] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" etc. described in the specification of this application mean that one or more embodiments of the present application include specific features, structures or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment. Therefore, the statements "in one embodiment", "in some embodiments", "in some other embodiments", "in some other embodiments", etc. that appear in different places in this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but mean "one or more but not all embodiments", unless otherwise specifically emphasized in other ways. The terms "including", "comprising", "having" and their variations all mean "including but not limited to", unless otherwise specifically emphasized in other ways.

[0019] For ease of understanding, the principles of ultrasound imaging are described below.

[0020] Ultrasonic transducers are key energy conversion devices in ultrasonic imaging systems, responsible for converting between electrical energy and mechanical energy (acoustic energy). Specifically, when an ultrasonic transducer receives an electrical signal, it converts the electromagnetic field changes caused by the electrical signal into mechanical vibrations based on the positive piezoelectric effect, thereby generating ultrasonic waves. Conversely, when an ultrasonic transducer receives an echo generated by the reflection / scattering of ultrasound by tissues in the object of inspection, it converts the mechanical vibrations into electromagnetic field changes based on the inverse piezoelectric effect, thereby outputting an echo signal.

[0021] The number of ultrasonic transducers may be greater than or equal to 1. In practical applications, in order to improve imaging speed, an ultrasonic imaging system often includes a plurality of ultrasonic transducers arranged in an array, each of which can independently transmit / receive ultrasonic waves, and a single ultrasonic transducer may also be referred to as an array element or channel.

[0022] Ultrasonic imaging includes structural imaging and functional imaging. Currently, commonly used structural imaging includes line imaging and plane wave imaging.

[0023] During the process of online imaging, the ultrasonic transducer continuously generates multiple ultrasonic pulses at a specific transmission frequency. Each ultrasonic pulse propagates inside the detection object. When it propagates to the interface of the medium with different acoustic impedance, it will be reflected. Part of the energy will return to the transducer, and the other part will pass through the interface and continue to propagate forward until the energy is consumed. After the ultrasonic pulse is emitted, the interface and scatterer on its propagation path will generate a series of echoes. According to these echoes, the image of the propagation path of the pulse can be obtained, which can also be called a b-line. Specifically, the echo of a single ultrasonic pulse can be represented by a set of data points obtained by continuously sampling the signal received by the ultrasonic transducer within a set time after the ultrasonic pulse is emitted. After necessary processing (such as noise reduction, etc.), the set of data points is converted into a b-line, where the delay of the data point (which can also be represented by the serial number of the data point) corresponds to the position of the point on the b-line, and the size of the data point corresponds to the brightness of the point on the b-line. After completing the echo collection of an ultrasonic pulse, the next ultrasonic pulse is emitted in the direction adjacent to the ultrasonic pulse to start a new round of collection. The above process is repeated to obtain a large number of adjacent b-lines, thereby forming a two-dimensional ultrasonic image. This imaging method has high quality but slow imaging speed.

[0024] In the process of plane wave imaging, multiple array elements are simultaneously stimulated to emit ultrasonic pulses, and then these array elements receive the echo signals, and then process the echo signals to form an image. The sound field after superposition processing is approximately a plane, so it is called a plane wave. The echo signal of the pulse required for single plane wave imaging can be represented by a two-dimensional matrix, one dimension of the matrix is ​​the number of excited array elements, and the other dimension is the length of the echo signal, that is, the number of data points in the echo signal collected by a single array element.

[0025] Plane wave imaging greatly improves the imaging speed, but significantly reduces the image quality. In practical applications, multi-angle plane wave coherent composite imaging technology is often used. Plane waves at multiple angles are used to capture images, and then the final image is obtained through coherent superposition. This technology makes up for the defect of low image quality of single plane wave imaging. At the same time, the number of scans and duration required for imaging are significantly less than line imaging.

