Inspection protocol statistical method and system, imaging equipment and data processing device

Abstract

The invention discloses an inspection protocol statistical method and system, ultrasonic imaging equipment and an image data processing device, and the method comprises the steps: obtaining an inspection protocol used for ultrasonic inspection, and the inspection protocol comprises inspection guidance and a plurality of inspection rules; acquiring a plurality of ultrasonic images from a storage medium, wherein at least part of the ultrasonic images are acquired according to the examination guidance; determining evaluation information of each ultrasonic image based on an inspection rule; and counting the evaluation information based on a statistical rule, and displaying a counted result. According to the inspection protocol statistical method and system, the ultrasonic imaging equipment and the image data processing device provided by the invention, the evaluation information of each ultrasonic image is determined based on the inspection rule for the plurality of ultrasonic images collected according to the inspection guidance; and / or determining evaluation information of the inspection protocol based on the section required in the inspection rule and the plurality of ultrasonic images, so as to carry out multi-dimensional quantitative statistics on the execution condition of the inspection protocol.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with the application number 202210951686.7, the application date of August 9, 2022, and the title of "Inspection Protocol Statistical Method, System, Imaging Device and Data Processing Device". Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates to the field of ultrasonic imaging technology, and in particular to a statistical method for inspection protocols, a system, an ultrasonic imaging device, and an image data processing device. Background Art

[0003] Ultrasonic imaging emits ultrasonic waves into the human body, and receives and records the ultrasonic echo signals reflected, scattered, or transmitted by various different organs and tissue interfaces in the body, and obtains tissue information according to the characteristics of the ultrasonic echo signals. An ultrasonic examination requires multiple sections to be examined. However, there is no national standard or industry standard inspection specification for ultrasonic examinations. Therefore, hospitals usually formulate their own inspection specifications and require doctors to perform ultrasonic examinations according to the inspection specifications formulated by the hospitals.

[0004] However, for the inspection specifications formulated by hospitals themselves, on the one hand, it is difficult to measure whether doctors comply with the specifications during ultrasonic examinations with quantitative indicators; on the other hand, it is also difficult to measure whether the inspection specifications are appropriate with quantitative indicators. Summary of the Invention

[0005] A series of simplified concepts are introduced in the Summary of the Invention section, which will be further described in detail in the Detailed Description section. The Summary of the Invention section of the present invention does not mean to attempt to define the key features and essential technical features of the claimed technical solution, nor does it mean to attempt to determine the protection scope of the claimed technical solution.

[0006] In a first aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, a statistical method for inspection protocols is provided, and the method includes:

[0007] Obtain an inspection protocol for ultrasonic examination, where the inspection protocol includes inspection guidelines and various inspection rules;

[0008] Obtain a plurality of ultrasonic images from a storage medium, where at least some of the plurality of ultrasonic images are acquired according to the inspection guidelines;

[0009] Determine evaluation information for each of the ultrasonic images based on the inspection rules;

[0010] Statistically analyze the evaluation information based on statistical rules and display the statistically analyzed result.

[0011] In a second aspect of an embodiment of the present invention, a statistical method for inspection protocols is provided, and the method includes:

[0012] Obtain an examination protocol for ultrasonic examination, where the examination protocol includes examination guidelines and multiple examination rules;

[0013] Obtain multiple ultrasonic images from a storage medium, where at least some of the multiple ultrasonic images are multiple ultrasonic images collected according to the examination guidelines;

[0014] Determine evaluation information of the examination protocol based on the required sections in the examination rules and the multiple ultrasonic images;

[0015] Statistically analyze the evaluation information based on statistical rules and display the statistically analyzed result.

[0016] In one embodiment, the evaluation information of the examination protocol includes the evaluation information of each ultrasonic image.

[0017] In one embodiment, the statistically analyzing the evaluation information based on statistical rules includes:

[0018] Statistically analyze the evaluation information based on the attributes of the ultrasonic images, and / or

[0019] Statistically analyze the evaluation information according to the multiple examination rules.

[0020] In one embodiment, the attributes of the ultrasonic images include user identification and / or device identification;

[0021] The statistically analyzing the evaluation information based on the attributes of the ultrasonic images includes:

[0022] Statistically analyze the evaluation information based on the user identification to determine user compliance; and / or

[0023] Statistically analyze the evaluation information based on the device identification to determine device compliance;

[0024] The displaying the statistically analyzed result includes: displaying the user compliance and / or the device compliance.

[0025] In one embodiment, the attributes of the ultrasonic images include the region identification and / or department identification;

[0026] The statistically analyzing the evaluation information based on the attributes of the ultrasonic images includes at least one of the following:

[0027] Statistically analyze the evaluation information based on the region identification;

[0028] Statistically analyze the evaluation information based on the department identification;

[0029] Statistically analyze the evaluation information based on the department identification and the region identification.

[0030] In one embodiment, the step of statistically analyzing the evaluation information based on the user identifier to determine the user compliance includes:

[0031] Based on the evaluation information of the ultrasound images corresponding to the user identifier, count the number of sections in the ultrasound images corresponding to the user identifier that belong to the sections required by the examination protocol;

[0032] Determine the user compliance according to the ratio of the number of sections to the total number of sections required by the examination protocol.

[0033] In one embodiment, the step of statistically analyzing the evaluation information based on the attributes of the ultrasound images includes:

[0034] Based on the evaluation information of the multiple ultrasound images, count the number of sections in the multiple ultrasound images that belong to the sections required by the examination protocol and have qualified quality;

[0035] Determine the examination quality according to the ratio of the number of sections to the total number of sections required by the examination protocol.

[0036] In one embodiment, the attributes of the ultrasound images further include an examination site identifier;

[0037] The step of statistically analyzing the evaluation information based on the attributes of the ultrasound images includes:

[0038] Statistically analyze the evaluation information based on the examination site identifier to determine the scanning quality of the examination site.