[0026] The images obtained by structural imaging reflect the internal structure of the object being tested. On this basis, there are also many complex ultrasound imaging applications, which will significantly increase the amount of echo data. Functional imaging is based on structural imaging. It calculates the relevant information of the moving parts inside the object according to the Doppler effect and images it accordingly to observe the motion state of the moving parts (such as blood flow). Taking energy Doppler as an example, multiple consecutive ultrasound images are taken as a group, and each pixel in the image is subjected to high-pass filtering based on the group. Signals with lower motion frequencies, such as signals reflected by fixed parts, are filtered out, and the remaining parts are used for functional imaging.

[0027] In addition, the applications of ultrasound imaging also include ultrasound super-resolution imaging, also known as ultrasound microscopy, which can be used to observe vascular structures; ultrasound CT based on full-wave inversion; four-dimensional imaging based on two-dimensional array elements, etc.

[0028] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a partial structure of an ultrasonic signal transmission device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 The ultrasonic signal transmission device includes: a first port 10, a second port 20, a controller 30 and a memory 40.

[0029] Those skilled in the art will understand that Figure 1 The structure of the ultrasonic signal transmission device shown in the figure does not constitute a limitation on the ultrasonic signal transmission device, and may include more or less components than those shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently.

[0030] Combine the following Figure 1 The various components of the ultrasonic signal transmission equipment are introduced in detail.

[0031] The first port 10 is used to couple the host computer and / or the cloud server. The first port 10 can be coupled to the cloud server via an optical fiber, and / or the first port 10 can be coupled to the host computer via at least one of an optical fiber and a bus. The bus can be a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIE) bus. PCIE is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard, based on a point-to-point topology, where a separate serial link connects each device to a root system.

[0032] The second port 20 is used to couple the ultrasonic signal acquisition device through an optical splitter. The optical splitter is a passive optical device that can decompose an optical signal into multiple optical signal outputs, and includes an input end and multiple output ends. The first port 20 can be coupled to an output end of the optical splitter through an optical fiber, and the input end of the optical splitter is coupled to the ultrasonic signal acquisition device.

[0033] The controller 30 may specifically be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may also be any conventional processor, etc.

[0034] The memory 40 is used to store an operating system, an application program, a boot loader, data, and other programs, such as program codes of a computer program. The memory 40 can also be used to temporarily store data required and generated by executing the program, such as received ultrasound echo data. The memory 40 can include a high-speed random access memory, and can also include a non-volatile memory, such as a flash memory, a hard disk, a multimedia card, a card-type memory, etc.

[0035] The controller 30 is coupled to the first port 10, the second port 20 and the memory 40. Specifically, the controller 30 may be directly coupled to the first port 10, the second port 20 and the memory 40; or the controller 30 may be coupled to the first port 10, the second port 20 and the memory 40 via an internal bus (not shown in the figure).

[0036] The controller 30 is used to receive the ultrasonic echo signal from the ultrasonic signal acquisition device through the second port 20, divide the ultrasonic echo signal into multiple parts according to the segmentation mode, retain the target part belonging to itself and send it to the first port 10, and in addition, other parts except the target part can be discarded.

[0037] The controller 30 may determine which part is the target part based on the preset identification information, or the controller 30 may obtain an indication of which part is the target part from other devices, such as a host computer or a cloud server.

[0038] The segmentation modes may include fixed amount segmentation, single transmission and reception segmentation, plane wave segmentation, B mode segmentation, and Doppler segmentation, which are described below respectively.

[0039] The segmentation mode includes fixed amount segmentation, and the controller 30 is specifically used to segment the ultrasonic echo signal in units of fixed data amount. For example, the ultrasonic echo signal can be segmented in units of single data points.

[0040] The segmentation mode includes single-transmission-reception segmentation, and the controller 30 is specifically configured to segment the ultrasonic echo signal in units of echoes of a single transmission pulse.

[0041] The segmentation mode includes plane wave segmentation, and the controller 30 is specifically used to segment the ultrasonic echo signal in units of echoes required for single plane wave imaging. Optionally, the controller 30 is also used to perform plane wave imaging according to the received ultrasonic echo signal. For example, when the transmission of the first port 10 is limited or fails, the controller 30 can perform imaging by itself to save space in the memory 40.