[0039] In one embodiment, the step of statistically analyzing the evaluation information based on the statistical rules includes:

[0040] Obtain the number of sections in the multiple ultrasound images that are required by the examination protocol; determine the protocol compliance according to the ratio of the number of sections to the total number of sections required by the examination protocol.

[0041] In one embodiment, before displaying the statistically analyzed result, it further includes:

[0042] Sort the statistically analyzed result.

[0043] In one embodiment, the display methods of the statistically analyzed result include: list, bar chart or pie chart.

[0044] In one embodiment, obtaining multiple ultrasound images from a storage medium includes:

[0045] Receiving the multiple ultrasound images through a network, obtaining the multiple ultrasound images from a removable storage medium, or obtaining the multiple ultrasound images from a local storage medium.

[0046] In one embodiment, the method further includes: obtaining and displaying the number of times the inspection protocol is used within a preset time period.

[0047] In one embodiment, the acquisition order of the ultrasonic images required to be acquired included in the inspection rules;

[0048] The statistical evaluation information according to the multiple inspection rules includes:

[0049] Based on the difference between the inspection order of the multiple ultrasonic images and the acquisition order of the required ultrasonic images to be acquired, calculate the compliance of the inspection order.

[0050] In one embodiment, the evaluation information includes at least one of the inspection quality of the inspection protocol, the usage rate of the inspection protocol, the number of inspections of the required sections of the inspection protocol, the compliance of the inspection order of the required sections of the inspection protocol, and the compliance of the inspection protocol.

[0051] A third aspect of the embodiments of the present invention provides an image data processing device, the processing device includes:

[0052] A processor: configured to execute the steps of the above-mentioned statistical method of the inspection protocol to perform quantitative statistics on the inspection protocol;

[0053] A memory, configured to store a computer program run by the processor;

[0054] A display, configured to display the statistical results.

[0055] A fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present invention provides an ultrasonic imaging device, the device includes:

[0056] A probe;

[0057] A transmitting circuit, configured to excite the ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves to a target tissue;

[0058] A receiving circuit, configured to control the ultrasonic probe to receive the echo of the target tissue to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal;

[0059] A processor, further configured to generate an ultrasonic image based on the ultrasonic echo signal and execute the steps of the above-mentioned statistical method of the inspection protocol.

[0060] A fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present invention provides a statistical system for an inspection protocol, the system includes: at least one ultrasonic imaging device, an image data processing device, and the image data processing device is connected to each ultrasonic imaging device;

[0061] The at least one ultrasonic imaging device includes:

[0062] An ultrasonic probe;

[0063] A transmitting circuit for exciting the ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves to the target tissue;

[0064] A receiving circuit for controlling the ultrasonic probe to receive the echo of the target tissue to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal;

[0065] A processor is further configured to generate an ultrasonic image based on the ultrasonic echo signal;

[0066] The image data processing device includes:

[0067] A processor: configured to perform the steps of the above statistical method to quantitatively statistically analyze the inspection protocol;

[0068] A memory for storing a computer program run by the processor;

[0069] A display for displaying the statistically analyzed result.

[0070] In one embodiment, the image data processing device includes a central station or a hospital information system.

[0071] In one embodiment, the image data processing device is communicatively connected to each of the ultrasonic imaging devices.

[0072] According to the statistical method, system and image data processing device of the inspection protocol provided by the present invention, for a plurality of ultrasonic images collected according to an inspection guideline, evaluation information of each ultrasonic image is determined based on inspection rules, and / or evaluation information of the inspection protocol is determined based on required sections in the inspection rules and the plurality of ultrasonic images, so as to perform multi-dimensional quantitative statistics on the execution situation of the inspection protocol. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0073] The following drawings of the present invention are hereby incorporated as part of the present invention for understanding the present invention. Embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings and their descriptions are used to explain the principles of the present invention.

[0074] In the drawings:

[0075] Figure 1 A schematic block diagram showing an ultrasonic imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0076] Figure 2 A schematic flowchart showing a statistical method of an inspection protocol according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0077] Figure 3 A schematic flowchart showing a statistical method of an inspection protocol according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0078] Figure 4Schematic block diagram showing an image data processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0079] Figure 5 Schematic block diagram showing a statistical system of an inspection protocol according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed implementation manners

[0080] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, exemplary embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all of the embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited by the exemplary embodiments described herein. Based on the embodiments of the present invention described herein, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0081] In the following description, numerous specific details are given to provide a more thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may be practiced without one or more of these details. In other instances, well-known technical features have not been described in order to avoid obscuring the present invention.

[0082] It should be understood that the present invention can be implemented in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments presented herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided to make the disclosure thorough and complete, and to fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art.

[0083] The purpose of the terms used herein is only to describe specific embodiments and is not a limitation of the present invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It should also be understood that the terms "comprising" and / or "including", when used in this specification, specify the presence of the stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and / or groups. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of the related listed items.

[0084] To thoroughly understand the present invention, detailed steps and detailed structures will be set forth in the following description to explain the technical solutions proposed by the present invention. The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below. However, in addition to these detailed descriptions, the present invention may have other implementation manners.

[0085] Next, first refer to Figure 1 Describe an ultrasonic imaging device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1The schematic structural block diagram of an ultrasonic imaging device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0086] As Figure 1 shown, the ultrasonic imaging device 100 includes a probe 110, a transmitting circuit 112, a receiving circuit 114, a processor 116, and a display 118. Further, the ultrasonic imaging device may further include a transmit / receive selection switch 120 and a beam synthesis module 122. The transmitting circuit 112 and the receiving circuit 114 can be connected to the probe 110 through the transmit / receive selection switch 120.