[0042] The segmentation mode includes B-mode segmentation, and the controller 30 is specifically used to segment the ultrasound echo signal in units of echoes required to complete a single B-mode imaging. Optionally, the controller 30 is also used to perform B-mode imaging according to the received ultrasound echo signal. For example, when the transmission of the first port 10 is limited or fails, the controller 30 can perform imaging by itself to save space in the memory 40.

[0043] The segmentation mode includes Doppler segmentation, and the controller 30 is specifically used to segment the ultrasonic echo signal in units of the echo required to complete a single Doppler imaging. Taking energy Doppler as an example, a single Doppler imaging is a group of continuously acquired ultrasonic images. The controller 30 is also used to perform Doppler imaging according to the received ultrasonic echo signal. Optionally, the controller 30 is also used to perform Doppler imaging according to the received ultrasonic echo signal. For example, when the transmission of the first port 10 is limited or fails, the controller 30 can perform imaging by itself to save space in the memory 40.

[0044] Through the implementation of this embodiment, an ultrasonic signal transmission device is provided, including a first port, a second port and a controller; the first port is used to couple to a host computer and / or a cloud server; the second port is used to couple to an ultrasonic signal acquisition device through an optical splitter, wherein the second port is used to couple to an output end of the optical splitter; the controller couples the first port and the second port, and is used to receive an ultrasonic echo signal from the ultrasonic signal acquisition device through the second port, divide the ultrasonic echo signal into multiple parts according to a segmentation mode, retain the target part belonging to itself and send it to the first port, and the complete ultrasonic echo data is sent to multiple ultrasonic signal transmission devices after passing through the optical splitter, and each ultrasonic After the signal transmission device divides the ultrasonic echo data, it retains the target part belonging to itself and sends it to multiple first ports for transmission to the host computer and / or cloud server. The bandwidth of the target part after division is less than the maximum bandwidth supported by the first port. With the support of the optical splitter and the ultrasonic signal transmission device, each ultrasonic signal transmission device transmits part of the ultrasonic signal that does not exceed its own bandwidth limit. The complete ultrasonic echo data is transmitted by multiple ultrasonic signal transmission devices to the host computer and / or cloud server for imaging. Data transmission is no longer a bottleneck for ultrasonic imaging, thereby providing support for the detection and imaging of weak ultrasonic signals and complex ultrasonic imaging applications.

[0045] Figure 2 FIG. 1 shows a structural diagram of an ultrasonic signal transmission system provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 2 The ultrasonic signal transmission system includes multiple ultrasonic signal transmission devices 1, ultrasonic signal acquisition devices 2, optical splitters 3, host computers 4 and cloud servers 5.

[0046] The specific structure and function of the ultrasonic signal transmission device 1 can be referred to the aforementioned embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0047] In some embodiments, the ultrasonic signal transmission device 1 and the ultrasonic signal acquisition device 2 may be integrated together. For example, one ultrasonic signal acquisition device 2 may be integrated with one or more ultrasonic signal transmission devices 1 .

[0048] In some embodiments, one of the host computer 4 and the cloud server 5 may be omitted.

[0049] The first port 10 of the ultrasonic signal transmission device 1 can be coupled to the network card of the host computer 4 and the cloud server 5 through optical fiber, or the first port 10 of the ultrasonic signal transmission device 1 can be a PCIE plug and inserted into the PCIE slot of the host computer 4 so that the two are coupled through the PCIE bus.

[0050] The input end of the optical splitter 3 is coupled to the ultrasonic signal acquisition device, and the output end of the optical splitter 3 is respectively coupled to the second port of each ultrasonic signal transmission device.

[0051] The specification of the optical splitter is generally 1 to n, which can also be written as 1:n or 1 to n, where n represents the number of output terminals, and common values ​​of n are 2, 4, 8, etc. Before configuring the optical splitter, it is generally necessary to calculate the number of ultrasonic signal transmission devices 1 required based on the maximum bandwidth required by the ultrasonic echo signal and the maximum bandwidth supported by a single ultrasonic signal transmission device 1, so as to determine the configuration of the optical splitter.

[0052] Assuming that the calculated number of ultrasonic signal transmission devices 1 is m, if m is one of the common values ​​of n, an optical splitter of this specification can be directly used, otherwise the coupling mode of the optical splitter can be configured by cascade expansion and / or vacating some output ends. If cascade expansion is adopted, the number of optical splitters 3 is greater than 1, and inside the combination formed by these optical splitters 3, the input ends of some optical splitters 3 are coupled to the output ends of the optical splitters 3, but for the combination as a whole, its input end is coupled to the ultrasonic signal acquisition device, and the output end is coupled to the second port of the ultrasonic signal transmission device.

[0053] Combined with the accompanying drawings, an example is given. Assuming m=2, a 1-to-2 optical splitter 3 can be directly used. The corresponding partial ultrasonic signal transmission system is as follows: Figure 3 As shown; Assuming m = 3, two 1-to-2 optical splitters can be cascaded in three ways, and the corresponding partial ultrasonic signal transmission system is as follows Figure 4 shown.

[0054] The ultrasonic signal acquisition device 2 is used to collect ultrasonic echo signals and send them to each ultrasonic signal transmission device 1 through the optical splitter 3 .

[0055] Specifically, the ultrasonic signal acquisition device 2 includes an ultrasonic transducer 60 , an ultrasonic transmitting module 70 , an ultrasonic receiving module 80 , and a data preprocessing module 90 .

[0056] The ultrasonic transducer 60 is a key energy conversion device in the ultrasonic imaging system, responsible for converting between electrical energy and mechanical energy (acoustic energy). Specifically, when the ultrasonic transducer 60 receives an electrical signal, it converts the electromagnetic field change caused by the electrical signal into mechanical vibration based on the positive piezoelectric effect, thereby generating ultrasonic waves. Conversely, when the ultrasonic transducer 60 receives an echo generated by the reflection / scattering of ultrasound by the tissue in the test object, it converts the mechanical vibration into an electromagnetic field change based on the inverse piezoelectric effect, thereby outputting an echo signal.

[0057] The ultrasonic transmitting module 70 is used to control the ultrasonic transducer 60 to transmit ultrasonic waves. Specifically, the ultrasonic transmitting module 70 can generate and provide the electrical signal required for transmitting ultrasonic waves to each ultrasonic transducer 60 according to the received control instructions. The ultrasonic waves can be transmitted in pulses, and the control instructions may include the transmission parameters of each ultrasonic pulse to be transmitted next, such as transmission time, pulse width, sound intensity, direction, frequency, phase, etc.

[0058] The ultrasound receiving module 80 , namely an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), is used to convert the analog echo signal received by the ultrasound transducer 60 into a digital signal and send the digital signal to the data preprocessing module 90 .

[0059] The data preprocessing module 90 is used to preprocess the digital echo signal and send it to the ultrasonic signal transmission device 1 .

[0060] Optionally, the ultrasonic signal acquisition device 2 is further used to determine the organization mode of the ultrasonic echo signal.

[0061] When N array elements work simultaneously, the echo signal can be considered as a multi-channel data stream with N channels and a sampling rate of f. Since data transmission is generally performed in a serial manner, the echo signal needs to be serialized before transmission.

[0062] One solution is to collect data first and then transmit it. Specifically, the ultrasonic data of each channel is cached according to the length H to generate a data matrix N*H. Then, by arranging the data according to the channel, the serial data obtained is as follows: D11, D12, ... D1H, D21, ... DN1, DN2, ... DNH. If equal data volume segmentation is adopted, when the data is less than the size of an integer transmission packet, it is automatically supplemented to the size of a complete data packet to ensure transmission integrity and isochronism.

[0063] Another solution is real-time transmission, which generally uses the following data arrangement: D11, D21, D31, ... DN1, D12, D22, ..., D1H, D2H, ... DNH. When plane wave imaging or other composite plane imaging is used, this solution can achieve real-time imaging of pixel depth imaging corresponding to the depth.

[0064] The data length H in the above solution can be determined according to actual needs, for example, it can be determined with reference to the segmentation mode.