[0087] The probe 110 includes a plurality of transducer elements. The plurality of transducer elements can be arranged in a row to form a linear array, or arranged in a two-dimensional matrix to form a planar array, and the plurality of transducer elements can also form a convex array. The transducer elements are used to emit ultrasonic waves according to the excitation electrical signal, or convert the received ultrasonic waves into electrical signals. Therefore, each transducer element can be used to realize the mutual conversion between the electrical pulse signal and the ultrasonic wave, so as to emit ultrasonic waves to the tissue in the target area of the object to be measured, and can also be used to receive the ultrasonic echo reflected by the tissue. During ultrasonic detection, it is possible to control which transducer elements are used to emit ultrasonic waves and which transducer elements are used to receive ultrasonic waves through the transmit sequence and the receive sequence, or control the transducer elements to be used to emit ultrasonic waves or receive the echo of ultrasonic waves in different time slots. The transducer elements participating in ultrasonic wave emission can be simultaneously excited by electrical signals to emit ultrasonic waves simultaneously; or, the transducer elements participating in ultrasonic beam emission can also be excited by a plurality of electrical signals with a certain time interval to continuously emit ultrasonic waves with a certain time interval.

[0088] During the ultrasonic imaging process, the transmitting circuit 112 sends the transmitted pulse after delay focusing to the probe 110 through the transmit / receive selection switch 120. The probe 110 is excited by the transmitted pulse to emit an ultrasonic beam to the tissue in the target area of the object to be measured, and after a certain delay, receives the ultrasonic echo with tissue information reflected from the tissue in the target area, and reconverts this ultrasonic echo into an electrical signal. The receiving circuit 114 receives the electrical signal generated by the conversion of the probe 110, obtains the ultrasonic echo signal, and sends these ultrasonic echo signals to the beam synthesis module 122. The beam synthesis module 122 performs processing such as focusing delay, weighting, and channel summation on the ultrasonic echo data, and then sends it to the processor 116. The processor 116 performs processing such as signal detection, signal enhancement, data conversion, and logarithmic compression on the ultrasonic echo signal to form an ultrasonic image. The ultrasonic image obtained by the processor 116 can be displayed on the display 118 or stored in the memory 124.

[0089] Optionally, the processor 116 can be implemented as software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof, and can use one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more general integrated circuits, one or more microprocessors, one or more programmable logic devices, or any combination of the foregoing circuits and / or devices, or other suitable circuits or devices. Moreover, the processor 116 can control other components in the ultrasonic imaging device 100 to execute corresponding steps of the methods in various embodiments of this specification.

[0090] The display 118 is connected to the processor 116. The display 118 can be a touch display screen, a liquid crystal display screen, etc.; alternatively, the display 118 can be a stand-alone display such as a liquid crystal display or a television outside the ultrasonic imaging device 100; or the display 118 can be the display screen of an electronic device such as a smart phone or a tablet computer, etc. Among them, the number of displays 118 can be one or more.

[0091] The display 118 can display the ultrasonic image obtained by the processor 116. In addition, while displaying the ultrasonic image, the display 118 can also provide a graphical interface for human-computer interaction to the user. One or more controlled objects are set on the graphical interface, and the user is provided with the input of operation instructions through the human-computer interaction device to control these controlled objects, so as to execute corresponding control operations. For example, an icon is displayed on the graphical interface, and the icon can be operated by using the human-computer interaction device to perform a specific function, such as drawing a region of interest box on the ultrasonic image, etc.

[0092] Optionally, the ultrasonic imaging device 100 can further include other human-computer interaction devices other than the display 118, which are connected to the processor 116. For example, the processor 116 can be connected to the human-computer interaction device through an external input / output port. The external input / output port can be a wireless communication module, a wired communication module, or a combination of both. The external input / output port can also be implemented based on USB, bus protocols such as CAN, and / or wired network protocols, etc.

[0093] Among them, the human-computer interaction device can include an input device for detecting the input information of the user. The input information can be, for example, a control instruction for the ultrasonic transmission / reception timing, an operation input instruction for drawing points, lines, or boxes on the ultrasonic image, or can also include other instruction types. The input device can include one or a combination of multiple of a keyboard, a mouse, a roller, a trackball, a mobile input device (such as a mobile device with a touch display screen, a mobile phone, etc.), a multi-functional knob, etc. The human-computer interaction device can also include an output device such as a printer.

[0094] The ultrasonic imaging device 100 may further include a memory 124 for storing instructions executed by the processor, storing received ultrasonic echoes, storing ultrasonic images, and so on. The memory may be a flash card, a solid-state memory, a hard disk, etc. It may be a volatile memory and / or a non-volatile memory, a removable memory and / or a non-removable memory, etc.

[0095] It should be understood that Figure 1 The components included in the illustrated ultrasonic imaging device 100 are merely illustrative, and it may include more or fewer components. The present invention is not limited thereto.

[0096] Figure 2 is a schematic flowchart of a statistical method 200 for an inspection protocol according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0097] Specifically, the statistical method 200 for an inspection protocol according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the following steps:

[0098] In step S210: Obtain an inspection protocol for ultrasonic inspection, where the inspection protocol includes inspection guidelines and various inspection rules;

[0099] In step S220: Obtain a plurality of ultrasonic images from a storage medium, where at least some of the plurality of ultrasonic images are acquired according to the inspection guidelines;

[0100] In step S230: Determine evaluation information for each of the ultrasonic images based on the inspection rules;

[0101] In step S240: Statistically analyze the evaluation information based on statistical rules and display the statistically analyzed result.

[0102] For the plurality of ultrasonic images acquired according to the inspection guidelines, the statistical method 200 for an inspection protocol according to an embodiment of the present invention determines evaluation information for each of the ultrasonic images based on the inspection rules, and then statistically analyzes the evaluation information based on statistical rules, so as to quantitatively statistically analyze the situation of a user executing the inspection protocol.

[0103] Figure 3 is a schematic flowchart of a statistical method 300 for an inspection protocol according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0104] Specifically, the statistical method 300 for an inspection protocol according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the following steps:

[0105] In step S310: Obtain an inspection protocol for ultrasonic inspection, where the inspection protocol includes inspection guidelines and various inspection rules;

[0106] In step S320: Obtain a plurality of ultrasonic images from a storage medium, where at least some of the plurality of ultrasonic images are a plurality of ultrasonic images acquired according to the examination guidelines;

[0107] In step S330: Determine evaluation information of the examination protocol based on the required sections in the examination rules and the plurality of ultrasonic images;

[0108] In step S340: Statistically analyze the evaluation information based on statistical rules and display the statistically analyzed result.

[0109] For the statistical method 300 of the examination protocol according to the embodiments of the present invention, for a plurality of ultrasonic images acquired according to examination guidelines, determine the evaluation information of the examination protocol based on the required sections in the examination rules and the plurality of ultrasonic images, and then statistically analyze the evaluation information based on statistical rules, so as to quantitatively statistically analyze the execution situation of the examination protocol itself.

[0110] In step S210 and step S310, the method for obtaining the examination protocol may include receiving the examination protocol through a network, obtaining the examination protocol from a removable storage medium, receiving a custom examination protocol input by a user, or obtaining the examination protocol from a local storage medium, etc. The examination protocol can be shared between different devices through a network or a removable storage medium. The method for obtaining the examination protocol may include directly receiving the examination protocol, or calling the examination protocol according to the link, name, number, etc. of the examination protocol.

[0111] Exemplarily, the examination protocol defines a plurality of sections that need to be examined under the current ultrasonic examination type. The examination protocol is configured in the ultrasonic section examination guidance workflow. The ultrasonic section examination guidance workflow can organize the plurality of sections that need to be examined in an ultrasonic examination together in a certain order or form through the examination protocol to guide the user to complete the examination one by one. Some of the examination work can be automatically completed by the ultrasonic imaging device 100, thereby improving the work efficiency of doctors and standardizing the operation process of doctors.

[0112] Optionally, the inspection guide includes: a plurality of inspection items presenting the region of interest and the inspection order of each inspection item, so as to inspect the plurality of inspection items one by one according to the inspection order. Among them, the inspection item includes an inspection site and an inspection direction. The inspection site represents a local site of the region of interest. Taking the thyroid region as an example, the inspection site may include the left part, the right part, the isthmus, etc. The inspection direction represents the positioning direction of the probe relative to the region of interest. For example, taking the median sagittal plane of the inspection site as the reference system, the direction perpendicular to the median sagittal plane is a kind of inspection direction, called the transverse direction; the direction parallel to the median sagittal plane is another inspection direction, called the longitudinal direction. Of course, other inspection directions can also be defined according to other inspection needs. For the inspection order, the purpose of defining the inspection order in the present invention is to ensure a comprehensive inspection of the region of interest in a controllable manner and avoid missing inspections. As long as all the inspection items that need to be inspected are covered in the defined inspection order, they all fall within the protection scope of the present invention. The above inspection items and inspection order can be predetermined and stored in the ultrasonic imaging device 100; subsequently, the user can also adjust the inspection items and inspection order according to personal preferences, better inspection methods, etc.

[0113] In some embodiments, inspection items determined according to the inspection order can be obtained; and according to the determined inspection items, ultrasonic beams are emitted to the corresponding inspection sites in the corresponding inspection directions to inspect the plurality of inspection items one by one. After starting real-time imaging, the inspection items are prompted according to the preset inspection order, and the user performs real-time inspection on the corresponding parts accordingly. After the inspection is completed, the next inspection item is prompted according to the inspection order until all the objects that need to be inspected are completed.

[0114] In this way, it is possible to provide guidance to the operating user. The user only needs to operate according to the guidance, and the requirement for the user's experience level is not high. Even users without experience can complete it, avoiding missing any inspection item, and at the same time standardizing the inspections of any user.

[0115] In step S220 and step S320, a plurality of acquired ultrasonic images related to the inspection protocol are obtained from the storage medium. Exemplarily, the plurality of ultrasonic images are ultrasonic images acquired for the same target object and are a plurality of ultrasonic images obtained in the same type of ultrasonic inspection, and the type of ultrasonic inspection includes but is not limited to head ultrasonic inspection, cardiac ultrasonic inspection, etc. The plurality of ultrasonic images can be acquired in one ultrasonic inspection or in multiple ultrasonic inspections. The plurality of ultrasonic images can include ultrasonic images of different imaging modes, such as grayscale mode, color mode, elastography mode, contrast imaging mode, etc. The ultrasonic images can include static ultrasonic images or ultrasonic video images.

[0116] In some embodiments, obtaining a plurality of ultrasound images from a storage medium includes receiving a plurality of ultrasound images via a network. Exemplarily, the network may include a wired network or a wireless network. When receiving a plurality of ultrasound images via the network, a plurality of ultrasound images may be obtained from an ultrasound imaging system that acquires the ultrasound images via the network, or ultrasound images uploaded by the ultrasound imaging system from the cloud, or ultrasound images obtained from any other device. Obtaining a plurality of ultrasound images from a storage medium may also include obtaining a plurality of ultrasound images from a removable storage medium. For example, a plurality of ultrasound images acquired by an ultrasound imaging device may be copied to a removable storage medium, and an electronic device for displaying the ultrasound images obtains the ultrasound images therefrom; the removable storage medium includes a USB flash drive, a portable hard drive, etc. Obtaining a plurality of ultrasound images from a storage medium may also include obtaining a plurality of ultrasound images from a local storage medium. For an ultrasound imaging system, obtaining a plurality of ultrasound images from a local storage medium may include obtaining ultrasound images that have been previously acquired and stored in the local storage medium. For an electronic device other than an ultrasound imaging system, obtaining a plurality of ultrasound images from a local storage medium may include ultrasound images that have been previously obtained via a network connection or a removable storage medium and stored in the local storage medium.