[0065] The technicians in the relevant field can clearly understand that for the convenience and simplicity of description, only the division of the above-mentioned functional units and modules is used as an example for illustration. In practical applications, the above-mentioned function allocation can be completed by different functional units and modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different functional units or modules to complete all or part of the functions described above. The functional units and modules in the embodiment can be integrated in a processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit. The above-mentioned integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional units. In addition, the specific names of the functional units and modules are only for the convenience of distinguishing each other, and are not used to limit the scope of protection of this application. The specific working process of the units and modules in the above-mentioned system can refer to the corresponding process in the aforementioned method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0066] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps in the above-mentioned method embodiments can be implemented.

[0067] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the present application implements all or part of the processes in the above-mentioned embodiment method, which can be completed by instructing the relevant hardware through a computer program, and the computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and the computer program can implement the steps of the above-mentioned various method embodiments when executed by the processor. Among them, the computer program includes computer program code, and the computer program code can be in source code form, object code form, executable file or some intermediate form. The computer-readable medium may at least include: any entity or device that can carry the computer program code to the camera / ultrasound imaging system, a recording medium, a computer memory, a read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only Memory), a random access memory (RAM, RandomAccess Memory), an electric carrier signal, a telecommunication signal, and a software distribution medium. For example, a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a magnetic disk or an optical disk. In some jurisdictions, according to legislation and patent practice, computer-readable media cannot be electric carrier signals and telecommunication signals.

[0068] In the above embodiments, the description of each embodiment has its own emphasis. For parts that are not described or recorded in detail in a certain embodiment, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0069] 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.

[0070] In the embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices / network equipment and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device / network equipment embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the modules or units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0071] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0072] The embodiments described above are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, a person skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments may still be modified, or some of the technical features may be replaced by equivalents. Such modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and should all be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic signal transmission device, characterized in that: The device includes a first port, a second port and a controller; The first port is used to couple to a host computer and / or a cloud server; The second port is used to couple to an ultrasonic signal acquisition device through an optical splitter, wherein the second port is used to couple to an output end of the optical splitter; The controller is coupled to the first port and the second port, and is used to receive an ultrasonic echo signal from an ultrasonic signal acquisition device through the second port, divide the ultrasonic echo signal into multiple parts according to a segmentation mode, retain the target part belonging to itself and send it to the first port.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The segmentation mode includes fixed amount segmentation, and the controller is specifically configured to segment the ultrasonic echo signal in units of a fixed amount of data.

3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The segmentation mode includes single-transmission and reception segmentation, and the controller is specifically configured to segment the ultrasonic echo signal in units of echoes of a single transmission pulse.

4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The segmentation mode includes plane wave segmentation, and the controller is specifically configured to segment the ultrasound echo signal in units of echoes required for single plane wave imaging.

5. The device according to claim 4, characterized in that The controller is further configured to perform plane wave imaging based on the target portion.

6. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The segmentation mode includes B-mode segmentation, and the controller is specifically configured to segment the ultrasound echo signal in units of echoes required to complete a single B-mode imaging.

7. The device according to claim 6, characterized in that The controller is further configured to perform B-mode imaging according to the target portion.

8. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The segmentation mode includes Doppler segmentation, and the controller is specifically configured to segment the ultrasound echo signal in units of echoes required to complete a single Doppler imaging.

9. The device according to claim 8, characterized in that The controller is further configured to perform Doppler imaging based on the target portion.

10. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that The controller is further configured to discard the other parts except the target part.

11. An ultrasonic signal transmission system, characterized in that: The system comprises an ultrasonic signal acquisition device, an optical splitter, and a plurality of ultrasonic signal transmission devices according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the input end of the optical splitter is coupled to the ultrasonic signal acquisition device, and the output end of the optical splitter is respectively coupled to the second port of the ultrasonic signal transmission device; The ultrasonic signal acquisition device is used to collect ultrasonic echo signals and send them to each of the ultrasonic signal transmission devices through the optical splitter.

12. The system according to claim 11, characterized in that The ultrasonic signal acquisition device is also used to determine the organization mode of the ultrasonic echo signal.

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