[0117] During the process of ultrasound examination, the user needs to gradually complete the acquisition of ultrasound images of multiple sections. During the examination, the doctor can check each section one by one according to the preset section order in the examination protocol, or check each section one by one according to the patient's condition, the doctor's own habit, or a custom order. When examining each section, the doctor places the probe at the examination position corresponding to the current section to be examined. The ultrasound imaging system emits ultrasonic waves to the tissue at this position through the probe, and receives the echoes of the ultrasonic waves to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal, and processes the ultrasonic echo signal to obtain an ultrasound image corresponding to the section to be examined. After obtaining the ultrasound image corresponding to the current section to be examined, the doctor can actively freeze the ultrasound image, select a standard section from a group of ultrasound image sequences for image storage, and there is a mapping relationship between the stored ultrasound image and the current section to be examined, that is, the ultrasound image has the section information of the current section to be examined. After the doctor stores the image, the ultrasound imaging device can automatically unfreeze the ultrasound image to facilitate the doctor's examination of the next section until the examination of all sections specified in the examination protocol is completed, and a plurality of ultrasound images are obtained.

[0118] In step S230, each of the ultrasound images acquired during the above-described ultrasound examination process is evaluated to determine whether each ultrasound image belongs to a "section required by the examination protocol" and further determine whether each ultrasound image is a "section with qualified quality", so as to obtain the evaluation information of each ultrasound image.

[0119] In some embodiments, after obtaining the ultrasound images, the evaluation information of each ultrasound image can be determined in an automatic, manual, or semi-automatic manner. When automatically determining the evaluation information of the ultrasound images, it can be determined whether the ultrasound images belong to the "sections required by the examination protocol" based on a detection algorithm or a detection model, and it can be further determined whether each ultrasound image is a "section with qualified quality" based on a segmentation algorithm. The detection algorithms include, but are not limited to, algorithms based on deep learning, machine learning, traditional image processing, etc.

[0120] Exemplarily, when using a deep learning algorithm, it is necessary to first train a deep learning neural network based on the collected sample ultrasound images and the evaluation information annotated by medical staff. The deep learning neural network includes, but is not limited to, RCNN, Faster-RCNN, SSD, YOLO, etc. In the network training stage, the error between the evaluation information and the annotation information is calculated during the iterative process, and the weights in the network are continuously updated with the aim of minimizing the error. This process is repeated continuously to make the detection result gradually approach the true value of the evaluation information, and a trained image evaluation model is obtained. This model can realize the automatic evaluation of newly input ultrasound images to determine whether the ultrasound images belong to the "sections required by the examination protocol".

[0121] Exemplarily, when using a segmentation algorithm, the ultrasound images can be segmented and extracted based on a trained deep learning model. The deep learning segmentation networks include Unet, FCN, and networks improved on their basis. Exemplarily, when training a deep learning segmentation model, the sample ultrasound images and the evaluation information annotated by medical staff are input. The error between the evaluation information output by the model and the annotation information is calculated, and the error is minimized through continuous iteration until the segmentation result approaches the true value, thereby completing the training of the deep learning segmentation model. This model can realize the automatic evaluation of newly input ultrasound images to determine whether the ultrasound images are "sections with qualified quality".

[0122] The above automatic detection methods are only exemplary. In other implementation manners, the user can also manually annotate the evaluation information in the ultrasound images. Or, the evaluation information of each ultrasound image can also be determined through a semi-automatic detection method.

[0123] In step S330, the evaluation information of the examination protocol includes at least one of the scanning quality of the examination protocol, the usage rate of the examination protocol, the number of scans of the sections required by the examination protocol, the compliance degree of the scanning order of the sections required by the examination protocol, and the compliance degree of the examination protocol. Among them, the evaluation information of the examination protocol includes the evaluation information of each of the above ultrasound images.

[0124] In step S240 and step S340, the evaluation information is statistically calculated based on statistical rules, including: statistically calculating the evaluation information based on the attributes of the ultrasound images, and / or statistically calculating the evaluation information according to the multiple inspection rules.

[0125] Exemplarily, the attributes of the ultrasound images include, but are not limited to, user identification, device identification, and / or examination site identification, etc. Among them, the identification includes information of the user who collected each ultrasound image, such as the country, region, hospital, department to which the user belongs, and the user's personal information. For the convenience of subsequent statistics, the identification can be classified. For example, the first-level identification includes the hospital, the second-level identification includes the department, and the third-level identification includes the user's personal information, etc. This classification method is not restrictive, and the number of classifications and the groups represented by each level of identification can be set according to requirements. The device identification includes information of the device that collected each ultrasound image. Similarly, the device identification can also be classified according to the country, region, hospital, department to which the device belongs, and the individual information of the device. In addition, the attributes of the ultrasound images also include the examination site identification, and the examination site identification can be manually marked, automatically marked by the examination guide, or marked through step S230.

[0126] In one embodiment, statistically calculating the evaluation information based on the user identification to determine the user compliance includes: statistically calculating the number of sections that belong to the sections required by the examination protocol in the ultrasound images corresponding to the user identification based on the evaluation information of the ultrasound images corresponding to the user identification; determining the user compliance according to the ratio of the number of sections to the total number of sections required by the examination protocol:

[0127]

[0128] According to the above user compliance, the situation of the user (user group or individual user) executing the examination protocol can be quantitatively statistically calculated. For example, when the user compliance of user one is 80% and the user compliance of user two is 100%, it means that user one did not strictly perform the ultrasound examination according to the examination guide during one or more examinations, while user two performed the ultrasound examination according to the examination guide during each examination. According to the user compliance, the work situation of the user can be evaluated.

[0129] In one embodiment, statistically calculating the evaluation information based on statistical rules includes: obtaining the number of sections that are required by the examination protocol in the multiple ultrasound images; determining the protocol compliance according to the ratio of the number of sections to the total number of sections required by the examination protocol:

[0130]

[0131] According to the above protocol compliance, the execution of the inspection protocol itself can be quantitatively counted. For example, when the user compliance of Protocol 1 is 60% and the user compliance of Protocol 2 is 80%, it indicates that users are less willing to comply with the inspection guidelines of Protocol 1 and more willing to comply with the inspection guidelines of Protocol 2. According to the protocol compliance, the reasonableness of the inspection protocol can be evaluated to promote the optimization of the inspection protocol.

[0132] In one embodiment, the evaluation information is statistically calculated based on the attributes of the ultrasonic images, including: based on the evaluation information of the multiple ultrasonic images, counting the number of sections that belong to the required sections of the inspection protocol and have qualified quality among the multiple ultrasonic images; and determining the scanning quality according to the ratio of the number of sections to the total number of sections required by the inspection protocol.

[0133]

[0134] For the scanning quality, the user scanning quality can be counted to characterize the level of the user (user group or individual user) in collecting ultrasonic images with qualified quality; the protocol scanning quality can also be counted to characterize the difficulty of collecting ultrasonic images with qualified quality according to different inspection protocols; and the scanning quality of the inspection part can also be counted based on the inspection part identifier to characterize the difficulty of collecting ultrasonic images with qualified quality at different inspection parts.

[0135] In one embodiment, the acquisition order of the ultrasonic images required to be acquired included in the inspection rules; when statistically calculating the evaluation information according to the multiple inspection rules, it further includes: calculating the scanning order compliance based on the difference between the scanning order of the multiple ultrasonic images and the acquisition order of the ultrasonic images required to be acquired included.

[0136] In one embodiment, counting the usage rate of the inspection protocol includes obtaining and displaying the number of times the inspection protocol is used within a preset time period.

[0137] It should be noted that the above statistical method of the inspection protocol is only exemplary, and the inspection protocol can be quantitatively counted from multiple dimensions according to the attributes of multiple ultrasonic images, inspection rules or other statistical methods, and the present invention does not limit this.

[0138] Exemplarily, the display mode of the statistically processed results may include a list or a visualization graph. There are various implementation manners for the visualization graph, including but not limited to a bar graph or a pie chart, etc. Further, before outputting and displaying the statistically processed results, it may further include steps of processing the statistically processed results, such as sorting the statistically processed results or grading the statistically processed results. Further, for the visualization expression of the graded statistical results, different levels may be represented by different colors. For example, when the compliance is higher than 80%, the visualization graph is green; when the compliance is 60% - 80%, the visualization graph is yellow; when the compliance is lower than 80%, the visualization graph is red; or, the lower the compliance, the darker the color of the visualization graph.

[0139] In summary, according to the statistical method 200 of the inspection protocol and the statistical method 300 of the inspection protocol provided by the present invention, for a plurality of ultrasonic images collected according to the inspection guidelines, the evaluation information of each of the ultrasonic images is determined based on the inspection rules, and / or the evaluation information of the inspection protocol is determined based on the required sections in the inspection rules and the plurality of ultrasonic images, so as to perform multi-dimensional quantitative statistics on the execution situation of the inspection protocol.

[0140] An embodiment of the present invention further provides an image data processing device for implementing the above-mentioned statistical method 200 of the inspection protocol and the statistical method 300 of the inspection protocol. The image data processing device provided by the embodiment of the present invention may be a device not configured with an inspection protocol, such as a personal computer, a mobile terminal, etc. Refer to Figure 4 , the image data processing device 400 provided by the embodiment of the present invention includes a processor 410, a memory 420, and a display 430. A computer program run by the processor 410 is stored on the memory 420, and when the computer program is run by the processor 410, it executes the statistical method 200 of the inspection protocol and / or the statistical method 300 of the inspection protocol.

[0141] Among them, the processor 410 can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. Circuits, single or multiple application-specific integrated circuits, single or multiple general-purpose integrated circuits, single or multiple microprocessors, single or multiple programmable logic devices, or any combination of the foregoing circuits and / or devices, or other suitable circuits or devices can be used. And the processor 410 can control other components in the image data processing device 400 to perform desired functions. The memory 420 can include one or more computer program products, and the computer program products can include various forms of computer-readable storage media, such as volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. The volatile memory can include, for example, random access memory and / or cache memory, etc. The non-volatile memory can include, for example, read-only memory, hard disk, flash memory, etc. One or more computer program instructions can be stored on the computer-readable storage media, and the processor 410 can run the program instructions to implement the statistical method of the inspection protocol and / or other various desired functions in the present invention. Various application programs and various data can also be stored in the computer-readable storage media, such as various data used and / or generated by the application programs, etc. The display 430 can be any conventional cathode ray tube, liquid crystal display, light-emitting diode display, etc. The display 430 is connected to the processor 410 and is used to display the statistical results obtained by the processor 410 executing the statistical method 200 of the inspection protocol and / or the statistical method 300 of the inspection protocol.

[0142] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a statistical system 500 for an inspection protocol, including at least one ultrasonic imaging device 100 and an image data processing device 400, and the image data processing device 400 is connected to each of the ultrasonic imaging devices 100.

[0143] Refer back to Figure 1 , the statistical system 500 for the inspection protocol can include one or more implemented as Figure 1The ultrasonic imaging device 100 shown may include a probe 110, a transmitting circuit 112, a receiving circuit 114, a processor 116, and a display 118. Optionally, the ultrasonic imaging device 100 may further include a transmit / receive selection switch 120 and a beam synthesis module 122. The transmitting circuit 112 and the receiving circuit 114 may be connected to the probe 110 through the transmit / receive selection switch 120. Among them, the transmitting circuit 112 is used to excite the probe 110 to transmit ultrasonic waves to the target object; the receiving circuit 114 is used to control the probe to receive the ultrasonic echo returned from the target object to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal; the processor 116 is used to process the ultrasonic echo signal to obtain an ultrasonic image of the target object, and execute the steps of the method 200 for displaying the ultrasonic image. On the display interface of the display 118, a plurality of ultrasonic images are displayed according to the logical relationship between the sections defined by the display protocol and the mapping relationship between the ultrasonic image and the section. The above only describes the main functions of the components of the ultrasonic imaging system. For more details, refer to the relevant description of the method 200 for displaying the ultrasonic image, which will not be elaborated here.

[0144] Re-refer to Figure 4 , the statistical system 500 of the inspection protocol may include an image data processing device 400. The image data processing device 400 includes a processor 410, a memory 420, and a display 430. A computer program run by the processor 410 is stored on the memory 420. When the computer program is run by the processor 410, it executes the statistical method 200 of the inspection protocol and / or the statistical method 300 of the inspection protocol. The display 430 is connected to the processor 410 and is used to display the statistical results obtained by the processor 410 executing the statistical method 200 of the inspection protocol and / or the statistical method 300 of the inspection protocol.

[0145] In the statistical system 500 of the inspection protocol, the image data processing device 400 may include a central station, a server, or a hospital information system. The image data processing device 400 is communicatively connected to at least one ultrasonic imaging device 100. Each ultrasonic imaging device 100 sends the ultrasonic image to the image data processing device 400 through an external communication interface. The external communication interface may be one or a combination of a local area network interface composed of Ethernet, Token Ring, Token Bus, and Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) as the backbone network of these three networks, or may be one or a combination of wireless interfaces such as infrared, Bluetooth, wifi, WMTS communication, etc., or may also be one or a combination of wired data connection interfaces such as RS232, USB, etc. The external communication interface may also be a combination of a wireless data transmission interface and a wired data transmission interface.

[0146] The statistical system 500 of the inspection protocol according to an embodiment of the present invention connects one or more ultrasonic imaging devices 100 to the image data processing device 400, and can perform quantitative statistics on the data of multiple ultrasonic devices included in the system.

[0147] Although example embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the above example embodiments are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention thereto. Those of ordinary skill in the art can make various changes and modifications therein without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention as claimed in the appended claims.

[0148] Those of ordinary skill in the art can realize that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or in a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are executed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. The professional technician can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of the present invention.

[0149] In several embodiments provided by the present invention, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and there can be other division methods in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another device, or some features can be ignored or not executed.

[0150] In the specification provided herein, a large number of specific details are set forth. However, it can be understood that the embodiments of the present invention can be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known methods, structures, and technologies have not been shown in detail so as not to obscure the understanding of this specification.

[0151] Similarly, it should be understood that, in order to streamline the present invention and help understand one or more of the various inventive aspects, in the description of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the various features of the present invention are sometimes grouped together into a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof. However, the method of the present invention should not be construed as reflecting the intention that the claimed invention requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as reflected by the corresponding claims, the inventive point lies in that the corresponding technical problems can be solved with fewer features than all the features of a single disclosed embodiment. Therefore, the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into the detailed description, where each claim itself serves as a separate embodiment of the present invention.

[0152] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, except where features are mutually exclusive, any combination can be employed to combine all the features disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings), as well as all the processes or units of any method or device so disclosed. Each feature disclosed in this specification (including the accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings) may be replaced by an alternative feature that serves the same, equivalent, or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise.

[0153] In addition, those skilled in the art will understand that, although some embodiments described herein include certain features included in other embodiments but not others, the combination of features of different embodiments is meant to be within the scope of the present invention and forms different embodiments. For example, in the claims, any one of the claimed embodiments can be used in any combination.

[0154] Each component embodiment of the present invention can be implemented in hardware, or in software modules running on one or more processors, or in a combination thereof. Those skilled in the art should understand that a microprocessor or a digital signal processor (DSP) can be used in practice to implement some or all of the functions of some of the modules according to the embodiments of the present invention. The present invention can also be implemented as a device program (e.g., a computer program and a computer program product) for performing part or all of the methods described herein. Such a program for implementing the present invention can be stored on a computer-readable medium, or can be in the form of one or more signals. Such signals can be downloaded from an Internet website, or provided on a carrier signal, or in any other form.

[0155] It should be noted that the above embodiments illustrate rather than limit the present invention, and those skilled in the art can design alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. The present invention can be implemented by means of hardware including several different elements and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In the unit claims listing several devices, several of these devices can be embodied by the same item of hardware. The use of the words first, second, and third, etc. does not denote any order. These words can be interpreted as names.

[0156] As described above, it is only the specific implementation manner of the present invention or the description of the specific implementation manner. The protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention can easily think of changes or substitutions, which should all be covered within the protection scope of the present invention. The protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A statistical method for an examination protocol, characterized in that, it includes: Obtaining an examination protocol for ultrasonic examination; Obtaining a plurality of ultrasonic images from a storage medium, wherein at least some of the plurality of ultrasonic images are acquired according to the examination protocol; Obtaining evaluation information for each of the ultrasonic images; Statistically analyzing the evaluation information based on statistical rules and displaying the statistically analyzed result.

2. A statistical method for an examination protocol, characterized in that, it includes: Obtaining an examination protocol for ultrasonic examination; Obtaining a plurality of ultrasonic images from a storage medium, wherein at least some of the plurality of ultrasonic images are a plurality of ultrasonic images acquired according to the examination protocol; Determining the evaluation information of the examination protocol based on the required sections in the examination protocol and the plurality of ultrasonic images; Statistically analyzing the evaluation information based on statistical rules and displaying the statistically analyzed result.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, the evaluation information of the examination protocol includes the evaluation information of each of the ultrasonic images.

4. The statistical method for an examination protocol according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that, the statistically analyzing the evaluation information based on statistical rules includes: Statistically analyzing the evaluation information based on the attributes of the ultrasonic images.

5. The statistical method for an examination protocol according to claim 4, characterized in that, the attributes of the ultrasonic images include user identification and / or device identification; the statistically analyzing the evaluation information based on the attributes of the ultrasonic images includes: Statistically analyzing the evaluation information based on the user identification to determine user compliance; and / or Statistically analyzing the evaluation information based on the device identification to determine device compliance; the displaying the statistically analyzed result includes: displaying the user compliance and / or the device compliance.

6. The statistical method for an examination protocol according to claim 4, characterized in that, the attributes of the ultrasonic images include the region identification and / or department identification; the statistically analyzing the evaluation information based on the attributes of the ultrasonic images includes at least one of the following: Statistically analyzing the evaluation information based on the region identification; Statistically analyzing the evaluation information based on the department identification; Statistically analyzing the evaluation information based on the department identification and the region identification.

7. The statistical method for an examination protocol according to claim 4, characterized in that, the statistically analyzing the evaluation information based on the user identification to determine user compliance includes: Statistically analyzing the number of sections belonging to the required sections of the examination protocol in the ultrasonic images corresponding to the user identification based on the evaluation information of the ultrasonic images corresponding to the user identification; Determining the user compliance according to the ratio of the number of sections to the total number of sections required by the examination protocol.

8. The statistical method for an examination protocol according to claim 4, characterized in that, the statistically analyzing the evaluation information based on the attributes of the ultrasonic images includes: Statistically analyzing the number of sections that belong to the required sections of the examination protocol and have qualified quality among the plurality of ultrasonic images based on the evaluation information of the plurality of ultrasonic images; Determining the examination quality according to the ratio of the number of sections to the total number of sections required by the examination protocol.

9. The statistical method for an examination protocol according to claim 8, characterized in that, The attributes of the ultrasonic image further include an indication of the examination site; Statistically calculating the evaluation information based on the attributes of the ultrasonic image includes: Statistically calculating the evaluation information based on the indication of the examination site to determine the scanning quality of the examination site.

10. The statistical method of the examination protocol according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that Statistically calculating the evaluation information based on statistical rules includes: Obtaining the number of sections required by the examination protocol in the multiple ultrasonic images; determining the protocol compliance based on the ratio of the number of sections to the total number of sections required by the examination protocol.

11. The statistical method of the examination protocol according to any one of claims 1-10, characterized in that Before displaying the statistically calculated result, it further includes: Sorting the statistically calculated result.

12. The statistical method of the examination protocol according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that The display method of displaying the statistically calculated result includes: list, bar chart or pie chart.

13. The statistical method of the examination protocol according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that Obtaining multiple ultrasonic images from a storage medium includes: Receiving the multiple ultrasonic images through a network, obtaining the multiple ultrasonic images from a removable storage medium, or obtaining the multiple ultrasonic images from a local storage medium.

14. The statistical method of the examination protocol according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The method further includes: obtaining and displaying the number of times the examination protocol is used within a preset time period.

15. The statistical method of the examination protocol according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that The examination protocol includes the acquisition order of the ultrasonic images to be acquired; Statistically calculating the evaluation information based on statistical rules includes: Calculating the examination order compliance based on the difference between the examination order of the multiple ultrasonic images and the acquisition order of the ultrasonic images to be acquired included.

16. The statistical method of the examination protocol according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that The evaluation information includes at least one of the examination quality of the examination protocol, the usage rate of the examination protocol, the number of examinations of the sections required by the examination protocol, the examination order compliance of the sections required by the examination protocol, and the compliance of the examination protocol.

17. The statistical method of the examination protocol according to claim 1, characterized in that Obtaining the evaluation information of each ultrasonic image includes: receiving the evaluation information annotated by the user for each ultrasonic image.

18. A statistical method of an examination protocol, characterized in that including: Obtaining an examination protocol for ultrasonic examination; Obtaining multiple ultrasonic images, wherein at least some of the multiple ultrasonic images are acquired according to the examination protocol; Obtaining the evaluation information of each ultrasonic image; Statistically calculating the evaluation information based on statistical rules and displaying the statistically calculated result.

19. An ultrasonic imaging device, characterized in that The device includes: A probe; A transmitting circuit for exciting the probe to emit ultrasonic waves towards a target tissue; A receiving circuit for controlling the probe to receive the echo of the target tissue to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal; The processor is further configured to generate an ultrasonic image based on the ultrasonic echo signal and perform the steps of the statistical method of the inspection protocol according to any one of claims 1-18 to perform quantitative statistics on the inspection protocol.

20. An image data processing device characterized in that the processing device comprises: a processor: configured to perform the steps of the statistical method of the inspection protocol according to any one of claims 1-18 to perform quantitative statistics on the inspection protocol; a memory for storing a computer program run by the processor; a display for displaying the statistical result.

21. A statistical system for an inspection protocol characterized in that it comprises: at least one ultrasonic imaging device, an image data processing device, and the image data processing device is connected to each ultrasonic imaging device; the at least one ultrasonic imaging device comprises: a probe; a transmitting circuit for exciting the ultrasonic probe to transmit ultrasonic waves to a target tissue; a receiving circuit for controlling the ultrasonic probe to receive the echo of the target tissue to obtain an ultrasonic echo signal; a processor, which is further configured to generate an ultrasonic image based on the ultrasonic echo signal; the image data processing device comprises: a processor: configured to perform the steps of the statistical method of the inspection protocol according to any one of claims 1-18 to perform quantitative statistics on the inspection protocol; a memory for storing a computer program run by the processor; a display for displaying the statistical result.

22. The statistical system for an inspection protocol according to claim 21, wherein the image data processing device comprises a central station, a server or a hospital information system.

Images